Christine's Words

Time for What to Read Wednesday…the GIVE AWAY VERSION!  Today we have another amazing visitor   Please welcome author Veronica Scott.  We’ll be learning a bit about Veronica and her latest release Priestess of the Nile.  Every commenter will be entered into a drawing for a PDF copy of Veronica’s book Priestess of the Nile…so let’s get started.

Thanks for joining us Veronica.  Please tell us about yourself in 6 sentences

I grew up in a house full of books spanning the range from science fiction to history and when I ran out of things to read, I inevitably started writing my own stories. I got married at 19 to my high school sweetheart, was then widowed quite young, now have two grown daughters, a very energetic 9 year old grandson and cats. I’m always reading, writing or on twitter (except when I’m at the day job or on the freeways!). I’m very happy to be here today, thanks for inviting me! (Hmmm, four sentences but kind of long ones!)

You’re a busy lady and I’m glad you don’t twitter while you’re on the freeway…lol   If you wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

Never Gave Up, Never Boring!  (Must include the exclamation point LOL)

Great title!  What are the top three things on your bucket list?

1. Have a movie made from one of my books

2. Visit Australia & meet my writer/readers friends there

3. Have my wardrobe styled by Tim Gunn of Project Runway

How fun would that be to have a movie made based on your book!  What genre (s) do you write?

Mostly paranormal romance, but I also do science fiction romance.

Tell us how you caught the writing bug.

When I was a kid we lived in as pretty isolated area of upstate New York so I entertained myself with reading books – Robin Hood, Tom Corbett Space Cadet, Trixie Belden etc – and then I wanted to have adventures of my own, so I started writing the ideas down.

What is a typical writing day for you?

I have a day job so during the week I can only think about plots while commuting on the freeways. In the evening I try to write for an hour or two. On the weekends I get up really early, which is my most creative time of day, and just pound away on the keyboard as long as the muse is in the mood.

I do a lot of plotting while driving into work too   Share a blurb about your latest release.

Egypt, 1500 BC

Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile God is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human.

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. When he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?

What was the hardest part of writing this story? 

The hardest part of writing the story was during the editing, as I had to go back and layer in more details about some of the secondary characters, and my Critique Partner and my Editor said to add a few places in the narrative where the characters – and the Readers – could take a breath!

The easiest?

The easiest was writing the love between Merys and Sobek. The hero and heroine really “spoke” to me and that part of the story just told itself…

Now let’s play LUCKY SEVEN….Pick seven words to describe your book.

Romantic, Exotic, Exciting, Sensual, Heart Tugging, FUN!

What inspired you to write this story?

I enjoy the Egyptian setting and there was a challenge involved in taking a character like the Crocodile God through an emotional arc. He’s been around since the universe was created yet never felt true love, even though he’s been linked to at least four goddesses. He doesn’t really relate to humans until he meets the right woman! I also was intrigued when I realized he fit our modern paranormal definition of a shifter, so he could be fully human (and be very HOT). Then the story writing began…

I really find the Egyptian setting interesting too.  I’ve never read a romance set in that time, so I’m very intrigued.  And I know I’m a bit of a cover fanatic, but I really LOVE your cover…the color choices and font are perfect.  Enough gushing on my part…lol…Please share an excerpt of your book!

She turned her head to kiss his cheek and ran a hand over the hard planes of his chest. “Bek, I want to see you.”

“You have seen me, sweetling. And you gave ample evidence of being pleased.” He leered at her,head tilted, the crinkles at the corners of his eyes showing he was teasing.

She gave him a tiny frown at being thwarted in her request and pushed at his ribs. “I want to see you as your other self, as the Crocodile God.”

He regarded her with a grave face, all amusement gone from his green eyes. He seemed surprised. “Why?”

“Because I love you.” Merys feathered a kiss on his lips. “The crocodile is part of you. I want to see you in all your manifestations.” Can’t he understand that this is a last test of my worthiness to be his priestess? I don’t want him to have any doubts of me.

