Do I write 24/7? No way. #crafting #writinglife #hobbies

Would it surprise you to know, I don't write all day, every day. I'm a 9:30 to 4:30 writer. I have tons of stuff to do around my house and have to squeeze it in-today is fix the washer day; tomorrow is a new plumber coming to fix the dripping pipes under my master sink; somewhere in there is the a/c man to figure out why there is weird programming on my Nest thermostat.

I have other things to do too, like reading!! And I'm embroidering on a needlepoint pillow and a 12 days of Christmas lap blanket. I adore watching a good movie and stitching. I like stitching so much, I'd stitch in church if I could.

So I thought I'd share what I completed last year:

DASHING ALL THE WAY: A Christmas Anthology

#excerpt #giveaway

Good morning all! I hope you are all well into the swing of the holiday season (Hanukkah begins today!) and full of good cheer. To do my part for comfort and joy, I’ve got a short excerpt from my Christmas novella, “Up On the Rooftops, in DASHING ALL THE WAY: A Christmas Anthology with authors Celeste Bradley, Eva Devon, Heather Snow and myself!

Now, my novella, “Up On the Rooftops” is set in London, 1811, features a very Scottish heroine the likes of which I’ve never before written—a widow!

Michelle Miles: New Release!

I’m going to use this space for my shameless self-promotion.

On Friday, December 1, the second book in my Age of Wizards series released. ON THE HUNT FOR THE WIZARD KING is out for public consumption. I’m so insanely excited about this book. It took me nearly a year to write because these books are long and complex. But I’m happy with the way it turned out and I think readers will enjoy Sunnie and Caleb’s story.

Guest Princess Mary Morgan! #PlottingPrincesses #ParanormalRomance #TimeTravel #amwriting

Welcome to our guest Princess of the day, Mary Morgan!

Award-winning Scottish paranormal romance author, Mary Morgan resides in Northern California, with her own knight in shining armor. However, during her travels to Scotland, England, and Ireland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return. If you enjoy history, tortured heroes, and a wee bit of magic, then time-travel within the pages of her books.

Speed Round:

Favorite movie: Braveheart
Favorite book: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Last book read: The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo
Favorite color: Green

The Holiday Dupe #Christmas #presents #holidayboxedset

Recently, I conversed with someone who shared his hilarious Christmas remembrance. Every December, presents were piled around his family’s tree in the living room, but no one dared to enter unless there was company or on Christmas. On Christmas Eve, the kids opened one present. Afterwards, off to bed because Santa was coming. On Christmas morning, they opened the rest.

One year, he realized the packages under the tree hadn’t changed from the night before. Nothing new had been added. Nothing from Santa. And then he had this realization: his parents had lied. He’d been duped.

Off he went to confront his mother who danced around the subject and finally explained how all things Santa worked.

When I was younger, my family went to Grandmother’s for Christmas Eve celebration with my mom’s family. It was a joyous event with good food and a gift from Grandmother.

After my family returned home and we were sent to bed with the admonition “better go to sleep so Santa can come,” my sister and I decided to watch for Santa. The hallway to the bedrooms had a small jog to our room where we hid. Lo and behold, we saw Mom and Dad emerging from the bathroom which opened to the hallway. They were carrying dolls and plastic musical instruments. After a while, no more parents. So we watched longer for Santa. Finally, sleep took over and we plopped in bed.

Imagine our surprise the next morning when we went to the tree and saw the gifts Mom and Dad had carried, but nothing different. That was when we figured out they were Santa.

We’d been duped – in a not-so bad way. LOL

At what age did you discover all things Santa?

So what is new? Why Season of Magic, a holiday boxed set, is now FREE at Amazon and other e-retailers. My romantic comedy story is Holiday Disaster (Christmas + Bad Plumbing = Holiday Disaster). Here’s a bit about our stories:

Noel Noel Noel by Merry Holly ~ Dumped and lonely, is it possible to find love at the local mall? Noelle thinks not, but a chance encounter with Chase Clayborne while Christmas shopping has her rethinking her rigid set of rules.

