Sisters in Crime Blog Hop

During the month of September, members of the Sisters in Crime writing organization are participating in a blog hop. Below are my answers to a few questions.

1. Which authors have inspired you?
As a romantic suspense author, I have been very inspired by Lisa Gardner. Ms. Gardner is my favorite female writer. Her books are well written and always leave you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what will happen next. I strive to write as well as Ms. Gardner. It's pretty hard to decide which of her books I like the best, but two do come to mind, Alone and Hide. Oh, and I also like The Perfect Husband. Honestly, I have never read a bad Lisa Gardner book and I've just about all of them.

2. What's the best part of the writing process for you? What's the most challenging?
The best part of the writing process for me is when I'm really in "the zone." That's when I'm sitting at my computer typing away on my book and the next thing I know, I look up and I've been writing for hours.
What I find most challenging is dealing with interruptions. For instance, since starting the blog post, my husband has texted me six times. Those types of distractions break up my thought process and I can't get into "the zone" when I am being interrupted.

3. Do you listen to music while writing? What's on your playlist?
Sometimes I listen to music and sometimes I don't. Whether it's music or the television in the background, I have to have some sort of noise around when I write. I cannot write in total silence. Nope, can't do it. My musical tastes are 70's classic rock. My favorites are Boston, Eagles, Steve Miller Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. However, lately I've gotten hooked on music by the actor, Christian Kane. His music is classified as country, but has a good southern rock sound to it.

Lastly, I'd like to make a recommendation on an author for you to try. J.M. Madden writes romances between 'combat modified' military men and the women who love them. I met J.M. this past weekend at a writers convention and I'm really looking forward to start reading her books. Please stop by her site and give it a look.

Carol

Sisters in Crime Blog Hop
#SinCBlogHop

Imaginarium 2014

 
I spent this past weekend at the Imaginarium Writing Convention Held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Louisville, KY and what fun that was. Besides meeting so many new and wonderful authors, I made lot of new friends. I helped man the Kentuckiana Authors table, an organization that I am very proud to be a part of.

I was a guest panelist on several of the discussion panels and attending a few others. There were such good topics covered for just about any genre you could think of. Unfortunately, there were too many good panels and I missed a few I would have loved to attend because there was another one at the same time. Scheduling conflicts is something you just have to deal with at conventions and pick the panels you want to attend the most. With any luck, you can meet up with the authors from the panels you missed in the bar, lobby, or at their table and pick their brain a little. My favorite workshop that I attended was "A No-Nonsense, No-Gimmick Approach to Marketing Your Books" presented by Eric Beebe, who was also my neighbor from across the aisle. He gave fantastic information about marketing your book for the most sales. I will definitely be purchasing his book that he has coming out next month about marketing.




In addition to learning so much about writing, so many exciting things can happen, like below. Five minutes into my first panel, the fire alarm sounded and everyone had to evacuate the building. Luckily, it was nothing and we were allowed back inside after a short wait outside. Thank goodness it wasn't raining, hot, or in the middle of the night.

Then, there are just some fun people.

                                                                                           

Per Bastet Publications

Publisher and Author, Tony Acree and myself

Frank Hall, owner of That Book Place and the Gaming Director for Imagininarium

And finally, a big thanks to the Convention Director, Steven Zimmer. He put on an awesome convention and one that I will definitely participate in again and again. Thanks to all that were involved in making this a very rememorable weekend.

Next month, I get to do this all over again at Magna cum Murder in Indianapolis. 

Carol

*I borrowed a couple of the above photos from Facebook friends, but I failed to write down their names to give credit. If you took any of these photos and would like for me to take them down or give you credit, please e-mail me at cpreflatish@yahoo.com

Welcome author Kenzie Michaels

Today, I want to welcome my friend and fellow author, Kenzie Michaels who has a new book out. I'm turning my blog over to her today so she can tell you about it.

Carol

Kenzie: 

What do you get when you take an imaginary friend, a bar, and single girl on the town with friends?

You end up with a girl thinking she’s found the perfect ‘Mr. Rebound’, only with a twist:

He’s an alien who has been in love with her for years.

Here’s an excerpt from Heart’s Last Chance, which arrives Sept 12^th from Secret Cravings Publishing.  This is after a night of passion, and Tricia is out with her friends.  Enjoy!

Everyone has an imaginary friend at some point, right?  Well, what if you discover yours is actually an alien who is fascinated with Earth? 

Tricia Alexander's dreams are haunted by a mystery lover.  When she discovers the man she met in a nightclub is from another planet, will she accept his story or kick him out?

Brock was young Tricia's imaginary friend and confidant, and watched her grow up over the years.  After gaining permission from the leaders of his planet, he sought to bond with her twice before, but with little results.  When he's given a final chance, will he succeed?  Or will a family crisis prove too much?

