The Long and the Short of It is pleased to welcome Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz as part of the virtual book tour she is doing to promote her latest book Love Delivery, from MuseItUp Publishing.

She will be giving away a prize at each stop as well as a grand prize at the end of the tour, so check out her dates and stops here.

I asked her to tell us a little bit about Love Delivery.

“It’s a story about two very normal people struggling to find happiness despite the hard-knocks life has thrown their way. Just as they feel they’ve found something special in each other, an evil ex-wife, an adorable child, and custody battles intrude on the path toward love.”

Penny told me that it seems she’s always been interested in writing. Her father used to make up stories for her at bedtime and then, when she could start to write herself, it was natural to make up her own stories. She spent a lot of time reading and loved being able to be transported to new worlds and exciting places. When she was a senior in high school, she convinced her English teacher that she could write a novel instead of doing her homework assignments.

“I never quite finished it,” she admitted. “After I graduated, I tried submitting to magazines, but I really didn’t know what I was doing. Back then all the online support available to writers now wasn’t in existence. I was operating in a void with no one to ask how to do things. After a few rejections, I gave up until 1993. At that point, I wrote grants for non-profits and was asked to write a large grant for a large sum of money. I then decided to try again and took a correspondence course with The Children’s Institute of Literature. Shortly after that, I sold my first story, and it’s been ongoing since then.”

Penny’s daughter was her inspiration for her first book. Penny had been writing short stories and non-fiction articles for several years, but her daughter insisted that Penny wasn’t a “real” writer because she hadn’t written a book her daughter could hold.

“It was a challenge I couldn’t resist, so I wrote my first middle-grade novel, Ghost for Rent,” she said. “Unfortunately, she was too old to enjoy it when it finally got published. She did, however, invite me to be a guest in her classroom (she’s a grade-school teacher) to talk about being a writer. It felt really great to be able to do that.”

I asked Penny which came first for her—the plot or the characters.

“It changes for me. Sometimes I think of what type of story I want to write based on something that’s happened or something someone has told me about. Other times, I think of a character whose story is aching to be told. I’m not a disciplined writer, and I guess it shows in the way I work, which tends to be a bit haphazard.”

Penny’s office is a small 6×6 area with a wrap-around desk covering three walls. One window looks through her greenhouse out to her vegetable garden and fruit trees (when she’s not writing, she can often be found gardening). There are shelves on three of the walls which contain reference books, her supplies, and artwork by her daughter. She has a landline and a printer as well as various notebooks for taking notes. Her daughter’s artwork also adorns the walls, along with a calendar and photos of friends and family.

She also enjoys playing with her animals (she and her husband have two LhasaPoos, Ricky and Lucy, as well as cats), reading, crocheting, and she also goes to water aerobics and walks several days a week.

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“I can’t imagine not having dogs in my life. I had them as a kid, and my husband and I have always had at least two,” she told me. “This is the first time we’ve had only small dogs, however. I’d love to still have large dogs, but unfortunately, we’re getting too old to carry those big dogs up and down the stairs when they get sick or old.”

Ricky and Lucy like to cuddle next to Penny and her husband in bed at night while the humans each read on their Kindles.

When it comes to favorites, though, it’s a toss-up between dogs and cats. “I have both and love both. Both types of animals offer something different to me in the way of love and companionship. I think I’ll always have to have both around me.”

On a personal note, Penny told me that she hates how she looks in pictures. “It’s been a long time since I thought I took a good picture. Hate this getting older stuff,” she said with a grin.

Some things you might not know about Penny:

~her favorite pizza is a Greek pizza with feta cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, lots of garlic, spinach, and Kalamata olives.

~she’s definitely a night person. One reason she’s glad to be retired is so she can pick and choose her own hours.

~when she was a kid staying at her aunt’s house, lightning struck the side of the house. They ended up having to sleep downstairs on the floor.

~she still likes thunderstorms and can remember standing in front of a huge plate glass window mesmerized by the ferocity of a storm raging outside.

~she has to have her bedroom completely dark to get a good night’s sleep, while her husband likes a night light because he gets up with the dogs to take them out at night. Penny has learned to live with that small glow, but can’t sleep at all if the overhead light or even a bedside light is on.

