Urban Fantasy Author
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Heart of Eternity was globally available for pre-ordering from December 23, 2013 onwards by a traditional publisher, Mirador Publishers, UK and has already sold more than 10,000 pre-ordered copies in less than two months of its publication time.The fan page on Facebook alone has more than 19000 likes. The story revolves around a man`s struggle with his own inner darkness coinciding with someone who decides to fight against a traumatic disease through spiritual healing.When their paths collide, a beautiful love story takes shape.It is a tale of love, sacrifice and about discovering oneself. So far, it has been getting excellent reviews from all across the globe. It has been reviewed as *A Brave and Unusual book* by Times, New York and *A heartbreaking read but still manages to be hopeful and uplifting* from The Guardian, UK.It is also one of the nominees for the Man Booker prize 2014. You can find all the details regarding, reviews, book trailer, summary and work sample here to see if it best suits your reading interest.Genre is Romance with strong metaphysical/paranormal aspects. Purchase Heart of Eternity!ExcerptSoft lines of emotion crossed his forehead as he turned and looked into her eyes one last time, confused as to why she seemed so familiar and all the more frustrated at his own dark side for not breaking out in front of her. Jay forced himself not to look back, to pretend as if Naidah had never existed, and to be cold and alone again just the way he liked it. He disappeared eventually, basking in the heat of his own hell. But Naidah stood there as if she’d been waiting her whole life for him. Her soulful eyes locked on his every move, craning her neck as far as she could to lock his towering frame in her eyes forever, feeling her breath stop as distance grew between them, wanting to reach over but not being able to move an inch, the distant recesses of space pulling Jay infinitely away from her till he vanished from her sight. A sharp and tangible pain ridged between her heart and ripped away her soul. She caressed the folds of his jacket. The feeling flooded her with his scent. It was engulfing. Crouching down where Jay was standing a minute ago, Naida cupped the sand up in her palm and held it there as if trying to confirm the veracity of his existence, to tell the difference between her vision and reality. All that happened afterwards was a mere blur for Naida; Eva’s shout, the lifeguard’s queries, the crowd eyeing her drenched body with curiosity, murmuring conjectures. Everything gyrated around her in full swing but she stood there, unmoving… unnerved. The sand in her palm slowly slipped away in the wind and took her with it and the only part that ever remained there was the one that did not belong to her anymore…it belonged to him… This novel was presented to me as a "new age" romance, which featured mystical and metaphysical content. I think this was an accurate description. It crosses genres and never lands solidly in any particular nitch. That's not to say this is a bad thing, since most novels do to some extent contain elements of multiple genres. Being an ancient, medieval and classical literature-trained reader, I appreciated the reference and subtlely borrowed themes from Milton and Dante. I appreciated the lyrical and eloquent language, the romantic quotes and angst-filled emotion that pulsed at the heart of the novel's spirituality. Once or twice the author's romantic heart beat too close to the overdramatic exuberance of Bollywood, but for the most part there was nothing that would be truly annoying to a less widely read reader. In fact, it was the diversity and unique elements that most attracted me to this work. The ancient universal theme of good versus evil with the expected outcome holds the plot together and moves the characters along emotionally if not always physically. I do think that perhaps this novel may not be for just any reader in an American audience. Certainly it would leave fans of straight-forward contemporary romance feeling a bit confused. If the reader expected a spiritual awakening with obvious streetsigns, they would have wondered why there was so much romance. It doesn't contain the standard conflict and sexual tension of a book on that shelf though. I'll wager a guess that even though the language is sophisticated but quite understandable to most audiences, there will be those who find it a bit more work to follow and understand than they are willing to invest. Marketed correctly, which I did feel this novel was, any reader confusion is not the fault of the author. She delivered what she promised. I enjoy a Gothic feel and dark angst and themes in a story, so I enjoyed this. BOOK BLING gives this novel 4 STARS! N. Jay found the inspiration of her romance novel Heart of Eternity in her own life history and folklore---- By drawing on the power of her personal experiences, she has created characters whose desires are circumscribed by the landscapes and pasts they can no longer escape. Coming from a culturally diverse background, N. Jay received an M.A. in Literature in 2009 and teaches in the areas of comparative literature, composition, and language pedagogy. Currently, she resides in Dubai, UAE, with her husband and two year old daughter. N. Jay finds the internal world of human beings to be a constant source of fascination and loves the more emotionally laden side of life.
