Friday, December 30, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Maya DeLeina

The first five sentences of...FLESH FANTASY

I was thirty-five years old. Correct that. Thirty-seven years old.

I seemed to forget just how old I really was then, my mind firing thirty-five as a knee-jerk reaction anytime I was asked. It was nothing intentional, like trying to shield my real age or anything. I just truly lost track of dates.

Genre: Erotic Romance
Publisher: Siren Bookstrand
Available now



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Fun First Facts About Maya

1.What’s the first thing you do when you sit down each day to write?
I work to set the mood in my writing area, encompassing every sensory angle.  The right mood has a lot to do with conjuring up the imagery I am after in my books.  

I love to write at night.

I light candles, typically something with a heavy spice. I layer that with Satya Sai Baba incense. The lights are turned down low. I have one writing/reading lamp on. The rest of the lights are ambient, set to highlight Buddha painting and sculptures I have around my writing room. If it’s winter, I turn down the heat or turn up the AC if in the summer. I like the room to have a definite crispness to it. Now, my dogs don’t like that much, but hey, that is what fur is for right? Plus, it gives me the chance to wrap myself in soft throw blankets that I spray with a mixture of mineral water and lavender oil.  Last, I set the Pandora channel to one of three channels: Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil or Sleepthief or I turn on the XM Zen channel.

With that, I’m transported deep into my vampire world. The storylines drift their way into my mind, travelling down to my fingers and firmly making their mark on the page. And I can be completely absorbed in this for hours…until one of my dogs has to pee!

2. Tell me about your very first date (ever).
The first date that comes to mind was with a rather interesting man I met years ago. Not a man that you could really look at having a serious relationship with (as you will soon find out why), but certainly an experience you didn’t want to pass on.  His life could play out in the movies!

Sirhc was the bodyguard of a sultan that visited Hawaii on a regular basis. He was at always planted at his employer’s side, always jetting off to somewhere. Most times, he left without notice.  In addition to his chiseled features, mesmerizing accent and a body that made you mentally remind yourself not to drool, Sirhc had a small aircraft pilot license.

The first official date we went on was for lunch. I met Sirhc at a restaurant and prepared for a nice meal with amazing company.  I just imagined the stories he could tell me— the adventures and sights he had experienced.

As I stepped out of my car, he asked me to hop into his employer’s car service--a limo.  He explained that we were going somewhere else for lunch. I jumped right in without hesitation.

The car drove directly to the Honolulu International Airport. Within minutes, I boarded a Cessna piloted by Sirhc. He flew us to Kauai and had lunch a secluded resort.  After our meal, he arranged for us to have wine and chocolates on a section of the resort’s private beach to watch the sunset.

*Sigh*

3. If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you’d buy?
Plane tickets to Thailand, Bali, India, Egypt, Greece, Venice, Tuscany, Ireland and Romania.

It has been my dream to see ruins, temples, landmarks, architectural marvels as well as have a taste of the food in each culture. I can just imagine the scents lofting in the air from fresh cut flowers while gliding along the floating market in Thailand, the sight of earth-toned spices mixing together at an open bazaar in India and the feel of moss covered stones of castles in Ireland under my fingers.

And I being a vampire author, I wouldn’t pass up the chance to visit the grounds of Castle Poenari.

More about Maya: Maya DeLeina was born and raised on the beautiful and romantic beaches of Oahu, Hawaii. Relocating to Colorado, Maya’s crystal blue oceans and powdery white sands were traded for enchanting forests, mystic mountains and golden plains of promise.

Living just on the outskirts of Manitou Springs, the town’s history of spiritual healing, eclectic flare, fabled underground tunnels and rumored lore of wizardry and witchcraft rekindled Maya’s love for the paranormal, metaphysical and most of all, vampires.

One bite and she was hooked.

With a hint of incense lofting in the air and the majestic Pikes Peak sitting in picture perfect view from her windows, Maya can be found relaxing in the recesses of her comfy couch, sinking her teeth into crafting and weaving seducing and erotic tales of vampires that may or may not roam her beloved town.

One read and you’ll be hooked.