A Cinderella Christmas by Cara Marsi ~ Jessica Gallo no longer believed in fairy tales or happy endings. And she certainly didn’t believe she’d find her Prince Charming at Saks Fifth Avenue. Her Fairy Godmother thought differently.

Matchmaker Matchmaker by Bobbi Lerman ~ With Chanukah around the corner, is there enough magic left for a matchmaker to bring Molly's cynical heart back to life?

Yuletide Bride by Gerri Brousseau ~ The Dowager Duchess’s decree that her grandson must marry before Twelfth Night or relinquish his title and fortune sends him into a tail spin. Without any prospects and with only two weeks until Christmas will Stuart Nelson find himself destitute or will he find The Yuletide Bride?

Holiday Disaster by Vicki Batman: The week before Christmas and all is in disarray when a librarian experiences horrible plumbing issues and a Mr. Maintenance Man who isn’t nearly as jolly as Santa Claus.

 

Join all our freebie fun at: Amazon  Kobo

Find Season of Promises for 99 cents at: Amazon

Find Season of Surprises for 99cents at: Amazon 

Follow Season of Anthologies at Facebook: Facebook   

Michelle Miles: RHS Marching Band State Bound!

Excuse me while I have a Mom Brag Moment.

Most of you know my son is in band. He plays bass trombone. For the band kids, their summer is over at the end of July when they start practice for the upcoming marching season. These practices are intense, let me tell you.

Before school starts at the end of August, they are out there from 8-11 am and then 1-4 pm and every other day 6-9 pm. DAILY. Then school and football starts. By the end of September, there are competitions every weekend with practice after school almost every day.

These kids work so hard. They are so incredibly talented, too.

On October 28, they had Area UIL Marching Competition. It was cold that day and windy but the husband and I were there watching and freezing. They did great in prelims and made finals. So back we went that evening. We sat through all 7 bands that night and FROZE OUR BUTTS OFF.

But it was worth it. Richland High School was not only named Grand Champions, but advanced to UIL State Marching! The last time the band advanced was back in 2012, so this is a pretty big deal. Birdville HS also advanced. We’re hoping to see both school in the finals.

Their marching show is awesome. I love watching them perform. The band directors are incredible and its obvious they love their jobs (and the kids!). It’s proof that all that hard work has paid off and they have achieved something only 35 other bands in their division have achieved.

They perform Wednesday, November 8 at 3:45 pm in San Antonio. I’ll be cheering and watching via the live stream. A lot of hours of practice and rehearsal have gone into this show and I just know they’re going to kill it. Go Rebels! 

The last days of summer. The first day of fall. #autumn #monarchmigration #Halloween

Summer drags on forever in the state where I live. Oh, occasionally, we get a cooler breeze and then pop back to the nineties, then a cool front, and finally, we settle into fall. Used to be in October, we would have lots and lots of rain, especially during the State Fair. Trying to find a decent day to go was a challenge, but that has changed.

And like all things, will undoubtedly change again.

What is fun for us in October is to watch for the migration of the monarchs. Outside my kitchen window is a huge lantana. It's the plant that has tiny pink and yellow flowers in a bouquet. It will even grown after a car runs over it. Mine is about six feet tall and twelve feet wide. A friend from my old neighborhood gave it to me right after we moved to this house. She dug and dug and finally, it came up with a raggedy root. She didn't know if it would live and if not, she had another to pass on.

I stuck my piece in a hole, tossed water on it and let 'er rip. The plant took off. And has continued to do so. I've moved babies to other spots. 

Most years, bees and butterflies visit it. This year, we had a lot of monarchs. My son had just commented on how large it was and maybe I should cut it back. Then the visits began. Truly a joy! And other varieties of butterflies came too.

And as if on cue, another front passed through, bringing a burst of rain. The butterflies moved on. And fall came.

Do butterflies migrate through your neighborhood?

Do you pull out a book when you hear the pitter patter of drops on the leaves? Try these--Temporarily Employed and

Temporarily Insane, the Hattie Cooks mystery series.  