Finally, I asked Penny, “What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?”

“I always encourage them not to give up. It’s important to have faith and believe in yourself. Ask questions of people who have already been published. Join support groups, even if it’s a social networking site like Facebook. I’ve met some wonderful friends from around the world there. Take online or community college writing courses. Be sure your work is edited, proofread, and professional before you submit.”

You can keep up with Penny on her blog, http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com,

It’s being held here, and at the LASR guest blog. 80 authors in all shapes, sizes and genres will be sharing with us over the next couple of days about love, writing, life and more. We hope you have fun reading their posts.

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NOTE: We need to be able to email our winners, so make sure you either have an email address associated with your profile or include one with your comments. If you don’t, you’ll be disqualified


Grand Prize winner will be drawn Monday morning, 8/1/11 and notified via email that day.

Donna Dalton back with more riddle poems for you and an excerpt from my romantic suspense, BLUE ICE, releasing Wednesday, August 3rd at The Wild Rose Press.

Did you figure out the answer to my previous riddle? It was a diamond. See if you can answer this one.

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Body heat and the spicy scent of aftershave enveloped her. Her pulse revved like an engine on nitro. Garrett Powell. For a geeky security alarm system analyst with a short rap sheet, he was good. Damn good. She hadn’t heard him approach. Hadn’t even heard him while he looted the upstairs bedrooms. Was she getting soft?

She pulled a box off the closet shelf and returned her focus to the task at hand. “Are you finished upstairs?”

“Yep,” he replied. “All set. You?”

She lifted the box lid and pushed back the lavender-scented packing paper. Italian leather gloves and silk scarves. Excellent quality. “Only this closet left.” She dumped the contents of the box into her sack. “Did you find anything worth taking?”

“A couple of Louis Vuitton purses and a pair of Manolos. Excellent condition.” His southern accent gave the renowned brand names a comical twist.

She smiled, amused, an emotion she’d been short on lately. “Anything else?”

“Some electronics…two cell phones, a Blackberry, and an iPod. And a nice vintage coin collection.”

The Texan knew his hot commodities. “Jewelry?” she asked.

“Ha. Can’t stop yourself, can you, darlin’?”

She bit down on a curt reply and shoved the box onto the shelf. No need in getting her temper up. She’d have to get used to such comments if she wanted to work with him in the future. The Texan had discovered her Achilles heel and appeared to enjoy poking at it.

You can check out my other books at donnadalton.net

Lindsay asked that I tell you all a bit about what inspired me to write White Savage (released through MuseItUp Publishing). Below is a shot taken of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, not too many miles from where I grew up. Now a national park, but this rugged mountain range was once home to Apache Indians.

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The view below looks out over the Valley of the Sun, Phoenix and the adjoining cities that have all run into one huge metropolitan.

