Romance authors’ real-life romances

Ever wonder how some of your favorite romance authors found their own happily-ever-after?  

You can find out in the new book How I Met My Husband. I'm thrilled to be one of two dozen romance authors featured in the *free* Kindle edition, in which authors tell the stories of how we met our spouses, and include excerpts from our latest books.  If you want a fun read, check it out: http://tinyurl.com/8nv3nyc. Authors include Brenda Hiatt, Michele Stegman, Athena Grayson, Nikki Duncan, and lots more!

But I won’t keep you in suspense.  I’ll share my own happily-ever-after account, which I affectionately dub Only An Englishman Would Do… 

When I was 11-years-old, my 8-year-old cousin and I used to sit around my bedroom like typical young girls and daydream about what our future husbands would be like. She vowed to marry a well-known singer when she grew up, but I always insisted that I was going to marry an Englishman. The accent always seemed so dashing and sophisticated to me. 

Fast forward about a dozen years: I was 22, living far from home in New York City and working at a network TV job I loved, when one Saturday night I walked into a bar with two of my girlfriends and met this handsome Englishman! I’m not so shallow as to say he had me at ‘hello,’ but the minute he and I started talking, it was like we’d known each other forever. We married two years later, and I’m happy to say we’re still crazy in love. To this day, my cousin still teases me about my childhood prediction! And no, she did not marry that famous pop star.

What about you?  What was your first idealistic vision of the man you wanted to marry? Did it come true?

 

Jenna

www.jennaives.com

Snow White And Her Seven Lovers -- available at amazon.com

 

Fun With The LOLcats!

Hi Fierce Friends!

Life for a full time writer is CRAZY!! So here's some fun for all of us -- more LOL cats! Be back with more profound and serious thoughts on writing next week. Have a great day!!


































Keep Writing!!! Hugs, Tess

Many Happy Returns

Home is where my heart is, but I also adore traveling. Finding new places that stir fond memories, no matter how many years pass. In essence, destinations that fill my best dreams and bring many happy returns.


Today marks my twelfth wedding anniversary, and one of the best getaways hubby and I ever experienced was when we visited Charleston, SC, two years ago to celebrate a decade of love and togetherness. No matter that rain showers dampened the windshield as we drove. The weather couldn’t dampen our mood or plans. From the moment we checked into our lovely bed and breakfast in the heart of the historically-rich city, we focused on fun and romance. No visit to Charleston is complete without a carriage ride. As soon as Marcus, our carriage horse, started along the tour route, the sun burst through the cloud cover and provided us the first rays of a glorious day. Peninsular majesty. Regal oaks dripping Spanish moss. Breathtaking homes fashioned in the Georgian, Classical Revival, and Greek Revival (my favorite) styles of yesteryear. After soaking up lots of sights and historical details, we returned to the Old City Market and browsed the handicrafts and sweetgrass baskets. While there we chatted with some of the friendly locals and other tourists and sampled Low Country goodies offered by a few vendors. Though Southern cuisine is my favorite, the evening hours saw us sharing some special moments over a candlelit Italian dinner and toasting our union with a fine cabernet. A leisurely stroll near our bed and breakfast found us under the stars, and we capped off our day of sightseeing with a guided tour featuring more of the history and haunted past of Charleston. More tours of splendid gardens and enchanting plantation properties filled our remaining days in Charleston. Even more moments of romantic bliss resulted. I could go on, but you get the perfect picture. As a matter of fact, I believe more wonderful memories resulted than times Marcus clopped his well-shod hooves.

Wishing you all many happy returns,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
TORMENTED -- Coming soon to Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Books Adapted for the Big Screen

As an author, one of my greatest joys is reaching the end of a story I'm writing. Lots of other events in life are as special, but typing a story’s final paragraph is something I always celebrate. While the characters are moving through their tale, and when they’re talking, those action scenes and words play out in my mind as a movie. During the writing and revision process, I deconstruct the choreography and read aloud the parts spoken by the characters. I’m totally immersed in their world.

Over the years, many fabulous novels have been adapted for made-for-television movies and big-screen presentations. Rare are the times when a book’s author also writes the movie’s script and the movie version often differs from the novel to some degree. My favorite novel-to-movie adaptation is REBECCA by the gifted storyteller, Dame Daphne du Maurier. I read the novel a year or so before seeing the movie starring the stellar acting talents of Sir Lawrence Olivier, Vivian Leigh and Dame Judith Anderson. Mrs. Danvers, the story’s villain, is the epitome of evil and will always remain my favorite novel and movie villain—followed closely by another superbly-written villain, Hannibal Lecter in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Both of these novels translated well on screen, and my kudos to the screenwriters who made this happen.