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You do what you have to do to survive. For eighteen-year-old Liam Newman that means living the life of a gay porn star, a job he loathes. He isn't a star. He's a prisoner and his warden is the man who saved him from the cold Vancouver streets. Justin has been Liam's next-door neighbor for two years and has had a crush on him for just as long. Oblivious to Liam's porn career, he 's content to mind his own business about Liam's turbulent relationship until the truth stumbles drunk into his apartment one night and he realizes something must be done. When Liam's boyfriend turned producer decides rent boys make more money than porn stars Liam's nightmare takes a horrible turn. Justin must find a way to rescue him before it's too late. DP Denman writes character-driven m/m romance about survivors. Her stories are real and intense but always resolve in the type of ending that makes readers want to start the book all over again. She is from the Pacific Northwest and bases all of her stories in Vancouver, British Columbia, a city that is dear to her heart.
In her spare time she is a dedicated gay rights activist fighting for those who have been marginalized and abused. To that end, 25% of the royalties from every book go to support LGBT charities. Tuesday Weston has been running from everything and everyone for as long as she can remember. Not letting anyone in for fear of putting them in danger. How long can you run from your past until the secrets pile up so high the world you've created comes crumbling down? Evan Williams has a well known reputation. Forget flavor of the week, he prefers flavor of the moment. When he meets a girl that threatens to change his lifestyle, he can’t help but run through as many women as he can to get her out of his head. Unfortunately for him, that kind of thing never goes as planned. When Evan forces Tuesday to see what is right in front of her, will she run and hide or stand and fight? Book I in the Save Me SeriesKatheryn Kiden was born in Boothbay Harbor Maine in 1989 and raised in Newcastle. She was raised with four brothers. Katheryn graduated when she was sixteen and has been writing since she was young. When she isn’t attached to a keyboard you can usually find her with her two younger brothers, friends, or with a camera in her hand. In one day Scai has gone from an ordinary outcast in her little Welsh village to learning that she is a member of a magical people called the Vallen. Left on the church steps by a strange couple to be raised by the town priest, she knows nothing of her history—or her abilities. Did she really stop the rain just by wishing it to stop? But she is determined to learn all she can. Travelling alone to England to find her family seems to be the only way she’s going to find the answers she seeks. Her journey leads her to the funny old knight Sir Dagonet, the handsome squire Dylan and the fiery Bridget. Together, Scai, Dylan and Bridget are the long awaited Children of Avalon, destined to save the world from Lady Nimuë, formerly known as the Lady of the Lake—unless she kills them first. Along the way, Scai finds magic - both in the wind and air that she can control at will, and in the sweet ache of a first love that she cannot. Excerpt! “Hiyah!” Galloping hooves raced toward me from behind. “Hiyah!” I turned and stood frozen with shock. I knew I should get out of the way. I was about to get run down, but my legs wouldn’t move. My mind refused to believe that what I saw was real. A knight in full, gleaming armor was bearing down on me, his horse coming at me at a full gallop. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I couldn’t breathe. The knight continued to race toward me, his hand raised above his head clutching an enormous sword. He came closer, faster, raising his sword even higher, ready to strike me down. I was dead. There was no point in moving because I was dead. I just stood in the middle of the path as my death came closer and closer. At the last second, I closed my eyes and clutched my arms against my body. The heat and the smell of horse invaded all of my senses. Galloping hooves came within inches of me. My hair flew in the gust of air. And then he was behind me. He had gone straight past! I spun around and watched as, with a great war cry, the knight struck his sword into the side of an oak tree. The sword wobbled up and down with the force of the blow as the knight let it go. He continued past until his horse slowed down enough to safely turn about and return. Ignoring his sword, the knight rode straight up to me. “You all right? Tell me you aren’t hurt, wot?” “What?” “What, wot?” replied the knight. “I…I’m sorry?” I looked past the knight at the tree where his sword was still waving gently. “I’ve just saved your life; have you nothing to say?” the knight said, puffing out his chest. “You have?” The knight pulled up the visor on his helmet to stare at me. Behind the shining metal were pale brown eyes