The view could also be one that many years ago, Cochise and members of his band watched for the army that searched for them. And, if legends are true, descendents may still today, hiding away from the white man, living the old ways. Hikers, campers, hunters, even prospectors go into those mountains to never return and are never found providing fodder to keep the legends alive. Growing up in Phoenix and hearing those legends sparked my interest in the history, most particularly in Cochise, a man feared and hated and still respected by many. He wanted to protect his people and their way of life. Reading about him, reading books, watching movies of that time period all added to that interest. In many of them white female captives returned to their families were featured, but in only one did I see anything concerning a white male captive, taken as a child and returned. All of that combined with the cause of Cochise going on the warpath against the white invaders is the kernel that began White Savage.
For those that don’t know the history a white boy went missing. Cochise, along with a party of his braves including relatives and friends agreed to come in for a parley. A young Lieutenant, freshly graduated from West Point, accused Cochise of kidnapping the boy. When Cochise denied it, he called him a liar and ordered his men to attack, despite the white flag the Indian party came in under. Several were killed then, more captured and hung, but Cochise escaped.
This is a quote from Cochise. “We were once a large people covering these mountains. We lived well: we were at peace. One day my best friend was seized by an officer of the white men and treacherously killed. At last your soldiers did me a very great wrong, and I and my people went to war with them.”
The boy hadn’t been kidnapped, he ran away, but the lieutenant’s arrogance and bigotry ignited a ten year war. In 1872 Cochise surrendered for the final time, taking his people to the reservation where he died in 1974. He was buried in secret, the location of his grave never revealed. One last quote from a fascinating man.
“You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts.
Speak Americans. I will not lie to you; do not lie to me.”
In reading about the man and the history, White Savage is but one of several stories of my own growing out of facts. Where I live now in Arizona is so filled with history and what actual events don’t fuel my imagination, the geography does. In Twisted Wind (released through Swimming Kangaroo Books) the influence of the mining and cattle industry is the backdrop as well as how diverse the landscape. In a matter of miles you can go from sparse desert to dense forest and out to a high, treeless basin, so easy to do in a car, but mind boggling to think of doing it on foot or horseback. I live just a few miles from where one of the major stage lines ran and the ruins of one of the stage stops as well as one of the first railroads though the station house has been moved. The nearest town boomed in the early 1900s from the nearby mines. Prescott, mentioned in White Savage, is about twenty miles from me. The area where Clay finds Te could be just down the road, the mountains they run to not too far away. On fishing, hunting and camping trips I’ve seen the outcrop of trees and brush around a desert spring described in White Savage. The land and the history, the people are my inspiration.
Larriane AKA Larion Wills, two names one author, thousands of stories
buy links:
https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/
http://www.swimmingkangaroo.com with eight to choose from
my links:
http://www.larriane.com http://larionmusing.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Larriane-Wills/1535007230

for today those who send me an email, larriane@hotmail.com, will be dropped into a bowl–their name that is–for a drawing. first prize a pdf of White Savage. second prize their choice of a pdf from my back list.

Hello everyone, Rachel calling from the UK!

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Hi, and thanks for stopping by the Whipped Cream anniversary fun day! (Okay, I know that isn’t what it’s really called, but it’s early in the morning and I’m tired.)

I’m Karenna Colcroft, and I’ll be hanging out off and on today to talk about writing, romance, and releases…the three R’s. I’ve been writing erotic romance since 2006 and got my first e-publishing contract in January 2009. Since then, I’ve been published by e-publishers including Pink Petal Books, Ellora’s Cave, and MLR Press/Passion in Print Press. With the deforestation Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, crops are sildenafil soft tablets limited to Malaysia, Indochina and Thailand. This buy sildenafil without prescription last check may seem insulting, but it happens due to a variety of reasons. Some have buy levitra from canada even speculated that Pioli sabotaged the roster so that he could justifiably fire Haley. These sensitive cases have been failed to act on bed sexually. levitra free samples http://www.tonysplate.com/blog/index.php?itemid=15 I’m often hanging around online, but I tend to be pretty shy…in stark contrast to the books I write!

Have you ever looked into a mirror and wished it would show you something other than your own reflection? How about your soul mate? That’s exactly what happens to Ralie, a human woman, and Listrial, a Fae soldier, in my novella Reflected Love, which was released from Pink Petal Books in June of this year. Reflected Love is part of Pink Petal’s Spellbound Treasure line, a line of novellas based in a shared world created by the authors, in which people find true love through magical items purchased from Etienne, a mysterious woman who runs a shop (or website, depending on which world you’re in) called Spellbound Treasure.

You can find out more about Reflected Love on the Pink Petal Books website, or check out an excerpt on the book’s page on my website.

Given the tortuously hot and uncomfortable temperatures we’ve endured across the country lately, relief in any form is welcome. Glad Tidings, a Class of ’85 series romance, my holiday release from The Wild Rose Press takes place in the cooler months of the year, between Halloween and Christmas Eve.

Good morning all! I’m so happy to be here today with all of your celebrating four wonderful years with the LASR/WC crew. Congratulations on your success and here’s to so much more!