Find all the fun at: Amazon

#99cents #SALE on Demon Lore by Karilyn Bentley

Just in time for Halloween, Demon Lore, the first book in the urban fantasy Demon Huntress series, is on sale for $0.99 until October 26th!! This is the first book in Gin Crawford's adventure of becoming the world's newest demon huntress. There are three books in the series out now (Demon Lore, Demon Kissed, and Demon Cursed) with two more coming out next year. Keep reading for all the fun details!

Blurb:

Gin Crawford has enough problems dealing with her empath abilities. Finding out she's the world's newest demon-slayer is the last thing she needs. Unfortunately, when she slips on a mysterious bracelet she is given no other choice. On the plus side, her new gig comes with Tall, Dark and Handsome, a mage who may or may not have her best interests at heart. Thrust into a power-play between good and evil, Gin must choose a side before she becomes the next victim in the ongoing battle.

Excerpt:

      The evil man-thing stands on my porch, his lips turning in a menacing smile of death. I don’t need to touch him to know he wants me dead. Muscles freeze, trapping my breath in my lungs. Like a rabbit in view of a wolf, I’m immobilized, waiting for death’s blow. Time slows, his gaze locks on mine, trapping me in place.

     Move, move, move! My mind screams as the man’s fingers twitch.

     But the spike of adrenaline explodes into my limbs too late to stop the backhand blow slamming across my jaw.

     I superman it halfway across the living room. Land on the hardwood floor in a thud of pain-ridden limbs. My jaw morphs into a screaming ball of nerves. My head no sooner hits the floor than I hear the bracelet scream, a high-pitched wail quivering through my skin like vibrations from a tuning fork. The bracelet tightens around my wrist, cutting off the circulation, and then it loosens with a pop at the same time I hear the door click closed.

     Ohgodohgodohgod, I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. No, no, no, no, no. Pain and terror hold me crumpled on the floor as my mind crawls backward in time.

     But I’m no longer a child, fearful of fists and words, cowering on the ground.

     I’m a fighter.

     My head spins, but I refuse to lie on the floor waiting to be killed, so I attempt to stand. Evil Guy laughs as I ass-plant it. Laughs as a moan escapes my lips. He takes a step toward me, right arm drawn back for a hit. His fist hurls toward my face, but I manage to block it with my left arm. My right arm, the one with the bracelet, shoves forward, slamming into his chest.

     His black eyes widen, mouth open in surprise, his hands fluttering to his chest before dropping. I stare at my hand, stare hard, for I’m as surprised as Evil Guy. The bracelet had become a sword, a long, thin spike of metal extending from the silver links, straight into Evil Guy’s heart.

     A sword?

     Definitely a sword. The flat of the blade rests against the back of my hand, cool metal heating from the warmth of my skin. Small silver links circle around my palm, lending stability to the two-foot long sword.

     I’m not sure which scares me more, Evil Guy paying me a visit or the fact the bracelet performed a morphing trick.

Buy Links:

Amazon | iBooks | B&N | TWRP

And if you like Demon Lore, check out Demon Kissed and Demon Cursed, the 2nd and 3rd books in the series. Enjoy!

Happy Reading!!

Where to find Karilyn:

Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Website  

Michelle Miles: How to become more productive in your daily life

I don’t often recommend products. When I do, it has to be something I truly, whole-heartedly believe in. I’m not a sales person (as evidenced by my own sucky book sales LOL) by any stretch. I’ve tried to sell jewelry and Avon but I’m…just…not cut out for that.

But there is one thing that has transformed me. Not just my writing life, but my life in general. I love to journal but sometimes those blank pages can be daunting. I love setting goals but I can never figure out how to achieve those goals. One of my big goals is to write full time, but I never really sat down to figure out what steps I had to do to make that happen. I mean, I know I need to write books. But how does that break down into achievable steps to get there?

