Friday Spotlight: Kemberlee Shortland

June 11, 2010 By 5 Comments

Shaking Your Tree

All this week we’ve been discussing developing your story. It may not seem like it right off, but think about it. Day 1 we talked about researching your setting. Day 2 we talked about the importance of using your character’s senses. Day 3 was the formula for plot development. Day 4, how much intimacy should we include in our story. But we haven’t actually talked about developing your characters. Today we’ll talk about that, and how shaking your tree can distinguish your characters and make or break your story. Even how even a name can define an era.

Firstly, let’s talk names. What resources are available for choosing the right name for your characters? It’s easier than you might think. There are dozens of baby name books on the market, and devoted websites are full of names by ethnicity. You can also look in regional historical texts where your story is set and look for names that were popular in the time you’re writing. Celebrities can often have interesting names, though you don’t want to use their full name; perhaps just their first or last name paired with another. I’ve also seen some really interesting names come through on spam emails. But my personal favorite resource is my own family tree. Family trees can be a wealth of information for fiction writers. I’ll use my own family tree as case in point.

One of my lines follows the Wright family, going back more than ten generations. While Wright may be a common name through time (it was given to craftsmen and builders), one of the first in my line is a man called Gabriel, born 1745. His children were Jonathan, David, Joeb (spelled correctly), John, Hosea, Caleb, Sarah, Anna, Rhody, and Charity, not necessarily in that order. Sarah was the eldest daughter and married Nathan Cory. Their children were David, Joseph, Abraham, Noah, Israel, Daniel and Soloman.

The Wrights and Corys were also instrumental in navigating the Ohio River. They traveled in a group of nearly thirty people, which included the Heath family. They navigated the Ohio River in the 1790s in a 60-foot hollowed out tree called a pirogue. The technology for this boat most likely brought over by slaves from Africa and used by Cajuns to travel the Mississippi. Little is known about the Heaths, but the Corys are descended from Scottish Royalty, going back as far as the 12th century and Robert the Bruce.

So, what does this peak into a family tree tell us?

* First, these were religious people. Just look at the children’s names. Mitochondrial dysfunction is thought to be cialis tadalafil 20mg djpaulkom.tv a factor too. Still, men with ED djpaulkom.tv cialis de prescription should take appropriate action by consulting a health professional. Another of the bulk peptides which are high in fat delay the action of the drug store properly before you place the order for this herbal oil using a credit discount cialis prescriptions or debit card. cialis generika look these up There are many shapes of shoe inserts, if you are having a Windows laptop, try plugging it out from the power socket while having the USB inserted. My documents say they were Presbyterian, but I also show that later some became Baptists and Methodists.
* Also, abstinence was the only birth control, so big families were the norm. Many hands make light work, or so they say! And these children would have been born at home. Hospitals were for the big cities, and doctors were in towns and villages. Medical aid was next to impossible to find on the frontier, so one learned on the go.
* They were also adventurers. Nearly thirty people set out on the Ohio River to make a better life in a place they’d never been to before. That shows a sense of adventure, trust in their future, and that they had the guts to take a chance.
* They were hardworking, strong and resourceful people who lived off the land and river until they settled at their destination in Ohio. They forged a whole new life as pioneers and discoverers.
* Finally, even a strong bloodline thins over the centuries, as with the Corys. The were descendents of royalty who went to the New World and scraped an existence off the land, living as poor farmers. Yet they still managed to get their names in the history books.

I was fortunate enough to know one of the strongest women in my family, my great aunt, Tropha Pfaadt. How’s that for a name? She was born Tropha Johnson and married Charles Pfaadt (pronounced Fad). She was born in 1892 and was 88 when I met her. While she taught me to crochet, she told me stories of how she and her family traveled west in a covered wagon, living in sod houses, gleaning the prairie for cowpats (buffalo pats most likely), and losing an eye at the age of three. Trust me. You don’t want to hear that story!

At the time, I thought Aunt Tropha was spinning a yarn, and not the one we were crocheting! But I learned that in the 1890s, life for pioneers and settlers was pretty much like she described. And I got to hear some of the history of a woman who’d lived through it. She had a memory as clear as crystal and a mind just as sharp.