crinkled with the lines of one who had spent a great deal of time smiling. “I…I’m sorry. I didn’t…I mean, I hadn’t…er, thank you,” I said. Remembering my manners, I dipped into a deep curtsey. “Thank you, good knight, for saving my life.” The knight gave me a small bow from atop his horse. “Er…” I began, glancing back at the sword. “May I ask exactly what you saved me from?” “What?” “What was it that you saved me from?” “Oh. Er, that, er…” The knight gestured randomly toward the tree. “That, er, oak.” “The oak?” “Yes. It was reaching out toward you and, er, oh, hobnobbit!” A laugh burst out of me, releasing all the fear I’d pent up just a moment ago. For a minute there, I hadn’t been entirely certain that the knight was in his right mind, but clearly even he couldn’t keep up the pretense. There had been nothing attacking me. Book Bling Review! Yes, this is one of my favorite genres, but I also love the premise of this series. The Children of Avalon? Awesome! What fantasy fan hasn't been fascinated by The Lady of the Lake? Just hearing the label brings visions of that sword slicing the surface of the water as she delivers it to Arthur. And yes, you will get your Arthur fix on too! Tense with young love and the uncertainty of life at any age, this story doesn't smash into you like a sunami, it washes over you in a warm, gentle stream. The current is strong enough to carry you along, to make you anticipate and relish the uninterrupted flow of a magical story. This is a fast and quite easy read that except that there are a couple intimate moments could easily have been a YA . It will definately appeal to the twentyish fantasy fans, as well as adults of all ages. BOOK BLING give this story 4 stars! Purchase!Meet the Author! Meredith Bond is an award–winning author of a series of traditionally published Regency romances and indie–published paranormal romances. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart”, Meredith’s heart belongs to her husband and two children. Her paranormal romances include Magic In The Storm, Storm on the Horizon, and the short story “In A Beginning”. Her traditional Regencies include The Merry Men Quartet of which An Exotic Heir and A Dandy In Disguise have recently been republished. Meredith teaches writing at her local community college. If you want a taste of her class in book form, Chapter One is available at your favorite e–retailer. Want to know more? Come visit Meredith at her website or chat with her on Facebook or Twitter @merrybond and find her at Goodreads. If you’d like to be one of the first to know of Meredith’s new releases and get a free vignette four times a year sign up for Meredith’s newsletter here. Win This Gorgeous Necklace!Three years have passed since the Jamaicans caused the apocalypse, and things in post-Armageddon Chicago have settled into a new kind of normal. Unfortunately, that "normal" includes collapsing skyscrapers, bands of bloodthirsty maniacs, and a dwindling cache of survival supplies. After watching his family, friends, and most of the non-sadistic elements of society crumble around him, Patrick decides it's time to cross one last item off his bucket list. He’s going to Disney World. This hilarious, heartfelt, gut-wrenching odyssey through post-apocalyptic America is a pilgrimage peppered with peril, as fellow survivors Patrick and Ben encounter a slew of odd characters, from zombie politicians and deranged survivalists to a milky-eyed oracle who doesn't have a lot of good news. Plus, it looks like Patrick may be hiding the real reason for their mission to the Magic Kingdom... Book Bling ReviewIf you ever wanted to know what The Three Stooges were thinking, this book's a keeper! Never again will you have to say, "what were they thinking?!" because now you will know. And if you can stop laughing long enough to catch your breath, you will encounter narrative that transports you into the middle of the setting, anxiously rooting for a couple of class clowns who have captured your heart like the "cowardly lion". Apocalyptic fans need not fear. Though there are scenes that will make you laugh out loud, and descriptions that will make you stop thinking and start "seeing" the story, there are plenty of dark reality events and mishaps. The unlikely heroes run into far greater problems than whether to shove a machete or bat into their weapon sack. BOOK BLING gives this novel 4 Stars! ExcerptBen ripped off a fresh, cleanish strip of blanket and wrapped it around the hand. Patrick whimpered as he pulled it tight and tied it off. “Next time the world ends, let’s make sure we’re stocked up on peroxide and bandages,” Ben said. Patrick glowered at the first aid kit, which lay open on the hood. Its contents included, and were extremely limited to, six Band-Aids, four cotton swabs, a bottle of Tylenol, some nail polish remover, a packet of Midol, a travel box of Clorox Handi Wipes, and a roll of Tums. “Who packed that thing?” Ben asked. “Pee Wee Herman?” “The really scary part