One day I was skimming through my Facebook feed, as you do, and I kept seeing this sponsored ad over and over again. It hadn’t really stopped to look at it until one day, finally, I paused and really looked at the ad. It was for a journal, but a journal designed to help you reach you goals.

Huh. I was intrigued. I followed the link to the Facebook page here.

And then I ended up on their website.

Release Day! Bride, Texas

The Unlucky Bride!!!

What happens when seven authors get together and write a series about a town started by a jilted Bride. Come to Bride, Texas, where love cures broken hearts.

Flood waters and broken hearts…two jilted ex-lovers trapped in Bride, Texas

Laney Baxter’s ironic escape to Bride, Texas couldn’t be more fitting - considering she is a runaway bride! Unfortunately, her plans to hide out have her jumping from the frying pan into the fire when she discovers she is trapped with the one man who broke her heart years ago - Chase Hamilton! Now, she can only hope the rising waters recede just as fast before Chase uncovers the mystery of their past.

Chase returns to Bride, Texas to nurse a broken heart and re-evaluate his life. The family home along the river was supposed to offer him peace and quiet, not the last woman he ever expected to see again. When the river rises, trapping them together, Chase questions whether his heart was really broken or just his ego bruised.

Laney and Chase are forced to face some startling revelations - including the feelings they still have for each other. Can the two work through their tangled emotions before the river recedes, or will long hidden secrets tear them apart?

Available Everywhere! Click here!

Grounded in the Book World #setting #writingromance #amreading

Within the first few pages, readers want to know where the story is taking

place, what scholars call the setting. Setting draws a mental picture in the reader’s mind. It establishes whether the story is dark or light, small town,  big city, or country. What season of the year. What time of day.
One of my favorite romance authors is Emilie Loring who wrote stories back in the thirties and forward. While vacationing recently, I picked up Lighted Windows and written upon the first page is this:

Fifth Avenue. In that quiet hour before dawn when for a trifling interval the city dozes, it never sleeps. The gleaming asphalt, blanched to silvery whiteness by arc lights, stretched ahead illimitably between looming skyscrapers, phantoms of concrete and steel, brick and glass, shadowy and unread as the back drop in a pantomime.

Instantly, we know where the author is speaking of. The reader is transported to New York, and specifically, Fifth Avenue, a popular street, in the wee hours of morning when all is quiet.

Here are some sentences about setting:

Michelle Miles: Let's have some fun

Okay so. It's my day to blog and I got nothin'. It's been a whirlwind last month with the kid turning 16 (!!!) and marching band and everything else I have going on. So let's have some fun.

Here's a picture of my cat:

Caption it.

OR tell me a story about your favorite pet.

And go!

Yes, I'm Older, But I'm Not Dead Yet!!

This year when I attended the Romance Writers of America conference, I realized I have been attending these since 1991. Yes, for twenty six years I’ve been a member of RWA and attended their conference at least twenty times if not more in my lifetime.

But this time, when I looked at some of the same people who have attended year after year, I noticed how we are all aging. The only time I really feel old is when the body aches in a new joint or I’m short of breath or I can’t keep up. The rest of the time, I feel just like I did when I was sixteen. Hopefully a lot smarter than I was then, but the same age. 

That’s not to say that I don’t see the wrinkles around the eyes, the ones forming over my lip or that the girls don’t stand as high as they once were. But let’s face it, I’m not as young either. So that brings me to this month's post. 

Ten Things Not To Say to an Older Person

Finished the book. Want to read more? #lastlines #runtherace #memorablebooks

While the first line in a book...

hooks a reader into reading more, the last line determines how they will feel when they’ve finished. The protagonist has healed their wound, they’ve run their race and grown as a result. Mostly, we remember first lines and rarely, do we remember last lines. But we do remember how we feel when we finish. And sometimes, if the story is so compelling and we are overwhelmed by the emotions the story raised in us, we just might read that book again instantly.

Here's a famous one: “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.” From Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

‘It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.’ A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

This month, the Princesses bring you last lines.

Michelle Miles: Never Tell Me The Odds

Whoa. It's August. Hard to believe July is in the rear view mirror!