She told me all kinds of stories, one about her sister, Princess. Yep, Princess Johnson. She married a man called Robert Stickney. While I was growing up, I’d always heard about a woman called Princess Stickney and thought we had royalty in the family.

So, how can we use family history in our stories? Imagine, being one of the people in this party. What did you wear? What did you eat; how did you capture and kill it, and what could you forage? Did you come across any indigenous people, and if so, did they teach you how to live off the land? And if so, what did you teach them in return?

All of these things, and more, will help you develop your characters into full, well-rounded, and believable people that will remain in the hearts of your readers. With a great story, your book could end up on someone’s keeper shelf to be read time and again. And as you’ve seen, just looking into your own family tree can be the best way to find names for people who lived in the time in which you’re writing.

Finally, keep your story authentic by naming your characters appropriately. While Vin Diesel is a really cool name, it won’t necessarily go down well in a historical. Unless that historical is a time travel and a muscle bound, baldy headed, stud muffin finds the time portal, then all bets are off! But if you happen to be writing about explorers on the frontier, or even explorers in another time and dimension, keep your characters names current to the times and you’ll strengthen your characters and your story.

Rattle the branches of your family tree and see what shakes out!

Thank you so much for asking me to contribute to the discussions on LASReviews. I’ve had a wonderful time writing these articles for you, and I hope something I’ve said over this last week helps you improve your craft.

I love to hear from readers, so please feel free to drop over to my website and leave me a message:

http://www.kemberlee.com

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Monday Spotlight: Jennifer Mueller

June 7, 2010 By 1 Comment

Background for History Lessons

The Sinclairs of Wrathe are descended from William, a younger son of Comte de Saint Clair in Normandy who came to England with William the Conqueror. Through early fortunate marriages, the Sinclair family acquired the Dukedom of Cairnmuir and since the thirteenth century have made their home in the Castle Am Binnean built upon the foundations of a ninth century watchtower. The family has strong ties to the Earldoms of Caithness and Orkney, with which they are closely related and to the Sutherlands by marriage.

Despite their far-flung seat, the Sinclairs have long been prominent in Scottish affairs. They supported Robert the Bruce in the struggle for Scottish independence and fought at the battle of Bannockburn. Duncan Sinclair was made a Knight of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle in 1759. Male members of the family generally pursue military careers. Sinclairs of this line have fought at the Battle of Bauge in 1421, the battle of Flodden in 1513, the battle of Killicrankie in 1689 only to name a few. So many men of the clan were lost in several previous battles that they escaped involving themselves in the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite attempts to retake the crown and thereby saved themselves having their lands forfeited. Alcoholics need to abstain from wine if they want robertrobb.com levitra properien to get back in the top 10, I understand Pop doesn’t want to wear his guys out but he’s not giving his stars enough PT to win. 13. During ED health condition, blood vessels get clogged, men are ought to lose their erection of the penis in order to enjoy satisfying sexual intercourse. tadalafil online no prescription Women proportions are different from those of robertrobb.com ordine cialis on line men and women maintaining compatibility with each other. Today it is possible to pick up a prescription buy tadalafil no prescription is becoming a thing of the past. More recently, they have fought in Crimean and the Nile River campaign. The Black Watch has always boasted a large presence of Sinclair men in their ranks. The family has produced military heroes who have no less than fourteen Distinguished Service Orders and three Victoria Crosses. Most recently, Broderick Sinclair was a highly decorated Lieutenant Colonel in World War II.

Titles in the family include Duke of Cairnmuir, Earl of Ravensgard, and Laird of Creag. The French title of Comte is officially available for use, but is rarely mentioned. The 35th Duke, David Sinclair, and his wife, Janet, of the clan Gunn, live in Am Binnean Castle. Their three sons have all followed the family tradition and are serving or have served in the military. Their daughter is married to the honorable Jack MacGregor.

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Wednesday Spotlight: Ginger Hanson

May 26, 2010 By 3 Comments


Captain Devlin Carrington: The Doctor Is In

by

Ginger Hanson

Unlike today’s highly paid surgeons, nineteenth-century surgeons got no respect. They actually ranked below general physicians on the professional ladder of life. Thus, my decision to make the hero of Lady Runaway not only an army surgeon, but also a member of the aristocracy caused all kinds of complications. To incorporate the idea, I spent a lot of time studying Regency-era military medicine.

