July 2022

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Sunday, July 24, 2022

WeWriWa: When Sparks Fly . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS

July 24, 2022

WeWriWa: When Sparks Fly . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS


Nothing sets up a relationship between hero and heroine better than when sparks fly. Those testy words that evolve from unexpected attraction when it’s least expected . . . or wanted. They say opposites attract, and my hero and heroine in the 7th book in my “By Moonlight” shapeshifter series, are the poster couple in this setting boundaries scene from BETRAYED BY SHADOWS . . .


“I don’t need someone looking out for me, so I’d appreciate you keeping your distance.”

She could see him lounging on the wooden swing, wearing the suit coat over an open-collared white shirt, though well-worn jeans and tennis shoes had replaced their dresser counterparts; a good-looking man in a ruggedly conservative way that usually didn’t appeal to her. She liked pretty men with pretty manners and there was nothing the least bit pretty about Giles St. Clair. His big frame was as relaxed as his tone, making him appear a gentle giant, with those calm blue-gray eyes and easy movements, but she wasn’t fooled by that impression.

“Don’t think for a minute that you can tell me what to do or that I’ll listen to anything you have to say.”

“I didn’t think that even for a second.”

“You do know that you’re just a puny human and I can tear through you like a slice of prime rib.”

His teeth flashed white. “I’ve always considered myself more of a slow-cooked, chuck-roast kind of fellow—meaty, a bit of gristle, but tender if basted properly—and I think I could take you. I know a thing or two about your kind, that you can growl, scratch, and bite, but for the most part, you can’t change into anything more dangerous than the average female.”

“You would wrestle me to the ground, Mr. St. Clair?”

“Only if I had to . . . and I’d try not to enjoy it.”
I didn’t expect Giles and Brigit to become one of my all-time favorite couples out of 70-some books. Their shockingly layered and complex pasts, her ego clashing with his calm determination, their needs taking a back seat (and a bunkbed) to stubborn and very opposing missions combined with sparks of danger and desire created a book that was a dream to write and a delight to read and reread as I prepare to get it back out to readers in a reissue of the series. A true labor of love in this case!

Next week, I’ll be moving (literarily) from New Orleans to Lake Tahoe to introduce the “House of Terriot” in PRINCE OF SHADOWS. In the meantime, I hope you’ll stop by tomorrow, the 25th, to view my post on the Paranormal Romantics page about struggling to get words on the page—another common problem we writers share.


Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Nancy on the Web



Sunday, July 17, 2022

WeWriWa: Forbidden Fire . . . BETRAYED BY SHADOWS

July 17, 2022


After over seventy books featuring hot heroes and courageous heroines, you’d think it would be difficult to pick favorite couple. Nope. Not me. While readers rally behind team Max Savoie and Charlotte Caissie, the main characters in my “By Moonlight” series, I embraced a more unusual choice. I LOVE an underdog, the one struggling against a fate denied them and in BETRAYED BY SHADOWS, Book 7 of 15, I found the perfect pair: A good man drowning in bad deeds and a bad girl denying a good heart. For reluctant hero, Giles St. Clair, a man denied his own aspirations to pay his family’s debt to a devil, that first glimpse of Brigit MacCreedy reminds him of everything now beyond his reach . . . You’ll meet Brigit next week.


“Sorry, what?”

Giles turned to the woman standing at his side to find Charlotte Caissie regarding him with an all too insightful smile.

“If you stare any harder, you’re going to knock her over.”

He grinned, not bothering to deny it, and continued his rapt perusal of Brigit MacCreedy as she descended the stairs.

By all the saints, who’d have guessed the bedraggled female who’d collapsed in his backseat would clean up to such an eyeful!

With her pale porcelain skin and blazing red hair, she was smoldering sex appeal in a curvy bottle-green dress, and the way she moved said she knew it. Brigit MacCreedy was a woman who could work an entrance.

Giles had a healthy appreciation for all things fine and female. His admiration for the NOPD detective currently busting his chops was a prime example. The image of her flashing his boss in lusty Big Easy fashion was burned in a favorite part of his memory. He viewed women the way a connoisseur valued art, noting textures, exquisite lines, and technique—with an eye for the beauty of things he could never possess.

( . . . and a bit more . . .)

Brigit MacCreedy was worthy of her own special showing. She had a rare, almost mythical appeal, so earthy in her sexuality yet unblemished in her perfection. The impossibly red hair blazed like a setting sun searing water. The tempting curve of her cheek and long, graceful neck, the artfully rouged lips with their pouty upper peaks and luscious lower swell, the arch of her brows so descriptively beckoning and yet disdainful. The way the sinuous drape of her dress cupped full breasts, showed off a tiny waist, and flared over sassy hips, leaving delicious legs bare all the way down to the kind of sexy shoes worn to get a lover all juiced up. The fact that she was an unnatural creature, like her brother, only heightened the appeal.

