Why Don't I Sleep on It?

After waking earlier than usual yesterday morning, I decided to tackle all household duties first. That way I’d have a solid block of time left in the day for plotting and writing. Dust and dirty laundry were my enemies. Harsh realities determined to put a good deal of distance between my latest fiction project and me. But it takes more than them to daunt this woman and keep her from the pleasurable pursuit of writing. Once I took aim with my cleaner of choice, dust didn’t stand a chance. I wiped every visible speck from surfaces it dared cover. Buffed tabletops and whatnots as though they were my rough drafts. The vacuum whirred to life and I showed no mercy. I preened the carpet and pondered the black moment, as yet unwritten. But what was the matter? Usually my creativity flourished once I trotted out the cleaning routine. Not a single idea sprang to mind. Trips to the laundry room to load and unload the washer and dryer didn’t work. Neither did my spur of the moment cupboard cleaning. None of these activities brought the slightest scene details. Suffice it to say, I never got a chance to return to some extra hours at the keyboard and plotting board. Life interrupted in more ways, and I somehow found myself at the bedtime hour with nothing else accomplished on my manuscript. Putting off sleep until a later time wasn’t wise. After a short period of lights-out pondering, I drifted off thinking of the build-up to the story’s black moment and what my characters were doing. On waking to a sunshine-filled morning, I grabbed the tablet from the bedside table and jotted the details of my dream. Robins chirping beyond the bedroom window had nothing on my giggling as I inked the storyline details that had eluded me prior to Morpheus’ arrival. A good morning? Without a doubt? I got out of bed, toted the tablet to the kitchen, started the coffee and booted up the writing computer. Once again, my dreams had delivered me a solution to my plotting dilemma. Life was good, no matter how much dust had settled while I slept.

Have dreams ever delivered you answers to questions or solutions to problems?

Feel the heat in erotic fiction,

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

Paranormal Movies Week at Wickedly Romantic!

All week we've been discussing our favorite paranormal movies so if you like ghosts, or time travels, or witches and vampires and werewolves, oh my! Check out our blog and drop us a line about your favorites!
http://wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/

I'll be starting my first cyber blogging tour next week and will be posting words of brilliance all over the place-- :) ....from hot and spicy recipes to heat up the night with that special loved one, or craft tips for the crafty, or tidbits on writing and how Heart of the Wolf came to be.

April 1, blogging at about Creating Memorable Characters: http://jhthomas.blogspot.com/
April 2 Chat, Long and Short Romance Reviews
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LongAndShortRomanceReviews

I'll also be in the Author Spotlight at Long and Short Romance Reviews for the week of April 21 and so will be giving a daily mini-interview and a chance to win a free copy of Heart of the Wolf for the week.

I'll also be at a book signing at:

DARA Conference 2008
Dreamin' in Dallas
Plano, TX Southfork Hotel
The booksigning is April 4, 2008 at 7 pm. It is open to the public and admission is free. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Southern Collin County Habit for Humanity Women’s Build.

And West Texas A & M Alumni Magazine and Monmouth University Alumni Magazines are including Heart of the Wolf in their April issues! Now, if I could only get into Texas Monthly--sigh. :)

And more news!!! I received THE CALL from my editor at Sourcebooks!!! for both Betrayal of the Wolf and Allure of the Wolf!

Terry Spear
http://www.terryspear.com/
Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf, Betrayal of the Wolf, Allure of the Wolf
The Vampire...In My Dreams, Winning the Highlander's Heart

Calista Fox has a "Midnight Rendezvous"

Nicole: We love featuring Calista Fox here at Fierce Romance because she's fierce, but also a sweetheart! Welcome, Calista!! Please tell us about your story "Midnight Rendezvous" in Secrets Volume 22 Dark Whispers, out now!

Calista: Midnight Rendezvous is the second story in the Rendezvous trilogy (Intimate Rendezvous is the first, and it’s in Secrets Volume 17). Midnight is a whirlwind romance! I came up with the idea because I travel so much and I thought about how difficult it would be to date seriously when you’re flitting about from country to country. Then I realized how exotic it would be to meet your lover in whatever beautiful city you happened to be in that week. But I also peppered in a suspense plot—I just couldn’t help myself! This story is particularly special to me because the heroine, Cat, has lost a mentor to cardio vascular disease and it deeply affects her. That’s a personal experience I wove into the story. I also consulted with a very close friend who’s a pulmonologist. He was also close to my mentor who passed away, and he answered all of my questions about CVD (so any inconsistencies or inaccuracies are strictly my fault!). It is a very serious disease and I wanted to make a point about that in the story. Be good to your hearts, ladies!

Nicole: How wonderful to weave such an important and meaningful issue into your story. Who was your favorite character in this story and why?

Calista: That’s tough! I love Cat because she’s quirky and free-spirited. I also like David (the hero) because he’s grounded and steady. But one of my favorite characters from the trilogy is McCarthy Portman, Rendezvous’ dating guru. She gets her own story in Secrets Volume 26! It’s titled Secret Rendezvous. And if you like bad boys, you will LOVE my hero, Josh Kensington!

