MY WISHES FOR YOU . . . by Kathy Ivan

This blog post really should have happened yesterday. Unfortunately, I have fried brain cells due to the flu and completely forgot I was supposed to do my New Year's post. So even though this is a day late, here it is. The sentiments still hold true—even if they are a day late.

With a bright and shiny New Year approaching in just a few days, most people are busy thinking about their resolutions; the things they plan to change about themselves or the things the want to do in the upcoming year. I've done that more times than I care to count. I start out with all the best intentions with my goals clear. I'm going to lose the rest of the weight I need to lose. I'm going to complete at least two manuscripts during the year. I'll work less and spend more quality time with family and friends. Don't we all promise ourselves we'll do those same things and more.

Then every year, before a few weeks are gone, so are those resolutions. Life interferes, work interferes, or in my case "laziness" interferes. :-)

So, instead of making resolutions this year, I've decided to make wishes. Not wishes for myself, but instead wishes for you, my friends.

Author Interview: Pri Ardis

Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing? I started on comic books…yes, I’m a comic book geek. Then I became a full-fledged book lover ever since my parents took me to this cool thing called the “public library.” I picked up this awesome book called “Nancy Drew” and never looked back. In hindsight, my parents were smart to take me to the library. No parent could have afforded my voracious reading habit—which is why I’m fully onboard with the eBook craze.

I’ve been writing since I first opened a composition book on vacation in India over ten years ago.  Those long train rides can leave you a lot of time to come up with a great story. I remember finishing that first novel and having a stack of composition books to stare at. It was then that I realized I’d have to transcribe it all onto the computer. That second draft took a really long time.

Priya Ardis

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? Since I started writing before graduating from school, I’ve always had a day job and a night job (writing). I really don’t know what my life would be like without a work-in-progress. Maybe I’d take up video games. I’m fascinated by how far gaming has come—how complex the storyline and the graphics have become. I’m a computer programmer and a writer so the mix of the two in gaming intrigues me.

In my novel, I love to mix up magic with technology. After all, what is life without a few gadgets?

IT'S TIME FOR PRESENTS!!!

GIFT TIME IS HERE!!!

We at the Plotting Princesses would like to thank all the wonderful readers and writers who stopped by our blog and read the interviews/articles and left comments. We had a fabulous turnout for our first Christmastime celebration, and the generosity of all of the Plotting Princesses warms my heart with love and gratitude that I can call all of these lovely writers my friends.

Below is a list of all of the winners whose names were drawn at random. Since most people didn't leave their e-mail addresses, if your name appears below, please e-mail me at Kathy@KathyIvan.com with your information—e-mail address and snail mail address so we can get your gifts to you right away.

Vicki Batman and a holiday gift!

Star in the Night

Every year, I go to a small town for their Candlelight Home Tour with four girlfriends for girl time ( 'cause we all know good girlfriends are the best psychologists), good food, peanut M&Ms, champagne cocktails, and most importantly, shopping. This special time kicks off the Christmas season for us.

Traditionally, after touring the final home, we head for The Enchanted Forest to see the Christmas trees, sponsored by local businesses. This time as I walked through the forty-ish trees, a beautiful, red, star-shaped tree topper entranced me. I pulled out my trusty Blackberry and captured it:

Isn't it gorgeous?

All of the sudden, my eye caught every topper there. I snapped pictures of those as well. Why stars on top of Christmas trees?

I found this wiki answer: A star on the top of the tree is representative of that star that led the wise men to Jesus.

Michelle Miles: Ugly Cancer, Pretty Words, Awesome Cause

My stalker-buddy, Vicki Batman, is amazing.

I should probably explain why she’s my stalker buddy. She and I attended RWA Nationals in Washington, DC. We were both president of our respective chapters and we somehow kept running into each other all over conference. I asked her if she was stalking me and the rest is history. We’ve been stalking each other ever since.

But back to the story. She’s amazing. She is generous and kind and giving. She goes out of her way to make everyone feel special and welcoming. She and I roomed at Nationals in New York City and had a blast. She talked me into being a Princess and boy am I glad she did.

It’s not just all those things that make her so amazing and special. It’s that she wrote a story to give back. She’s an author in the anthology, Lavender Dreams with her short story, “Taking Flight,” from MuseIt Up Publishing. All proceeds go to benefit cancer research. She wrote this story in honor of a friend who lost her fight with the ugly disease.

Author Interview with Kathy Bennett, A Deadly Blessing

Hi everyone!

I want to say a few words about our special guest today.

