Alpheli Solution

In the rush of a new book release, every author looks forward to reviews and recommends from their readers and friends. Then things quiet down--and eventually pretty much fade away.

So it's always an unexpected thrill when a review is posted long after the book was released! A couple days ago, Fran Lee, Examiner columnist out of Utah, sent me an e-mail and link for her review of Alpheli Solution. I'm still smiling. I've linked to her review HERE.

And just in case you're wondering if it's something you'd be interested in reading, here's the blurb:

When Danamara Higgins is attacked by a vampire, her life turns upside down. Vampire Bootcamp class seems to be the answer to her prayers. In her wildest dreams, she doesn’t consider meeting not just one, but two hunky vampires who take her—in the car, in the shower, in the living room, in the hot tub, in hand—as they teach her everything she’ll need to know about her new vampire life.

For centuries, Pierre has loved and pursued Julian with no success. After a hostile takeover of Julian’s financial assets, Pierre is positive Julian will have nowhere else to turn. Julian, though, chooses to teach the Vampire Bootcamp class rather than surrender to Pierre on unequal terms. When one of Julian’s students approaches him for help identifying her sire, Julian is stunned that she is his alpheli—an extremely rare mate whose blood will allow him to subsist on real food. What will that mean to his love-hate relationship with Pierre?

There are just one or two problems. Danamara is descended from Pierre’s bloodline. And she’s on someone’s hit list. Julian and Pierre find unexpected erotic rewards and eternal love when they join together in a brutal war to protect their alpheli’s life.

Want more? BUY IT HERE

Floating Your Boat...

By rights, this post should be about floods...but actually, it's not. It's about the variable tastes of our readers vs. the books authors are producing. I can't tell you how many notes I've received from my readers asking for a new Mystic Valley book. Or a new Flowers book. Or the sequel to Alpheli Solution. Or...but you probably get where I'm going with this.

As a reader with my own favorite series, I completely understand. As an author, I also understand the view from the author's chair. It's kind of like eating tuna every day. I like tuna. Really, I do. But sometimes I have a taste for something different.

The reader reaction is not always favorable. There's nothing so disheartening or sad as a fan letter that lets you know the reader wasn't impressed with your new endeavor because it was different. In other words--it didn't float their boat.

I say, try it. You just might like it! After all, the new story/series/etc., came from the same pen and writing skills as the stories you like so much. Give it an honest un-biased try. Yes, I know it requires more effort to get to know a new set of characters, but they really are a great bunch of people. I like them. You might grow to like them, too.

You just might find the new stories really do float your boat!

anny

Decorating the Tree

Of all the decorating at Christmas, perhaps the tree is the most personal item we decorate. It reflects who we are and where we've been more accurately than anything else.

Our first Christmas we had a Charlie Brown tree. Oddly enough, the cartoon that phrase is from wasn't even around back then. Our tree was a "real" tree, on the spindly side. We had about sixteen hand-me-down ornaments from my in-laws as they'd opted to go with a silver aluminum tree. And we had the old-fashioned big lights on it--only they weren't old-fashioned then. That was simply what was available. Except for a couple big floor cushions, the tree was the only thing in our living room as we were newly, newly married.

Over the years, as our lives changed, so did the tree. The year our first child was born, we even inherited the aluminum tree when my in-laws decided putting up a tree was too much bother.

The next year, with another new baby in the house, my friend Dorian started a tradition that held through the years. We added a new ornament for each child every Christmas. The idea was to accumulate some memories for them to take with them when they left home--and give them a base to begin their own traditions. As they grew older, they helped decorate the tree, each one sharing their memories as they rediscovered old ornaments and exclaimed over new ones.

There were other ornaments on the tree, of course. Every year in school or scouts, at least one child made an ornament for mom and dad. Those certainly became treasured additions. Some years we purchased one or two new ones that had particular meaning for us. And through the years, I accumulated quite a few from friends and family.