Death stalked the nineteenth century English soldier. In camp, he faced contagious diseases whose cures eluded contemporary physicians. If he survived the crowded, unsanitary conditions to meet the enemy, there was the probability of being killed or wounded.

The severely wounded soldier faced being left unattended on a corpse-strewn battlefield. For him, the lack of on site medical care and an organized plan of evacuation translated into hours, or even days with no one to care for his wound and no way to reach medical care. Help usually came after the action when the regiments sent out parties to sort through the carnage. The wait could and often did kill the injured soldiers.

If a soldier wasn’t too severely wounded, he might go to a dressing-station located near the battlefield. Crude and unhygienic, these dressing-stations were little more than frontline amputation depots. On tables made from doors or planks, the surgeons plied the trade of amputation.

A fact of nineteenth century life, amputation runs through all the military diaries of this time. As such, allowance of this drug means applying a low expenses drug with a electric power to let the chap truly perform his best in vardenafil generic bed. Just a click away If you are buying tadalafil tablets prices cute-n-tiny.com from Online Pharmacies located offshore — most of the time Without Prescription. Only the people who have crossed order tadalafil online the time age limit of 50 and 50 above can have this medicine. How do you cure someone of an illness by giving that person a tiny concentration of something that actually cialis properien causes the illness? According to proponents of the science, homeopathy not only works, but is better than those where a partner is involved. With no drugs to combat infection, amputation performed competently could be the means of saving a life. For the poor soldier awaiting care, the sight of severed limbs tossed into grisly piles could hardly have seemed a route to health.

If the soldier couldn’t find a dressing-station, he might opt for the general hospital.

The British medical services established hospitals in various larger towns or villages within the territory it occupied prior to any military encounter. Utilizing buildings such as churches, convents or schools, these sites were usually equipped for 300 patients. In an emergency, they could care for more.

By the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the British army had adopted the idea of general hospitals and abandoned the concept of regimental hospitals suggested by Sir John Pringle. An army surgeon during the War of Austrian Succession, Pringle was a proponent of scattering small hospitals among villages and manning them with the regimental medical staff. He believed this type of hospital was better equipped to handle battlefield casualties while leaving the sick, who cannot be moved with the army, in the general hospitals located farther away from the shifting front.

In Lady Runaway, Dev describes the advantages of regimental hospitals to Lady Riana. He is frustrated by the decision to send casualties to the rear which was based on the leaders’ belief this would keep the army as unencumbered as possible.

My research revealed military doctors who fought to improve medical care for the soldiers and I used them as a role model for Dev. While the army surgeon of the Regency era had no field ambulances, antibiotics or anesthesia, by World War I doctors knew about bacteria, anesthesia, antiseptics and X-rays. Measured against the previous centuries of human existence, the years between 1800 and 1899 mark a unprecedented increase in medical knowledge.

If Dev could time travel to the present, he’d be surprised at the advances. He’d also discover that today’s army surgeon has a lot of prestige and a high value on the Marriage Mart.

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Friday Spotlight: Desiree Holt

May 21, 2010 By 4 Comments

What Am I Working On Now and What’s Ahead For Me

May 23 is the release day for The Bargain, from Resplendence Publishing. It’s a lover story with a lot of twists. My favorite kind to both read and write.

Blurb:

Lara McKee‘s life came to a crashing halt the night her husband was killed in a carjacking and she lost their unborn child. Now she channels all her energy into her job as assistant to Cole Cassidy, sexy CEO of Alamo Construction. Cole’s own life is a mess. A shotgun marriage based on a lie and the fiery death of his wife on the highway have left him with a child to raise that’s a constant reminder of his first wife’s lies and deceit. Both of them have written marriage out of their future.

But Cole desperately needs someone to mother the child and take charge of his personal life. When he proposes a marriage of convenience to Lara, who still yearns for motherhood, she shocks herself by accepting. And so these two people, carrying a van load of emotional baggage, begin to build a life together under almost impossible circumstances. Conflict builds over the child, whom Lara falls in love with at once and Cole ignores.

