Unlikely Romances

We were having a discussion on the Red Sage Readers loop about how a romance makes any story a better story, and how sometimes a story doesn't feel complete or satisfactory without a romance. This led me to think about some of my favorite movies that aren't billed as "romances," and yet the romance or love story is integral to the plot and the characters' actions.

One my favorite recent movies is Apocalypto. Yes, the story is violent, bloody, and gory, but at its core, it's a love story. The hero, Jaguar Paw, has a strong will to survive after his Amazon village is ransacked and destroyed and he is taken captive by the Mayan city-dwellers. During the attack on his village, Jaguar Paw is able to hide his pregnant wife and his son down a well. He knows he must come back to them to rescue them, and it's this love for his family that drives him to amazing feats of valor and cunning as he escapes the Mayans and makes his way back to his wife and son. His wife is no slouch in the bravery department either as she protects her son in the well. It's an amazing and gripping story of the will to survive and how love inspires this will.

Another favorite of mine, Braveheart, just happens to be by the same director, Mel Gibson. Again, he gives us a bloody, violent movie, but at the heart of it all is a great romance. Wallace wanted to keep a low profile when he returned to Scotland, but after the English murdered his wife, he had to avenge her death. The ending was incredible when Wallace is being tortured and he's able to tune it all out and focus on his dead wife moving through the crowd. When the King of England's daughter-in-law is discussion Wallace with her lady-in-waiting, the lady says, "I heard he did it all for his woman." Ahhh, romance.

So do you all think I'm nuts labeling these violent action movies "romance"? How about it? Where have you found an unlikely romance?

A Highlander For Christmas by Sandy Blair & Interview

Recently I finished reading A Highlander For Christmas by Sandy Blair and now it has a home on my keeper shelf. This book has everything--a sexy Highlander, a lovable modernday heroine, strong emotion and humor by the boatload. A couple places were so funny I literally laughed so hard I cried. I highly recommend this book! I bet you're wondering what exactly the story is about...


Welcome To My World
‘Tis the season to be jolly—but Boston antiques dealer Claire MacGregor isn’t looking forward to a solo Christmas, or cocoa for one, or trimming the tree by herself. But company’s coming. Claire is fooling around with an old puzzle box and when it opens...a gorgeous, studly laird appears. Thumbs down: Sir Cameron MacLeod is centuries old. Thumbs up: he doesn’t look it. And Cameron is tall, dark, and lusty—very lusty.

Come Away To Mine
Who is this lovely lass? And where is he? Before awakening in the 21st century in Claire’s bedroom, the last thing Sir Cameron MacLeod remembers was readying for war with a rival clan. Despite her strange clothes and odd ways, Claire is bonny and brave. He’s about to find out that love is a many-splendored thing indeed...


I'm happy to say Sandy agreed to stop by and answer some of my questions...


VS: Welcome, Sandy! Great cover! Do you have a review or two you could share with us?

SB: Sure. Here are but a few from print and on-line reviewers.

“A Highlander for Christmas is a sizzling, sexy time-travel romance generously spiced with Sandy Blair’s delectably sharp sense of wit.” ~ Chicago Tribune

“A HIGHLANDER FOR CHRISTMAS is beautifully written, and comes with a high recommendation. Sandy Blair is an author well worth getting to know.
~Romance Reviews Today, Jane Bowers

“Blair's readable style and brisk pacing add flair to a story sure to entertain busy readers in the mood for a short holiday charmer.”
~ Bookloons.com


VS: Wonderful reviews! What is the story behind the story?

SB: I was ½ way through A WARRIOR IN A KILT when my editor called and asked if I could change it to a Christmas story. I said sure, I’ll throw in some holly. “Uhmm, no,” she said, “You’ll have to change XY and Z to make it lighter fare.” (She’d seen the story line, knew I had a tortured hero.) Rather than make the changes she suggested (which would have taken a great storyline in a totally different direction,) I thought for a minute then said, “How about this...” and gave her my Boston antique dealer plot line, which had been percolating at the back of my mind for awhile. She said, “Great! Run with it.” And so A HIGHLANDER FOR CHRISTMAS came to be.

VS: Wow, that's interesting. Who is your favorite character in this story and why?

SB: Cam is definitely my favorite. Favored since birth, he plays as hard as he fights when the opportunity presents itself, hasn’t a modest bone in his body, is a man of his word and definitely a reiver at heart.

VS: I certainly agree with that. He was my favorite character in the story too. Thanks for being here with us, Sandy! Everyone, please visit Sandy's website at http://www.sandyblair.net/ and click here to read an excerpt.

A question for those of you who love to read time-travels, do you prefer books where a modernday person travels back in time, or one where a person from back in history travels to today? Or some other arrangement like time-traveling into the future, or someone from one historical era traveling to another? Me? I love them all and love variety.

One Wish by Calista Fox & Interview

Today we have Calista Fox visiting with us. She's sold several stories to Red Sage for the Secrets anthologies including IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT—Vol. 13 (July ’05), INTIMATE RENDEZVOUS—Vol. 17 (Dec. ’06), MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS—Vol. 22 (Dec. ’07), FOREVER MY LOVE (July ’08), SECRET RENDEZVOUS (’08) and a Single Title Release by Red Sage Publishing: OBJECT OF DESIRE. Her new story from eRed Sage has just been released. And she has a wonderful contest going on.