When the grandchildren came along, I started the ornament tradition with them, mailing off the ornaments in time for Christmas. And in some cases, my children have also continued the tradition.

One year I discovered bubble lights and snapped up several strings. In my childhood, I was fascinated by bubble lights, but they were quite dangerous back then. If you combine hot lights (the heat provided the bubbling mechanism) and a dry pine tree, you have a true recipe for disaster. The modern lights rely on chemistry to bubble and of course, we don't have a "real" tree as pine totally messes with my asthma.

In the early years of our marriage, we added silvery icicles to the tree. Everyone had their own technique for placing them on the tree. Some people tossed them at the tree in handfuls. Whatever stuck, stayed. Others placed them one at a time on the tree in some complicated arrangement only they could see in their mind's eye. After trying to remove them our first year with an artificial tree, we decided to fore go the icicles in the future.

The tree-topper is another deeply personal item. Some people have stars. Some have angels. We've had stars, angels, bows, and even one year a ball of lights. Its been a while since we decorated our tree so I'm not even sure what is in the closet for this year. I'm sure I'll come up with something, though.

What about you? Do you decorate a tree? If so, what are some of your traditions?

anny

The IOU

1983. Through the years there have been many "skimpy" Christmases in our family. Many. For some reason, we always seemed to be in our worst financial shape in December.

I am well aware that many families survive this situation by using that little plastic rectangle. But we didn't have any of those. None.

This particular Christmas, we lived in Houston. The kids had a long wish list. And we had an empty bank account. Empty. I couldn't think what to do.

On Christmas Eve my friend Joyce drove me down to the local drugstore because there were some stuffed animals advertised on sale. Well. We found the animals and actually, they were quite delightful because they were different. Lions, tigers, giraffes...safari animals. And they were a decent size. And they were within my budget means.

I chose four, but really wanted some ribbon for bows. There was no more money, though. Absolutely none left. Joyce assured me she would handle the ribbon. We went back home, tied jaunty bows around each toy's neck along with a name tag and set them beneath the tree.

It was pretty bare down there.

Though our children were aware of the situation, my heart still grieved that I could provide so little. If only it was just a couple months later when Income Tax time had rolled around. We always received a hefty income tax return because--hey! Four kids!

Then an idea of dazzling brilliance dawned. Why not set aside some of that money for the kids Christmas? But how to let them know I was doing that?

Then I thought--a gift certificate!

We had an old dot matrix printer. I printed out my gift certificates, carefully wrote in a name on each with an amount and frowned down at the flimsy sheets of paper. They weren't very festive.

After a moment, I dug out the kids crayons and added drawings of holly and bells and colored them in. That was better. Then with a sigh of reluctant acceptance I tucked them in beneath the bows on the stuffed animals and went to bed.

It was the best I could do.

Christmas morning dawned bright and clear. The kids woke us up, bubbling and giggling out in the living room. Curiosity got the better of me so I padded out there to see what all the merriment was about. There on the living room floor, each kid had sheets of paper, making out lists of all they ways they were going to spend their Christmas IOUs. The stuffed animals were overseeing the project.

The next year when we asked the kids what they wanted for Christmas, they all promptly answered, "Christmas gift certificates!"

So you might say I invented the Christmas gift card. I was always a bit before my time...

anny

Holidays?

Boy, October flew by, didn't it? And now it's almost Halloween. When I was growing up we didn't observe Halloween. One year though, my mother dressed up my oldest brother and I and allowed us to trick or treat on the next block over.

I was dressed as a little Dutch girl. Since I already had blond butt-length braids and a pair of wooden shoes (a gift from some furloughed missionaries), it was a fairly simple matter to come up with most of the rest of the costume. My mother--a fantastic crocheter--crocheted me a lacy winged cap.

My brother was dressed as my little sister. Even at seven he was NOT impressed when more than one homeowner remarked on his fantastic eyelashes (the real deal!) He couldn't wait to get home. Not even the prospect of candy made him happy.

That was my sole foray into trick or treating.

