New Voices

Entering this year was not something I was *always* going to do. After last year and the demoralising depletion of rose count I was determined this year I would sit on the sidelines and cheer on others. But as the months wore on, it became clear that this year's competition would coincide with a really difficult time for me personally. So I decided I would enter and use it as a distraction from reality. I had a hero in mind, one that has been nagging at me for a few years now. He's inspired by James Blunt's song "No Bravery". As soon as I heard that song, I knew I needed to create a hero who doesn't feel brave simply because of the job that he does, that's his duty--his life. But he will come to realise that his true bravery is the way he has got right back up after adversity and made new goals for himself and carried on simply living his life. And I guess that's what writing is like. Sometimes it sucks and you never want to pick up your metaphoric pen ever again but then at other times it's the only thing that keeps you sane and you know you'd only be existing, not living, if you never wrote again.

http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/Entries/92-Coming-Home

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Romy sneaking in here:

Thank you so much for entering this year, Catherine. Your hero is divine, and I'm so glad readers are getting a chance to meet him - and I'm really, really grateful that you're there to hold my hand!

I've been feeling pretty okay with entering this year. I wasn't worried about rose counts, and didn't pin my hopes on getting anywhere. I just wanted readers' feedback on my writing, and hoped for a passing comment from an editor or published author.

So why, when the moment came to upload my entry, did I feel sick? My mouse hovered over the "enter" button for an age before I finally steeled myself to do it.

But it's up, the nerves are gone, and now we can sit back and enjoy the rest of the contest. And there are so many really excellent entries this year, that we can keep busy reading, and reading, and reading ...

http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/Entries/89-Once-Upon-A-Time

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Congratulations to SONALI who has won a book from Natasha Tate. Contact us with your details via our 'Contact' link.

Author Spotlight - Natasha Tate

We're honoured today to welcome Natasha Tate, one of the newly acquired Harlequin Presents authors.

Welcome, Natasha! Take it away...

What is your writing process?
My writing process varies, depending on how close I am to my deadline. When I’m in first draft mode, I tend to write at a more leisurely pace. I find I spend time writing a lot of narrative and dialogue, trying to figure out what resonates, what feels awkward, and who my characters want to be. I typically write this part of the book while walking on my treadmill, and can log as much as 10 miles in a day. After I’ve written about half the book, it either takes off or I have to go back to the drawing board because I haven’t settled on my characters’ inner conflicts yet. If my characters are muddled, I have a really hard time moving forward. But once I’ve written enough to settle on a theme and my characters’ inner conflicts, then the writing really starts to gel. I abandon my treadmill and commit to having my butt in the chair because multitasking too much slows my pace. Sometimes, when the inner conflicts come to me early on, I can write a book in less than a month. But at other times, when I’ve danced around the theme for what feels like forever, it can take up to three months. My hope is that one of these days, I’ll be able to figure out the inner conflicts and theme before I’ve written 25K words!

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?

I am pretty type A in just about every area of my life. I set goals, have spreadsheets that track my word count, and would rather lose an arm than miss a deadline. I’m also a people pleaser, so I tend to be one of those annoying “turn-it-in-early” types. If I’ve got a four month contract, I set my weekly goals based on a three month schedule. That way, if something unexpected comes up (like that can’t-miss-it shoe sale), I can take a day off with upping my stress level too much. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that I grew up with a military father and suffered through a regimen of white glove inspections and demerits. I wake up at 4:30 AM in the morning at least five days a week to keep all my various plates spinning, and since I also have a full time day job, slacking off when I have time to write is just not an option.

Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?
I work out at a local gym in the mornings and I walk on the treadmill while I’m writing. I used to walk at the gym, but fitting writing into the day has meant that I can’t waste too much time on an activity that only works my body. So I’ve started running, just so I can burn the same number of calories in less time.

Do you believe in writer's block?

I believe that my writing only gets blocked when the story or the characters are blocked. If characters aren’t behaving in a way that is properly motivated, the writing stalls. I can still produce pages and word count, but the story doesn’t work and I don’t really move forward until I have a handle on how the characters need to change. So if by writer’s block you mean staring at a screen and producing nothing, then no, I do not believe in it. But if it means that you’ve hit a wall and you have to burrow through it through sheer force of will, then yes. It’s alive and thriving.

Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble?
Fortunately, I haven’t had to rely on real life incidents yet. I’m still relatively new and I have enough fantasy incidents that have been living in my head to populate stories for a while yet. But when those run out, I may have to start digging a little deeper for inspiration. I suppose in a pinch, my in-laws could supply a lot of fodder for my writing. They’re good natured enough that they probably wouldn’t punish me too harshly for exploiting them!