Nicole: Welcome, Calista! Please tell us about ONE WISH.

Calista: Jillian Anderson is at her wits end when it comes to the crazy mishaps and constant problems she encounters when she takes over her uncle’s bar, the Old Age Saloon. She’s up to her eyeballs in debt and bad luck. To make matters worse, Jillian has a bad case of unrequited love for bad boy Luke Parsons. They set the sheets ablaze at night, but by the light of day, Luke is as elusive as the eternal bliss her uncle had promised her when she took over the saloon.

But Sedona, Arizona, is a mystical place to live, and when a playful genie hopped up on spicy, tequila-laced pickles offers her one wish, Jillian finds she has to open her own heart in order to win Luke’s. Does the genie hold the key to bringing Jillian and Luke together forever?

Nicole: Mmm... a bad boy and a mystical place. What could be better? And I love the cover! What inspired you to write this story?

Calista: I was in this really great bar in Sedona one hot afternoon when the story idea struck me. I was having a drink and people-watching with a friend and I overheard some interesting conversations that really got me going. If you’ve ever been to Sedona, you know it’s a beautiful place—a town that’s surrounded by tall red-rock canyons. Some towns have a personality—this is one of them. It’s quaint and laid back, but there’s a great energy in Sedona and it’s probably because of the “mystical vortex” it’s famous for! UFO chasers, crystal worshippers, spiritual advisors and “new agers” are abundant there. So too are writers and artists, because it’s a very serene, tranquil place. (One of the country’s best spas is located at the Enchantment Resort, by the way. It’s called Mii Amo. I highly recommend it!)

Nicole: Sounds beautiful and makes me want to visit Sedona. Let's get back to the hero... what do you think is so appealing to readers, as well as writers, about the bad boy hero?

Calista: I think women love bad boys because they’re elusive creatures and because they play by different rules—and get away with it. Everything about them is sexy because they’re forbidden fruit—hard-to-impossible to tame or mold into what you really want or need in man, but so damned irresistible! I’ve been a bad-boy addict since junior high. Nice guys always wanted to date me and I’d always pass them over for a bad-boy, even knowing my heart was going to get broken!

Nicole: Sigh! I know what you mean, they are so hard to resist. Would you like to pose a question to blog readers?

Calista: Absolutely! What a great way to hear readers’ opinions! Let’s see… I would like to know what elements of an erotic romance story entices a reader to buy the book, particularly if they aren’t familiar with the author. Anyone?

Please visit http://www.calistafox.com/ to enter Calista's fantastic contest. You could win a basket full of goodies from Sedona ($100 worth)!!

November Contest - What kind of paranormal?

The paranormal romance subgenre is booming now, as I'm sure you know. On bookstore shelves these days you'll see vampires, werewolves, witches, fairies, psychics, dragons and all kinds of other unusual creatures in different combinations.

My novella, "Devil in a Kilt" (Red Sage Secrets Volume 27) has a few different paranormal elements. The first and most obvious one is time-travel. A modern day woman holds a sword and is transported back in time to 17th century Scotland. I've always loved a good time-travel romance, especially if the story has a bit of humor and is handled differently from the norm.

The second paranormal element in my story is the shape-shifting hero. He's a sexy Highland chief who's been cursed to change into a hawk at daybreak. At first I thought shape-shifting characters would be hard to create and write. How do you go into bird point of view? Once I started writing it, I found it was no problem at all, especially when the bird thinks just like a man. So what if he has feathers instead of fingers half the time? At least he's a man at night. ;-)

The curse brings us to the next paranormal element, magic--wielded by a witch of the Dark Arts. Almost anything is possible with magic, so it's important to create whatever limits you want on the paranormal world you create. If you have "rules" and motivation or reasons this helps the reader suspend disbelief and totally buy into your story. For example, the witch can spy on them from a distance because she has a crystal ball. She can turn herself into whatever animal she wants because she knows all the spells.

What is your favorite paranormal element to read or write about and why (what do you love about it?) To enter this month's contest all you need to do is answer this question by posting your comment here before Nov. 30. All those on my mailing list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nicolenorthnewsletter/
will be entered into a separate contest. You can enter that contest by joining. One prize is 2 books from my TBR stack and the other prize is a pair of sterling silver and semi-precious stone handmade earrings (made by me) just in time for the holidays. I won't tell you which prize goes with which contest. Make a psychic guess. ;-) I'll pick the winners the first week in December. Thanks in advance for entering!

How Did You Come Up With That?

Writers get this question a lot. How DO writers come up with the stories and characters that populate their books? Do they have some master file of ideas that they peruse when the urge to write a book hits them? Do they do extensive research on different topics and select one that nobody has ever written about before? I think not. If most writers are like me, the ideas for their stories come from bits and pieces of life - overheard snatches of strangers' conversations, news items, a random phrase. Anything can stimulate those creative juices.