I'll admit after all these years I really don't see the attraction in Halloween. For those who are Wiccan, I certainly respect the celebration of Samhain. But trick or treating and the other ways of celebrating have very little to do with the observation of Samhain.

Of course, when you get right down to it, as a culture we secularized all our holidays. Christmas and Easter are a weird mix of pagan and christian. Other holidays are odd observations of what we think might be right.

And ninety percent of it is commercially driven. What if everyone sat back and just decided "NO!" What if we refused to buy into the faux holidays? What if we observed only what we truly believed in--sacred or secular?

Am I the only one sick of seeing Halloween stuff in August and Christmas stuff in October? Surely I'm not the only one who is baffled by all the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. At our home we have a twenty dollar limit on gifts. And some years that's a real burden. Why on earth would anyone spend money they don't have?

Heh. A couple years ago my father and his siblings set a two dollar limit on what they could spend on each other. The two dollars had to cover everything--including the wrapping. And the two dollars had to cover six people. They had to be creative and really think about what the others would treasure. And in the sharing on Christmas day they created new memories--something far more valuable than any gift they could buy.

anny

Alpheli Solution releases today!

When Danamara Higgins is attacked by a vampire, her life turns upside down. Vampire Bootcamp class seems to be the answer to her prayers. In her wildest dreams, she doesn’t consider meeting not just one, but two hunky vampires who take her—in the car, in the shower, in the living room, in the hot tub, in hand—as they teach her everything she’ll need to know about her new vampire life.

For centuries, Pierre has loved and pursued Julian with no success. After a hostile takeover of Julian’s financial assets, Pierre is positive Julian will have nowhere else to turn. Julian, though, chooses to teach the Vampire Bootcamp class rather than surrender to Pierre on unequal terms. When one of Julian’s students approaches him for help identifying her sire, Julian is stunned that she is his alpheli—an extremely rare mate whose blood will allow him to subsist on real food. What will that mean to his love-hate relationship with Pierre?

There are just one or two problems. Danamara is descended from Pierre’s bloodline. And she’s on someone’s hit list. Julian and Pierre find unexpected erotic rewards and eternal love when they join together in a brutal war to protect their alpheli’s life.

I'm so excited~~my first vampire novel is available today! I fell in love with Julian, Pierre and Danamara. Check it out at Resplendence Publishing.

Another editor bites the dust...

I recently read a blog/post about the randomness of publishing. Essentially, there's no rhyme or reason in the publishing world. Timing is everything, but what might appear to be good timing, could turn out to be bad. And there's not a darn thing the author can do about it.

In the last year I've had six or seven editors. At three publishers. It would be easy to look at the circumstances and feel like I must be a difficult writer to work with, but the truth is in most cases the editor moved on for reasons that had nothing to do with me. I wasn't even on their radar.

In this most recent case, the editor is "retiring" for health reasons. The fact that we are in the middle of the editing process for the book I have with that publisher is just a sad lonely coincidence. No doubt there are other authors who are also in editing limbo. Taking it personally is not productive.

What to do in the meantime?

As my sister-in-law said, "Keep writing." That, after all, is what I do. While the vagaries of editing and publishing are worked out for that particular book, there are other publishers and editors waiting for other books.

Allowing myself to be paralyzed by the randomness of publishing serves no purpose. So write. Write. Write.

anny

Breaking the Contract

Friday. End of a long week. Traveling is remarkably tiring and I have several trips planned for this fall. Family commitments and such. So this Friday is particularly excellent.

It's very, very cool here today, but the sun is shining. After our heavy rain yesterday, it's definitely a blessing. Funny how a rainy day will get you down. A rainy day when you have to go shopping is much worse.

A couple days ago I wrote a post about punchlines and how they could make or break a story or book. Last night I finished a much anticipated book...that not only didn't have much of a punchline, but left the entire story unresolved.

I'm still scratching my head over this book. It took me three days to read it. And after three days (and three hundred fifteen pages) I confess I'm left wondering what the book was about. I thought it was a romance.