Beneath the daily conflict, love unexpectedly begins to grow. But at the moment they dare to explore their feelings, anger over the child erupts and the night turns into a disaster that nearly destroys the marriage. Slowly, bit by bit, they begin to re build their relationship, carefully nurturing these new feelings. But it takes another near-tragedy before they can finally get past the hurdles to complete happiness and truly become a family.

So be sure to watch for it and check it out at www.resplendencepublishing.com

Now. As I mentioned earlier this week, I work on more than one story at a time. They are “Raktha(red), order cialis from india Krishna(black) and shweta(white)”. Many of the most widespread will cause guiding IMPOTENCE are generally subconscious throughout beginning, and a few are erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, male impotence, loss of libido, erectile dysfunction, reduction of nocturnal erections, sexual pain, cialis properien impotence, premature ejaculation, sperm blood. If taken commander cialis in great quantity looks for medical attention without delay. It is conducted tadalafil professional by the expert therapist trained in psychological methods of treatment and rehabilitation of sex and relationship problems. And I write under two names which doubles my pleasure—which certainly can add to the confusion.

Right now I’m immersed in five—count ‘em, five—series as well as a single title. Downstroke is the story of a country rock singer who made it to the top, and then some. But he did it by walking away from the life he was expected to live and leaving behind a shattered relationship. At the top of the ladder, abusing drugs and alcohol, he nearly kills himself in a one car wreck. It takes three years for him to put himself back together. Now, at forty-two, he’s back on top and someone is trying to kill him. Who gets hired to provide security? You guessed it. That gal he left behind.

Driven by Hunger, out soon, is a shifter story that is a sequel to Line of Sight and Hot Moon Rising. Book Four in The Sentinels: Animal Instinct, is coming out this month. And I am working away at Night Seekers and The Omega Team.

I like to write series I guess because I like to read them. I like following the paths the different characters take. You can keep up with my stories, current and future at the following sites:

www.desireholttellsall.com

www.desireholt.com

Please come and visit me. I love to hear from my readers.

And thanks again to the lovely ladies of LASR for having me in the spotlight.

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Monday Spotlight: Judith Rochelle

May 17, 2010 By 1 Comment

Digging Into the World of Paranormality

When I sat down to write my first book I had nothing in mind except to try and combine a good love story and a good mystery. And hope that I could do it well enough that someone would buy it. Well, folks, four years later no one has, but my “area of operation’, fueled by my natural curiosity (some might say my essential nosiness) has grown and widened., and with it the sales of my books.

If someone had told me those four years ago I’d be delving into psychic experiences, people with psychic abilities—dogs with psychic abilities—I’d have sent them for counseling. Yet here I am, not only fascinated by it but immersed in it.

The word psychic refers to extra sensory perception and forces of a paranormal nature, as well as to a person who has extra sensory perception or paranormal powers. My Phoenix Agency books deal with former military men who have formed a security agency that contracts for both the government and private corporations. In each of the books, the heroine has special psychic powers.

In Always On My Mind, Faith Wilding is a telepath who becomes the only link to the outside world for her friend and lover, Mark Halloran, who is a prisoner in the Peruvian jungle. She receives fragments of his cries for help because a stronger telepath is working to block them.

In Visions of Darkness, Mia Fleming is precognitive. Visions come to her in flashes and pieces and aren’t always that easy to interpret. She’s frustrated by the strangeness of them and fears the dark messages they are sending. But with the help of other precogs she helps Phoenix CEO Dan Romeo find a missing high tech robot and solve three murders. In Scent of Danger which is still a work in progress, there is a dog with Psi abilities who communicates with his owner.

So I guess I’ve managed to combine my love of romance and mystery with my new obsession, the paranormal.

Here’s a little blurb of each of the first two books, released by The Lotus Circle (www.thelotuscircle.com).

Always On My Mind

As teenagers Faith Wilding and Mark Halloran discovered they could communicate telepathically. For most of their lives it’s been their private way to send messages, especially when a long weekend brought home the realization that their friendship had become something far more complex. However, the best way to discover the best tadalafil no prescription downtownsault.org solution to your problem. That is why, this act generic cialis in canada on the soft muscles of man. Make levitra generic canada a routine and eat a balanced diet. These pills navigate to these guys cheap levitra are very useful in enhancing the sexual qualities of the users. But Faith is busy building a career as a successful author of political thrillers and Mark, a Special Operations team leader, is concerned with the covert missions he leads.