I’m Lila Munro, purveyor of realmantica…romance with a bent and a healthy dose of realism. Who am I beyond that? Well, many things actually. Military wife, mom, friend, pet lover, college graduate, marketing director to Rebel Ink Press…did I mention military wife? That’s a biggie insofar as how it influences my writing. Most of my stories, but not all, revolve around military heroes and their heroines. And that experience only serves to give those tales that realmantica twist I boast of. In fifteen years I’ve lived in several states and Okinawa Japan, have moved endless times, and have endured deployments, happy reunions, and sad memorial services. I’ve lived through the dark nights and come out the other side of that endless tunnel to tell the tale. With my nest now empty I devote my time to working on my career in writing and fostering my other career in working at Rebel Ink Press. That takes up most of my time, but when I’m not doing that I enjoy a caveat of exciting things. The more sensitive aspects are the prescription drugs and the generic cialis cheapest effect of the drugs tend to last longer. #4 Take action After you have set your goal, you need to learn the right way on how to stop premature ejaculation naturally. Minimal invasions are now opted for surgeries and the incisions are approached from the under arm, breast or chest are done to avoid the complications associated with levitra 40 mg http://hartbuildersinc.com/html/outdoor.html, there are other, more natural options for the temporary cure of erectile dysfunction, Following the popularity of levitra in the mid-1990’s, many companies began marketing natural alternatives to the popular drug. So, the first step to subconscious pain relief is actually hartbuildersinc.com levitra sale building up awareness and communication with the subconsciousness itself. Finding gout best price levitra pain relief to alleviate and not aggravate your medical condition. Beach trips to watch the recon Marines doing their workouts, museums, hole in the wall book dumps, shopping for Vera Bradley accessories, lunches out with my girlfriends, and research. Yes, I love research. Well who wouldn’t when it involves all manner of naughties to include but not limited to strip clubs, tat parlors, Adam and Eve and leather stores. And let’s not forget the endless research attained through hours of reading hot romances by all the best writers?

I hope everyone enjoys being here today—I know I plan on having a good time. I’ll be featuring my Identity series through my blog posts that will include some advice on the tools of the trade and buying chairs and giving pebbles. Intrigued? Stick around things should be pretty interesting around here. If you’d like to know more about me after today you can keep up with me at www.lilamunro.weebly.com . I blog regularly, have a few fantabulous guests a month (to include some of the Goddess Fish gang), and you can sign up for my newsletter there. Happy reading!

LilaMunro

Almost two decades ago now, I walked into a billiard room and ran smack into something I thought didn’t exist…love at first sight. No, really, I did. He was six and a half feet of pure sexy male, leaning on a pool stick, waiting to hose my cousin for all of his money. His mischievous bright green eyes peered across the room, zoned right in on me, and shot me through the heart with his devil-may-care grin.

Okay, okay…it wasn’t love. But it was that spark of attraction where my woman instincts kicked in and warned my heart that man would be mine.

What came after surprised me. What happened wasn’t in any of the romance books I read. Wasn’t spoken of once in any of the juicy stories told around the girl’s night table. Heck, never even seen in a movie.

We didn’t play a game of cat and mouse with each other. There were no “evil” females waiting in the wings to chase me away and take my place. There wasn’t even an antagonist with wary plans to have him move halfway across the country.

No, he took me to his parent’s house. We bowled, ate pizzas, hiked, went to movies, and…hung out. I found out he hid his shyness with the hot grin I took for cocky sureness. That twinkle I assumed was mischievousness…it’s a natural zest and joy for life in general. Not only that but I found out the cool red-head was, in fact, a geek himself. We became best friends over cheesy B flicks and Japanese television. This AC/DC lovin’ man trusted me with his — now don’t tell anyone — secret love for Chicago.

What’s more, I learned he dreamed of fatherhood, always wanted to live near family, and loved Valentine’s Day. Looking back, I realized I had a wonderful romantic story that was probably closer to fairytale than, well, fairytales.

Why weren’t more authors writing about this kind of romance? Why weren’t these true Princes ever told? It was crazy. It was insane. It was…an opportunity. Sometimes the world around the characters are so chaotic, the romance doesn’t have to be. The romance, in turn, can be the stabilizing force for both main characters. The one thing in their crazy world that keeps their compass on target.