You can learn more about Maya on her website and Facebook.




Friday, December 23, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with K.R. Bailey

First Five Sentences of...MURDER AND LIES
Vienna was dead.

Maggie’s hands shook as she reached for the door handle of the sheriff’s car.  Disbelief overcame her.

Sheriff Mike Anderson put his hand on her arm and asked, “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Maggie Benson shuddered at the absurdity of the question, but she forced herself to answer, “Yes,” her voice high and almost hysterical.


Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Bookstrand


Murder and Lies will be available on Amazon and
Barnes & Noble after the first of the year. 
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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT K.R.

1.Tell me about your very first kiss?

It was on my 16th birthday.  I went to the drive-in with a guy I was totally head over heels for.  We were in the backseat of the car.  His brother and girlfriend were in the front.  He teased me about being sweet sixteen and never been kissed.  When he kissed me, I was so nervous I started hiccupping and couldn’t stop.  I was so embarrassed and could have crawled in a hole if there had been one available.  Didn’t even get to enjoy the experience.

2. What was your first date with your significant other?

My good friend called and asked if I wanted to meet his uncle, and I agreed.  It was the first weekend in December, and we met at my friend’s house.  The first time I saw my husband,  I thought how good looking he was.  We went to see the Christmas Village at the Ogden Municipal Park.  That’s an amazing park full of twinkling lights, little Christmas houses all decorated with animated figures and even Santa Claus is there. Hand in hand we strolled through the Christmas Lights and even though he was pretty shy, we seemed to hit it right off.   It was a cold evening, but clear and crisp, and perfect for a stroll and of course some cuddling.  The lights were bright. We watched the little kids and their families go talk to Santa Claus. We talked and things just clicked. Afterwards we went to dinner at a little Mexican restaurant.  It was a great evening, and Mexican food is still our favorite.

3. If you had a free afternoon, what’s the first thing you’d do?

If I’m by myself, I love to curl up with a good book.  I can spend the entire day just reading, being lazy, letting myself be taken to a place I’ve never been.  When I was younger, I’d drive my mother crazy by reading all day.  I’d ignore the world and lose myself in a good book.  If I’m spending it with my husband, I love to take long drives up into the mountains looking at the wildlife.  That seems to be one of the really special times we spend together, laughing and talking and enjoying each other.  And for some reason, I always get new ideas for my stories.

More about K.R.--K. R. Bailey is a Utah girl who loves reading, romance and long drives in the mountains. She’s married to her best friend and together they enjoy a little cabin nestled high in the mountains where deer live under the deck and hummingbirds flit around all day.

Writing has become her passion since retiring from a full-time job, and she’s always got a new story full of interesting characters bouncing around in her head.

“Life is good,” she’s known to say with a big smile on her face and a pen in her hand.


You can find out more about K. R. Bailey at:
Herwebsite: http://KRBailey.com
Her blog: http://KRBailey.blogspot.com

Friday, December 16, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Avon author Candis Terry

The first five sentences of...ANY GIVEN CHRISTMAS

Game time.

Nothing in NFL quarterback Dean Silverthorne’s career of media blitzes, celebrity propaganda, and general mayhem had prepared him for the wedding-day brouhaha in which he found himself immersed.

His formula for a happy marriage?

Stay single.

Not that he didn’t believe marriage worked.

Publisher: Avon Impulse
Genre: Contemporary Romance


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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT CANDIS

1. Who was your first love?
My first love was Little Joe (Michael Landon) on the TV show Bonanza. I was totally into cowboys and I still remember how, even at that early age, my heart would beat faster when he’d show up on that pretty paint horse in his cowboy gear and flash that cocky grin. And of course he always got the girl. Poor Hoss, he never got the girl. I think it might have had something to do with the big dumb hat he wore. In real life my first love (third grade) was a boy named Matt. So I guess it’s no surprise that I named the hero in my first book after him.