It's been a hectic one. The kiddo started driving for reals and I have significantly more gray hair. I started a new job in June. Summer band camp started. School starts August 21! And so beginneth the crazy marching season. I'm gonna be a crazy person by the time football/marching season is all over but that is TOTALLY okay. You know why? Because I love it. I *love* marching season!!

Yeah, I'm a nerd.

And to prove it further, the IT folks over at the new day job know it's for sure because I have the Millennium Falcon on my desktop and Daenerys as my login picture. It's a great icebreaker. "You a Game of Thrones fan?" Well, duh. "AND a Star Wars fan?" Double, duh.

I have this really cool Medieval Star Wars art up on my wall in my cubicle and it garners all sorts of comments. It basically combines two of my very most favorite things: Star Wars and the Middle Ages.

I stare at it often.

Hook and Reel You In! Hooking a Reader #wantingtoreadmore #greatlinesfrombooks #RLFBlog

“It was a dark and stormy night.” That is the classic opening line of the novel, Paul Clifford, published in 1830 by English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Often this sentence is mocked as being over the top or melodramatic.

“Last night I dreamt of Manderley again.” From Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and is often not thought of as setting the story up as a flashback.

So what is a hook? That’s usually the first line, or the opening line, in a story that is so compelling, the reader is hooked and keeps reading.

Sometimes, the first line is dialogue. Sometimes, not. Sometimes, the main character is in action and the story takes off with a bang. Sometimes, not. Whichever the hook is, this is the author’s opportunity to draw a reader in and ultimately, the reader will continue on reading way past bedtime into the wee hours.

Like you, I've picked up a book, flipped to the first page and read a little. That first part is what snagged me into wanting more.

I asked the Plotting Princesses to share the first three opening lines of their stories. Have fun!

Happy Independence Day!

Photo Credit: Pexels.com

Happy Independence Day!

Here in the States, we're celebrating our independence. It's a day off for most of us. A day for BBQ and fireworks and family time. The kid, husband and I are grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. We are likely skipping the fireworks because it's 1000 degrees outside and the crowds...oh, the crowds. I have a big problem with a million people crammed within two square miles oohing and aahing at the sky. Don't get me wrong, I love the fireworks but I hate the crowds and the five hours it takes to get home from said fireworks.

So we're gonna hang at the house and stuff ourselves silly. There is even homemade banana pudding in our future. We're going to watch some baseball and feel 100% all American.

Photo Credit: Michelle Miles

Oh and before I sign off... the most patriotic thing I've done in my life was watching the lighting of the faces at Mt. Rushmore while singing God Bless America and the Star Spangled Banner. There was so much national pride bubbling up in me, I nearly burst. Totally serious, y'all.

What's the most patriotic thing you've ever done?

Release day for BETWEEN THE DEVIL & THE DEEP BLUE SEA

It’s release day for BETWEEN THE DEVIL & THE DEEP BLUE SEA, the prequel novella to my new Kent Brothers Chronicles and we’re going to celebrate with a GIVEAWAY! 

This enchanting novella was first released last fall as part of The Haunting of Castle Keyvnor anthology, VEXED. That anthology was one of four such books, each featuring four interrelated stories set in Cornwall, but Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea also stands alone to bring you a tale of smuggling,  adventure, and, of course, true love.

In Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea our hero, Lord Harry Beck falls…into enchantment.

Guest Princess Tena Stetler! #Plotting Princesses #ParanormalRomance #amwriting #amreading

Please give Tena Stetler a warm Plotting Princesses welcome!  We are so pleased to have Tena as a guest Princess today. 

Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance and cozy mystery author with an over-active imagination. Any given day you can find her at the computer with paranormal creatures gathered around her telling their tales. Her books spin the adventures of magical kick-ass women and the mystical alpha males that dare to love them.

