Guest: Maree Anderson + Book Giveaway!

The One Where Maree Eats Humble Pie

By Maree Anderson

Thanks heaps for having me as your guest on Fierce Romance, Nicole. I had a ball last time I was here (and I’m thrilled that I was well-behaved enough for you to ask me back *g*)

I used to believe I was incapable of writing an outline and pre-plotting an entire book before I sat down to do the fun stuff – yanno, the writing-and-wondering-what’s-gonna-happen-next-bit. *VBG* I was a seat-of-the-pants writer. Period. But last year, because I’m, like, a total sucker for punishment, I decided that I was going to give this plotting business my best shot. After all, loads of other writers do it. And if I’m ever in the position of selling books to editors based on outlines, I needed to know how to do it, right?

Right.

So how did it go?

I shudder at the memory. Kidding! Kinda….

It took about three or four days before I was totally happy with the outline. (And perhaps I shouldn’t mention it was like pulling teeth with a pair of fricking pliers. And that I did A LOT of wandering round the house muttering to myself and finding excuses to procrastinate. Like doing housework. You know there’s something up when you’d rather vacuum the house than write an outline.) But it was worth it in the end, because then I got to reward myself with the fun stuff.*cue me rubbing my hands together with glee*

Then b*gger me (as we say in New Zealand - and not in a rude way) as soon I started writing, one of my main characters went neener neener neener! and decided to change professions. So there went a somewhat crucial aspect of my carefully planned goal, motivation and conflict between the hero and heroine. Nooooo!

“Oh, come on!” I whined to my muse (who by this stage was snickering in a most unladylike fashion). “Don't do this to me! What’s the point of plotting if my characters aren’t gonna stick to the darn plot?” No answer from Ms Muse. She was too busy having fun at my expense - evil beyotch.

Mutter mutter growl growl. Okay. Okay. It's not the end of the world. Just go with it, Maree.

I went with it.

And about five thousand words into the story I got smacked upside the head with another curve ball. My editor emailed me to ask if I had a novella ready to submit. Like, now. Because the publisher had a gap that needed filling. And it’d be a chance to submit a novella for the next Red Sage Secrets anthology. Which meant I’d finally achieve my dream of being in print.

Since the “Are you freaking kidding me?" response that sprang to my fingers didn’t seem appropriate (*g*), I told her I had something in the works. Only trouble was that it’d been planned as a novel-length non-erotic romance. But hey, since it was already fully plotted (there's that heinous word again) I could have a go at scaling it back to a novella and get it to her by, say, the end of the month?

Three weeks. Gulp. (I tried really hard not to think about that whole three weeks thing for fear I’d get writers block.)

“What the heck,” she said. “Go for it, and see how quickly you can get it to me.”

So I went for it.

And despite some plot tweaks – like, having to get the hero and heroine er, “together” really early on (*cough* erotic romance *cough*), and secondary characters who had far too much to say for themselves, I had a ball writing the story. And an incredibly short time later, I typed The End on the last page of a 30,000 word novella, Kat On A Hot Tin Roof. I’d written 25,000 words, and rewritten the first 5000, in three weeks.

Better still, my editor gave me the best feedback I could ever ask for when she emailed me with: "I absolutely loved it. Made a bad day go by fast! And to me, the ultimate recommendation for a story is that it gets the reader through a bad day."

She also said my story was howlingly funny, deliciously tender and super-hot - not that I’m blowing my own trumpet or anything. Aw, what the heck. Toot! Toot! *grins and buffs fingernails on the front of her pjs* (Mind you, I suspect the howlingly funny part might be a nod to my heroine’s Grandma Louise, who lives in a retirement home and refuses to age gracefully. She’s a terrible flirt and she constantly gives the staff conniptions with some of her antics. Moon-hopper races, anyone?)

So, there you go. This pantser is eating a big slice of humble pie, because I truly believe that without plotting and outlining Kat On A Hot Tin Roof before I started, I would not have been able write it so quickly, and I’d have lost my opportunity to have a novella published in a print anthology - my first ever story to go to print. SQUEEEEEE! Mmm. Maybe this plotting business has some merit, after all ;-)

BTW, that slice of humble pie I'm eating? It's apple. With a large scoop of hokey-pokey ice-cream. My favorite!

And if you’d like to read an excerpt from KAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, please click here.
 (Warning, readers must be 18 years or over. *cough* erotic romance *cough*)

Time for a giveaway!

Unfortunately I can’t give away a copy of Secrets Volume 30 as I’d planned, but…. Instead, I’d like to offer one commenter (chosen at random) who answers my easy peasy question, their choice of any eBook from my backlist:

Even Demons Get The Blues (Demons, Book 1)
Let Sleeping Demons Lie (Demons, Book 2)
From The Ashes
Scent Of A Man

So if you’d like to enter the giveaway, please leave a comment telling me the answer to this question:

What is Jace’s private nick-name for Kat when he first sees her?

Hint 1: the initials are M-K
Hint 2: the first word is “Miss”
Hint 3: Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, but the answer is in the excerpt ;-)
Hint 4: You can always wait for someone else to leave a comment with the answer, and copy their answer... but then you'll miss out on all the fun of reading the excerpt!

Note:
~To enter the giveaway, you must be 18 years or over *cough* erotic romance again! *cough*
~Please indicate your choice of prize with your comment.

Cheers,

Maree Anderson

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About Maree:

Maree always knew she had a reeeeally warped imagination. The trouble was finding a socially acceptable outlet... which is why she became an author.

The other great thing about being an author is having a valid reason to read loads of books -- all in the name of research, of course. When she's not 'researching', Maree's writing romance of the paranormal persuasion. She's a Kiwi, a New Zealander, and she's addicted to chocolate -- the darker the better. Not to mention coffee and excellent NZ wine. She's not quite so addicted to her local gym but she's working on it ;-)

Maree’s Website
Facebook author page
Twitter

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SECRETS VOLUME 30: DESIRES UNLEASHED

COX CLUB ~ Alice Gaines
At the urging of her best friend, Andi Crawford visits an exclusive club in order to find some sexual satisfaction after her divorce. The last person she expects to find at a place like Club Cox is her overbearing ex-husband, Blake. But, he’s there and as tempting as ever. Can she maintain her independence, or will she surrender to the intense physical pleasure only he can give her?

KAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF ~ Maree Anderson
Workaholic architect, Jace Burton, inadvertently flashes Kat Meyer, who later turns up at a crucial meeting…and seduces him in the bathroom. She’s one of the designers vying to impress him. And boy, is he impressed to discover her prowling his house—naked. Kat has no clue what’s causing her nocturnal wanderings. And when Jace discovers she’s the victim of a zodiac curse, will he fight to keep her, or run for the hills?

KELLEN’S CONQUEST ~ Anne Kane
As an Alph-Elite warrior, Kellen is used to getting what he wants, and what he wants is the sexy data thief, Mia. Problem is she won’t admit she wants him or that someone is trying to kill her. It takes all of Kellen’s mutant strength and Mia’s streetwise smarts to keep her alive long enough to unravel a vicious plot for revenge.

SCOUNDREL IN A KILT ~ Nicole North
Brodie, Chieftain of Clan McCain, is a dark, sensual Scottish scoundrel, who likes nothing more than being a selkie shape-shifter, even if he has been cursed by a witch of the dark arts. Stunning, modern day supermodel, Erin Schultz, blazes into his 1621 world like a falling star. Though he’s certain she will shatter life as he knows it by breaking his curse, he can’t resist her tantalizing seduction.

Secrets Volume 30: Desires Unleashed available now from Red Sage Publishing, and coming soon to good bookstores