2. Tell me about the first novel you ever wrote? What ever happened to it?
The first novel I ever wrote was a historical titled Winter’s Rose. It took me 4 years to complete and I had no idea what I was doing. I finally discovered Romance Writer’s of America and was fortunate enough to get into a critique group with some really nice published authors who politely pointed out that I did not have a historical voice. I still have that manuscript in a binder--stuffed in a closet. The binder includes all the notations of where I thought I could “fix it.” Fortunately I agreed with my critique group that my voice didn’t fit and I moved on to contemporary romance. Every once in awhile I pull it out and look at it again. And I laugh.

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?
The first thing I have to do when starting a new story is to calm the heck down! I often get so excited about delving right into the meat of things that I forget a whole bunch of other stuff needs to be dealt with first. You know, important things like goal, motivation and conflict. The first question I ask myself about these new characters is “What do they want and why can’t they have it?” Without this simple question, it’s easy to start a story that ends up going nowhere. After that I always imagine the first meet. In the case of my heroes and heroines, the first meet isn’t always pretty.

For instance, in my first book, Second Chance at the Sugar Shack, Kate, the heroine, has come home for the first time in ten years after leaving her then boyfriend Matt in the lurch as to why she left without a word. When they meet up again he’s still ticked off. Or in my second book Any Given Christmas, when the hero, Dean, meets up with the heroine, Emma, he thinks she’s going to be just like any other football groupie and fall all over him. But Emma, well, she’s just not all that impressed with the superstar quarterback. I just love those kinds of first meets!

More about Candis:
For those who don’t know me, here’s a brief rundown of what planet I come from. I was born and raised near the sunny beaches of Southern California and now make my home on an Idaho farm. I’ve experienced life in such diverse ways as working in a Hollywood recording studio to wiping sheep noses to working as a graphic designer. Only one thing has remained constant: my passion for writing stories about relationships, the push and pull in the search for love, and the security one finds in their own happily ever after. Though my stories are set in small towns, my wish is to give each of my characters a great big memorable love story rich with quirky characters, tons of fun, and a happy ending.

In February 2011, after 22 years of working at becoming a published author I sold my first contemporary romance, Second Chance at the Sugar Shack, to Avon Impulse.

Thanks so much for having me here today to talk about some of the “firsts” in my life. I’m really glad you didn’t ask the obvious “first” question! Yeah, and we know right where my mind goes, don’t we?

Happy holidays!

You can learn more about Candis here:
Twitter: @CandisTerry

Friday, December 9, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Tammy Dennings Maggy


The First Five Sentences of...FOR THE LOVE OF QUINN

This conversation between Quinn and her receptionist, Jillian sets up the scene to show how busy Quinn is with her career and how she really needs to get away for the vacation with her sister. 

“Dr. Hollis?”

“Yes,  Jillian.” Quinn closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

“It’s Mrs. Green again. Sorry.”

__________________

Genre: Erotic Romance
Publisher: Siren-Bookstrand


__________________


FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT TAMMY


1. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?
I always notice the eyes first on a man or a woman.  The old saying that the eyes are windows into the soul is so very true for me.  If the man is smiling and it’s not in his eyes, I am immediately on guard, like he’s hiding something. You can also tell if they are interested in you by their eyes.  I’m not talking about that look you up and down sort of leer, but how he holds your gaze and keeps eye contact when he’s talking to you or when you are speaking. 

2. What was the first meal you made for your significant other?
One of my specialties is lasagna and as luck would have it, a favorite of my boyfriend as well.  I use my mother’s recipe for the sauce and instead of using ricotta, I use cottage cheese.  That was the surprise for him since he didn’t usually eat cottage cheese, but he was very happy with how the whole thing turned out.  What he was even more excited about was the fact that I made enough to freeze too.  He was able to have lasagna for a few more times and be reminded of me when he ate it. 

I think that’s what clinched it for him.  He never had anyone who would cook for him like this and make sure that he was taken care of when they weren’t around.  He loves everything I make and it’s a big ego boost when he takes a bite, closes his eyes and smiles. 