Speed Round:

Favorite movie: Avatar
Favorite book: Witness
Last book read: Immortal Unchained
Favorite color: Red
Stilettos or flipflops: Flipflops
Coffee or tea: Tea
Ebook or paperback: Ebook
Pencil or pen: Pencil

Favorite song: Roar

Streak or not: Not

Favorite dessert: Chocolate

Champagne or gin: Champagne

Paranormal or Historical: Paranormal

Ginger or Mary Ann: Mary Ann

Favorite TV show: Scorpion

Hot or cold: Hot

POV: Third

I'd die if I don't have: Pizza

Blurb:

To Donut or Not? The Dilemma #noteatinghealthy #funfood

Did you know I’m a donut fiend? I LOVE them. A Lot. I especially love cake and buttermilk cake ones the best. I even like the small powdered sugared ones. (Big confession: Handsome and I pick these up as we head back from vacation. He has coffee. I have milk. LOL)

But I’ve learned over the years not to eat them too often because of additional poundage in areas I don’t need additional poundage.

Cake Fail - if at first you don't succeed, go buy #happybirthday #newbook #boxedset #MFRWorg

I have baked for most of my life and especially so throughout my kiddoes younger lives. I even took cake decorating classes and always made sweet confections for family and friends.

And then there was yesterday. A cake fail.

I really wanted to bake a layer cake for #2’s birthday. So after I removed the finished layers from the oven and let them cool, I did what I always have done--run my spatula around the inside edge, set a plate on top of the pan and flipped it over. Half stuck. I was like OMG. I set a lot of the broken pieces on top, wondering if I could do something with the mess besides cake balls (not my fav). I eyeballed the second layer and repeat and flip and half stuck.

I was feeling jinxed.

Guest Princess Tina Susedik!

Please give a warm welcome to our guest princess, Tina Susedik!

Speed Round (one word only answer):

Favorite movie:
Favorite book: A Knight in Shining Armor
Last book read: Missing : The Lady Said No by Jacquie Biggar
Favorite color: Yellow
Stilettos or flipflops: flipflops
Coffee or tea: tea
Ebook or paperback: Both
Pencil or pen:Both

Favorite song: Thank You by Led Zepplin

Streak or not: Not

Favorite dessert: Chocolate

Champagne or gin: Champagne

Paranormal or Historical: Historical

Ginger or Mary Ann: Mary Ann

Favorite TV show: None

Hot or cold: Hot

POV: Third

I'd die if I don't have: Wear a bra

One Line Blurb:

Michelle Miles: What's your inspiration?

I don't really have a lot to blog about lately. I'm kind of in a funk. My day job is a stressful mess at the moment and when I have that sort of disruption, it really messes with my writing chi.

So I look for inspiration elsewhere. I'm fond of gardens. I have a Pinterest board devoted to them. I constantly find fun and new pictures to pin. I found this one this morning:

It fuels my imagination. And then of course, there's the art by Anne Stokes. She's amazing!

I just love her dragons.

My awesome husband is in the process of building a deck for the gazebo I had to have. I have big ideas for it. It includes a curved flagstone pathway leading up to with purple ground cover planted between the stones. I bought lights for around the top. In my wild imagination it looks like this:

I'm not sure if it will turn out like this, but I hope it does. :) Pinterest and I are good friends. Can you tell?

So what fuels your inspiration? What makes you happy and sooths the soul?

A Texas girl dishes on life in the Rockies - High Altitude Gardening by Karilyn Bentley

What I want my garden to look like

You know those perfect gardens and manicured lawns you see around big cities? They're pretty, aren't they? Unfortunately, those aren't available where I live. I guess if you wanted to hire a bunch of people to dig up rocks and plant flowers you might be able to make a go of a garden. Until the next herd of deer or elk come walking through it the next day, eating everything you planted.