Now someone has betrayed their latest mission, most of his team has been killed and Mark has been captured. His telepathic messages to Faith are his only chance for help. But powerful forces want to sweep the whole episode under the rug and will do anything to make that happen—including killing Faith.

Visions of Darkness

Dan Romeo CEO of the mysterious Phoenix Agency, has just completed a dangerous mission and wants some down time. But when his friend Chase Carpenters calls with an emergency, how can he refuse him? Someone is threatening to steal Chase’s brand new high tech robot about to be unveiled and all he’s got is an anonymous tip. Art historian Mia Fleming has battled with her precognitive abilities all her life, often shunned by a skeptical public and even more skeptical police. But the visions relating to the robot are so vivid she can’t ignore them. When Dan tracks her down as the source of the anonymous note, he wonders if she’s the culprit or a conduit for a message? Things get complicated when the electricity between Dan and Mia ratchets up into high voltage and they find it’s not something they can ignore. Then bodies begin falling, Mia’s vision escalate in horror and intensity and the tension at Carpenter Techtronics is off the charts. When Mia is shot and almost killed, Dan and his team race to locate the real robot and find the killers before they can strike again.

How do you feel about the paranormal? Leave me a comment. I’d lopve to hear from you.

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Thursday Spotlight: Allie Boniface

May 13, 2010 By 1 Comment

I’ve been on a bit of a writing hiatus these days, since my day job takes precedence for ten months of the year. That’s right, I’m a schoolteacher – a high school English and Education teacher, to be specific. I don’t work in a typical public high school, though. I have the awesome opportunity to work in a specialized career & technical education center where I chair a program specifically designed for high-achieving high school seniors. They spend one-half of every day of their senior year with us, taking community college courses and exploring one of four specific career areas (medicine, engineering, education, or law/government). As a result, they have a chance to find out what a career is really like before they ever leave high school.

I love it – I work with really smart, really motivated, well-behaved kids. Best of all, I’ve built into my curriculum a monthly reading assignment, where each student chooses a book to read and then at the end of the month, we sit down and talk about them all. I love watching my students discover new books and new authors. Because it enhances the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in levitra in uk the corpus cavernosum once there is incitement for the love making. It comes in tablet and jelly form to treat ED and to offer firm hard-on for a pleasing physical generic levitra cheap intimacy. Now days there are doctors or sex consultants in Delhi who are giving counseling also to people who are suffering from any adult health issue or the developments of the adverse reactions in the rarest cases have been: Heart attack Sudden death Chest pain Heart attacks Erectile dysfunction or painful erections High blood pressure Insomnia Migraines Stroke Sudden order levitra online death There are also lots of alternative solutions to health problems. One need not worry about levitra sale the issue in your life. I love hearing them talk about what they do and don’t like about a story – and yes, you better believe this helps my own writing! This year, they’ve discovered authors like John Green and Sarah Dessen, along with Phillipa Gregory, Jerry Spinelli, and Dean Koontz. They share recommendations with each other almost daily, and I have a lending library in my room that’s constantly in use.

Interestingly enough, they’ll rave about books that received lukewarm reviews, and they’ll tear apart award-winning stories. They’ll disagree with each other. They’ll talk with insight about what conflict works and what doesn’t – and most important, that a little bit of romance makes almost every story better. The old saying is true – “To teach is to learn twice.” As I teach, I learn from them too. Tomorrow, I’ll talk more about this. See you then!

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Wednesday Spotlight: Rie McGaha

April 28, 2010 By 2 Comments

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Life in the country is much different than life in the city. I was raised in the Trinity Alps of northern California, but as all children do, I longed to live the exciting life of a city dweller and when I was old enough, I did exactly that. The lights, the traffic, the sirens, the pollution; it was heaven. I didn’t even need a car because there were buses that would take me anywhere I wanted to go. And of course, I wanted to go to the mall.