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start reading a new book? (ie: read the back cover blurb again or the inside front cover, the acknowledgments, the last page, etc)
After I get through the first chapter or so, I turn to the end and scan it quickly.  I know, I know!  I shouldn’t do that because it might ruin the story for me, but I don’t think that’s the case.  I end up knowing how it ends, but the fun for me is the journey leading up to that.  There still are a lot of twists and turns to go through and the “why” the book ended the way it does is the best part.  If it’s a part of a series, then skipping ahead to the end sort of puts me in the mindset that another book is coming to hopefully answer any questions and tie up loose ends.
   
More about Tammy:  After nearly 19 years as a veterinarian, I decided to finally follow my dream of being a published writer. Creating the characters and story lines has opened up a whole new world for me that I hope to delve into for many years to come!

I am a Midwestern girl who lives in California.  I feel like a fish out of water most of the time out here, but I have met a lot of people who help to make me feel a little less homesick for Michigan.  I hope to explore more of the Pacific Northwest over the next few years and enjoy all that it has to offer.  Who knows, maybe I will write another series set in this area!

Tammy's Links:

My webpage/blog Behind Closed Doors http://authortammydenningsmaggy.wordpress.com/

My second blog, Not Enough Time in the Day

Facebook Fan Page

Follow me on Twitter

Yahoo Group for Writers and Readers  No Longer Behind Closed Doors

Friday, November 25, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Zenobia Renquist

The first five sentences of... FORGOTTEN LOVER 
Medusa didn’t react as her thick dreadlocks rained down around her ankles, shorn from her head by the grinning mage across the room. In fact, she couldn’t react. The mage had locked her mind under the powerful spell of a docility charm.

She gave the charm more credit now that she could feel the power of it firsthand. Even though she fought it with all her might, she couldn’t break its hold.

***

Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Erotic Paranormal, Vampire, Magic, Interracial
Buy Link --
available in ebook only

FUN FIRST QUESTIONS ABOUT ZENOBIA

1. Who was your first love?
He-Man. I am so not joking. I was in love with that man. Not so much Prince Adam, but I totally loved He-Man… which might explain why I had a serious hate on for Teela. Despite everyone and their mother telling me He-Man was for boys, I watched that show religiously and got as many of the toys as my parents would buy me, which was quite a lot. I still have Castle Greyskull.
After He-Man was Nemesis Enforcer from the GI Joe movie (the animated one from 1987). If you're talking about real people, then I would have to say this one kid in sixth grade who I thought was so hot and so cool (funny how those two descriptions can exist side by side) but now I can't even remember his name and I barely remember what he looks like.

2. Tell me about the first novel you ever wrote? What ever happened to it?
The first novel I ever wrote was my debut title with Samhain Publishing under my other name, D. Renee Bagby. Yup, I got lucky on my first try. However, the first story I ever wrote (which would be categorized as a short story by the length definitions I know now) was for a writing competition back in my high school days that I wanted to enter. I didn't make the deadline, but I did finish the story.

At the moment, that story is sitting on my hard drive waiting for me to revisit it, flesh it out, make it a whole lot longer, and then get it published. It has a great plot and some fun characters, so I do plan to return to it one day in the future.

3. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?
I listen to my characters argue. The majority of my stories start with my characters yelling at each other in my head. It's my job to figure out what they are arguing about, what started the argument, how they met, and where they are going when the argument finishes. The majority of the time, I can't answer any of those questions until after I've written the story. I'm a total panster that way.

More about Renee: Renee is a military brat turned military wife who is currently stationed in Hawaii with her husband and two cats.

Whether writing as D. Renee Bagby or Zenobia Renquist, she is a world-builder. She loves inventing new cultures and shaping their histories and laws because it beats researching the existing ones.
Her stories span the fantasy gamut but she dabbles in sci-fi and contemporary from time to time. While her main characters tend to be of different races, she doesn't let skin color rule or limit her stories. For her, it's all about how much she can torture her characters so they earn their happily-ever-after ending.

The rules are all new and pre-conceived notions will only slow you down, so when reading Renee's stories, she asks only one thing -- Leave Your Reality Behind.