He looked away from her, blinking. “I’m fearsome to humans in my other form.”

She stroked his semierect shaft, which lengthened at her caress. “You’re fearsome in other ways, my lord, even in human form.”

He caught her hand, lifting it away from him and kissing her fingers. “Wretch! Consider carefully what you ask. Egyptians respect and fear me for good reason. If I appear in all my glory, complete with the plumed crown and the disk of the sun on my head, I will frighten you. I don’t want you to be frightened of me, Merys. It would break my heart.” He gestured across the river, where the Nile crocodiles slumbered in the moonlight. “They’re far smaller than I.”

Merys assumed a cross-legged position, hands folded in her lap. “I want to behold you. I won’t be scared, trust me. I told you, I’m of the priestess blood. A high priestess of the Crocodile God can’t fear his creatures or the Great One himself. Not in any form he might take, no matter what he might find it necessary to do.”

Leaning back on his elbows, Sobek grinned. “Perhaps I could just become half human, half crocodile for you, would that suffice?”

Merys shook her head. “No, I can see such a depiction in any wall painting in the temple. I want to see you, as the crocodile.” Dimples flashed in her cheeks. “I will grant you reprieve from wearing the crown with plumes and sun disk.”

Apparently unconcerned about his nakedness, he stood, dusted the sand from his hands and strode away from her, then glanced over his shoulder. His eyes gleamed golden in the moonlight.

Warmth pooled in her loins. He is so perfectly formed, all muscles and sinew. I’m the luckiest of women to be with such a lover, even if only once.

Small flashes of emerald light dazzled her eyes. Then a crackling roar erupted in the air, as if a great fire burned somewhere close by.

In the next second, a thirty-foot-long white crocodile lay on the sand, head turned toward her, golden eye slitted. Merys gasped. He glowed in the moonlight. He was huge, not only in length, but overall—maybe three times the size of the largest Nile crocodile. Entranced, she got to her feet. Draping her fringed shawl over her shoulders against the chill breeze from the river, she paced closer. He held perfectly still while she approached, as a crocodile does to lure prey, but Merys wasn’t afraid. His body armor shone iridescent, rainbows chasing each other across his dorsal ridges and sides.

He rolled one sparkling citrine eye at her. Words poured into her head. Well? Am I impressive enough for you, Priestess?

“Oh, Bek, you’re amazing.” Reaching out, she touched one of the gold-tipped ridges on his spine, running her hand along its length. His giant jade claws dug into the sand and he moved slightly. A tremor ran through his immense body. The tip of his tail twitched.

There’s a reason Osiris and Isis send me to resolve problems, deal with difficult situations. None can stand against me. I can even protect Pharaoh from black magic if need be.

She walked around him while his head swiveled to keep her in view. Slowly he curled his long tail in a big arc so she was completely encircled. No force on earth could get at me while you stand guard. Proud that he treasured her, she savored the feeling. A question stirred her peaceful enjoyment of the moment. “Does it bother you to be feared?”

I never considered it one way or the other until I met you.

Do you have a writing quirk, something that must be close at hand when you’re writing…such as a certain song playing, a particular snack within your reach or a certain pair of lucky socks warming your feet?

No, I’m pretty focused when I write, just need the free time, no distractions and not to be too tired. I often listen to my iPod, but just as background “noise”.

What are you working on now…and no I don’t mean laundry or dishes, I mean a current WIP?

I’ve got more stories in this connected series in various stages of editing and submission. I love Ancient Egypt and the ideas keep flowing. I just finished book #3, tentatively titled “Dancer of the Nile” and sent it to my Critique Partner.

Do you have any wise words to share with anyone out there on the road to publication?

The most important piece of advice is to WRITE, all the time, every day. Don’t doubt yourself, don’t edit yourself too soon, trust your voice and your muse.

And finally Veronica, where can we find you and your book?

