Blog: Wearing the PP Crown today is guest Delaine Roberts & Running to You

Hi, Delaine and welcome to

the Plotting Princesses.

Let's jump right in and

get to know more about you!

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? I’ve always played around with writing. During my Master’s Degree program, my professors suggested that I explore writing. I decided to listen to them. So many things happen in my day job as a Medical Sales Rep that I think “that would make a great story!”

What are your three favorite books of all time? Palomino by Danielle Steel, Exposed to You by Beth Kery and Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.

Morning, afternoon, or evening person? Evening for sure!

Music--with or without? With!!! What kind? Pop and Jazz

First or third POV? First

Blog: Where are Liese Sherwood-Fabre and Vicki Batman?

Over here! *waving hands wildly* at the

DPL International Book Fair, 4/27 12-5

Founded in 2006 the Dallas International Book Fair is an annual literary event showcasing works by national and internationally acclaimed authors as well as regional and local authors representing diverse regions of the world. This family event offers artistic and cultural performances, film and book presentations, educational workshops and children’s activities. The goal is to promote a love for books, reading and literacy through multilingual and multicultural activities.

Hopefully, you can say hi, buy a book, get an autograph, just have fun.

The library is located at: 1515 Young St. Dallas, TX 75201

And for more information, go to: http://DallasInternationalBookFair.com

Blog: The Plotting Princesses' Guest-Eva Gordon & Apocalyptic Moon

 Today, the Plotting Princesses are handing off a tiara to Eva Gordon for a special author interview. Welcome, Eva. Sit back, hang out and let me peel you some grapes while we probe your thoughts.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance?  My day job used to be teaching high school AP Biology and Anatomy/Physiology and though I loved teaching, I caught the writing bug and was never cured. It all started when I began telling my students fictional stories about my life. I had my first fantasy published and I decided to quit teaching and devote my life to writing stories waiting in line to be told.

What are your three favorite books of all time?  So many, yikes. Hmm. I loved the Outlander series, Kushiel’s Dart series, and the Sword of Truth series.

Morning, afternoon, or evening person? Morning.

Music--with or without? What kind? Always music. Long Spotify and Pandora play list. The music depends on what novel. Heavy metal to classical. While writing Apocalyptic Moon, I listened to many renditions of The Walking Dead, Evil Residence and other soundtracks that reflected the zombie apocalypse mood. For Lycan Gladiator I listened to the soundtrack for The Gladiator and real ancient Roman music.

First or third POV?  Third person. One day I will attempt first person.

PP Guest: Tiffinie Helmer-EDGE

Hi, Tiffinie, and welcome to the PP where everyone wears a crown.

Here's yours and may I say you look fabulous!

Let's get to know Tiffinie!

How did you get from your day job to writing romance? I’ve always written romances, since I love a happy ever after. But it wasn’t until my husband finally finished college, and my last child of four entered kindergarten, that I started writing for publication.

What are your three favorite books of all time? Wow, this is hard. I have so many authors that I love to read. To Die For by Linda Howard, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, and A Grave Denied by Dana Stabenow. I have a love for sex, murder, and humor. Hmm…that about sums up the books I write.

Morning, afternoon, or evening person?

Oh, evening. There is magic at midnight.

Music--with or without? What kind?

Definitely with music. I actually chose music depending on the scene I’m writing. BEARING ALL is a spy story, and I wrote the whole thing to tango music.

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?

Blog: Vicki Batman-Stinky Cheese?

Stinky Cheese?

A while back, I told a girlfriend I was in a rut. I wanted to do some new things. Here's some ideas we explored:

Tatting-need more lessons.

Mah jongg-still learning, but have improved.

Basketweaving-class cancelled.

Crochet-liked, but went back to needlepoint.

Basic Plumbing-shall try when offered again.

But when this one caught my eye, I was all over it in a heartbeat. Cheesemaking 101.

The only thing I knew about cheese is eating it. But this store and the founder has a world-wide reputation. The Julia visited here. The cheese is served on American and Virgin airlines. The best restaurants use it.

The company is located in a reviving area of town. Part of the 100 year-old tile floor is in the entry. We signed our names, got aprons, hairnets, washed hands. The class, led by the founder and owner, started with the company's history. Then, we toured the facility with her describing the various cheeses in the cooler.

PP Guest: D'Ann Lundun & Desert Heat

         

A warm Plotting Princess welcome to D'Ann Lindun who is sharing a bit about her new contemporary western, Desert Heat

Have you ever seen petroglyphs? If not, I have to tell you they are the neatest thing ever! Carvings etched into rocks, hundreds, if not thousands of years old.

I have been lucky enough to see them here in Colorado and also in Arizona. Both times on trail rides, right next to the trail. I don’t usually take something straight from my life and put it into one of my books, but this scene is very close:

At the boulders overlooking the ranch, she dismounted and tied Zorro to a Palo Verde’s branch.  She gave his neck a quick pat and turned to admire the view.  Sitting back on her heels, she studied the land.  No one seemed to be around on the ranch, so she lifted her face and looked into the distance.  Even the brown cloud over Phoenix was less today.  The Superstitions looked like rolling green hills, thanks to the rain.  From here she could almost see to Mexico.   She noticed Canyon Lake in the distance and where Tortilla Flat should be, but she couldn’t see it from here.

Nothing jumped out at her, so she stood and moved to the rock with the Native American drawings.  Tracing her fingers over the rough surface of the rock, she didn’t see anything she knew.  A stick figure looked like a man, and another figure might’ve been a horse or a mule.  But she wasn’t sure.  Some symbols resembled letters, but she didn’t read Apache or whatever language they were written in.

Closing her eyes, she traced the marks again. 

Her fingers slid over rough granite, but nothing struck her. 

Something here had drawn her back, but what?  Just the mystique of the characters?  No, it was more.  She opened her eyes and stepped back. 

Then she saw it.