Where you can find Renee online:
Web -
http://zenobiarenquist.com/
Twitter - http://twitter.com/dreneebagby
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Author.DRBagby.ZRenquist
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/zenobiarenquist
Yahoo Group - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dreneebagby_multiverse/
Newsletter - http://ymlp.com/signup.php?id=geusujygmgj
Blog - http://dreneebagby.blogspot.com/

Friday, November 18, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS...with D. Renee Bagby

The first five sentences of...ERIS (Eternal Truths, Book 1)

Ranulf stared at the spacious, climate-controlled room in a thoughtful manner. Beside him, Lucien looked through the contents of a nearby box.

“We need to stop putting this off,” Ranulf said. “Every year we say we’ll get our collection surveyed and every year we find an excuse to avoid it.”

“Why do you want strangers tromping through our home? Where does this whim come from?”

GENRE: Time Travel, Menage (m/f/m), Interracial
Available in print and ebook
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FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT D. RENEE

1. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?

Height. I love tall men. Their height alone makes them attractive to me. That's probably why the majority of my heroes are taller than the heroines. Taller men make me feel dainty, something that doesn't happen that often, so it feels good to be around them. The second thing I notice is eye color.  I'm a fan of blues and greys.

2. If you won the lottery, what’s the first thing you’d buy?

If I won the lottery, the first thing I would buy AFTER paying all my bills (hey, the practical part of me wants to be debt free) is the Lego Taj Mahal. It's 5400+ pieces and about $300. I would also buy a display case to keep it in once I had finished putting it together. I love assembling things since my parents got me hooked on Legos at an early age. After those two things, I would probably spend a huge chunk of money tracking down and buying every book I ever wanted and a house filled with built-in bookcases in which to keep them.

3. If you could live your life over again, what’s the first thing you’d do differently or change?

While there are a bunch of things I would love to change about my life, I'm happy that I don't have the ability. If I altered anything, I wouldn't be where I am now nor have any of the experiences that got me here. I've learned a lot of things the hard way and those lessons that taught me the most in a lasting way. I wouldn't trade that knowledge for anything.

More about D. Renee: Whether as D. Reneé Bagby or Zenobia Renquist, Reneé lives in her imagination. When not traveling through her fantasy worlds, she can be found in Hawaii living with her husband and two cats.

She is an Air Force brat turned Air Force wife, which means she’s accustomed to travel and does it whenever possible (so long as she doesn’t have to fly). Her favorite pastime is torturing her characters on their way to happily-ever-after for the enjoyment of her readers.

On the few occasions her muse flees the scene of the crime, Reneé likes to read (comics, manga, and romance), go to the movies, play a few levels of whichever puzzle game has hijacked her interest or experiment with a new chain maille weave.

You can find D. Renee on the web:



Friday, November 11, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Rachel Firasek


The first five sentences of...THE LAST RISING
Heat licked along the wing of the plane, flickering like tiny fingers waving good-bye. Ironically, the thought of dying didn’t hurt, but rising again increased her heart rate and caused a damp drizzle at her temple.

The torture of passing through the portal and waking with no memory didn’t appeal to Ice any more than learning to live a new life—damn Osiris and his punishments.

Ice didn’t want to think about her ex. The last time she’d truly seen Osiris, he’d been in pieces—literally.


THE LAST RISING, an Entangled Publishing release, is available now at many online bookstores, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and All Romance eBooks.

FUN FIRST Q&A ABOUT RACHEL 

1. Tell me about your very first kiss?
I was fourteen and my parents had let my fifteen year old boyfriend come over to watch movies. I'd sat through four hours of action with my knees pressed together trying to curb the urge to "go".  I finally couldn't take it anymore and rushed to our small half-bath. I'd just finished washing my hands and opened the door to my bf looming in the doorway. Thinking back on it now, "How creepy?" but then, I thought it was uber sweet that he couldn't wait. Next thing I know, he's forced his fat, wet tongue down my throat and over the slurpy mess I could hear the toilet bowl finishing its gurgle. Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday.  


2. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?
I had to pick this one! OMG. In my day job, I work with almost all men. So, the first thing I notice is his crotch. No, I'm not a perv--not mostly. But, normally, I get the guys seeing my chest first, so.... yeah, I do a crotch check to make sure they are paying attention to what I'm saying to them and not what "the girls" are doing while I'm talking.
 
