Charlotte, NC for Authors After Dark

Buildings inside buildings, or so it looks.More reflections of buildings on buildings.

Aren’t they beautiful? Did anyone notice it got to be Wednesday already? How did that happen???

I lost 2,000 words on my mss. And how did that happen? I’ve been having trouble with saving, so I redownloaded my Word. But I thought I had saved Call of the Cougar before I left, it’s supposed to be saving every minute, and I sent the “saved” file to my email before I left, and when I got home, 2,000 words were missing.

All of ch 13.

Spooky music begins here.

Thankfully, I had printed out those pages (so I knew I wasn’t crazy) and had chapter 13, at least in printed form. And there were my 2,000 words.

So not sure what’s going on, but I’m saving as a new title now, to ensure I don’t have a heart attack again.

Off to work on A Silver Wolf Christmas. Only 16,000 to go on Call of the Cougar, but I’m worried about meeting the deadline on A Silver Wolf Christmas…priorities, priorities!

Came up with the idea for 2 stories to pitch also, but still trying to come up with the 3rd.

Have a super great Wednesday! It was miraculously cool here this morning and I took a picture of the sunrise in Texas, the North Star and another star below it.

I was just taking out the garbage–mundane life–when I saw this dramatic sunrise, and all of sudden the mundane was no longer the mundane.

And I was surprised to feel how wonderfully cool it was when we’re going to have 100s all week.

And while I was watering the new shrubs, the birds were gathering all over the  electric lines. Yesterday, I took a video of them as they were so excited to play in the water while I was watering some shrubs around the back patio. It was fun to see them playing when before that, they had vanished.

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
www.terryspear.com
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Looking Back at 2009

So in this last week of the old year, I find myself, as always, looking back on the 12 months. I try to be honest with myself and see if I accomplished what I'd hoped to with 365 days of my life. Like always, I find that I probably didn't always make the best use of my time. I should have written more. I should have exercised more. I should have eaten better. Should have been more patient. Should have been a better person.

Yeah, all those "should haves" can really weigh you down.

But then I remind myself of the good things that happened in the past year. The great, unexpected things. Bound by Design was chosen as one of three novellas to be included in Samhain's Binding Ties anthology.


Chains of Desire was released as a download by Ellora's Cave in May and came out in print in September.


My Sapphire jewel novella, Lia's Warrior came out in an Ellora's Cave anthology, Sapphire Sizzle. (And I just found out we received 4 Stars from Romantic Times - the review will be included in the February issue of RT Book Reviews.)


The Ride of Her Life won the New England Reader's Choice Award for best short contemporary in 2009.


Sunrise (included in Jewels of the Nile II)won the Passionate Plume for best erotic novella this year as well.



And the cover for The Better to Eat You With won the weekly Cover Clash at Embrace the Shadows.


I've been blessed with a lot of great reviews, including this new one at Fresh Fiction for Dark Angel which was released by Red Sage last January.



I made a lot of new friends this year in the writing community. I've done my best to keep in contact with old friends too. And the notes I've received from readers always make my day, letting me know I must be doing something right. While I rarely find the time to update them, I'm now on Facebook and Twitter, as well as MySpace.

And since The Better To Eat You With won a weekly Cover Clash, it is up for the 2009 Ultimate Clash at Embrace the Shadows. There are only a few days left to vote, so if you haven't already done so, I'd love your vote. The artist, Kanaxa, did an awesome job on this cover and will win an award as well if we win. You can check it out here.

So now, as I look back, I see that 2009 wasn't so bad after all. I'll just have to work on the exercise and eating better and having more patience...

So how was your 2009???

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com

SUNRISE is Award Winning Novella

This past week Romance Writers of America held their National conference in Washington DC. Industry professionals and published and aspiring authors meet, give and attend workshops, eat and drink and network. Also at this conference many chapters hold their own get togethers and some announced the winners of their annual contests. I wish I could have been there this year, but it wasn't meant to be.

The finalists for the Passionate Plume, a contest for published works of erotic romance, put on by the Passionate Ink chapter of RWA, were announced several months ago. I was entirely thrilled that my story, Sunrise, which is included in the Ellora's Cave anthology, Jewels of the Nile II, was a finalist in the novella category. I was surprised and honored to find out on Thursday night that it won!

Sunrise was one of those special stories that seemed to write itself, from the first line to the last. Maybe it was because it was written in first person, present tense, something I rarely do. But I felt as if I was channeling Caroline. As if she was telling me her story and I was simply getting it down on paper. Man, I really wish that happened more often :)

Blurb:

Caroline has been meeting Alan at sunset for months. The hot sex they’ve been enjoying started out mindless and anonymous, just the way she wanted it. Little by little, they’ve gotten to know and care for each other. Caroline fears the changes in their relationship she can’t seem to prevent.

Alan wants Caroline in his life. He sets out to seduce her with his voice, his hands, his body. He’s no longer satisfied with sex in the shadows and wants more. Can he make Caroline feel the same?

Excerpt:

He sits on the bench and pulls me between his legs. The light is at my back. I can see him, but I know I’m in the shadows. The way I like it. It seems much longer than six weeks that he’s been away.

“You cut your hair.” I comb my fingers through his short, dark strands.

He shrugs and pulls the clip from my hair. The heavy weight settles over my shoulders and down my back. The breeze picks up the golden strands and blows them across my face. He gathers my hair in his hands and pulls my head to him. His kiss is hard, bruising, punishing even. I know why and wish I could give him what he wants.

At first his lips are dry, but as we kiss they quickly moisten and we slip and slide against each other. Our whole mouths are soon involved. Tongues. Teeth. Taste. No one else kisses me the way he does. As if he would devour me if he could. As if my taste is the only thing that can sustain him through the days to come.

Or is that the way I kiss him?


In celebration of winning the Passionate Plume, I'm holding my own little contest today. One commenter today will win an autographed copy of Jewels of the Nile II. So my question today is...I've heard so many readers who have strong opinions about reading books written in the first person. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other if a story is 1st or 3rd person. How about you?

Be sure to check back tonight when I'll announce the winner...I love contests, don't you???

Natasha
www.natashamoore.com