#PlottingPrincesses - 18 details with Amber Leigh Williams, author of A Place with Briar

Hi, Amber, and welcome to the Plotting Princesses. Let's get to know you better!

Amber Leigh Williams lives on the Gulf Coast. A southern girl at heart, she loves beach days, the smell of real books, relaxing at her family’s lakehouse, and spending time with her husband, Jacob, and their sweet, blue-eyed boy. When she’s not running after her young son and three, large dogs, she can usually be found reading a good romance or cooking up a new dish in her kitchen.

Favorite movie: Gone With the Wind
Favorite book: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Last book read: Waking Up With a Rake by Connie Mason & Mia Marlowe
Favorite color: Periwinkle
Stilettos or flipflops: Flipflops!
Coffee or tea: Sweet Tea
Ebook or paperback: Both
Pencil or pen: Pen

Favorite song: “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones
Streak or not: Not.
Favorite dessert: Strawberry cheesecake
Champagne or gin: Champagne!
Paranormal or Historical: Historical
Ginger or Mary Ann: I’m a Mary Ann.
Favorite TV show: Castle
Hot or cold: Warm.
POV: 3^rd person, hero’s!
I'd die if I don't have: My family and a good book.

Hadley Holt - Exciting New YA Author

Princess Kathleen is pleased to introduce, Hadley Holt, an exciting new YA Author.

Kathleen says, “I love Hadley's new serial, WIZARD QUEEN AT SIXTEEN. I’ve read all three books an I'm eager for the next book. Haven’t had this much fun reading since Harry Potter.” 

Welcome Hadley! TELL US a little about your series:

In a hidden world of wizards where only men hold the power of magic, one girl arises with the power to change everything, but only If she survives…

Adriana Victoriana Evangelista (Addie), daughter to the High Chancellor of the Wizard’s Council, has always been the perfect wizard girl. She never questions why men possess magical powers and women have no power at all, magical or otherwise.  

On her sixteenth birthday, Addie finds out she possesses magic. Under wizard law, she is a desecration.

Just as Addie discovers love, her fate sends her straight into the path of a powerful and evil sorcerer, but the worst danger of all may come from right inside her own home.

This series is about finding your own inner power and making a difference in a world full of magic and danger. Addie, her best friends, and the boy she loves will face a myriad of perils to save the world.

DESECRATION - Excerpt, Addie Discovers Her Magic…

IT'S ROUND ROBIN TIME!!! by Kathy I van

We haven’t done this in a long time so I thought it was time to do one again.
It's Round Robin time!!!

The rules are simple – Read the first paragraph then add your own spin in the comment section. (That means you have to click on the comments link directly beneath this post sand see if someone else has added to the story. Then just jump in and write your part.

You can come back as many times as you'd like and add as much as you want. Write a sentence. Write two. Write a paragraph. It's all up to you. The only caveat—please keep it PG rated, since we are an open blog and the little ones might read it. (Hey you never know who is looking at or reading these things LOL.)

We'll keep it going as long as you keep writing or until Wednesday night at midnight. So, make it unique, make it funny, make it scary, make it paranormal or whatever you want, just have fun!

HERE'S THE STORY:

#PlottingPrincesses # @VickiBatman - A Laugh a Minute

Laugh a Minute

You may have noticed my tagline: Vicki Batman, sassy writer of sexy and funny fiction.

I never thought of myself as being funny until a friend said something. I was like me? Really? I'd always appreciated books with humor.  And when another friend pressed in my arms #4 Janet Evanovich, I sighed with contentment after I read it, thinking someone who wrote what I liked to read. Naturally, I gobbled all of them up.

When I began writing, I noticed funny words crept in my work. And so did creepy witty dialogue. And I played havoc with internal dialogue. And found smiley faces in the edits.

After several of my short fictions were published in the True magazines, I let my girlfriends read them and watched and listened for their reactions. I saw smiles, snorts, giggles, ha's, etc. I knew then I'd done my job and done it right.

