GET TO KNOW: CYNTHIA D'ALBA & Texas Two Step

This post is a stop on the TEXAS TWO STEP Blog Tour. For a complete listing of all stops on this tour, please visit here. All contests are for U.S. residents only unless otherwise noted. Comments left on this blog will be counted toward the Texas Two Step Faithful Follower Gift Certificate. To see a complete listing of Blog Tour Prizes, click here. Be sure to check out the freebies. Yours for the asking as long as they last.

Thanks, Plotting Princesses for having me today. It's not just another ordinary day at the D’Alba household. It's Texas Two Step RELEASE DAY! I’ll be giving away prizes all day on my home blog, so please encourage your readers to read my interview here, leave a message for a chance to win a digital book from Delilah Devlin, then jump over to ENALR and win something! There are hourly prizes, so lots to giveaway.

Okay, I’m all set…bring on the tough questions! J

Get to Know: Miriam Newman & The King's Daughter

Miriam Newman

Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been Miriam Newman's passion for as long as she can remember.  She was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug.  She brings that background to her writing along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services and many trips to Ireland, where she nurtures her muse.  Her published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance.  Currently she lives in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. 

THE KING'S DAUGHTER

AVAILABLE IN EBOOK/KINDLE

COMING IN PRINT 2/27/12

Have Whip, Will Banish by Michelle Miles

I bet you thought this was going to be about something kinky, didn’t you? You dirty-minded thing, you. ;)

Actually, today I’m writing about those ugly Doubt Demons. You know the ones. All writers suffer from them, whether we’re published or unpublished. (By the way, I wish I could take credit for the title of this post but it came from the most awesome Misty Evans.)

Mine looks like a big, hairy beast that stands six feet tall with a lot of sharp pointy teeth, horns coming out of his forehead, and an upturned nose. He’s ugly. Definitely ugly. And he smells like rotten eggs and sour milk. He stands behind me, drooling, telling me what an awful writer I am, how I’ll never be published again and that I should just give up because I’ll never be good enough or smart enough. He’s nasty and he snarls a lot.

“But I am smart enough,” I tell him.

Vicki Batman on...

Confession Obsession

My obsession is...handbags. I really, really love 'em. Clutch, tote, shoulder bag, carry-all, backpack.  And it isn't the very expensive ones either. I have bought one for as little as three dollars. I like distinctive. Here's a photo:

The word handbag works better for me. The old-fashioned term purses, a drawstring bag men and women used to keep their valuables in, never appealed to me.

Sasha: Happy Valentine's Day!!!

As a woman who spends the better part of each day considering all things romance and love, Valentine’s Day has a special place in my heart.

I remember the first Valentine’s Day card that meant something to me. It was 1983 and my class was making cards for art. I was in love with Jason Lynn, all the 3^rd grade girls were. He had floppy blond hair and big chocolate brown eyes. Everyone liked him, he was nice, athletic, and easy to look at.

GET TO KNOW: JANE RICHARDSON & "Edinburgh Fog"

Let's get to know Jane Richardson:

Hello, Princesses!  Thank you for having me here today.

Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing?  Off and on, most of my life in one form and another.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance?  I’m not sure that I ever did! My current day job is my children and their education – that’s been the case for some time, and will be for a while to come.  Other than that, many jobs I’ve done previously have involved writing.  I used to write training materials and video scripts, which I can tell you could range from the sublime to the ridiculous and all points in-between.

Sweethearts Candy

My fondest memories of Valentine's Day are from elementary school. Of course, I'm old enough to remember Valentine's Day parties and the little valentines you gave to your classmates. I have fond memories of going through my valentines to see what everyone wrote on the cards, looking for that special person in your class. Every year someone would give you a little box of Sweethearts, the heart-shaped candies with sayings on them. I remember putting a Kiss Me heart on the desk of a little boy that I liked in the third grade. He was my first boyfriend until Susan, that naughty temptress, lured him away.

For fun, I thought I would see if I could find some history on how these candies were created. Wikipedia had a full page devoted to these cute little candies. They began in 1847 when Oliver Chase invented a machine that cut lozenges from wafer candy. He built a candy factory and his brother, Daniel made a stamp that you could press into the candy with different sayings. At that time, the candies were made for weddings and had some unique sayings. The heart-shaped candies that we know didn't get their start until 1901. Every year, Necco produces over 100,000 pounds of hearts each day from February through mid January. In 1990, the company that owns the candies updated the sayings.

DeeDee's Dilemma

Okay, with a tiny bit of judicious editing just to get all the names consistent, the Plotting Princesses present: DeeDee's Dilemma.

The car sped along the deserted stretch of highway its high beams cutting through the thick blanket of fog swirling before her. The roadway was deserted as the blackness of midnight beckoned her. Her fingernails dug crescent-shaped gouges into the leather steering wheel, her hands clammy with sweat as a chill of fear slid along her spine.

"I can't believe I did that." She slid her hand up her face and into her hair, yanking off the wedding veil. "What was I thinking?"

The radio blasted out the latest techno beat, which she hardly heard, but nearly hid the trill of her phone--nearly. She glanced at it, noting the name on the screen. "Oh hell no," she declared into the empty space after letting the night take the device the flung from her window.

"What have I done?"

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT. . .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 try 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 scene below and the comments. Then starting with the last comment posted, they CONTINUE THE SCENE, again writing no more than a maximum of 3 lines in their comment.