What's your Romantic Style?

Still celebrating my new release! Thanks for stopping by.

Textbook Romance is the story of Libby, a university professor who is decidedly anti-romance. Her mother, who became pregnant as a teen by the "love of her life", who promptly ditched her, has never given up on the foolish notion of The One, a quest that disrupted Libby's life constantly as a child.

And, to her undying shame, something very similar happened to Libby herself. The "love of her life" turned out to be just the "lust of her (and a dozen other women's) life", and she can't believe she fell for it. But only once. Now, Libby has learned her lesson, for life. Or so she tells herself.

Libby's life goal is to avoid romance. She can't stand the way people repeatedly lose sight of what's "important" for the sake of love, which she believes to be a sham. And Libby should know - not only is her academic work all about researching the roots of romance, but she secretly writes romance novels on the sly!

Enter Seth, an ex-cop with a teen daughter. Seth has a mom who taught him how Real Love is supposed to work. Widowed at a young age, his mother never stopped loving her husband and instilling in her kids the belief that real love takes effort, courage and dedication. Even after his wife left him for an internet crush, Seth still believes Real Love is waiting for everyone, as long as you have the fortitude to grad a hold of it.

Textbook Romance is about the kinds of romantic options open to us. Seth, and his mother, and their devotional approach to marriage. Seth's ex, who treats internet chat rooms like a man-market. Libby's ex whose life goal is to spread the love around as much as possible before he's put out to pasture. Libby's mom, with stars in her eyes, who never seems to find anyone but "Leavers." And Libby, who has seen so many Leavers, she forgot there are "Stayers," too.

I had a great deal of fun writing a romance novel that explores... well... romance. There are multiple "styles" of love going on in this book, with each character thinking their way is the right way, given the influences and life experiences they have behind them. It's amazing how our parents, friends, lovers, ex-lovers, kids, and so forth, mold our lives, and our approach to love.

I guess it's too personal to ask your style of love, but would you care to share your views on love, whether or not you think True Love even exists, or who influenced you as to what to do (or what not to do) in the Quest for True Love?

All weekend long, comments on these blog posts will enter you to win an ebook copy of my new contemporary romance novel, Textbook Romance, courtesy of Pink Petal Books. (18+ only, please!) Contest ends Monday, June 25, 2012, at 12pm EST.

Teacher Crushes, Anyone?

Continuing my celebration for the release of Textbook Romance, let's discuss something - falling in love with Teacher.

Now, Textbook Romance involves a mature student and a university prof who fall in love, but it isn't a "teaching the teacher" kind of book. I have nothing against those, really, but that's not at the core of this one.

Still, I have to admit there is a sort of special attraction to teachers. I myself had a couple memorable teacher crushes, particularly in high school when all the boys around me where less than intellectually stimulating.

One of them, we'll call him Mr M (just in case anyone puts two and two together in the vast interwebs of embarrassment), was at the tail-end of my senior high sentence. In retrospect, aside from his startling blue eyes, he was no heart throb, but he was so gorgeously intelligent. Being a word-inclined teenager in a very rural place, where most people considered the TV Guide their favourite literature, this was overwhelmingly attractive. He and I even went on a little field trip together once, to complete an advanced project I was doing in Library Sciences (yes, I was a dork), just he and I. sigh.

Alas, I was a chicken, and never said anything, and he, well, he was a professional adult who likely never even noticed me beyond the "enjoyable, well-behaved, keener-student" level. Still, Mr M has skittered around the edges of my imagination ever since.


Thanks to all those teacher-crushes, I developed a strong belief that intelligence and maturity are essential in who I see as an attractive person. School teaches us a lot more than we even realize at the time; way beyond Library Sciences.


So, stop by and tell me about your teacher crush in the comments below.


Remember, all comments here between Friday and Monday morning will be entered to win an ebook copy of my new contemporary romance novel Textbook Romance, courtesy of Pink Petal Books. (Over 18 only, please.) Contest ends Monday, June 25, 2012, at 12pm EST.

Very, Really, Actually

I use these words way too often, and end up doing an editing sweep especially for them. I don't know how or when they became habit, but I'm hypersensitive to them now, and they bug the hell out of me. Wasn't it Mark Twain who said to insert the word "damn" every time you are tempted to say "very"? "Then your editor will delete them, and your writing will be just as it should be," I think the rest goes. Really.

So, what are your no-no words?

Question for You: Submissions

Tomorrow, I will be posting about the submissions process, since that is basically what my life is about these days. Today, I want to know from writers what your favourite/least favourite part of submitting a query and/or a manuscript is.

Please, comment below!

Question for You: What's on your WIP List?

A "WIP" is a Work in Progress. You see writers of all sorts all over the net fretting and/or crowing over their WIPs - second only to our children (and usually somewhat above our Day Jobs), the WIP is the centre of our world. We are only as good as our current/next WIP - because these will, hopefully, be our future releases.

Yesterday, I actually got around to updating my WIP list on my website. This occasionally falls by the wayside, since working on my WIPs takes up so much energy, I often don't have time to talk about them! WIP lists are useful, because they help an author keep their projects straight, and keeps them on track by publicly shaming us if we don't finish them. It is also a way to note for readers that you are still active and working, and there will be more to come.

So, what's on your WIP list? Care to share a link, or note a few important projects? Comment below, and let us know about your babies! 

Question for You: What Are Your Fav Romance Epubs?

Hi folks!

With Draft 3 of the new novel off to readers, and Draft 4 to follow when I get that feedback, I am currently researching epublishers for the submission phase of the book's strategy for world domination. I have a list of suspects, and am going through them one by one.

So, my question to you this week: What are a few of your favourite romance epubs? Which have you worked with? Which do you buy from? 

Please, comment below, and share some great finds!

Question for You: What's Your Favourite Cover?

What is your favourite book cover?

Could be either a book you've written/illustrated or one you've read.

Come'on - brag about your cover artist!

Comment below.

Question for You: What's on your Editing Hit List?

This past week and a bit, I have been slaving away trying to whip my WIP into shape, scouring it for typos and plot holes, strengthening the little threads, and punching up the dialogue. This week, I'm opening up my dirty little editing secrets in a series of three posts exploring my worst weaknesses, but there are other little habits that I also have to watch for: forgetting to use contractions when necessary, using way too many purple adverbs, reusing phrases that I love a bit too much... The list goes on and on.

I think it's useful and important when a writer knows their bad writing habits, especially in editing.

So, today's question: What little foibles are you constantly fixing in your work in post-production or on the look out for during writing? If you are an editor or a reader, which bad habits do you hate most?

Leave a comment, and let me know what you think!