What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation? How does this adaptation compare with what you, as a reader, visualized for the story line, setting and cast of characters?

Feel the heat in erotic fiction,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna’s Myspace
Helle’s Myspace

Are You a Creature of Habit?

While grocery shopping the other day, I must have set a record keeping those cart wheels rolling. A winter storm was forecast for our area. Decent parking spaces were at a premium. The aisles were filled with folks stocking up on necessities. I’d started plotting a new book and wanted to return to that creative world as soon as possible. Good fortune remained with me for a while, and I steered clear of the heavy shopping traffic. Once I reached the Dairy section, Lady Luck sprinted somewhere and left me wondering which yogurt to purchase since my favorite brand and flavor were gone. Okay, I’ll admit mainly being a creature of habit and sticking with the tried and true when it comes to brands I buy and foods I’ll eat. That day I had no choice but to select an alternative and hope for the best. With a week’s supply of my favorite breakfast food in the cart I continued to the checkout. Was I confident my selection would yield a positive result and please my palate? My sureness hovered somewhere around fifty percent since the day was otherwise going pretty well. The following morning as the coffee brewed I opened the yogurt container, dunked the spoon inside and scooped out a rounded serving. Didn’t take long for me to decide I’ll include some of that brand and flavor of yogurt on my shopping list from time to time. Change can be good. Downright delicious. Trying something new can be a positive and rewarding experience.

The same goes for the books I read. I return to my favorite authors time and again. After all, they deliver a solid story and I love their writing style. But some of those favorites have ended up on my bookshelves because I took a chance and purchased something by a new author. Often times the keeper was an author’s first published novel. If I hadn’t broadened my selection process, I might have missed a lot of great books.

What about you, readers? Are you a creature of reading habit or is variety the spice of your life? Do you find yourself reaching for books written by new authors and/or authors whose work you’ve never read?

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER – Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna’s Myspace
Helle’s Myspace

Anticipation

For some reason, Carly Simon is serenading inside my skull. But there’s no zesty condiment being squeezed or tipped on end for this blog’s topic. Instead, an emotional reaction is the core of my subject matter.

There’s something unique and unrelenting about love, when it’s new and when you know it’s true. A couple meets and realizes their attraction. Then anticipation kicks in. As someone who believes love can solve so many problems, I enjoy reading romance novels and living the story vicariously through the central characters. The first romance I recall reading was ROMEO AND JULIET. What a tormented and sensational tale played out on the pages involving that amorous pair. Even though only ten years old at the time, I pondered what passion and love would hold for me when the time was ripe. After all, Shakespeare’s memorable characters gave their lives for love. Faced with a stellar conflict, they made the ultimate sacrifice. The Bard tapped the dramatic depths and stirred strong emotional reactions in his readers. Of all the romantic stories I’ve read over the years, I’ve never experienced more anticipation over the outcome than I did while reading R&J. From time to time I re-read this classic and marvel at the scope of the story and how it remains a timeless literary treasure. What kept me turning those pages was the hope to which I clung as their struggles and the sexual tension mounted.

What about you, readers? Do you delight in the rush of adrenaline and the surge of emotions as you embark on a romantic journey with those characters in romance novels? Do you find yourself eagerly anticipating the point where the couple has overcome their conflicts and earned their happily ever after?

Feel the heat in erotic fiction,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER -- Ellora's Cave
HELLE IN HEELS -- Ellora's Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Love at First Sight? Second? Third?

FALLING IN LOVE – At first sight? Second? Third?


The more years I survive, the more I mull certain questions and topics. As an author of romance fiction who’s also married, one of these topics is whether or not love at first sight is actually experienced or simply imagined? When I look back over my dating days, I definitely experienced a physical response and attraction to those guys a good amount of time before realizing each held potential as someone with whom I could fall in love. Of course, my mind and body were also responding to them on various levels including how they conducted themselves with others, addressed me, etc. However, love didn’t enter into the picture at first date or second. I’ve never been one to make snap judgments or rush into anything, but all of the guys I dated engaged me on a mental and physical level. A short time after meeting my husband for the first time, I knew there was a strong chance he was a man I could marry. But I couldn’t say after that first glance, in all honesty, I knew without a doubt he was the man with whom I’d eventually walk down the aisle. We knew each other a couple months before an event occurred that convinced me he was a man who not only cared about my welfare but who would also stick with me through good times and bad. The hardest bit for me to reconcile is that someone can truly, in a nanosecond, meet someone and know that person is the one to whom they’ll entrust their heart—ergo fall in love. Could happen, but color me a bit skeptical as I believe true love takes time to mature into a foundation on which a woman can build the rest of her life.