I guess, in summary I’m trying to say…love doesn’t have to be difficult. Love is an exhilarating experience that — when finding the right person — should bring strength and sense of wholeness and rightness to one’s life. That should be celebrated more, don’t you think?

In my debut novel,Duty and Devotion, coming out next month from Desert Breeze Publishing, I worked in a romance similar to mine for one of the sisters. Yes, there’s a bit more hesitancy on her part than was ever in my relationship…I mean, come on, it is fiction, it is space, and it is set in war time. Poor Nettie has a lot going on in her life.

But, her romantic build up is with someone who’s both a peer and a friend. And even though she freely admits his attractiveness, they share a light and funny camaraderie that supports her through some very tough times with the strength of their friendship. In the beginning of the story she thinks she’s fallen into love in two of the stereotypical places: the strapping yet reserved leader and the mysterious and sexy dancer.

In the end, love was right there all along…in a friendship that hadn’t blossomed to its full potential. Below is an excerpt showing this relationship. (Watch out…warning there are a couple curse words and suggestive terms. These are soldiers, ya know.)

Excerpt:
The three waited just long enough for the Commander to exit the training deck before they did a little dance and hugged. Kaitlin picked up both Nettie and Jenny and tossed them a few feet before she headed towards the locker. Nettie ran and jumped on Kaitlin’s back, piggybacking into the locker room with Jenny practically skipping ahead of them.

“Don’t celebrate too soon…we’re on our way in,” a voice taunted behind them.

Nettie slid off Kaitlin and turned to see James Northman standing at the simulator entrance. Man, he knows how to work the hotness. Tall and fit with dark auburn hair and piercing green eyes, he stood with a confidence that bordered on cocky.

“Don’t get overly excited, Northman. Wouldn’t want ya coming down with blue ball,” Nettie hollered.

Northman’s laugh echoed through the large simulation room. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll remember it.” He blew her a kiss and turned to enter the simulator.

“Ugh, that guy drives me crazy,” Nettie grumbled. Giving another appreciative glance at his fit rear-end, she headed into the locker room with the other two.

Kaitlin chuckled and started to strip. “Well, he and his crew are good. If it’s not us getting first, it’s them.”

“It’s us more,” Jenny defended.

“Damn straight,” Nettie agreed. They high-fived each other.

*****

“Lunch is always so exciting,” Nettie picked at her pasta-like meal with suspicion.

“We’re out in bum-fucked universe. What do you expect?” Jenny forced a bite. Her scrunched face gave enough information.

Kaitlin plowed through the meal and downed some water. “What? It’s good.”

“You think this is good? What do you all eat on Jupiter?” Nettie asked, incredulous.

Kaitlin looked up, her pink and purple eyes swirling as she paused to think about it. The cartilage around her mouth tightened. “Hmmm. Oh, this and that I guess. Our taste is underdeveloped so…pretty much anything that can go down tastes fine.”

Someone tapped Nettie’s shoulder.

“Well, looks like you won today, but only by a slim percentage.” James leaned against the booth, his head in between her and Kaitlin.

“Well, maybe next time,” Nettie held her smugness in check.

James smirked. “No comeback? Is war over? ‘Cause I know hell region froze over.”

She nudged him lightly and chuckled. “Shut up. Fair’s fair and you were sportsman enough to come by.”

James gave her a wicked smile and winked. “Well…I did have an injury.”

“What happened?” Jenny asked, a flicker of worry in her eyes, before Nettie could stop her.

James laughed. Nettie and Kaitlin stared at their friend, waiting for her to remember. Jenny finally caught on and groaned. “Oh, you are such a sicko. Outta here you perv.”

“Quick bite first?” he asked. “We ran over, hence the second place.”

Jenny handed him her plate. “Just take it.”

“Thanks, lovely.” He took it, winked at her, then tossed an amused grin at Nettie. “Catch ya next time around.” He ruffled her hair and headed off to his crew’s table.

“What an ass.” Nettie straightened her hair into place.
******

Well folks, I hope you all enjoyed both the guest post and the excerpt. I’d love to know what you all think of the friend-to-lover scenario in writing.

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More Information:
Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer
Email Contact AmberNorris2000@yahoo.com