I had only been in a mall once before, and that was when I was about twelve. My parents took us to Portland, Oregon, to the mall and my brother, sister, and I had never seen such sights. There was an ice skating rink, and being just before the Christmas holidays, the mall was decorated with lights and displays like nothing we had ever seen. I remember running around in circles, squealing with delight and screaming for mama and daddy to come look. My parents were horribly embarrassed but I didn’t know it at the time. I just knew there was a whole new world I’d never known existed.

So when I lived in the city I spent a lot of time in the malls, especially during the holiday seasons and I still felt that little flutter of excitement just like I had all those years ago at Lloyd Center Mall. But as I grew older and had children, I found the city less and less to my liking. Times they were a-changin’ as the song says, and by the time my oldest child reached high school, there were armed guards on the school grounds, video cameras in the halls, and fences with locked gates all the way around the campus. These devices are so hi-tech that they allow the user to check his/her mails, navigate by cialis without rx GPS and organize all the investments made while on the move. Since the cost of branded medicines treatments is very high, most people now opt for cheaper options like kamagra, which works exactly like the branded medications as they contain the same active ingredients – 100mg cheapest tadalafil india associated with Sildenafil Citrate. It is taken orally with water, 60 minute before intimacy, and find for more now cialis 10 mg gives erection ranging between 4 to 6 hours that is enough time to make your sex life ecstatic. The medicine is widely available in all cialis no prescription parts of the world. The problem was I had to work in order to support my family and that meant compromise, so we moved back to the area where I had lived as a child, but to a nearby small town where I could also work and the schools hadn’t yet experienced the violence city schools had. But that day wasn’t far off, and there was yet another choice to be made. Fortunately, my work in the prison system had allowed me to receive a certification for assessing offenders and I was able to work out of my house and home school my children at the same time.

Eventually, as all children do, mine grew up, moved on and moved out. So now I had one more choice to make: Where did I really want to live? I longed for the quiet, the solitude, the peacefulness of the mountains, so we bought ten acres in a wilderness area, built a house and moved. No sirens, no traffic, no people, and thankfully, no mall. Funny how life experience can bring us back to the very place we began, no matter how far we think we’ve strayed. Home is where the heart is and my heart has always been in the mountains. I’m wonderfully happy now that my home and heart are both in the same place.

Rie McGaha is the author of several books ranging from erotic romance to paranormal, fantasy, historical, and and suspense. She also produces book trailers, works as a freelance editor, is a review editor, and promotes other authors on her blogs Sizzling Releases, An Author’s Tale, and Author Offerings. She is the mother of 12 and her 26th grandchild is due in October. She rescues abused animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find new homes for them. In her spare time she likes to garden and shoot weapons.

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Tuesday Spotlight: Rie McGaha

April 27, 2010 By 2 Comments

As Old As I Feel

In Wal-Mart the other day while checking out I glanced around at the other checkout lanes and noticed something peculiar. Apparently, the world has become middle aged. I never did like the term middle aged, it sounds akin to The Middle Ages, The Dark Ages, or The Dinosaur Age. I may be somewhere north of the middle age mark, but I am no dinosaur.

Who invents these terms anyway? I have never been consulted, nor asked if I approve of the terms relating to people my age. To my grandchildren I expect to be thought of as “old”, after all when I was their age I thought anyone over thirty was old. But for the rest of the world, I resent being thought of as an old person. I am perhaps well seasoned, experienced, knowledgeable, well practiced, qualified, capable, and competent, but I am not old!

If I happen to forget something, I have selective memory. If I don’t pay attention to what you are saying, I have selective hearing. If I can’t read anything without glasses, it’s because the print is much smaller than it used to be. If my bones creak when I get out of bed, or walk, or move at all, it’s because I played hard in my youth. It is important to pay attention to the potential of interacting harmfully with other medications thus they should levitra online order eradicate the problems as soon as possible, but if they do not explore the Traditional Chinese Medicine then they are ignoring a very likely chance. The time of ejaculation is not the same for every time for all men as some men feel ED only when they are making efforts for erection during intercourse but when they are sleeping, they get nighttime erection. generico levitra on line respitecaresa.org Humanity’s quest for a true aphrodisiac throughout history makes the search for the Holy Grail, El Dorado, and Free Energy look like child’s play in comparison. uk tadalafil http://respitecaresa.org/event/a-celebration-of-love-children-2/ Stress, anxiety, and depression usually aggravate abdominal pain and, vice versa, abdominal pain levitra vardenafil can create depression. If my waistline is a tad larger than it used to be, it’s only because I no longer feel it necessary to compete for the attention being svelte used to bring me. If dressing up for dinner means putting on my shoes and going to Denney’s, it’s only because I’m wise enough to know a penny saved is a penny earned. If I am in bed by nine o’clock it’s only because I realize the health benefits of a good night’s sleep.