In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be?

Since I have so many friends who’ve entered the published ranks ahead of me, I think my expectations have been more realistic than those who plunge into the publishing world with little ramp up time. I will say, however, that I’ve had to adjust my time management a bit more than I expected, simply because there are other tasks writers must do in addition to writing. Now, I find I need to allocate time to updating my website, responding to fans (the best part of my new writing life yet!), mailing out books for reviews, and juggling all the various components of promotion. Before I was published, I had far more flexibility with my timelines. Now that I’m on a three books per year schedule, I can’t take a month off to focus on the day job. Things are a lot tighter than I expected them to be.

Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers?
I’m really, really fortunate to write for Harlequin Presents, which takes a lot of promotional pressure off of me. The brand itself sells better than anything I could singlehandedly do to promote myself, so it grants me a bit of breathing room to learn as I go. My first priority was to have a website built, and that took a while to find a designer (Rae Monet did an awesome job for me!), settle on a website that matched my vision and voice, and get it populated with content. Keeping that up to date requires a bit of time, so that’s always the first item on my promotional to-do list. I also have a blog and a twitter account, though those have taken the back seat until I finish this current book. I’m also presenting a workshop at the Emerald City Writers’ Conference this year with my good friend Candis Terry, so hopefully, that will help to get some name recognition for me and help me give back a little to the writing community who has helped me so much over the years. I’ve also created author pages on the amazon.com websites, Harlequin offers an author bio on their site, and I participate in various blogs as an invited guest. (Yeah Minxes!)

What is your top promo tip for other authors?
Definitely have a professional website built, and have it up and running before your first book hits the shelves. I believe that this is where readers will go first to find information about you and your books. Its value cannot be underplayed.

What did you learn while writing this book?
I learned that my voice actually works better with contemporaries than with historicals! For years, I’d focused on historicals to no avail. Discovering that I had the ability to write a book set in the here and now was a real eye opener for me.

What was the most fun part of writing this book?

The best part of writing this book was how escapist it felt. I love the whole Presents promise, and diving into a story that fit the line felt like I was playing instead of working! I loved layering in the drama, the glamour, the emotion, and the heightened sensual tension into my story. It felt like I was creating a wonderful dessert and a guilty pleasure all at once. Writing a story where two wounded characters find their way to love and forgiveness is a catharsis all its own, and I loved every minute of it!

And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?
Ethan’s honeymoon destination of choice would be the idyllic Caribbean island he purchased from Cate, of course! What better place to seduce his lovely new bride than the birthplace of their love?

Blurb from An Inconvenient Obsession:

The Carrington family's island is up for auction…

Now, that's an invitation Ethan Hardesty just can't refuse. This groundskeeper's son turned global entrepreneur has it all. All, that is, except a piece of the Carrington estate—the island that holds all his most pleasurable and painful memories.

Ethan doesn't count on the beautiful Cate Carrington handling the transaction—and providing him with the perfect opportunity to take her into the bargain. But toying with the woman who was once the girl he loved and lost soon turns from a game into an all-out obsession…

Natasha is giving away a copy of An Inconvenient Obsession to one lucky non-Minx reader, so don't forget to leave a comment!

Links to purchase:

eharlequin store

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Thanks so much for being here today, Natasha! It's been great getting to know you :)

Remember Me

We usually preserve movie reviews for Fridays here on Minxes, but in honour of remembering New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm breaking the tradition and featuring the film Remember Me.

Set in New York, this is a ponderous, atmospheric film starring Robert Pattinson and Pierce Brosnan, which centres around a family dealing with loss, each character handling the loss of a son and brother in a different way.

I found the film a little too slow moving, and spent most of the movie wondering just what the point was. The point is made clear in the closing two minutes of the film. Two minutes which pull all the film's strands together, give the entire movie a new twist, and leave viewers with an image so graphic and moving that you'll remember it long afterwards.

That final image is still clear in my head months after watching the film, and still brings a lump to my throat.

Our condolences to anyone who has ever lost a loved one, and to those who are gone: you will be remembered.

Storytelling Through Dance

Yep, once again I’m here to confess another obsession!

So You Think You Can Dance (US Version)

I’ve known about this series for a while (it’s in its 8th Season) but nothing really drew me to it until a few folks on Twitter tweeted about it. On a whim I tracked down a few YouTube clips and OMG, I fell in love!

Let’s just say I’ve seen “most” of the series and like the dedicated writer that I am, have totally fallen in love with the art of story telling through dance.

