Congratulations, Liese Sherwood Fabre, on Saving Hope's Book Trailer Win

Princess for the Day! Josie Brown & The Housewife Assassin's Guide to Gracious Killing

Princesses are found everywhere. This one appeared magically on the internet

and was instantly snagged. She has great fun humor and style!

Josie Brown

Josie Brown was the kid who never wanted school to end, because she loved her school's library too much. When she grew up she started out in advertising, segued over to magazine feature writing, then, when her children were teens, made the decision it was time to follow her dream and write novels. One of her novels, SECRET LIVES OF HUSBANDS AND WIVES, will soon be a dramatic series on NBC, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? I was a journalist who wrote feature articles: personality and celebrity interviews, articles on relationships, fashion, health, and home design. My agent approached me about a non-fiction book my husband and I had written.

When I asked him if he'd consider reading a novel I was working on, he said yes. I wrote the first 50 pages and book proposal as quickly as I could. It went out as a partial, and got offers from three publishing houses. That's when I knew I could do what I'd always hoped for: transition from journalism and non-fiction, to writing fiction. Since I've always written for a living, and freelance, I know the vagaries of the writer's life. 

Princess for the Day: Veronica Scott & TWO Books

 Sometimes, we spot writers who are princesses, too.

Today, we are happy to introduce Veronica  Scott.

Welcome!

Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library full of books as its heart, and when she ran out of things to read, she started writing her own stories. Married straight out of high school to her sweetheart, then widowed, Veronica has two grown daughters, one young grandson, cats and two novels currently available – PRIESTESS OF THE NILE (paranormal romance set in ancient Egypt, from Carina Press) and WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM (science fiction adventure with romantic elements, self published). Two more are in the submission pipeline so she walks around all day with her fingers crossed LOL!

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? I literally started writing stories when I was seven and never stopped. So I guess the writing actually came first! Of course I had to get a lot better at the craft and in the meantime, also had to pay the bills, so I kept the day job. Maybe someday I’ll be able to “just write” – that’s still my dream!

Blog : Vicki Batman-It's all SPARKLY!!

Handbag Mania - Enid Collins

Leave a comment and email for a prize drawing:

Margaret Smith handbag!!!

Several years ago, an Enid Collins bag caught my eye when I was sick and tired of the department store offerings of garbage bags, and I had to have it. Because…

My confession:  I ADORE handbags.

Yeah, most of you probably know that. LOL.

I know, I know, most women are into shoes. I would be except I have small feet--7 narrow--and shoes are hard to fit. And I have a bum right ankle; so heels are out.

But handbags... Sigh. I can put one over my arm, around my wrist, under my arm, or over my shoulder and am one happy camper.

So I began to explore eBay. (Uh-oh, you say, not eBay. We'll never see you again, VB. LOL.) I bid on an Enid linen and leather tote, entitled Cable Car and sat back and waited. Imagine me when I won!

When I Grow Up

by Michelle Miles

When I was a kid, my dream was to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader (they were classier then). I remember wanting that so bad. I took dance classes at Texie Waterman’s—the choreographer for the cheerleaders. When I had my Saturday morning ballet class, I remember seeing them coming and going. Or maybe that’s just a pretend memory (the kind that you wish you had, but I swear I remember that). I had the pom-poms and everything. I was so cool.

Several years later, I discovered Indiana Jones and then I wanted to be an archaeologist. Or at least his girlfriend. Who didn’t? He was hot. I think the thing about Indy was he knew what he wanted and he would go after it, no matter the cost. He was part alpha male, part beta. Brainy and sexy. Globetrotting. Swashbuckling. That was so cool! I wanted to do that when I grew up!

And then I discovered I would have to dig in the dirt and it wasn’t as glamorous as Indiana Jones. I’m not a fan of having dirt under my fingernails so that was a no. I don’t like the sun or the heat. Another strike against it.

Blog: with Linda Steinberg on The Book Was Better OR Why Read the Book When You Can See the Movie?

         

          Have you ever read an exciting book, looked forward anxiously to the movie version, and then walked out of the theater, slightly disappointed, mumbling, “The book was better”?

          Or have you watched a great movie, then rushed home to buy the book?

          Why? Why would you want to spend days or weeks reading a book when you can digest the same plot in a two-hour cinematic version?

          For many, the answer is, “I wouldn’t.” Movies and videos have become a staple of modern entertainment. They grab your attention quickly, hurl you into the action, and (hopefully) hold you transfixed for a short period. The value of developing a story as if it were a movie is now being promoted to novel writers. At almost every writer’s conference, a workshop is offered on screenwriting techniques.

          But not every novel is a good candidate for a movie, nor does every movie have the makings for a good book.

Under the Microscope: Christi Barth & Planning For Love

Hi, Christi and welcome to the PP where we stick our authors under the microscope and find out the nitty gritty!

Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage.  A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning.  Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes contemporary romance.  Christi lives in Maryland with her husband.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance, Christi?  I love that you assume I’m such a bestseller that I don’t have a day job! Sadly, I do still show up to work every day to earn my 4 weeks of vacation. But I write at night and force myself to hit my weekly word goal.

LET'S ALL WRITE TOGETHER -- By Kathy Ivan

We've had a lot of author interview posts and getting to know a bunch of new people lately, plus lots of blogs about writing and craft; so I thought we'd do something a little bit different and kind of fun today.

We're going to do what's called Round Robin writing. It's fun, quick and easy and everybody gets to participate. The rules are fairly simple and I'm listing them here.

1. Read the scene below—it's very short.

2. In the comments section, leave a comment continuing the scene in your own way. Please only write a maximum of 3 lines in your comment.

3. The next person should read the continued scene in the comments section. Then starting with the last comment posted, they CONTINUE THE SCENE, again writing no more than a maximum of 3 lines in their comment.

4. Each person who visits the blog continues the scene, writing their 1 to 3 line comment, advancing the story. You can take the story in any direction you want with your comments, but remember, you are trying to advance the story that is being written (not start something new). You can add in a suspense element, paranormal element, a sci-fi element, a steampunk element, whatever you'd like.

5. PLEASE and I can't stress this enough, PLEASE KEEP YOUR SCENE PG RATED. No explicit sex scenes for this round robin.

6. Feel free to come back as many times throughout the day as you would like, adding additional posts and continuing the scene/story.

Everybody is invited to participate. Whether you are a reader or a writer, we encourage you to leave a comment and add to the story. We all have vivid imaginations; let's see where they take us.

SCENE:
The loud roar of the speedboat's engine drowned out all conversation, though occasional laughter could be heard from the party's guests. A water skier zipped and whirled through the swirling wake behind the boat, one hand holding the tow line while waving frantically with the other.

Bumper Stickers

Okay, yes they're a little dorky sometimes but as much time as I spend in traffic, I've always enjoyed reading bumper stickers. That 12x5 piece of paper on the back of a car tells a lot about the person whose driving.  I'm not talking about the ones that say My Fifth Grader is an Honor Student at Nosedive Elementary School. I'm talking about the ones that say My Rottweiler is Smarter Than Your Honor Roll Student. Now what kind of person is driving around with that kind of bumper sticker? I would think it would be on the back of a truck, not a car and the guy driving would be large and in charge.

Who writes these? Do they get paid? Did you know bumper stickers could be ordered online?  Here are a few I thought were interesting and clean enough that I could share.