Nicole: I do definitely love bad boys!! ;-) Please tell us about your other published works.

Calista: I started writing fiction for publication in 2004 and sold my first story to Red Sage (In the Heat of the Night in Secrets Volume 13). I’m in volumes 13, 17, 22, 23 and 26—which haven’t all been released yet. I’ve also got another ebook out now from eRedsage titled High Voltage. It’s an electrically charged paranormal! My biggest news is that I will have the next single title release by Red Sage (Angela Knight had the first, of course!) My novel is titled Object of Desire and it’s a very high-adventure, erotic paranormal romance. Sort of a Lara Croft meets Mission Impossible story! I had the absolute best time writing it and I can’t wait to start promoting it!

Aside from Red Sage, I write for Ellora’s Cave—my first stories will be out in 2008—and I’m also working on several novels. In addition, I write as Ava McKnight. That keeps me busy! I’ve won a Reviewer’s Choice award and have recently contracted my 25th book (mostly novellas), so I’ve got stories slated for release well into 2009.

Nicole: Wow, Calista, that's a lot of books! And congratulations on the Red Sage single title! What's next for you?

Calista: That changes every other day! I have a new single-title anthology I’m working on, which consists of four volumes. I’m also writing a political paranormal thriller and two contemporary erotic romance novels. I generally have 10-12 works in progress at one time, but when I looked last, I was up to 19! I have a very short attention span, so working on a bunch of projects at once keeps my mind from wandering. I also travel a great deal and I’ve always got my laptop in tow, so ideas spring to mind several times a day. I hope to just keep learning the craft and getting better at it!

I have two contests on my website right now. Please stop by and enter! http://www.calistafox.com/. Good luck!

Nicole: Wow, 19 projects at once?? I can't imagine doing that. Wish I could! Thanks for visiting with us again, Calista! Come back soon and tell us about more of your stories! :-)

Can It Get Any Hotter?

There were several Letters to the Editor in the April RWR commenting upon previous letters bemoaning (should I use that word in this context?) the proliferation of eroticism in the realms of Romance fiction. While I've certainly noticed that everything is HOT, HOTTER, HOTTEST, I don't mind the trend (evidenced by my cover to the right!). There's obviously a demand for erotic romance, and a big demand for it in e-books, where women can download their fantasies in the privacy of their own homes instead of having the bookstore clerk yell across the store, "Hey, Joe, are there any more copies of Sucking Hot Hunks of Hard Candy?"

Erotic romances take the heat to the next level and beyond, but at the heart of every erotic romance is the story of a couple who must overcome their internal barriers to find love and happiness (great Al Green song, by the way) and ever after. And that calls for character development.

When writing erotic romance, I don't sketch my characters any differently than I do for my Intrigues. They still need an inciting incident, a short- and long-range goal, a character flaw, a relationship barrier, a black moment, a realization. They need families and histories and neuroses, and every other thing that gives a character depth and life. They just have more sex.

Which brings me to plot and setting. In erotic romance, I do try to set the story in an environment or plop the characters down in situations that are going to naturally lead to some sensual encounters. And that's half the fun of writing hot - putting my characters in positions where they just can't resist that sexual magnetism.

And the best part of all? Women have a large variety of heat levels from which to choose. There are still sweet romances out there, ones that have love scenes that stop at the bedroom door, ones with delicious, maddening temptations without the culminations, ones where the characters can smolder with a look or a wink.

Let's celebrate it all and make room for everyone under the big, pink Romance tent.

Another New Review for Heart of the Wolf!

New Review!!

Heart of the Wolf by Terry Spear
"Ms. Spear has built a fascinatingly complex world that fans of Kelley Armstrong or Susan Krinnard will feel right at home visiting. It is nice to see a beta hero get a starring role as well, since not all guys can be Superman, but still be strong. Though she is a new author to me, Terry Spear is definitely a name I will now be aware of."~~ review by Amanda Killgore

Terry Spear

www.terryspear.com

Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf

And The Vampire...In My Dreams is now on Fictionwise!

3-D Characterization Online Workshop-- http://www.terryspear.com/id14.html April 4-28!!

Leigh Court wants us to meet The Disciplinarian

Hi, everyone, today I'm interviewing Red Sage author Leigh Court. I'm excited that Leigh and I will both have stories in Secrets Volume 27 anthology next year! I'm honored to be in such great company with her and two other authors. Leigh has another story in a Secrets anthology and we'll find out all about that hot story today.

Author Leigh Court lives in Southern California with her husband. She's been writing since age eleven, starting with wild adventure stories for her elementary school newsletter, growing up to be a television news journalist whose assignments took her on real life adventures. After traveling most of the world, she segued into the more normal job of public relations, but she's never stopped writing. Having seen what she has of life's struggles, Leigh now writes romantic fiction because she wants her readers to be able to escape into a story guaranteed to have a happy ending!

Nicole North: Welcome, Leigh! Please tell us about The Disciplinarian in Secrets Volume 15.