is, that’s the kit we had in a house with a five-year-old. Criminy. We’re lucky 20 fold-up accordion snakes didn’t pop out when we opened the lid.” He picked up the Tylenol with his good hand and struggled with the lid for a while before turning it over to Ben. “Help. It’s childproof.” He couldn’t tell if he really had a fever, or it if was a phantom sickness, but he wasn’t taking any chances. The most benign injury could turn fatal without basic medical supplies. And a half-inch hole through the hand was not a benign injury. If the alcohol didn’t kill the infection, he’d lose his hand. That’s a surgery he didn’t want to think about undergoing with full sedation, much less in the backwoods of Mississippi while buzzed on a bottle of Canadian Mist with Ben as his surgeon. He checked the bandage and made sure it was tight. The wound seemed to have stopped bleeding, at least, though he seemed to have lost feeling in his three middle fingers. He didn't take that for a good sign. “We need real medical supplies,” he said. “Because I am not letting you cut off my hand.” “What’s the point of even having a machete if we’re not gonna use it?” Ben complained. Author Clayton SmithClayton Smith is a sometimes-writer, sometimes-napper based in Chicago, where he uses neither his bachelor’s in journalism nor his master’s in arts management. He is often calamitous, and good at bacon. He lives with his impressively tolerant wife. Clayton’s previous works include Pants on Fire: A Collection of Lies and the comedic play Death and McCootie, which debuted at the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival. Purchase! "I’ve never understood a year. A year was always a measurement of something bad for me. A year in my father’s prison sentence, a year since my mom’s death, a year left of school before I could get far, far away from here. Now, as I look down the end of my college career, with only a little more than a semester to go, a year seems like something magical. It has been a year since Lily chose me, since she sat with me on the old swing set and made a decision that I was worthy of her. And every minute of the entire year has been better than the last." You already know their stories: Lily, the perfect princess, always living someone else's life. And Jack, the broken boy, who had stopped believing in hope. Somehow, though, they found each other and what was one night blossomed into a love story. Now, a year later, Jack and Lily are dreaming of the future. Despite all of his promises to himself that he would never be indebted to anyone, Jack makes a new promise - this time to Lily - that he will be there for her forever. But when life unravels for them, he starts to pull away, and Lily worries he's out of reach for good. When Jack does the unthinkable, Lily is left destroyed. Is it possible to have a happily ever after? Reading Order Note: Forget Me Not, Lily of the Valley, and Blue Rose can be read in any order. There is some crossover in scenes between the titles, but each stands alone as one character's story. Star of Bethlehem is a direct continuation from Forget Me Not and Lily of the Valley. Orange Blossom and Ambrosia assume readers have read the other four titles and read as sequels. In essence, the first three are #1, Star of Bethlehem is #1.5, Orange Blossom is #2, and Ambrosia is #3. Title: Orange Blossom Author: Sarah Daltry Cover Design: Shoutlines Design 18+ New Adult Contemporary Romance Orange Blossom Play List URL-cut and paste in address http://hypster.com/hypsterPlayer/MPL?media_type=playlist&playlist_id=6874603&us_id=4993560 I'm not sure how much I can add to some of the wonderful blogs that came before me, but for such a good cause (writers helping and promoting writers), I'm willing to play along. The Writing Process Blog Hop is passed from writer to writer. Nancy Gideon “tagged” me in her blog last week, passing me the baton for today’s post on four questions regarding how we writer’s write. In turn, my job is to pass this task on to 3 authors who will find fellow authors who will post and tag next week, and so on, and so on. Now it’s my turn to play the WRITING PROCESS: 1. What am I working on? It’s not at all unusual for me to work on multiple projects, but I try to focus my time so I reach as many endings as beginnings. I am currently working on Book II in my Illuminati Series, The Tree of Life. Related, in a way, is the second manuscript I am working on. It’s the first in my YA spinoff. Book I in my Far From the Tree series is titled Immortal Sins. 2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? Well, I call my work Urban Fantasy Reinvented, which is a huge clue that it is in fact very different. It has many elements from other genres, and actually defies categorization. But Urban Fantasy seems the most accurate. It follows the adventures and misadventures of a hunka-hunka Indiana Jones, Ljluka (Luc), and his equally captivating female counterpart, Nalini. And here the plot thickens, because I do like