Summer Sweat or Winter Chill?

Yeah, I know it’s winter, and we’ve just survived ice apocalypse 2013 where I live and now we’re experiencing the Polar Express. But we don’t have it as bad as many parts of the country. I thought the picture of the Dallas Arboretum in summer would maybe warm everyone up today.  I’ve always considered myself more of a winter person than a summer girl just because the temperature in Texas gets so freaking hot. When the temperature climbs, higher than 98 I’m indoors. The heat makes me cranky, irritable and I hate to sweat. The feel of sweat trickling down your back and your hair sticking to your head makes me want to shower again. In the summer, I’ve been known to take more than one shower a day, just to get the sweat off.

Being an outdoor person, when the temperature climbs so high it’s miserable, I have to stay indoors, and that’s when I stop liking summer. In the winter, I’ve always felt like you can add more clothes. Yes, it can be bundle some, but still you can get comfortable once you have enough layers. Before I hurt my ankle, I loved to ski. There is something about being outdoors, in the pines, gliding through the snow. My husband and I like to hike in the winter, even when there’s snow. It’s fun to walk the back country and spend time outdoors.

#PlottingPrincesses: Who's in the house? Rayne Golay!

The PP Gals welcome Rayne Golay, guest author of The Wooden Chair. Hi, Rayne!

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? When offered early retirement, I jumped at the chance. Now I was finally free to pursue my lifelong dream to write. I procrastinated for a couple of years during which I traveled extensively with my late husband. I had all sorts of excuses why I wasn’t writing, among them that I didn’t have the right tools. Instead of going out to buy myself a PC, I complained that I didn’t have the right means with which to write. Part of the reason for why I dragged my feet was fear of failing at the thing I’d always wanted to do. When my children gave me my first lap top as a birthday gift, they removed my last obstacle. Now I had to do it, write. 

What are your three favorite books of all time?

“Middlesex” by Jeffrey Eugenides
“The Egyptian” by Mika Waltari
“The Senator’s Wife” by Sue Miller

Morning, afternoon, or evening person? I love the evening hours when all the have to’s  are out of the way. It’s happened that I get up in the middle of the night to write. There’s something both peaceful and exciting about the late hours when all is still, and I’m alone, just me and my characters.

Music--with or without? What kind? Quiet, quiet, genius at work! (LOL) Much as I love music, chiefly classical like Beethoven, Sibelius, Bruch, it intrudes on that space inside where my characters live.

Michelle Miles: How popular are you?

Photo courtesy Zimbio.Com

A few days ago, my son (who is 11) and I were running a few errands. One of the stops was the post office in which I was mailing a box of swag and a free book as well as an envelope with some swag. He held up the envelope and asked if that was bookmarks. I said yes and that they were for a reader.

Then the conversation went like this:

"Mom, how popular are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"In your book stuff. How popular are you?"

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. "I’m pretty much a nobody, son."

He didn’t seem to believe me. "But on a scale of 1 to 100, how popular are you?"

I laughed again. I guess to him I am SUPER popular because I have books and talk about writing pretty much 24/7. I’m sure my husband and son are sick of me. It’s all consuming. Just ask them. Poor guys.

When I didn’t respond, he said, "Like...are you a 60 or an 80?"

Bless his little heart. He thinks I’m that popular. I muttered, "More like a 20."

And then we had a long discussion about genre fiction. One of his questions was, "Why don’t you write science fiction or fantasy, Mom?"

I think that’s a sign, don’t you?

ESCAPING REALITY by Kathy Ivan

ESCAPING REALITY WITH A GOOD BOOK

I've had a lot on my mind lately that hasn't been writing related. The real world seems to be flexing its muscles and put me in a headlock and it hasn't been fun. Between job stress, deadlines, health scares with dear friends and associated other things, taking a little time for myself ends up at the bottom of the list.

It shouldn't. Not for any of us. Life's stressful enough—we can use a little escapism from reality. It's healthy for our psyche and our spirits. A fresh new book does that for me.



I can immerse myself in the life and times of people I don't know, places I've never been, or even a galaxy far, far away. Starting a new book is grand adventure for my mind. I get to know each character, care about their goals. I root for the good guys to overcome every obstacle the villain throws their way, urging them to pick themselves up and persevere.

SWEETHEARTS' CONTEST (DAY 2)

PLOTTING PRINCESSES "SWEETHEARTS' CONTEST"






For the next four days (Thursday through Sunday) we'll be posting first kisses here on the Plotting Princesses blog. Come back each day, read these wonderful little vignettes and leave a comment.

Why should you leave a comment? Ah, now that's the best present of all. Every person commenting between Valentine's Day and Sunday, 02/17/2013 at midnight EST will be entered in our Sweetheart's contest. The Prize: A brand new NOOK! Yes, you read that right. We'll be giving away a Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight including a beautiful pink cover, to one lucky person who leaves a comment. That means every single day you have a chance to enter—just by reading the blog post and commenting.

What's sweeter than chocolate at Valentine's Day? A new e-reader so you can read about love, romance, and hope all year long. (Contest is open to U.S. Residents only.)

SWEETHEART'S CONTEST AND FIRST KISSES

PLOTTING PRINCESSES PRESENTS: SWEETHEART'S CONTEST AND FIRST KISSES (compiled by Kathy Ivan)





It's Valentine's Day and what better way to celebrate than with a first kiss. That special moment between two people, the attraction sizzling just beneath the surface, nervous, anxious, but needing a physical connection with another. Sometimes it's just a peck or a gentle brush of lips. Other times it's an all-consuming, lust-sparked wildfire.

In celebration of the most romantic day of the year, the authors at Plotting Princesses are gifting you (our very special readers) with a glimpse at the first kiss. These may be from books already published or may be from books in the process of being written, from both published authors and authors on the brink of publication.