Here are my links, although I must say twitter is where you’ll find me most often but I love adding new posts to the blog:

veronicascott.wordpress.com/

twitter.com/#!/vscotttheauthor

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Veronica-Scott/177217415659637

Priestess of the Nile  is available at Carina Amazon Barnes & Noble

Thank you so much for joining us today on What to Read Wednesday, Veronica….it was a pleasure to get to know you and learn more about your book

And to everyone else joining us today, please remember to leave a comment to be entered into a drawing for a digital copy of Veronica’s book!

Welcome to What to Read Wednesday!  Today I’m extra excited because I have an amazing author and a wonderful friend visiting.  Please welcome Sarah Ballance.  Sarah will be sharing an excerpt and more from her book Familiar Light.  She’s  also going to tell us some deep dark secrets about herself, she’ll make you laugh, ooh in amazement at all she handles in a day and will definitely earn your respect.  So, without further ado let’s dive right in so we don’t waste a minute of our time with her.  And after you hear about her busy life, you’ll understand why I don’t want to waste any time

Tell us five random things about you the person, not the author.

1 – My husband and I have six kids. The first five were on purpose, and the last one surprised us two years after I had my tubes tied. (Yes, now that we’ve met her I can assure you she is that stubborn). The kids, btw, range from 13 years to 20 months and they’re homeschooled.

2 – I never missed a single day of school. I am the proud owner of a certificate for 13 years (K-12) of perfect attendance. (I wasn’t homeschooled, lol.)

3 – I was a biology / biochemistry double major in college. I used to want to be an equine surgeon, but I decided I wanted to be at home with the kids more. (Some days I wonder . . .).

4 – The H and I were married on July 4^th and our wedding reception was a pig pickin’. That was almost 15 years ago (I was 19, H 22) and people still talk about that poor pig—which, I might add, my H cooked himself.

5 – Speaking of pigs, we have two. We used to have a third one, but we ate him. (And by “we” I mean the rest of the family, because I still feel guilty. Not even bacon smells good when it comes from an old friend, and I mean that in the literal sense. *wail!*)

Have you always wanted to be an author or what made you become an author?

I never wanted to be an author. I wrote my first book in 2008 because someone told me I should and I said nope, I can’t. Not long after, it really started to bug me that I said I couldn’t do it, so I did. And that very manuscript turned into my first release, DOWN IN FLAMES.

What is a typical writing day for you?

I work on interviews and blog stuff until about 10:00 a.m., then pretty much stay off the computer until late afternoon for the homeschooling gig (although I do check my blog several times during the day to approve comments and such). The actual writing part kicks off after dinner when my husband takes over all things kid and house so I can work.

Your hubs sounds like a great guy!  Love that he helps out so you can have writing time.  What genre or genres do you write? Do you see yourself trying another one in the future and if so which one?  (hehehe…I threw in a 2 parter, tricky eh?)

I’ve written romance, but my heart is with romantic suspense. I LOVE romantic suspense. There’s something utterly diabolical about gaining such happiness from torturing my characters, but I do. I admit it. *Grin.* I’m not opposed to writing other genres—and would certainly like to give horror a stab (ha! get it?)—but my heart lives and breathes romantic suspense.

You can really weave the words Sarah and I bet you’d write an awesome horror story!  I’m throwing in a bit of a plug.  I read Sarah’s short story HAWTHORNE offered on Amazon and couldn’t put it down.  LOVED IT…great suspense.  Anyway, sorry to interrupt…back to questions.  Tell us about your newest release?

When Laney left her high school sweetheart to head for college, she promised she’d be back . . . seven years ago. She knows it’s probably too late for her and Bridger, but when she realizes she still loves him she can’t go on without first going back. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t exactly welcome her with open arms. He asks her to leave, but that wall of denial he built comes crashing down when Laney becomes the victim of a violent attack. Still struggling with his own emotions, he vows to protect her until the bad guy is caught, but neither he nor Laney were prepared for the lengths one man would go for revenge . . . or how quickly a dangerous obsession turns deadly.