Excerpt:

"Jayne’s right. You haven’t talked or texted Brock at all. What gives?”

Tricia shrugged. “He said he’d meet us at the restaurant at six-thirty. He had a few things to do today.” Brock, Brock, Brock, please text me in fifteen minutes.

What’s your phone number? You never gave it to me.

346-5124.

Gotcha. Are you okay?

I’ll explain later. Just a moment, please.

Becky gaped at her. “And you trust him to show up? Are you insane?”

“Trish! I can’t believe you let that man get away.” Lara set down her cup. “That’s the oldest trick in the book, next to sneaking out in the middle of the night. I can’t believe you, of all people, would fall for that.”

Tricia’s phone chimed.

Are we still on for dinner? Six-thirty, right?

She smiled and read it out loud. “Told you he could be trusted.” She texted back.

Yes, thank you. We’ll meet you in the lobby.

No problem. Wear something sexy?

What’s your idea of sexy?

“No fair texting at the table,” Lara protested, grabbing the phone from Tricia. “‘What’s your idea of sexy?’ What the hell is that about?”

Tricia grabbed it back. “He wants me to wear something sexy. To some guys, it means no underwear. Others it means low-cut. I just want to know if I should go for the stripper heels and the little black dress, or my new outfit from Banana Republic.” Her phone chimed again.

You bought something with bananas on it?

You said you wouldn’t spy on me.

You seemed to be in distress. Wear the new outfit. I like bananas.

Thanks for hosting me today Carol!  Here is where I can be found:

Website: www.mollydaniels.wordpress.com (The Chosen series now has its own page!)

Blog: http://kenziemichaels.blogspot.com

Face Book Page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Kenzie-Michaels/248105468603737

Twitter: www.twitter.com/kenziemichaels

You can purchase Kenzie's book, Heart's Last Chance at Secret Cravings Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, and All Romance eBooks.

Bio:

Kenzie Michaels is the 'wild child' of author Molly Daniels. They cohabitate nicely

inside the brain of a woman in Indiana who's the mother of three and 'Aunt

Molly' to the entire neighborhood. A devout chocoholic, her hubby has learned

to watch out when the characters in her head take over and not get too upset

when the words are flowing and all concept of time is lost. (LOL)

The Imaginarium Writing Conference

I will be attending The Imaginarium Writing and Film Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept 19-21, 2014 and have received the list of panels I will be participating on:
Friday 4:00 PM Happy Ever After
Friday 5:30 PM Destroying the Archetypes - Writing Good Romance without a Formula
Saturday 5:00 PM Mysteries Today
Saturday 8:00 PM The Authoress' Guide to Good Steamy Romance
Sunday 3:00 PM What to Write…


Between panels and when I'm not attending another panel as a spectator, you can find me at the Kentuckiana Authors booth. Please stop by and say hello. 

Carol
 

Booksigning

On Friday July 11, I will be signing my books at The Opal Gypsys on E. Market in New Albany, Indiana from 5:00 - 8:00 along with authors, Bill Noel and Atty Eve. It's located across the street from where the farmers' market is held. The signing is in conjunction with Night Out New Albany, so lots of things will be going on downtown. If you're in the area, please stop by, say hi, and buy some books.

"Final Vow" by Kathleen Brooks: A review

Final Vow by Kathleen Brooks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What can I say about this book that I haven't said about the previous books in the series? This was a fantastic book, as were they all. I'm so hooked on Kathleen Brooks' books. This one was full of a combination of action and romance. I loved that. I highly recommend it and can't wait to start on her next series.



View all my reviews

A Look Toward Retirement: Round up of my vacation

Counting weekends, I've been away from my day job for ten days and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have actually be able to not check my work e-mail or my voice mail messages and haven't even wanted to. This vacation has given me a look into what retirement may be like for me. I'm not quite old enough to retire yet, but in a little less than five years, I'm eligible to retire from my government job. Now, whether I can afford to retire at that time will be the question. But, this week has told me that I won't go crazy sitting at home all the time and that I am disciplined enough to not just sit on the couch and eat all day. I wrote this week and wrote a lot. Oh, I did take the occasional break to watch a cooking show now and then, but hey I get breaks at my day job too. After I submitted my finished manuscript to the publisher on Tuesday and attended my writers group on Wednesday, I took the rest of the week off. Well, except for Thursday.

On Thursday, I had a table at the Jeffersonville (Indiana) Public Library's Authors Fair for National Library Week. Once the writing is finished, you have to push your wares. I had a great time, meet some wonderful people, and putting some faces to some online friends I had never met in person. There were 36 authors in attendance, included Karen Robards, NY Times Best Selling romance author. She was probably the most popular author there and I was in awe of her. I'm really looking forward to attending again next year.

This week was probably one of the best vacations that I've ever had and it has convinced me that I can survive retirement....someday.

Carol