3. If you could live your life over again, what’s the first thing you’d do differently or change?
Uh, yeah, I'd have ditched that first bf with that lame kiss...it would have saved me from a year+ of misery.

About the author: Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two. Today you’ll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80’s dance moves. She’s intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at rachelfirasek.com

Friday, November 4, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Rose Anderson

First five sentences of...DREAMSCAPE
“I’m so excited, Ben, look!” Lanie held out her trembling hand. “I’m shaking all over. I’ve never been inside the gate before.”
Looking up at the massive house with its several boarded windows and shutters barely attached, Ben Danowski turned to her in surprise. “Lanie, are you sayin’ you bought this place without looking inside?”

(Becky here: Actually, this is six sentences, but who's counting...)

Dreamscape is available now from Siren-Bookstrand, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other fine online stores.

FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT ROSE

1. Tell me about the first novel you ever wrote? Whatever happened to it?
My very first novel was a labor of love written approximately fifteen years ago. My husband and I were involved in the restoration of a pre-Civil War house. It was a plain little structure. As far as the history in our area goes, this type of structure was what was built after log cabins. The humble little building was filled with curiosities, namely a trap door in the floor and a hidden room in the cellar. Needless to say it took my fancy.
I love history, so does my husband. We already had a lot to go on when we started working on the restoration project. We knew who the families were when the house was built, we even knew who the builder was. Together we researched and learned all we could about the various farm family neighbors living nearby when the house was newly built. Communities were tight back then. If you were to drive down the back country roads here, you’d find roads and cemeteries with blended names – the many families related to one another through marriages that took place in the 1800’s.
My story took the original family, a few of their children and several neighbors and coupled this information with known abolitionist happenings in the area. In my mind, the mysterious room and the trap door to get into it became a haven for a family of run-away slaves. And for all we know, my little work of fiction is based in fact. The oldest residents in the area remember hearing about a secret room and they called it a hidey hole. This term will get some notice in places of high abolitionist activity.
My story centers on the original family and the dangerous steps they took to see another family to freedom. In this tale, a modern brother and sister discover their family’s role on the Underground Railroad through a journal hidden in a secret room discovered by accident. The two stories entwine as greed battles with good.
I submitted it all over the place using an entire tree’s worth of paper because this was the time before electronic submissions. I never heard a peep. That was disheartening. I tried again this year with a single submission and the courteous publisher actually sent me an email saying it was a wonderful little story but unfortunately the market now was looking for the next Harry Potter. He said I might consider e-publishing or self publishing because it was unlikely to be picked up in this market at this time. It was nowhere near the scope or imagery of Harry Potter. My little story was a Youth story along the lines of Little House on the Prairie. He added another useful bit. He said with Kindles coming down in price, the industry would be seeing them in the hands of children soon. It might do well in that format. His comment was invaluable. I’ll be doing exactly that soon. Not as Rose Anderson though. :) It wouldn’t do to mix my writing.
2. What was the first Rated R movie you ever saw?
The first movie I snuck into acting older than I really was, was the Exorcist. Scared the bejeezus out of me too. The first legitimate R-rated movie was Roman Polanski’s MacBeth. Marvelous movie that. I love Shakespeare. All these years later, I found MacBeth online and watched it again. It’s still a very cool, true to the story rendition of the Bard’s work.
3. What’s the first thing you do when you start writing a new story?
The very first thing, I build the world in my mind. For Dreamscape I’ve been in enough terrific old houses to be able to draw from it visually. I could see the gingerbread, those intricate over-embellished bits of molding and trim the Victorians were so fond of. Having rehabbed old houses, I can envision the jagged panes of glass on the broken windows, the smell in the musty old cellar, the view from the high cupola at the top of the house.
Once the world is set, characters will come walking into it. Before long they tell me their problems or conflicts. I soon discover their likes and dislikes and they’ll eventually tell me where they want to go and who they want to meet. I’ve been told this is writing by the seat of my pants. I’ve found that no matter how hard I try to use an outline, my characters will hijack my best attempt and have their way anyway! I surrender to them and hope they do well by me. :)

You can learn more about Rose on her blog, Google+, or follow her on Twitter @RoseAnderson_.