 Kathy Bennett and I became acquainted on March of 2005 when we responded to Clues-n- News e-mails to be critique partners. When we read each other's manuscripts, it was spooky over the similarities of our books. She went on to publish A Dozen Deadly Roses and Deadly Blessings is in the works to come to us.

I am so pleased that Kathy and I are much more than critique partners. We became friends who’ve weathered family crisis to job changes and overall life.  I treasure our friendship.

Please welcome Kathy Bennett…. Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing?  I’ve written most of my life – although my early ‘works’ were newsletters for my family.  In the eighth grade, I did an assignment that the teacher read to the class.  I left the story with a hook and when the class moaned because the story was over, a writer was born.

Author Interview: Janis Patterson on The Hollow House

Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing? Forever. I wrote my first book when I was four or so. As I recall, it was about a group of children who captured a lion which had escaped from the zoo. I hand printed about half a dozen copies, until I got bored and decided that writing new stories was more fun than ‘publishing’ them. In ‘real’ writing I started doing ad copy in my parents’ advertising agency when I was around twelve. Then in my teens I sold some short stories and confessions. I sold my first novel to the old Dell Candlelight Series back in 1979, which led me to being one of the original forty or so women who founded RWA in 1980.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance?  Not really sure I ever did. I did both for years, then quit to write for a while, almost starved to death, took part-time work sometimes. I quit writing altogether for almost ten years, since I had to earn real money to take care of my mother in what eventually proved to be her final illness. She was sick many years. I married for the first time and my mother died three weeks later. When my Navy Reserve husband was deployed to Iraq for the first time, I wondered what I would do with myself while he was gone. I had quit working then, as he doesn’t like me to work outside the home, and thought I might get a job. He said I should go back to writing, as it was the only thing I ever seemed to love doing, so I did, and here I am.

Who is your favorite author(s) and why?  Barbara Michaels, in any of her incarnations – Elizabeth Peters, Dr. Barbara Mertz. Her plots are stunningly intricate, her command and usage of language simply superb, her research impeccable – and all in an interesting, extremely enjoyable package! The woman is a marvel! (Long after I became a fan and had even sold a few books I was honored to get to meet her, and she’s charming. Oddly enough, we met through our mutual love of Egyptology instead of our writing careers.)

Tell us about your new book.

IT'S PARTY TIME

It's Christmastime with the Plotting Princesses. The fireplace has been lit and a crackling fire spreads a warm cheery glow. The stockings are all hung, filled with a multitude of goodies. The presents are wrapped and under the tree. White Christmas is playing softly in the background.

We think it's time for a celebration "Princess Style." In the spirit of the season, we feel it's better to give than to receive. So we're giving . . . and you lucky blog readers get to receive.

Beginning today, December 7th and going through December 20th, whenever you leave a comment on one of the blog entries, you will automatically be entered in a drawing to receive some fabulous prizes. We have some great writers lined up to blog throughout this timeframe and we're sure you'll love their posts.

What's on Your Christmas Wish List by Sylvia McDaniel

Yes, we are well into the Christmas season. Black Friday has come and gone and now we're on that roller coaster that takes us to the day the big man arrives. We're going to visit family and then take a quick, hopefully restful few days in the little town where I hope to someday retire. Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Nestled in the Rockies, it's cold and snowy, and we're going to go play for a few days. I will have a book bag with not only my notebook, but also my kindle. Can't wait to just rest, watch the snow and write.

So what are you doing as a writer/reader during this crazy holiday season to take care of you? How are you taking care of the writer? Are the holidays getting you off track and have you lost focus on the story you're working on? Are you keeping up with your daily page count?




As a writer, what do you want for Christmas? Don't give me the classic, cheesy line, a book contract. Yeah, we all want that. Do you have a wish list of presents and on that list, is something pertaining to writing? A list of books or a new Kindle, Nook or Tablet? A new reference book?

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS by Kathy Ivan

We've stuffed ourselves with all kinds of culinary delights over the last week, and if you're anything like me you ate way more than you should have and it's time to pay the piper. (Next step—visit to the gym, check.) Then there's Black Friday and all the hustle and bustle, fighting the crowds to find that perfect gift for your friends, family and maybe for that special someone in your life.

Just when you think things are going to slow down and you can finally catch your breath, it's time to decorate!

I think we each have our own sense of style. We dress a certain way. We like a certain type of art. Our homes are decked out with colors and furnishings that suit our tastes. But when it comes to decorating for the holidays, I always say . . . ANYTHING GOES!