a twisted and turning plot, riddled with subplots. Take two warring families, add Immortality, mythological Pantheon personalities and paranormal abilities, add a dash of International espionage that 007 would admire, and hold on to your seat because you’re in for a wild ride. True to fantasies like LOR, the supporting characters are fleshed out enough to make you want to have them star in their own novels. Fortunately, they will. 3. Why do I write what I do? A great deal of my professional career was spent writing rhetoric. I spent years in college subverting my right brain in order to develop my left brain. Once I wasn’t answering to professors, it was time to feed my soul with a hearty helping of fiction. The rest, as they say… 4. How does my writing process work? My favorite way to brainstorm ideas is to toss them around with my writing critique buddies. Then, once I have roughed out an idea, I like to toss it around again. By then I have it pretty solid in my left brain and it starts to reel out like a movie into my right brain. The next step is getting it down. I’m obsessive compulsive when it comes to creativity. I lose track of time and space like a kid watching cartoons or playing video games. Once a scene starts to flow, or a character starts to develop, I’ve been known to sit at my computer all night. Night owls and vampires are very impressed with my schedule. Then come the rewrites. Again I rely on my critique buds to be ruthless and honest and caring and enthusiastic—all the things a good critique group should be. Rewrite, spit shine and repeat as necessary. My "Tagger" Nancy GideonHere's a little about Nancy Gideon, whose work I read and loved even before I met her. I still didn't know it then because she was writing under one of her many pen names, Dana Ransom. That was over twenty years ago! Or it would be if I wasn't 26. She has been a writer in almost every romance genre, if not all, for over twenty-five years. She has also written a screenplay for a movie! Probably the most prolific writer I know, she takes self-discipline and organization to a whole new level. I'm humbled by how much I have learned from this multi-award-winning author. She has always been an advocate for new writers and has helped launch many a writer into published authorship as an active member of Romance Writers of America. I'm proud to have her as one of my closest friends. She has a great sense of humor, and is even a great house guest! Her latest series, By Moonlight, is so popular she is writing the 8th book! To find out what else she's up to, visit her here: My "Tagee" Ric WasleyRic has a 40 year professional career history in advertising, publishing and marketing in Boston, New York and San Francisco. He has degrees in history and psychology and has been trained in debating, public speaking and stage acting. A large part of his 40 year career was spent in numerous professional and business settings as a presenter and featured speaker at seminars and professional meetings. Ric has been a visiting professor at Worcester Polytech Institute. He also teaches a popular course on marketing for authors at prominent venues such as the venerable “Cape Cod Writers Conference”. Ric is a published author of a Mystery Series and multiple other novels. His newest, Echoes Down a Dark Well, is a paranormal mystery published by Tell-Tale Publishing's Night-shade Imprint. You can visit Ric at: It's been a long and eventful journey from the conception to the writing and then the publication of my first novel. Well, to be honest it's actually the 3rd novel I have written. My first were written 20 years ago, and left to gather dust while I went to college. As most writers soon discover, the market is fickle but rules what publishers want to spend their time and/or money working with. Historical vampire romance novels written when that trend first began so that they didn't have zombies, werewolves, or angels and demons, were just not interesting any more--at least not to the majority of the market, and thus publishers. NO one likes to be pigeon-holed. Just ask Dean Koontz, who has written in just about every genre, including romance (under a psydonym), and whose editor still manipulates him into his popular, name-making genre. I believe that if even the big money authors have to cater to the marketplace, new authors had better pay attention. If a publisher can't categorize a market for your work, they're just not going to take a chance on it. No sales equals no money for anyone. I started to pay attention and I noticed that not only did digital reading devices change the way people purchase and read their books, the changing trends in movies and television are reflected in the book industry. Or is it the other way around? Lately, I have noticed that the domination of the air waves by reality TV shows has begun to shift. Viewers are getting tired of sitting around watching strange people air their dysfunctions in public. Many of the new shows reflect a