I developed the idea for my Harlequin Intrigue, The Stranger and I, from a news story. Here in Southern California, our border with Mexico is in the news a lot. I heard a news story about a tunnel underneath the border that the Border Patrol discovered, which was huge and high tech. It even had lighting installed! Terrorists using those tunnels to get into our country is a real and frightening possibility. I started thinking about what would happen if a woman traveling in Mexico stumbled across such a tunnel and wasn't even aware of its significance? I began writing The Stranger and I with the first scene where the heroine, Lila Monroe, witnesses a murder at the entrance to one of these tunnels - and the story took off from there.

For something less frightening and more fun, I got the idea for my erotic novella, "Hot on Her Heels," coming in Secrets Volume 24 in July '08, from my friend. She told me that she had taken her 80-year old mother to Las Vegas for her birthday, and they attended an all-male revue, The Thunder From Down Under. Her mom had a blast, and the men from the show paid particular attention to her - sitting on her lap and letting her stuff bills in their g-strings! I turned that scenario into a story about another feisty old broad who gets taken advantage of by a hot dancer in a Vegas strip club, and the private investigator who infiltrates the club as a dancer to recover her stolen diamonds.

So you never know. Your lunchtime conversation about your sister falling into a fountain on her recent trip to Italy could be overheard by some imaginative writer at the next table and turned into a romantic comedy! It all starts with "What would happen if....."

How about it? How did you come up with the plot for your latest romance?

Celebrity Entertainment

I have some entertainment for you today...

(Hilarious) First a showdown between Fabio and George Clooney. Who do you think would win in a fist fight? Yes, please cast your vote, and if you're so inclined, watch the news footage.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689141/


(Hot!)
And then, Enrique gets bitten. Whew!!! Wouldn't he be a sexy paranormal hero? Some of the girls in this video are from the CW show America's Next Top Model.

http://cwtv.com/thecw/enrique

Enrique... yum! Okay, I've got to go watch that again.

Hot Mama and interview w/ Jennifer Estep

She can melt steel – and men’s hearts …

By day, Fiona Fine is a successful couture designer, catering to the high society players of Bigtime, New York. By night, she’s Fiera, a superstrong superhero who can create and manipulate fire with her bare hands. Fiera, along with the other members of the heroic Fearless Five, make life miserable for the ubervillains who want to take over the city.

But Fiona’s personal life isn’t so fine. She still misses her fiancé, who was killed by ubervillains a year ago. But men admire Fiona’s smoking assets, and she decides to get back in the dating game – especially after she meets Johnny Bulluci. But this notorious playboy has plenty of secrets to go along with his sexy smile. And, with two new ubervillains in town who are intent on raising hell, Fiona’s love life might just crash and burn …

Hot Mama Details
Release date: Nov. 6, 2007
Pages: 356
Price: $14
Format: Trade paperback
Publisher: Berkley Books
ISBN-10: 0425217345
ISBN-13: 978-0425217344

To enter the Twelve Days of Bigtime contest, you can either post this info (including the cover) OR Fiona Fine’s letter to the media. The choice is yours.
http://www.jenniferestep.com/blog/index.php

Interview:

VS: Congratulations on the release of your new book, Jennifer! Your stories sound fascinating, unique and very different from most of what's out there. How do you come up with your highly original story ideas and characters--do they come to you in dreams and demand to be written or do you pull out your hair while brainstorming (or maybe something in between)?

JE: Thanks! I appreciate the congrats. I've always loved superheroes, but one thing always bothered me about them -- how come all the girlfriends/love interests like Lois Lane never seem to figure out that their boyfriends are really Superman? And I started thinking what would happen if a reporter did figure it out and went around exposing the secret identities of heroes and villains -- until she fell for one herself. That was the basis for my first book, Karma Girl, and the beginning of the zany world of Bigtime, N.Y. Basically, I'll hear a voice in my head. A character with her own point of view and story to tell. Or see a movie or TV show and think "What would happen if the character zigged instead of zagged?" Honestly, just about everything inspires me. I just wish I had time to write all the characters and stories in my head! :-)

VS: How wonderful to have so many ideas! What was the most important thing you learned (the thing that made all the difference) just before you made your first sale?

JE: To be patient. The publishing world moves at its own, slow, steady pace. Like all unpublished writers, I've spent months waiting on agents and editors to look at my work. As a published author, I've spent months waiting on contracts and cover art and reviews. None of these things are in my control, so I just have to be patient and realize things will happen when they happen, and not before. I still have trouble with it, though. I basically write to keep myself busy while waiting on other things!

VS: Oh but the waiting is the hardest part! Do you have any advice for those pursuing publication but not yet there?

JE: Keep on writing, keep on submitting, no matter how many rejections you get. It took me about seven years and seven manuscripts and hundreds of rejections before I sold my first book. But if you work hard and long enough, it will happen for you, too. To quote the movie Galaxy Quest -- "Never give up, never surrender!" :-) Thanks for having me!

VS: Thank you, Jennifer, for being a guest here! Everyone, please check out Jennifer's fun, entertaining website for more info about her books. www.jenniferestep.com