Leigh Court: Trapped in a loveless marriage of convenience in Victorian England, headstrong Clarissa Babcock is sent to the shadowy legend known as The Disciplinarian for instruction in proper wifely obedience. But one look at the dark and dangerously handsome Disciplinarian has her fantasizing about what it would be like to be at the mercy of his sexual tutelage. As The Disciplinarian, Jared Ashworth has never failed to transform a difficult wife into a dutiful spouse, but not exactly in the way their husbands expect. He uses the tools of seduction to show Clarissa how to control a demanding husband, but her beauty, spirit, and uninhibited passion make Jared hunger to keep her -- and their darkly erotic nights -- all for himself!

Nicole: Oohh! Sounds delicious. I have this book on my TBR stack and it just moved to the top. Do you have a review or two you could share with us? What about awards?

Leigh: THE DISCIPLINARIAN won the More Than Magic Contest in the erotica category, and has gotten wonderful reviews, including these:

"THE DISCIPLINARIAN is a historical journey that will leave readers breathless... Hot is not the word for the love scenes in this story, inferno is a better one...!" -- Romance Junkies

"...if this is discipline, I want what Clarissa Babcock is having!" -- Romance Reviews Today

"This was one of the most unique twists on a historical romance that I have ever read..." -- Fallen Angel

"Beautifully written...so sensual... This is truly one of my favorite erotic stories ever." -- Romance Divas

Nicole: Wow, very inpressive reviews! And congratulations on the award! Please tell us about your favorite character in this book and why is he/she your favorite?

Leigh: As the author, I love both my hero and heroine, but I adore Jared Ashworth because he's such an honorable man.

Nicole: I can't wait to get to know him better. ;-) Where do you find inspiration?

Leigh: Writers always find inspiration in the "what if" question, but sometimes an idea, a time period, or an exotic setting will inspire a story.

Nicole: What do you feel is the most important element of an erotic romance which makes it memorable?

Leigh: The emotional commitment between characters. I believe an erotic romance would still be a satisfying love story even if you took away the sex.

Nicole: I agree completely! Do you have any advice for those who are still unpublished?

Leigh: Keep writing! Even once you're published there are still rejections in the mailbox, so the only difference between a published author and an unpublished writer is one word from an editor: Yes.

Nicole: What's next for you?

Leigh: My sexy Victorian romance, called THE BET, will be in Secrets, Volume 27, coming out in July 2009! Here's a blurb:

I can make a woman come using just my words…
That outrageous claim by a very drunk Damian Hunt, Viscount Atherton, somehow escalates into a high stakes wager between two best friends. Damian bets his prized racehorse that he can do it… George Beringer gambles his London townhouse that Damian can’t.
And the surprising woman George chooses for the bet is not only a virgin, she’s also George’s very respectable sister, Claire. And to complicate matters even more, once Damian lays eyes on her, the stakes escalate in the most unpredictable way…

Nicole: Yum! I can't wait to read this one! Would you like to ask blog readers a question?

Leigh: If you could have any male celebrity star in your erotic romance, who would it be and why?

Nicole: Very intriguing question. I already know what one of my answers would be. :-) Thanks for being a guest here, Leigh! Everyone, please visit Leigh Court's website where you will find an excerpt.

Or click here to read more about the book and the other stories in it on Amazon.

Easter Greetings and Memories

Spring and sunshine. A perfect combination for days spent outside, especially on this Easter Sunday. Many fond memories have resulted from my Easters of years past. Pastel dresses trimmed in lace, some featuring crinolines in their skirts. When I was eight I was so proud of my sparkling white patent leather Easter purse and matching shoes. My white gloves sported delicate rosettes fashioned from seed pearls on the cuffs. And how I laugh now at recalling the way my leotards never failed at working themselves into a position that prevented me from straightening them in public. After worship services my parents and I would head back home and find a couple lovely Easter baskets displayed on our dining room buffet. Green or pink grass sprang up from the bottom and cradled the colorful foil-wrapped chocolates and yellow marshmallow peeps. Always a delectable chocolate bunny standing in the center. Near the baskets rested a bowl of multi-colored dyed eggs wearing wax designs or the imprints from seasonal decals. After I changed into traveling clothes, Mom and Dad would host the first of my many egg hunts that day. No matter where they chose to hide those eggs, I found them pretty quickly. Of course, that only prompted me to ask if we could hide the eggs “just once more” before going to my grandmother’s home for Easter dinner. But my favorite parts of Easter Sunday were always the loving gestures, hugs and kisses from parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Family togetherness meant the world to me on those Easter Sundays and remains my most cherished memory. Over the past week I’ve received holiday emails and messages from my dear friends that have brought smiles and turned themselves into more fond memories.

There are a couple dark-chocolate truffles in the cupboard. I might become tempted to sample one before this Easter Sunday is done. Funny thing about those chocolate goodies during my childhood. I never ate hardly any chocolate until much later in life. Sure I snacked on those chocolate bunny ears and worked my way to their feet, but most of the remaining candy was shared with friends or put in the family fridge where it lasted many months until finally disappearing.

Today I wish you all the sunshine and happiness of the season and hope your day results in many fond memories. Share your fondest Easter memories with us before the Easter bunny hops out of sight.

Smiles across the miles,

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