shift from reality to fantasy. There are hit vampire and werewolf shows, zombie shows with a truly eclectic fan base, and supernatural just about anything, including fairies, shows. Fairy Tales have not been forgotten either. The Grimm family has been reinvented as a family of hybrid police that stop and/or kill humanoid creatures who are out of control and killing humans. Once Upon a Time brings a plethora of fairy tales to life, using a small isolated town as its platform into reality. I watch the marketplace with a purpose, and use it to guide my personal book promotions. Every time I hear of a new social media site, I at least check it out to see what it's all about and how or if it can aid me in my writing, networking, or promoting of my novel. Then if possible I find a program (free always gets first try) that will help me organize or generate a personalized social media message. For example, Tweetdeck saves my life with organizing the various feeds I've categorized, such as a column for friends, for writers, for readers, etc. I use TweetAdder to generate time-released announcements or statements--being very careful that I only put out a couple per day so people don't stop following me because I'm a spammer. It does, however, allow me to load a slew of tweets so I dan't have to become a slave to yet another social media site. In juggling so many sites, I have evaluated what other writers have done and linked my Website pages to my FB, Twitter, Blog and Google accounts. All my social media sites, including Goodreads and Pinterest, can be accessed through any single site. I network my blog with those of others in the reading or writing community. Why do all this? In order to make connections with people who only use one form of social media. To get my name out there. To find a market I have not yet tapped into. Paying a relatively small fee to a book blog promotional company such as Goddess Fish Promotions, Tasty Book Tours, or Enchantress of Book Blog Tours (to name just a few of the many, many companies), who have a premade book reading audience is a good idea. The newest form of promotion in social media, at least to me, is blog hops. A blog hop is when multiple participants blog on the same day or on specific dates and all are linked together from one to another, so the reader "hops" from one site to the next. It's a great way to get to know other writers and readers, and find out useful tips to aid you in writing and marketing. This one is still a little new to me. Linky Tools is the program I have seen used most often for blog hops (as in this one), though they don't need to have prizes or programs used at all. Each participant can just "tag" other participants. Another way to get your books out there was just suggested to me. I had to tell myself Doh! Call your local library and ask them if they can order the book. Many public libraries will order books if they have patrons who wish to read them. Ask all your friends and relatives, or even fans, to do the same. That way your book is out there and whoever likes it may look for other books by you--and you have just brought your name to that book acquisition person's attention. Local media is much more likely to pick up a story or ask for an interview with a local author than just another book sent out by mass PR. So combine the above with the usual PR releases to local radio, TV stations, and newspapers. Even if you get the press release from your publicist, make it personal in some way. Attach a note and direct it to a specific person by name. Call bookstores and libraries to see if they will set up a book signing for you. If you know other local authors, agree to do them as a group and they are even more likely to accomodate you. Yes, we are writers and we want to write, not promote, but in this very competitive marketplace, it's a necessity. Not even the big shot authors get out of promotional activities and appearances. I have seen some well-known authors at seemingly local events. So spend at least some of your writing time on continuous promotion (as in not just when your book comes out) and you will be on your way to heightened sales, if not a pot of gold. What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group? Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! See #5 above! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. I'm currently working on one of my adult series YA spin-off novels. Since the main character has a love interest (of course), I have been working on softening the physical contact while escalating the emotional angst and indicision. The intended audience is toward older teens and twentyish readers, but it still made me really think about how much sex I should include and how explicit the horizontal scenes should get. Yes, yes, I need additional decisions and indecisiveness associated with my writing. I do know though that anyone who decides to write romance in their novels must make this decision up front. If it's a straight-forward romance, this decision must be made so you can target a line (i.e. audience with certain expectations). But even if your novel doesn't focus on the romance exclusively, you need to make a decision. It makes a difference to how you want to market your work, and even how far you are willing to go publicly...haha. Is it a sweet romance where there is no sex, no mention of a penis or other taboo language, or erotica? Most likely your work will fall somewhere in between. What I had to do was reread love scenes from some of my favorite novels and pay specific attention to detail. Personally, I found that leaving a little more to my imagination is actually more romantic. It's like Stephen King says, "there is no monster as frightening as the one in our own head." That's why it takes so long to actually see the monster in the most frightening movies and why reading the book is even more terrifying. YOu simply imagine what it must look like in the same way you imagine what the characters are feeing or doing with very little inuendo. Let's face it, yada, yada, yada would be boring, but we don't need arrows pasted to the pages with point A inserted into point B either. That said, what do you think? JOIN THE REST OF THE INSECURE WRITERS AND DISUSS ALL THINGS WE THINK, WRITE, OR WORRY ABOUT IN OUR WRITING CAREERS. CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO JOIN THIS MONTHL BLOG HOP. What is the Insecure Writer's Support Group? Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! See #5 above! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Febrary may be the shortest month of the year, but for those who have lost or parted from a romantic love, it sometimes feels like the longest. It is at those times, the times when you hurry past the "significant other" Hallmarks at the grocery store, or avert your eyes from all the heart-shaped boxes of candy or red and pink balloons, that you have to hug yourself. Love yourself. Sounds simple, right?
Unforunately, as those who have felt a greater surge of sadness or loneliness since the Christmas decor went up--and when it came down, as that is when they put up the Valentine's ware--know, it is much easier said than done. You can't just sit down and instantly think your way to a permanently elevated state of mind or sense of well being. Trust me, I know first-hand. Buck up! Suck it up! or better yet, Plenty more fish in the sea! are not helpful tips. [Are you paying attention family and friends of the broken-hearted?] Yes, you can try to think happy thoughts and focus on good memories and what you have, not what you lost. You should do that. However, the mind, especially for anyone with ADD, goes where it will, and short-term memories are most readily available. Think on them too long and they will become long-term memories. Did you ever consider that? It takes time and diligent focus to keep the sad feelings at bay for any length of time. Happiness as a couple screaming at you wherever you go, the TV, the radio, doesn't make it possible. So what are the weary lovelorn to do during hearts and flowers month? Enter exhibit "A," the above picture. Do get out the candles, the bubbles and bubbly. Turn on your go-to, feel-good music. Shake a couple drops of scented oil, burn some incense, or just spritz your favorite fragrance around the room and sink into a hot bath. Aroma therapy is very effective. Now is the time to lay back and recall your favorite places and events, things that make you feel only good, warm and fuzzy. Get in some quality "me" time. Rinse and repeat as needed. You can also call a friend or relative and go to the movies or dinner. Go shopping, hiking, or biking. Try to get some outdoor exercise every day. Endorphins make you feel good. If it's too cold where you live, turn to an exercise channel, get out the Wi-Fit or just crank up the music and dance. You can even slide across the floor in your stocking feet while wearing briefs and a man's shirt if you want to! What about a journal? Do you keep one? Perhaps you should. Or even write down what you do each day. Later, read it, recall how you felt during each activity. Try to repeat the frequency of things that make you feel better and eliminate activities, foods or habits that get you down. This isn't an immediate fix. But if you are focusing on you, on loving yourself, just remember that you're worth it. It is true that only time heals. With time, even hurts that will never heal become easier to bear. If you spend that time wisely, practicing self-soothing techniques and activites every day, you may find yourself beginning to have more good days than bad. Hugs & Happy Hearts and Flowers Month. You're all sweethearts. |
I blog there the 18th of each month!
Elizabeth Alsobrooks's books on Goodreads
The Keeper's Secret: Tell-Tale Publishing's Annual Horror Anthology
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ratings: 2 (avg rating 5.00) 2016 NaNoWriMo Winner!
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