Because looking was stirring a need for some forbidden touching, Giles was wise enough to direct his stare elsewhere.

“What’s her story?”

BETRAYED BY SHADOWS came with a lot of firsts. It was a launch title for Pocket Star, Simon & Schuster’s e-exclusive line, when e-books were a brand-new thing. To celebrate that fact, I jump at another cutting-edge way to promote by putting together a play list and producing a book trailer. It was a fun but tedious learning experience for both me and my virtual assistant, My Girl Friday. Lunch hours in the office where I was a legal assistant were spent scrolling through images of “Bare Male Torsos” (who’da thought you could get sick of that!?) and listening to music clips. When I found all the desired ingredients, MGF put them together into this wonderful book trailer (one of the first to include a video stream!).


Now that I have the rights back to those two e-only titles, BETRAYED BY SHADOWS and PRINCE OF SHADOWS, I’m so excited at the thought of getting them into my hot little hands in paperback for the first time! But first, to finish my contemporary romantic suspense, A RISK-TAKING RANGER, now at 60K!We’ve gotten a brief break from the heat here in Michigan, but the pressure cooker is screwing back down. So I’ll be at my desk under the whir of the ceiling fan while following a dangerous trail with my hero and heroine through the arid wastelands of West Texas. Yee Ha! Get that sun tea a-brewing!


Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Nancy on the Web



Sunday, July 10, 2022

WeWriWa: A Painful Truth . . . SEEKER OF SHADOWS

July 10, 2022


Could anything be worse than having a fated loved denied? Worse is having to pretend it never existed. When shapeshifter Jacques LaRoche woke up on the docks of New Orleans, all memories before that moment were gone, leaving him to build a new identity, a new life he’s come to enjoy . . . until a lovely visitor from the dangerous North arrives in his bar, stirring up emotions he can’t explain. Dr. Susanna Duchamps comes to New Orleans to right a wrong that denied a good man his freedom and his past. If she can solve a genetic riddle that prevents a future for them together, she can finally tell him a truth too long denied . . . if it’s not already too late. Here’s a sample . . .


Susanna gave up on trying to work, her thoughts fragmented, her emotions, rarely tested or tried, in a knot. Fatigue and sorrow twisted about the sense of blame that refused to let her alone.

She’d done the right thing seven years ago, the only thing she could to save them all. There’d been no other choice, no options, and if she hadn’t let him go, instead of pacing the floor in an agony of frustration, he’d be dead. That simple.

But knowing that truth didn’t lessen her pain.

She couldn’t destroy him with the knowledge that had her heart breaking.

Tears burned in her eyes as she watched his restless movements, knowing he struggled against feelings he couldn’t understand. His desire for her wasn’t natural, not like the earthy affection he had for his female staff, yet it couldn’t be broken by distance or anger or the drink he finally reached for. She knew because she felt it, too.

She could still taste him, feel him, smell him. Wanting him growled through her like a hungry beast, terrifying in its strength, devastating in its potential. And it would only get more difficult.
“Excellent dialogue, fully developed characters, and an engrossing plot. SEEKER OF SHADOWS is what readers wish all paranormal romances could be. Filled with fantastical beings, heartfelt romance, danger, suspense, and the prerequisite happily ever after, this is a novel that no paranormal reader should miss. I highly recommend SEEKER OF SHADOWS and all of the prior books in the series and happily award it an elusive Perfect 10.” –Romance Reviews Today

I’ve been busy searching through Deposit Photos for just the perfect graphics to bring Books 4 through 12 back into print with all new covers. What a delightfully delicious journey! Who knew one could get tired of scrolling through “Bare Male Torsos” for just the right graphic to do a hero justice? I’ve finally matched heroes to backgrounds and am sending them off to my fabulous cover genius, Pat Lazarus Art. Now comes the search for the original manuscript and formatting for reissue . . . a happy but exhaustive process. And somewhere I’ll try to find time to return to my romantic suspense that’s on an impatient backburner for the moment. I know, what a wonderful problem to have.

Off to stealthily get the cat carrier ready to take Kitty #2 to the vet tomorrow for x-rays. Time to find out how many teeth have to go and how deep I’m going to have to dig to pay for the lack of them! Sigh . . . Maybe it’s time for Cat Dentures!




Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Nancy on the Web



Wednesday, July 06, 2022

IWSG: It’s Out of This World!

July 06, 2022



Our IWSG question for July is: “If you could live in any book world, which one would you choose?”