In case you start to think I’ve totally gone bonkers and need to be carted off by the men in white coats, in the recent Emmy announcements, SYTYCD got five out of eight nominations for its choreography alone and the show’s host, our very own Brit-grown Cat Deeley, was also nominated for best reality show host. So, really, it’s a great show…and I’m not crazy…just sayin’!

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a few clips that shows what I’m talking about.

My personal favourite and very effective in channelling the black moment: the “infidelity/heartbreak” routine.



This one is entitled (paraphrasing) "the ups and downs of falling in love"



Then the's the friends to lovers routine that gave me goosebumps when I first saw it...



Then to finish with my family’s favourite, the “girl power” routine. Watch out for Lady Gaga’s shoe at the end. My husband googled the band after watching it and now knows everything about District 78!



By the time this post goes out, I’ll know this year’s winner. Personally, I wish I could give two awards as I can't choose between Sasha and Melanie, but then again, I love Marko too so whoever wins I would make me extremely happy too.

Enjoy!

Author Spotlight - Scarlet Wilson

Today we welcome Minxy friend Scarlet Wilson, making her debut this month with Mills & Boon Medical. We love Scarlet and all we can say is: go out and buy her book!

Thanks for joining us here today, Scarlet.

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What is your writing process?
I work full-time and have two young sons with numerous evening activities, so my main writing process is doing as much as possible, in as little time as possible! I write 1000 words a day, mainly in my half hour lunch break. Writing everyday keeps me focused. Any research I need to do for my book I’ll do at night when I’ve got a bit more time for surfing the net. Any medical research I need to do I can generally do in a phone call. I’ve worked in hospitals, community and public health and I’ll generally know someone who can give me the answer to the question I’m looking for.

Everyone who writes knows it's not easy - what methods do you use to keep at it on days when it would be so much easier to go shoe shopping?
 It’s got to be a priority that fits into my life. As long as I meet my word count every day then I’m happy. Even if what I write is crap – I can edit crap the next day!

Keeping fit: Do you have an exercise regime to counterbalance all those hours sitting at a computer?
No I don’t. I’m inherently lazy and I’m starting to get fat!

Do you believe in writer's block?
Can I be controversial and say no? I think you can write your way through it. Even if you don’t like what you’re writing or think that it’s wrong. Even when I’m hideously stuck and have no idea what happens next in the manuscript I keep writing. If I do that, the characters tell me what happens next.

Have you ever used an incident from real life in a book? If so, did it get you into trouble? 

No. My imagination is much better than real life. I’ve yet to meet a George Clooney or Patrick Dempsey in real life. When I first found out I was going to be published, lots of people I worked with asked, “Am I in your book?” I resisted the temptation to tell them they weren’t interesting enough!

In what way is being a published writer different to how you thought it would be? 

There are still loads of things I don’t know. For some reason I thought being published would give me whole host of information that would mean I knew exactly what I was doing. It hasn’t happened. Sometimes I feel as if I find things out by accident. The medical authors have a group e-mail loop and they’ve been great when I’ve had any queries.

Promotion is no longer a dirty word. In what ways do you strive to reach more readers? 

I’ve built a website and a Facebook author page prior to my release. I’ve been blogging for the last 18 months on my own page and now have a spot on the eharlequin medical author blog every month. I like to join in the chats on the some of the online forums and comment on other people’s blogs. But I’m not a “in their face” girl. I’ve lined up a few spots on blogs for my first book launch but that’s it.

What is your top promo tip for other authors? 

Get online and speak to others!

What did you learn while writing this book?
That revisions are hard, really hard. I got the third set and wanted to give up. I felt as if I couldn’t deliver what they wanted. But I got two pep talks – one from my editor Sally Williamson, who must have sensed I was struggling and phoned me to talk me through them, and the other from Kate Hardy, another Mills and Boon medical author who gave me some really good advice.

What was the most fun part of writing this book? 

Seeing the story come to life. I could see scenes playing in my head like a Hallmark movie and wanted to get them down on paper.

And just for fun: what would your hero’s honeymoon destination of choice be?
Cooper would take Missy and their lovely baby to a beach front bungalow in St Lucia, with an inbuilt cook, nanny and masseuse!

The Blurb:
After one hot date…. Dr Cooper Roberts has a new job and the chance to begin a new life. What’s most definitely not in his plans? Waking up with his new colleague, Melissa Bell…And having to hold his head up above the dropped jaws of his fellow docs as he escorts Missy to buy a pregnancy test!

It Started with a Pregnancy is available to buy on Amazon and from Mills and Boon 

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Scarlet will be giving away a book to one non-Minxy commenter - so get commenting!