I want to learn a few secrets about your characters from your latest release…so this question is actually a three-parter

A)    Which one of your characters would’ve been voted most likely to succeed in high school and why?

Laney. I would say Holden—a quiet, serious secondary character—only his mom had to tell him to get a haircut the summer after he graduated, so Laney wins this round. (I guess he was a late bloomer).

B)     Out of all the characters in your book, who wouldn’t have any scruples about sharing their toothbrush and why?

Bridger. He doesn’t have many scruples at all, LOL. He takes his woman and his love seriously, but life is literally a beach for him. (He mans a lighthouse—he’s as laid back as they come.)

C)     Considering your two main characters only, who would be more likely to get a speeding ticket?

Bridger. See above, LOL.

Now let’s play LUCKY SEVEN….Pick seven words to describe your book.

Beachy. Funny. Thriller. Sensual. Tense. Murder. Twist.

Love your choices   If your book was made into a movie, who would you choose to play the hero?  The heroine?

Girl, I know zilch about celebrities! I think I answered a similar question before, and I believe I said singer Jake Owen for Bridger (because of his Barefoot Blue Jean Night video) and Hillary Scott (of Lady Antebellum) for Laney. Just because. :c)

Tell us how you came up with this title.

Oh, this is so bad. I was humming an old song (from the 80′s) and thinking the lyrics were “familiar light” . . . only the actual words are “different light.” At first I was a bit embarrassed the voices in my head heard the flub, but then I was all, “cool title!” It was the perfect fit, so it stuck.

Now that’s an original way to title a book…lol  Please share an excerpt!

 ”Can I help you?” The gruff question trickled through the cavernous space like water leaking through pipes. He seemed to materialize from the shadows as he strode toward her, the rise of heat from the concrete floor keeping him just out of focus.

  But her heart knew.

 She swallowed a hard knob of regret. “Bridger?”

He couldn’t have heard her—not with the way she clung to his name, as if saying it out loud would be to lose another piece of him. But his step faltered, and the recognition in that interrupted cadence brought the burn of tears to her eyes.

No regrets.

She stood, trembling, as the fifty feet between them dwindled to ten. When he was close enough for her to make out the stubble lining his jaw, his legs stopped moving, but his gaze tore over her. The impassioned glare was without direction, a harsh reflection of the hard lines edging his face. The warm brown eyes she remembered were now a bitter shade of espresso.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

The words, tense with fury, sent her backpedaling against the concrete wall. Too late, she realized she no longer knew this man. They were kids when they’d parted ways, too naïve to realize they’d never keep those breathless promises. At least she’d been that way. His tone suggested otherwise.
They were alone in the deeply shadowed belly of Barrier Shoals Light. And for the first time within those walls, Laney tasted fear.

“Was I supposed to wait for you?” he asked.

Seven years had passed since her weak-kneed promise to return to him. She didn’t have an answer for that.

He took another step, boxing her against the curvature of the rock. He stood close—so close, she had to tip her head to meet his eyes.

And she summoned courage to do it.

“Was I?” he asked, his voice softer now. He leaned closer. The stifling heat morphed into sexual innuendo, his skin slick with sweat, daring her to touch.

Great excerpt!  What was your inspiration in writing this story?

I wrote FAMILIAR LIGHT for the Noble Authors “Timeless Desire” blog tour, which meant I had to incorporate that theme and stick to the 10k word limit. (I went a bit over. Ooops.) I pulled the “reunited lovers” idea from “Timeless Desire.” The suspense aspect was something I really wanted to add, so I talked it out with my husband, who is great for hashing out plots. (He doesn’t like romance novels, so he’s quick to call BS on eye-rolling plot threads, LOL.) We came up with a relatively simple angle for this story, but readers will discover it ends with an interesting twist. ;c)

What was the hardest part of writing this story? 