Um, no.

I thought it was a mystery.

Sort of.

Based on all the other books I've read by this author, there was a reasonable expectation of a romantic suspenseful story.

No.

Somehow, I feel the author broke the contract she had with the readers. She sort of hints at a romance but never resolves it. Since the couple starts the book in an intimate relationship, it seems a reasonable expectation that they would at least kiss more than once by the end of the book.

Yeah, the mystery is solved, but quite frankly I wasn't terribly involved in that part of the story. The backdrop of a traditional horse race in a small Italian town was interesting, but it was the backdrop--the setting. Or was it?

The result of the race was how the author chose to end the book. What happened to the hero and heroine, you ask?

Nothing. No resolution. No happy ending.

I reached the ending and just couldn't believe that was it. So in addition to a good punchline, the author has to complete the contract they have with the reader. Otherwise, those beautiful word pictures they painted are so much dust. And that's sad.

anny

Going...going...?

A frequent occurrence as you get older is the short term memory glitch. You walk into the living room for...what was it you were going for? You can't remember. Until you sit back down in your office.

The same thing happens when I'm writing. Up to the point that I sit down in front of my computer, I have fabulous, creative ideas. And then, poof! They disappear into the ether or deep space or in the bowels of my closet.

Wherever they go, it certainly isn't anywhere near my work in progress. Actually, I believe the computer is sucking my ideas right out of my head. If I truly want to be creative, I print out my manuscript, grab a red pen and head out to the dining room or even outside if the weather is nice. There I commit murder and mayhem on my ms. I scribble cryptic notes in the margins. If there are multiple character revisions, I even use several colors.

When the rainbow massacre is over, when the sheets bristle with brightly colored stickies and a sea of exclamation pointed comments, then I creep back into my office and settle in front of the computer. Only then do I dare return to the digital story.

I still forget what I was going to write. But I have my notes. As I pore over the scribbles and crossed out sentences (or even paragraphs), my mind settles back into that creative spot I lost. New ideas well up. Quickly, before the ideas disappear, my fingers fly over the keyboard, recording my brilliance.

I know the computer is so much more efficient but I miss the days of hand writing my stories. There was time to ponder and mull over the vagaries of my characters. Something...some indefinable creativity was lost when I went to typing. Perhaps my fingers type faster than my brain. Or perhaps my brain works faster than my fingers.

In any case, my compromise between printed word and digital is the best I can do. It gives me the opportunity to think while providing the speed necessary to keep up with the rest of the world. So if you see me hunched over a writing tablet--I'm just rediscovering my story.

anny

Punchlines

Have you ever had someone try to tell you a joke...only to forget the punchline? It's frustrating, annoying, and ultimately it's sort of like an itch you can't quite reach.

In the perfect romance, the HEA (happy ever after) is a flawlessly delivered punchline. It makes us laugh or cry or sigh deliciously and wish for more.

Of course, it doesn't have to be the main plot line that carries the punchline. I'll never forget one of Linda Howard's books that ended with the words "What were the odds?" Those four words perfectly rounded out the book and resolved a plot line. They made the book.

Not too long ago, I wrote a book that made it all the way through self-edits, revisions, submission, edits and finally to the final line editor. Three pages from the end, she pointed out a paragraph with the note, "I loved the book until this point. This paragraph ruined the book for me..." and followed it with a detailed explanation of how I delivered the punchline too early--and out of synch.

In effect, the punchline was the end of the book and I telegraphed the ending. Unintentionally.

When I first read the note, I didn't see what she was talking about. Then I went back and read that last chapter, purposely blocking out that paragraph.

She was absolutely correct.

Without that paragraph, the inevitable reunion scene had far more punch and significance. It let the reader sigh and think, "Awwww."

For me (as a reader), the ending can make or break a book. I can deal with poor punctuation and grammar, plot holes big enough for a truck, illogical actions on the part of the hero and heroine, almost anything else if the ending is great. Conversely, it can be a beautifully written book, but if the ending is "meh", I'll put it down wondering why I spent so much time reading it.