Finding a good funny word doesn't usually come through on my first draft. I have to work it-work it-work it. And when I go back later on and read what is there and it makes me smile--even after multiple thousands a gazillion passes—then I know all was done correctly.

So here's a treat from my funny romantic suspense/mystery, Temporarily Employed (coming soon!).

Michelle Miles: It's All In A Name

Sometimes I have trouble coming up with surnames for my characters. Other times, they come to me out of the blue. Not sure how or why but I think it’s my subconscious at work. Like in my urban fantasy Dream Walker series, my heroine’s last name is Walker. It was something I did completely subconscious and then realized how fitting it was.

In other cases, I pick specific surnames to go with the heritage of the character. Or they might have a particular meaning I’m going for in relation to the character’s personality traits.

Other times I’m just completely stumped.

I’m working on a new paranormal romance. It’s about a witch who returns to her small East Texas town after a ten year absence only to learn she’s there for a reason bigger than anything she expected. I couldn’t think of a surname for her aunt who passes away in the opening so I did what I always do when that happens.

Barb Han: My Writing Process

Thanks to author Diane Kelly, for inviting me to participate in the “My Writing Process” blog tour! Diane writes romantic mysteries featuring feisty heroines, quirky sidekicks, and sexy leading men, with humor that leaves readers laughing out loud. Diane’s manuscript for Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure won the Romance Writer's of America's  prestigious Golden Heart award. Visit Diane and learn more about her books at http://www.dianekelly.com/.

In this blog tour, authors share a bit about their writing process. Here are some details about mine:

1) What am I working on?  I’m working on a story that will help launch a new line for Harlequin, Harlequin Intrigue Noir. My story is about a female spy who has been assigned to go after one of her own. It’s darker, grittier, and sexier than anything I’ve ever written and I can’t wait to share it with you. The tentative release date is October 1^st.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Others have said I write action like no one else they’ve read. I love that.

3) Why do I write what I do?

What could be better than getting to orchestrate two people falling in love, or killing a bad guy on the page? I love writing romantic suspense.  

4) How does my writing process work?

My process has changed a lot since signing on to write for Harlequin. For my publisher to buy a story, I have to think through the main plot points in advance and give them an outline of the story with the first three chapters. I’ve become more of a planner and that’s been a difficult but great thing for me. The even better news is that they don’t make me stick to the outline strictly. Stories unfold for me as I write them and rarely end up as I initially imagined. The surprise is the best part.

I write every day, seven days a week and pretty much everywhere. If I find I’m getting stale (which basically means I’m not getting much word count) at my desk, I move to the living room on the laptop. I bring my laptop to carpool and kid sports (practices). I’ll go to the coffee shop if writing at home stagnates. Changing scenery tends to boost my productivity. Writing every day consistently also increases speed and quality. My writing brain is a muscle just like any other. The more I work it out, the better.    

  

Look for the “My Writing Process” blog tour next week at these author sites:

Robena Grant enjoys writing the ordinary heroine in extraordinary circumstances who coaxes the solitary hero into creating a team. Visit Robena at www.robenagrant.com.

RoseAnn DeFranco: Following the pursuit of a musical theatre career in NYC, RoseAnn DeFranco turned her creative energy to writing funny, steamy romance with heart which resulted in the BROTHERS OF AUDUBON SPRINGS series. Visit RoseAnn at www.radefranco.com.  

Diana Layne: A homeschooling mother of six, suspense thriller author Diana Layne balances her hours between nurturing her children and killing off bad guys. Visit Diana at http://blog.dianalayne.com/ 

Kisses, Laughter & Love -- Three Zany Stories of Love

The last weekend has been kind of crazy after spending time at a lovely readers event in Atlanta,
Georgia where I met so many new readers. So today, I thought I would share with you my latest Boxed set. Right now it's on sale for .99 cents, but that could change at any moment. The price will be $5.99 as soon as Amazon updates their files. 

This boxed set includes three of my contemporary stories, The Wanted Bride (my favorite), My Sister's Boyfriend and The Reluctant Santa. Here is the blurbs on all three books.