The first scene was most difficult (which is where the excerpt I gave you came from). I had a hard time figuring out how he’d react to her just showing up like she did. I struggled with it for a ridiculously long time, then finally decided to move on to the second scene, which is from Bridger’s point-of-view. One paragraph into that scene, I knew exactly how he’d react to her and the going was easy from there.

The easiest?

The easiest is a bit of a spoiler so I can’t go into detail. Let’s just say it’s the part where the story takes a dark turn. (I’m telling you—something is wrong with me!)

Definitely no spoiler, I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone   How many books have you written?

Let’s see . . . in my entire life, six. Five are published and one is under consideration.

What’s your current WIP?

It’s a romantic suspense called LAST CALL. Here’s the (rough) blurb:

An accidental witness to a murder-for-hire, ex-cop Rhys Clark becomes the target of ruthless killer—one determined to silence her at any cost. Playing dead seems to be the most likely way to stay alive, but when her protection comes in the form of mega-sexy former adversary Nick Massey, Rhys can think of a few fates worse than death.

Nick Massey may have walked away from his troubles, but he never got past wanting Rhys. Once paired undercover, they’d been nothing but fireworks until a botched assignment ended her career, sending his into a tailspin. Now a mysterious client is willing to pay Nick anything to keep Rhys safe, but it isn’t until fate takes a critical turn that he realizes the devastating truth: he’s been her greatest threat all along.

Sounds like another good read   What’s the best advice you’d give another writer seeking publication?

Get crits from someone you trust and listen to them! And I don’t mean “listen” to the point where you lose your story and your voice, but “listen” for ways you can improve. And if your “critter” can’t find anything wrong with your work, they’re not trying hard enough—find someone else ’cause you ain’t perfect. It’s much better you learn about the weak spots in your story now, in the relative privacy of your crit group, than to hear about them from hoards of disgruntled readers later.

That’s some sound advice!  And finally Sarah where can we find you and your books?

My blog is a great place to look. Why? Because I bribe my email subscribers by giving away a gift certificate every week (winner’s choice of $10 to Noble Romance or $5 to Amazon). So head over there and sign up, but if blogs aren’t your thing, NEVER FEAR! My linkage is here:

WEBSITE  www.sarahballance.com/

BLOG  sarahballance.wordpress.com/

AMAZON  www.amazon.com/-/e/B003WKYEJI

TWITTER  twitter.com/#!/SarahBallance

FACEBOOK FAN  www.facebook.com/sarah.ballance.author.news 

FACEBOOK FRIEND www.facebook.com/author.sarah.ballance

GOODREADS www.goodreads.com/author/show/4103362.Sarah_Ballance

Thank you so much for having me here today! I know it’s always a risk letting someone through the door when they freely admit to an affinity for torturing innocent folks, but things turned out pretty well. No one was hurt, the cops weren’t called, and the local news van isn’t sitting out front. All in all, that makes for a great afternoon!

Thanks for visiting Sarah…you’re always a lot of fun…and as always, YOU ROCK!!!!

Hi and welcome to Friday Fun Facts!  Come play along and learn something new about me, and I’ll learn something new about you.

I can’t believe we’re already in the month of February, and Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.  Is it just me, or does time seem to fly from one holiday to the next?

Being that I write romance, of course this time of year is extra mushy!  And I like mush all year long.  But February 14^th always holds a special spot in my heart   I have many fond memories of years past.

All the jewelry stores are running commercials featuring gorgeous diamond necklaces and earrings, and special ruby heart rings.  Candy stores have all their finest on display, flower shops are gearing up and I’ve even noticed several clothing stores getting in on the action.

And of course the romantic movies out at theaters and on television.  Swoon…nothing like a romance.  A beautiful story of a couple falling in love and that first magical encounter, when their gazes meet across the room and all else falls away until there is just the two of them.  They cross the room, talk, get to know each other, the chemistry undeniable.  And then…the kiss.

The first kiss.

My stomach gets all squirmy at the thought of the first kiss.  That moment of anticipation as their lips mov