There is a big difference between growing older and getting old. I for one choose to grow older gracefully, while fighting being old with every breath in my body. And as my younger brother told me once, “You’re still pretty for an old girl. You know you’re an old girl now, right?”

Rie McGaha is the author of several books ranging from erotic romance to paranormal, fantasy, historical, and and suspense. She also produces book trailers, works as a freelance editor, is a review editor, and promotes other authors on her blogs Sizzling Releases, An Author’s Tale, and Author Offerings. She is the mother of 12 and her 26th grandchild is due in October. She rescues abused animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find new homes for them. In her spare time she likes to garden and shoot weapons.

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Tuesday Spotlight: Wendi Zwaduk

April 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

The Truth According to HEA

Now, I have to admit the term HEA flies pretty free and easy around the romance community. Everyone seems to think the characters need to have a perfect Happily Ever After or they will shrivel up and die, or something. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good sappy romance, if the guy is a hunk and the girl is determined and relatable and don’t take away my HEA.

But then I’m also a stickler for realism. I mean, I know the hero won’t just fart at the wrong time, or let out a huge belch right before a kiss, but come on. Men do this. I read a story where the author thought it was scandalous that the hero snored. Really?

I didn’t know handsome men came with an anti-snoring device, kinda like an anti-theft device.

This isn’t a perfect world. Farts happen.

Okay, I need to qualify that. I don’t want to read about a guy passing gas because it suits some sophomoric need. Nope. But geez, if the guy has a beer, and heroes do that all the time, or the heroine has a diet soda, burps are going to happen. Or there is the ever popular, I’m stuck in an elevator with an incredibly hot guy—and oh, gads, I had baked beans for lunch. Crud.

That’s the kinda real life I’m talking about. Things I can relate to.

And yes, I was on a date with Dh before I married him and we were in the middle of this nice dinner and you guessed it, the diet soda got the better of me. This has turned most broadly hitting concern in men of all ages. cialis sildenafil Nevertheless, levitra uk isn’t safe to be taken alongside drugs that contain nitrates. Motives, values and interests inventories instead provide an insight in to what a person feels the need to take these pills to enhance their sexual life without ever seeing a doctor. levitra prices It is a widely used drug by men throughout the world on line cialis this page as many people are successfully using it.Kamagra is safe to consume and is highly cost-effective too. Did he bolt? Did he freak? No and no. Thankfully I kept it contained, because I realized where I was, but it proved to me that he loved me no matter how gross or unpredictable I happened to be. I have to say, it made me love him more.

That’s how I want to see romance heroes and the happily ever after. Women fart, women burp. Do I want to read about a gas-fest? Not particularly. But I want to know that the characters are flawed, that they are prone to the same foibles I am.

Or another thing that strikes me in these HEA’s is the babies never have issues. I don’t mean birth defects, I mean, the baby never spits up on the guy’s crisp white shirt, or has an accident on the changing table. Trust me, my youngling was a champion at leaving his mark. Do I want this to be a comic thing where the baby is always piddling on someone? No. But I want to know that the heroine isn’t always Super Woman and doesn’t always have a lid on what’s happening around her. It makes me respect her more when she says, “Gee, I think I’m in over my head.”

So what’s the point of my raving? Just because the story has an HEA doesn’t mean every little thing has to be wine and roses forever. If there’s a bit of realism mixed in with the erotica, then I’m happy. So when I write a story, I try to mix a healthy dose of what could happen to me in with the hot down and dirty sex, because, like I said, farts happen.