How about you? What makes the book for you?

anny

Chat Reminder!

Tonight is the October chat at Love Romances Cafe. There will no doubt be an occasional mention about RomantiCon and the Cavemen. In between excerpts.

Come one, come all. If you're a published author bring your excerpts. Door forfeit is to post at least one excerpt! If you're a reader, aspiring author, or just want to hang out, come and read and chat! See you then!

anny

Tropical Depression Nicole

Water. Lots of water everywhere. Flood watches. Tornado watches. And rain. Unremitting rain today. Fortunately, there isn't much wind.

That being the case, my plans are to stay indoors and work on revisions (which was my plan yesterday but that didn't quite work out). Some days the brain just refuses to work.

Now that might have been because I was waiting to hear from my daughter who was busy having a baby. I'm happy to report that Simeon Christopher, all 7 lbs 5 oz. of him, arrived at 4:38 pm EST, healthy and well. This is my fourth grandchild and Simeon evens the numbers--two girls and two boys.

Let's see...there's not a lot else to report at Chez Anny. What about you? What's up where you are?

anny

Trickle Down

Some things never change.

anny

RomantiCon

Next month--October 7-11--I'll be attending RomantiCon in Akron, Ohio. All sorts of things are planned, including dress-up dinners. This year the theme is 1920s. Now since I'm roughly shaped like that fellow up there in the picture, you can imagine what I would look like in a flapper dress...It doesn't quite compute, ya know?

Last year the theme was the 1960s. Think mini-skirts and go-go boots. I went as a hippie. It was much safer. But three women showed up in the identical dress. That's the difficulty with ordering off the internet costume pages.

When you think of the 1920s, of course, the flapper is the first image that comes to mind. But flappers were actually a very small percentage of the population. So I've gone in search of the other 1920s woman. They wore drop waist dresses. And Marijane heels. And cloche hats. Or big picture hats. That's more my style.

If you'd like more information on RomantiCon, just click on the word. It will take you to the RomantiCon registration page. Cindy Spencer Pape and I will be giving a workshop on Creative World Building. There will be a book-signing on Sunday. If you're going to be in the area, please come and see us!

anny

Thirteen

There are a lot of important birthdays in life. Your first. Your twenty-first. Your fiftieth. But the defining year is thirteen. That's when you cross from child to teenager and become a young woman or young man.

Thirteen years ago today, I was standing in a hospital room, holding my daughter's hand, waiting for my first grandchild to be born. The years have passed swiftly, oh so swiftly.

Now she is a young lady with all the dreams and plans of a young lady. Life veers from ecstatic to despair. One moment she plays Barbie dolls with her little sister. Then next she's posing for that special boy.

What do I wish and pray for her on this day? That all her mistakes will be small ones. That all her judgments will be sound. That she will learn from every wrong turn. That she will dance like there's no tomorrow. That she will sing with all her heart. And love with all her soul.

Happy Birthday, T.

Love, Nanna

Smile!

Have you ever heard that smiling changes your overall mood? It does! And ever since Rodney here tried it out, he can’t seem to stop! No matter what the weather is like, no matter how many chores he has on his to-do list, he just smiles his way through the day. ~~Acting Like Animals

So, tell me... are you smiling??? Then my work is done. Have a great day.

anny

Alpheli Solution

When Danamara Higgins is attacked by a vampire, her life turns upside down. Vampire Bootcamp class seems to be the answer to her prayers. In her wildest dreams, she doesn’t consider meeting not just one, but two hunky vampires who take her—in the car, in the shower, in the living room, in the hot tub, in hand—as they teach her everything she’ll need to know about her new vampire life.

For centuries, Pierre has loved and pursued Julian with no success. After a hostile takeover of Julian’s financial assets, Pierre is positive Julian will have nowhere else to turn. Julian, though, chooses to teach the Vampire Bootcamp class rather than surrender to Pierre on unequal terms. When one of Julian’s students approaches him for help identifying her sire, Julian is stunned that she is his alpheli—an extremely rare mate whose blood will allow him to subsist on real food. What will that mean to his love-hate relationship with Pierre?