What about you? Do you believe in love at first sight, or is this merely a fantasy women want fulfilled but is, in actuality, a rarity?

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER – Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna’s Myspace
Helle’s Myspace

Have an Umbrella? From Drizzle to Deluge

Late last year I decided to allow for more spontaneity in every aspect of my life in 2008. Some would deem this a resolution, but I prefer calling this a new approach or outlook. Instead of resorting to advanced planning I’d let Life surprise me from time to time. Go figure. The moment I let down my guard, Life turned nasty over the past several days. All was going along smoothly and then—Wham—certain events threatened to veer me off course in a major way. I was thankful I hadn’t lost my fondness of contingency plans. The resulting reality check—no matter how much I want to slacken my grip on those proverbial reins, I can’t toss them aside for extended periods of time. Remaining flexible, while recalling and utilizing past successful strategies, is the best way for me to navigate emergencies and devastating news or events. This also holds true for my writing. Sometimes freestyle works well, sometimes a more choreographed method works better.

For the past seven years I’ve been writing full-time. Over those years, my process has changed and morphs with each story written. In the beginning, I surrendered completely to my creativity and didn’t use plotting sheets or a white board. Before I wrote the first sentence, I knew the story’s beginning and ending and some of the rising action scenes, but I didn’t script anything formally. On reflection, that process didn’t work and cost me more time during the self-editing of subsequent drafts. Currently I prefer plotting most of the scenes in advance, but I allow for spontaneity and don’t mind tossing out scenes already jotted in favor of ones that work better for the plot and/or characterization.

What about you? Are you an advance planner, a go-with-the-flow type, or a person who favors an approach somewhere in between?

Feel the heat in erotic fiction,

Shawna Moore
ROUGHRIDER – Ellora’s Cave
HELLE IN HEELS – Ellora’s Cave
Shawna's Myspace
Helle's Myspace

Happy New Year & New Contest!

Some writing friends and I are holding a new Contest for Valentine's Day! Enter before Feb 13.

THE QUEST FOR PASSION CONTEST: 13 Authors & 21 Prizes

In honor of our readers and in gratitude for choosing the various stories we love to write, we are hosting a special contest. Win prizes dedicated to love and passion: jewelry, romance books, chocolates, gift certificates, and perfume ~ all those things we’re hoping our sweethearts will sneak in for a Valentine's celebration! With 20 prizes and 1 grand prize, what do you have to lose in playing?

How to participate:
Visit each of the following author websites:

Skhye Moncrief http://www.skhyemoncrief.com/

Anna K. Lanier http://www.aklanier.com/

Tarah Scott http://www.tarahscott.com/

Kyann Waters http://www.kyannwaters.com/

Alisha Paige http://www.alishapaige.com/

Nicole North http://www.nicolenorth.com/

Andrea Snider http://www.highlandlassiesreviews.blogspot.com/

Crystal Adkins http://bookreviewsbycrystal.blogspot.com/

Masha Holl http://www.mashaholl.com/

Sky Purington http://www.skypurington.com/

Bess McBride http://www.bessmcbride.com/

Hywela Lyn http://www.hywelalyn.com/

Corrina Cowan http://www.chicksofcharacterization.blogspot.com/

Find the word *heart* in one of their book’s titles, cover blurbs, or excerpts. OR, in the case of book reviewers who are joining us this month, find the heart (graphic) they leave next to one of their reviews as an indicator of the book title you need for the contest.

Make a list of the book title (for the blurb/excerpt or for the title of the book reviewed) from each site and email the entire list to happyendings2007@aol.com.

The contest ends midnight CST on February 13, 2008.
Winners will be posted on Valentine’s Day 2008 (unless there is an emergency and we must delay notification!).
Good luck!

The Prize I'm offering is handmade sterling silver and semi-precious stone earrings. Entering my portion of the contest is easy. Just go to www.nicolenorth.com, click on my "Books" page from the menu. You will easily find the info you need on that page.

While you're there, please check out my excerpt which I just added.

Thanks & Happy New Year!!