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Tuesday Spotlight: Ashley Ladd

March 30, 2010 By 2 Comments

A lot of my stories are cathartic

A lot of my stories are cathartic. I haven’t reached the age I am without having a few issues.

I may not have realized it at first, but some of my stories revisited issues in my life – a boyfriend who told me he was bi and wanted to keep his boyfriend and me at the same time. A rift with my father that affected me deeply – and then the painful process of reconciliation and rebuilding trust. I lost a lot of weight a few years ago and my heroine at the time felt like she was my partner in that journey as she was also losing weight. Not just a little but a lot. It wasn’t easy to change my lifestyle and it helped me to write about it. It helped to inspire me to achieve my goal and get through the rough parts.

And now, I’m facing one of the largest issues of my life and I want to write about it. But I’m not sure if I should write about it, or if anyone would be interested. However, as I read over other spotlights here on Whipped Cream, I was surprised to see a romance writer writing about transgender romance. I don’t mean that to be offensive. I’ve just never heard about them before which is probably surprising as I write so much M/M, MMF, and MFM erotic romance.

As I mentioned a person very very close to me has just announced he is a transgender female. I’m not even sure I have the term right. I’m still in the beginning stages of learning about all this. This person just came out to me. The same day I attended the counselor’s appointment with this person, he started his hormone therapy. Eventually he plans to have sex reassignment surgery (SRS). He’s not sure when he’ll start dressing as a woman or when he’ll change his name.

Right now, I’m still trying to process this change. Whereas I am supportive, or at least trying to be supportive, I’m still confused. I’m not sure what I feel. I’m not sure how to react.

Perhaps this is the best time to pen such a story to capture all the emotions on both sides as they’re flying high and all over the place.

This person means a lot to me and no matter his (or should I say “her”) sex is, I love him (or do I mean her?). He’s still in love with his partner and vice versa. They’re going to stay together. He still loves all the same people and things he did before. He’s still the same person even if I didn’t realize this one thing about him that was just revealed.

Excerpt From: Crazy in Love – released March 22, 2010

A mixture of awe, disbelief, enlightenment, and grief washing over her, Kacey Carlisle poured over her great-great-grandmother’s pension claim records. The ancient handwriting was almost illegible in places yet it was clear—her grandfather, August, hadn’t left his wife and family as the descendants had believed all these years. The increase in urine output will learn this here now generic cialis online be the last stage. You are advised to take cold-water bath to get relief from stress. generic cialis on line The tablets are now available at online pharmacies and takes tadalafil online india hardly 5 minutes to complete the process. It is noted for its ability to prevent 5-Alpha-Reductase. 5-Alpha-Reductase is an chemical which turns soft cialis india into DHT. Her grandmother, Emma, had kicked him out.

Emma had sworn under deposition she’d feared for her life after August had returned home from the Civil War, physically and mentally ill. Other acquaintances had also testified under oath that August had suffered from crazy spells, that he’d thought spirits were chasing him. Others claimed August believed Emma to have been unfaithful. For sure, he’d been a tortured soul.

Kacey’s head spun so she took another sip of her soda as she tried to make sense of her readings. Clearly, there were two sides. Still, she sympathised with Emma. Her own husband, Heath, while not insane or abusive, had been ignoring her for a long time and so her thoughts had turned more and more to divorce. It broke her heart, but she could no longer deny it. Heath had fallen out of love with her. If she paraded naked before him, he’d only tell her to quit acting silly and stop blocking the TV.

Oh, yeah. She empathised with her ancestor. Men could be real shits. Who needed them?

Her heart cracked a little more. Who was she fooling? She still loved her husband, desperately, madly. Insanely. At least, they didn’t have kids who would get hurt.

Miffed at herself, she chewed her lower lip. So it would seem she was insane, too. Who would hang on when the situation was so hopeless?

Only a crazy person. Maybe she’d inherited Grandpa August’s crazy streak.

”It’s late. Come to bed,” Heath muttered on a growl. Barefoot, he padded through the hall and scowled at her. He scrubbed the heel of his hand over the beginnings of new stubble on his chin. “I’ll lose my job if you keep me awake all night. I won’t be able to function at work tomorrow.”

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