Since we have such a plethora of scenes, we're dividing them up. For the next four days (Thursday through Sunday) we'll be posting first kisses here on the Plotting Princesses blog. Come back each day, read these wonderful little vignettes and leave a comment.

Why should you leave a comment? Ah, now that's the best present of all. Every person who comments between today (Valentine's Day) and Sunday, 02/17/2013 at midnight EST will be entered in our Sweetheart's contest. The Prize: A brand new NOOK! Yes, you read that right. We'll be giving away a Nook SimpleTouch with GlowLight including a beautiful pink cover, to one lucky person who leaves a comment. That means every single day you have a chance to enter—just by reading the blog post and commenting.

What's sweeter than chocolate at Valentine's Day? A new e-reader so you can read about love, romance, and hope all year long. (Contest is open to U.S. Residents only.)

PLOTTING PRINCESSES BLOG HOP!

The Princesses and some of our friends are having a Blog Hop!

At each stop along the way we'll give away copies of our books along with other goodies. We'll share recipes, too, at a different blog every day. To be eligible, leave a comment at each blog you visit. A new winner will be chosen daily at each author's site. At the end of the hop, one extra-lucky person will receive the Grand Prize.

Grand Prize: One lucky person will receive an ebook/print book from all 10 authors. Grand Prize to be announced on Jan. 12th.

BLOG STOPS EACH DAY ARE LISTED BELOW. (Click on the author's name to take you directly to their blog.

Monday - Dec. 31st ~ Alisha Paige
Tuesday - Jan. 1st ~ Vicki Batman
Wednesday - Jan. 2nd ~ Kathy Ivan
Thursday - Jan. 3rd ~ Michelle Miles
Friday - Jan. 4th ~ Karilyn Bentley

(We're skipping the 5th and 6th since that is the weekend.)

Monday - Jan. 7th ~ Liz Lipperman
Tuesday - Jan. 8th ~ Sasha Summers
Wednesday ~ Jan. 9th ~ Sylvia McDaniel
Thursday ~ Jan. 10th ~ Willa Blair (Guest Princess for a Day)
Friday ~ Jan. 11th ~ Lynn Rush (Guest Princess for a Day)


The more blogs you visit and comment, the more chances to win! So visit with a Princess every day and see all the wonderful books you might win.

KISSES, KISSES AND MORE KISSES by Kathy Ivan

Princess Michelle's blog from Tuesday about 80s movies got me thinking about some of my favorite movies from that era as well as more recent ones. We all remember certain scenes, lines and quote from movies because they're memorable. They resonant with us for a reason, whether it's because they make us laugh, make us smile, even make us cry.

So in my own roundabout way of thinking, my mind turned to movies and songs about that special moment between the lead characters, the unique moment that culminates in a physical expression of feeling, a visual and tactile scene bringing to live the romanticism we as writers endeavor to achieve in our audiences. Nothing portrays that better than a kiss.

I HEART BOOKS by Kathy Ivan

I was very fortunate. My lovely sister gave me Amazon.com gift cards for my birthday, so I could load up my Kindle Fire. Wasn't that sweet of her? Anyway, I ordered a few books I'd wanted to buy, from authors I know and have read in the past, which is always fun. But I want to try something or somebody different. So, in the spirit of finding new authors, I'm going to open up today's blog for your suggestions and recommendations.

If you are a reader, I want your inside scoop. Who are you currently reading? Is it a print book or are you into E-books?

If you are an author, you can list information about one (and unfortunately only 1) of your releases. We have to keep the space limited—if you post more than one book the additional ones will be deleted. To keep everything consistent and to keep my head from exploding from too much information, please follow the format below. (Hint: I'll list mine here, so you get an idea of what I'm talking about.)

TITLE: Desperate Choices
AUTHOR: Kathy Ivan
PUBLISHER: Carina Press
GENRE: Romantic suspense with paranormal elements
FORMAT: E-Book only
AVAILABLE AT: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Carina Press website, and wherever E-books are sold.

WHAT'S MY LINE? by Kathy Ivan

As writers and readers we are emotionally moved by words. Words make us happy. They make us angry. They make us think. We can be moved to tears, to laughter. We can even be moved to throw the book against the wall when it disappoints or angers us. But in every single case, without question, words make us FEEL.

Here are a few books that have memorable lines. I've put the book and author following it, but how many of you could have quoted the title and author even without the prompt?

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . ." (A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens)

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again." (Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier)

TEMPTATION THURSDAY with Kathy Ivan

It's Temptation Thursday, so I thought we'd try something just a wee bit different today. I'm going to list a few snippets from books written by some of the Plotting Princesses that are already published and available. So, if you read something you like below, you'll be able to go and buy that book instead of having to wait. Instant gratification! Buy links are provided along with the excerpts.

Ready. . . set . . . here we go!

MAGICAL LOVER by Karilyn Bentley
http://www.amazon.com/Magical-Lover-Draconia-Tales-ebook/dp/B005I63WW4/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_ke?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317258224&sr=1-1

His lids snapped open. “You’ve never done this?”

Uh-oh. He looked worried. Despite the shadows obscuring his face, she knew her virginity concerned him. After tonight it wouldn’t be a problem and there was no way she was stopping now. No way. He was hers.

ONE KNIGHT ONLY by Michelle Miles
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9619-one-knight-only.aspx

MY SECRET READING STASH

MY SECRET READING STASH

Pssst! I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

Are you ready? It's a big one.

Writers—are also—readers!

Long before we put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, we read. And read. And read. At some point along the way, I'm sure most of us said . . . It can't be that hard, I think I'll write a book. (Or we read a book that didn't end the way we felt it should and decided we could do it better!)

No, this blog post isn't about writing. Today it's all about reading.