When we first moved here, I wanted to continue having a garden like the one I had in Texas. Nothing much, just some veggies and a few flowering plants. I love growing my own vegetables, although the insects would always manage to eat them, sometimes before The Hubster and I could. I was super-excited to try out  my hand at gardening in the mountains where there aren't the same doggone leaf eating insects. So we went to the local gardening store and bought a flowering plant claiming to be able to live to -20 degrees Fahrenheit and a plant of chrysanthemums. I was determined to have them live and bloom. My front flowerbeds were going to look awesome! Then a lady walked up, chuckling, asked if we were new to town. When I said we were, she responded with a thought so, those plants should be advertised as deer food, only the new arrivals try to plant plants. I laughed, but was determined to get them to grow, to spread, to smell and look pretty. To prove that lady wrong.

Guest Princess: Suzanne Pearson #InspirationalRomanticSuspense #NewRelease #PlottingPrincess

We are thrilled to have Suzanne Pearson as a guest Princess today on the blog!  

Suzanne Pearson was born in the Congo to missionary parents.  After graduating from high school, she and her family moved to Eugene Oregon, where she eventually met her husband.  She didn't start writing until she was an empty-nester, and had the idea to write about a missionary in the Congo who gets into all sorts of trouble.

Suzanne, get ready for your Plotting Princess speed round interview!  Ready? Set? GO!

Failed Beauty Contestant #tiara #romanticcomedy #shortstory

I can hear you laughing way over here. Yes, I’ve been a failed beauty contestant, not once, but twice.

The first time was in high school in a program hosted by my hometown’s fire department. The real reason I entered was the $500 scholarship. I wanted to go to college and $500 would pay for a few semesters of community college. So I entered, wrote the essay, borrowed a black swimsuit, wore a sweet long dress of eyelet.

And didn’t win. In all fairness, I was selected from the 24 original entrants to be in the final top twelve. That part was cool. Picture in the paper! The girl who did get the tiara looked 24 not 17 or 18. She really looked like a beauty contestant.

Sigh.

A Literary Mulligan

In the game of golf, a quick do-over is called a “Mulligan”—a chance to make a fresh start, or repair a bad beginning. During the past few months I have taken a Mulligan for my first three romances—the Dartmouth Brides trilogy of THE PURSUIT OF PLEASURE, A SENSE OF SIN, and THE DANGER OF DESIRE. 

I’ve done them over from start to finish—from the covers (by the brilliant photographer Jenn LeBlanc at Studio Smexy, and talented designer Patricia Pickyme Schmitt) to new epilogues. I took the opportunity to make the writing fresh by revising and re-focusing the narrative in a way that I simply wasn’t capable of when I first wrote those stories six years ago.

But the best part of going over these stories were the characters—impudent, rebellious Lizzie, shy, studious Celia, and larcenous, brilliant Meggs. Oh, what fun it was to revisit the young women who had first prompted me to write romance. It was like visiting with old friends I hadn’t seen in years—the conversation started right up where we left off.

A #NewRelease for you! Demon Cursed is out now! #urbanfantasy #darkfantasy

 I'm excited to announce that Demon Cursed, the third book in my urban fantasy Demon Huntress series, is out now! Yay! Gin Crawford and Aidan Smythe are back for another adventure.

Here's the blurb:

Gin Crawford, the world's newest demon huntress, just wants to enjoy a football game, but finds herself hunting a serial killer minion instead. When his victims turn out to be the local football star’s female fans, she must determine if the player has joined forces with the minion, but her efforts lead her deeper into danger. When her mentor, Aidan Smythe, is attacked, Gin resolves to go to any lengths to save him, even if it exposes her most tightly held secret. Minions and demons, however, aren't the only terrors she faces. Will she realize the greatest danger lies within—before it's too late?

And no blurb is complete without the excerpt:

@lsfabre #Motivating the #Villain #mfrworg #amwriting #amreading

In more than one of the many writing classes I completed, the instructor would note at some point, “the villain is the hero of his own story,” the antagonist has as strong a motivation as that of the hero. In the opponent’s mind, what’s behind his/her actions is as compelling and just and right—albeit sometimes quite twisted—as that of the hero or heroine’s. This point is usually followed with a reminder to give the villain a chance to explain his/her deeds. A number of ways exist to do this:

- The story can switch between the villain’s and hero’s point of view

- A character may share what they know of the villain’s life to describe events that shaped him/her into the antihero

- Giving the villain a chance to explain their world view to the hero—usually while holding the hero or heroine at bay with a gun, bomb, or other weapon and often as part of the climax

In the two recently released stories, I chose the third method for both.