There are just one or two problems. Danamara is descended from Pierre’s bloodline. And she’s on someone’s hit list. Julian and Pierre find unexpected erotic rewards and eternal love when they join together in a brutal war to protect their alpheli’s life.

Coming October 20th from Resplendence Publishing!

Reminder! Monthly chat at Love Romances Cafe tonight at 7PM EST. For the link, check the upper right corner!

anny

Parlez vous Francais?

Last night I dreamed in French. That wouldn't have been bad, but my four years of high school French are more than forty years behind me.

I had an apartment in France (Paris?). A man dressed in a yellow striped soccer shirt invaded my apartment. I hit him with something, knocking him out. Then when I tried to convince other people in my apartment to call the police, they refused. Eventually, I opened the door and yelled for help. And while I was trying to summon assistance, he escaped out the back door.

So far, the dream was surprisingly coherent.

Then the cat ran out the door. Not my cat. Just a cat.

After that, the dream fragmented. There was a scene in a restaurant--or cafe. It mostly seemed to be about a crusty loaf of bread? Again, the entire conversation was in French.

And there was another scene when I was running down the street. Was I chasing someone? Or was I escaping from someone? I don't know. Clearly, I was in a foreign city and my internal senses identified it as a French city.

Then I woke up. What's interesting is all conversations, signs, etc., were in French. I had no problem understanding the language. And I haven't spoken or read French for many years. I've never been outside the United States. Certainly, I've never been to France. So we'll chalk this one up to some really weird subconscious stuff going on!

anny

End of summer...

Whatever the calendar says, when school starts, summer is over. Oh, we may still have warm weather. It might even be hot enough to swim. But in our neck of the woods, the pool closes when the kids go back to school (except for Labor Day weekend which always seems to be cold).

The hot days aren't on the weekends, anyway. Exhibit A: tomorrow (first day of school) it's supposed to be ninety four degrees. I ask you...what good is that? No one's playing outside. No one's swimming. Nope, they're sitting in steaming classrooms, sweating and dozing off.

And since the kids are in school, the parents can't really take advantage of the weather to go to the lake or the beach. Actually, because school lets out in the middle of the afternoon, about the farthest you can go is to the mall. And only half of the stores are still open in our mall. I figure sometime after Christmas the rest will close or move out. Then we'll just have a jigunda set of empty buildings. Maybe they can turn it into a running track for school teams to use in bad weather.

Where did the time go? Isn't it strange how fast summer goes and how slooooow winter passes?

Determination...

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been buried deep in the edit cave working on edits for one book. Beginning today, I'll be working on the edits for the next book in the queue. That's how things work sometimes in the author's world. Sort of a feast or famine scenario.

Whilst in the midst of editing, I read a blog written by a brand new author about editing. She was overwhelmed because someone told her she should only have minimal edits--therefore, she must be a lousy writer.

I will be very frank about my experience over the last two weeks. I was a bit put out when I first received the edits for this book. On the face of it, it didn't look like there was much to do, but every single question required a fairly extensive revision--if I intended to do the best job I could.

That, of course, is the key. How determined was I?

I suspect I could have done less. I could have sloughed off and done the minimum. But after getting my irritation out of my system, I sat down and worked. And worked. And worked. At times, it seemed like these would be the never-ending edits. More???

When I believed I had done everything I could, I saved the entire book to another file, accepted all the changes...and printed it out. And then I began from the first word and read it, marking every typo and error and question with my handy-dandy red pen. You would be surprised at the number of errors I found. It took nearly three days to read it.

Then it was back to the computer for more corrections. I finally finished it and sent it off to my editor on Saturday night. And when I did, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

There will no doubt be more edits for this book. And of course, there will be final line edits for it. But at this point, I know with great certainty that I did the best I could.

anny