Friday, October 28, 2011

FRIDAY FIRSTS with Cynthia MacGregor

The first five sentences of... LOST LOVES REUNITED

Star-crossed lovers, separated by time, by fate, by their families, by circumstances … only to be reunited years later. It’s the stuff of Hollywood tear-jerkers.
            It’s also the stuff of real life … as this book proves.
            All the stories in here are true to the best of my knowledge. They were sent to me by people responding to requests I disseminated in online publications, in old-fashioned “snail mail” mailings, and by word of mouth.

Readers can purchase Cynthia's book here.

FUN FIRST FACTS ABOUT CYNTHIA 

1. What’s the first thing you do after you wake up in the morning (other than using the restroom LOL)?
My days all begin the same: I get out of bed by or before 5 AM—sometimes very much before—and after a quick “pit stop” in the bathroom, where I also put on my clothes (because I don’t want to get dressed in the dark of the bedroom, and the light would waken my sleeping S.O., who does not keep my hours!), I grab a cup of iced coffee (black, no sugar) and head to the computer. Email takes the better part of an hour, by which time the newspaper has arrived, and that takes another hour. Then there are certain websites I check each morning, and after that I’m ready to start work.

Depending on what I have going on, “work” might mean a paying writing or editing assignment for a client, working on a book I’m writing, reading an edited copy of one of my books or what I still think of as “galleys,” though they aren’t called that anymore, doing publicity for one of my books, editing the ezine that I publish every Friday, lining up guests for my TV show, or some other task.

2. What was your first date with your significant other?
My first date with my S.O. was pretty much standard for me: I cooked him dinner. We’d been talking after services at church, where he’d been the guest speaker, and he said he wanted to sit down with me and talk about writing. Intrigued with him and hoping the evening would evolve into something more than a professional discussion, I offered to cook dinner for him one evening. (I love to cook—it’s my hobby.) Well, needless to say (since we’re living together now), the evening didn’t remain on a professional plane, though the convo ranged far and wide before it became personal.

3. What’s the first thing you notice on an attractive member of the opposite sex?
Voice and personality. Though I’ve been turned off by looks, I’ve never been turned on by looks. But then, I’m not a visual person. A wise friend explained this about myself to me decades ago: Just as most people are right-handed but a few are lefties, most people are visual but a few are audial (or aural). Those of us in this minority relate more to what we hear than what we see, learn more by hearing than reading, remember better what we heard than what we saw, and so on.

Because I am not a visual person, I have never been attracted to a man based on his looks. On the other hand, being an audial person, it just figures that a guy’s voice can do a serious number on me.

And personality? Definitely!

But looks? Nah-ah. In fact, a long time ago, when I was married, I was filling out some kind of form or another that asked the color of my husband’s eyes and I had to ask him. I honestly did not know! (He told me they were brown.) I had never noticed. But I bet that if hypothetically he were to call me up today, I’d recognize his voice!

More About Cynthia:
“There’s no one in the world I’d want to trade lives with.” So says Cynthia MacGregor, prolific author of 54 conventionally published books and over 50 e-books…and that’s not counting the books she’s ghostwritten for others. When she’s not crafting another self-help book, cookbook, novel, general non-fiction work, or children’s book, she offers her writing and editing services to “anyone who needs me…and will pay me.” Besides ghostwriting books and blogs, she’s written web copy, catalog copy, two scripts for promotional videos, press releases and flyers, and “just about anything else…except for grant proposals and college papers. I won’t do either of those.” Cynthia has edited both books and magazines, as well as web copy, and loves editing almost as much as she loves writing.
            For the last year and a half, she has also hosted and produced Solo Parenting, a weekly TV show that airs in South Florida, and as of this writing she is waiting with bated breath to see whether the show will be renewed for another season, a decision that supposedly is imminent. As well, she is siteowner of www.TheSoloParent.com. Her professional website is www.cynthiamacgregor.com.
            Cynthia has lived in South Florida since 1984, before which she was a New Yorker. You can reach her at Cynthia@cynthiamacgregor.com.