One of the greatest things about being a multi-genre writer is getting to write yourself into any time, place, or situations you choose! The Wild West? Yee Haw, been there. Post-Civil War? I’ve walked that desolate road back home where nothing remains of the world you left behind. I’ve dealt into an inside straight on a river boat, felled timber in Upper Michigan, sailed with pirates in the Caribbean, hunted vampires through the centuries, and changed into a shapeshifter . . . all from the safety of my imagination at my office computer. Would I want to walk in the shoes of any of my characters, live their lives, endure their dramas? Ummmm, no, thank you. I’m perfectly content to be both voyeur and puppet master. A mental vacay is one thing, but walking the walk, smelling the smells, experiencing all the situation and emotions I put my characters through . . . I’ll pass. I’m not an adventurer, I’m a dreamer. That’s why my titles are fiction, not biographical.

If I want to experience a different past, present or future from my own snugly boring one, I’ll happily hitchhike with my favorite authors and their characters for a mental journey. When the writing is good, the plot is riveting, and character come to life . . . I AM living in that world . . . until the final page. And when I find myself in a world of my own making that I can’t bear to leave . . . I’ll make it into a series!


I just got the rights back to my “By Moonlight” shape-shifter series and am currently reading through all fifteen (!) of them so I can come up with new cover concepts for the twelve I’ll be reissuing. I’ve “lived” in that world for over fourteen years with characters who are almost like family (a very strange and dysfunctional family who’d liven up any holiday get together!), so I guess I could say I know their world almost as well as I know my own – perhaps better since I control theirs (most of the time!). Would I want to sit down on that side porch overlooking the bayou with them? I’m thinking . . . maybe not. THAT world wouldn’t be one I’d like to spend my retirement years in, no matter how much I enjoy the mental visits! I like my reality predictably boring and will happily leave the adventures up to my characters!

How about you? Where would you like to “escape” to if it were possible?



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!

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. The awesome co-hosts for the July 5th posting of the IWSG will be J Lenni Dorner, Janet Alcorn, PJ Colando, Jenni Enzor, and Diane Burton!

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

  

To join the IWSG Blog Hop and view the List of Hop Participants!


Sunday, July 03, 2022

WeWriWa: You Ought to be in Pictures . . . FROM THIS DAY FORWARD

July 03, 2022


Sorry I missed last week’s post, but I was out of town (Chi-town, to be exact!) with one of my critique partners visiting her sister for a writers’ weekend. With all the sun, visitors, pool- and Netflix-time, not a lot of actual wordage happened, buuuuut something potentially Big Screeny did happen. I zoom pitched two of my contemporary romances to the executive producer of an Ontario-based film company actively seeking Hallmark-ish stories! What an exciting first! Not my typical topic, but I did write a handful of them for Kensington’s short-lived Lucky In Love line back in the ‘90s and two of them, now available through BelleBooks, fit the bill. The first was FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, written as Dana Ransom, detailing that awkward moment when you’re confronted with a near stranger the morning after . . . even if nothing happened! Widowed wedding planner Robin Lee isn’t ready to move on with her life, on to someone new, even if that someone spent an innocent night with her and now makes all sorts of not so innocent innuendos. Hard-edged news photographer Kyle Travers hasn’t a romantic bone in his body but the delicate and delectable female handling his sister’s nuptial plans has him questioning that determined stance. What if two broken hearts can make a perfect whole . . .?

Here’s the taste I shared . . .


Published: November 20, 2014
Length: 188 Pages

“How’s the coffee?” she asked, impatiently, the nonverbal suggestion, Drink up and hit the road. Contrarily, he took a small sip.

“Strong and black, just the way I like it when I get up in the morning.”

She got all edgy at that reference, as if struggling not to imagine him getting out of bed . . . or in bed, so he smiled at her, looking smug and lazy, and as inviting as rumpled sheets. And because he had her running scared, she blurted out the next sentence without forethought.

“Last night was a mistake.”

“I’ll say.” Just as she began to relax, Kyle added, “Next time I’ll put the chain lock on.”

A shiver of desperate tension rose up through her. “There won’t be a next time, Kyle.”

( . . . and a bit more . . . )

Who was she trying to convince with that staunch claim? He didn’t believe it, not after the way her mouth had followed him down to the sofa cushions. Nor did she, not when he could see the way her hands clutched at the wedding photo.

He could do one of two things—be a gentleman and back off to a cautious distance, or he could plunge full steam ahead to rock her off her safe pedestal of grief.

Kyle Travers was a full steam ahead kind of guy.
Unfortunately (sigh), they’d just wrapped a series based on a wedding planner so . . . no go there. Buuut, she loved LIFETIME INVESTMENT (I’ll touch on that next week), a rekindling romance tale . . . which was unfortunately between a married couple. Not something they do, as their focus is on the first meet and fall in love type trope. Buuuut, she enjoyed my pitches enough to offer to pass my name on to other similar production companies looking for the type of content I presented. Squeeee! Okay, I’m not packing my bags for Hollywood any time soon, but it was gratifying to hear that I had the right stuff to reach smaller screens.

Moral of the story: The only truly missed opportunity is one not taken.


Happy Fourth of July to all who celebrate. I’ll be cleaning my grill in anticipation!


Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their #8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Nancy on the Web



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