In my recently re-released Russian thriller, Saving Hope, the villain is someone the heroine trusted, and she finds herself negotiating with him to save her daughter’s life. At one point, he explains his actions as:

“I thought I finally had all I wanted, but you ran away. When I saw you with Ahmed and those other men, I knew I had to fight for you, or lose you again. I was the one who told them about the FSB. It almost cost me my deal.”

A Texas Girl dishes on Life in the Rockies by Karilyn Bentley #TWRP

I'm trying something different today. Instead of talking about my dogs in the Tales from the Crate blogs, I'm going to talk about Life in the Rockies. Why? Because, almost a year ago, The Hubster and I moved our family of one dog and various fish, corals and other critters in a salt water fish tank (almost all of which died during the move, the fish and critters, that is, not The Kraken or the corals) from North Texas to the Colorado Rockies. Needless to say, things are a bit different up here, and I'm not talking about the Rocky Mountain High. So, in case you are interested, here is a list of things I've learned since our move. 

1. Altitude takes awhile to get used to. Become accustomed to gasping for breath while walking anywhere. Having an upper respiratory infection makes this worse (as a side note, don't go skiing with a URI lest you find yourself suddenly unable to breath while hurtling down the side of a mountain. Just saying).

Freaky Weather Follies #MFRWorg #whatsupinyourneighborhood #winterblues

When we think of winter in North America, we think cold—right? At least for most of us and even then, there’s the weird stuff like the blizzard a while back in Georgia. Usually, the days are cold here, the heater is on to warm my feet, a light wool sweater, long sleeves. When going outdoors, I add a coat layer, gloves, and a scarf.

This year has been so different. What I described above was the norm until we hit mid-Jan. But no snow or ice, just a scare. A big rain and little drizzle stuff. Since, we’ve been experiencing early Spring, despite the groundhog’s prediction. Leaves from the bulbs are pushing through the ground. The shrubs and fruit trees are budding. My early predictor is my flowering quince which has been blooming for three weeks now—with bees.

Doesn’t seem normal.

Michelle Miles: 1001 Movies

There’s a really cool book called 1001 Movies. I have it. Because I’m a dork like that. The book is 960 pages of Moviedom, complete with a handy checklist at the front.  (It also helped the cover has Indiana Jones on it – my first true love.)

I spent two hours perusing it. It’s jam-packed with photos, a little synopsis of each movie and opinions by contributions, starting with a silent movie released in 1902: Le Voyage Dans La Lune (a.k.a. A Trip To The Moon). I can personally say I’ve never laid eyes on this movie but there are some iconic pictures that are widely recognizable. The Moon with the missile-like spaceship right in its eye, for example. According to the book, the movie “represents a revolution for the time” and clocks in at only 14 minutes. But at the turn of the century, there weren’t movie theaters like what we have today.

February - The Month of Love

February is huge for me. I have four books coming out. Am I crazy? Yes, sometimes I honestly think I am. But I am so excited about this new series. 

When Krystal Shannon asked me for an original story to put in her autism box set, I thought I had no ideas. Then I remembered. Several years ago I wrote a short story called Return to Cupid, Texas and I decided to go back to that little town. Once I started writing, the ideas started pouring in and now this little seed has grown to six books. Return to Cupid, Texas will have new stories unfolding for the next three months. 

But wait...the month starts off with the next Kindle World I'm writing in. A science fiction adventure set in Magic, New Mexico - which is author S.E. Smith's world.

Touch of Deceit comes out February 2nd and there are no links because it's in a Kindle World and they drop everyone's books at the same time. If you enjoy witches and aliens, you'll like the story of Petuna and Jaqarg. A witch who wants revenge. An alien with a Secret. A magic mirror that reveals true love. Come join the adventure.