GUEST: Jackie M. Smith

Today my guest is XoXo Publishing Best-selling author Jackie M. Smith! I think you'll enjoy getting to know Jackie, and hearing about this special novel. Welcome Jackie, and thank you for dropping by today.

A Soldier’s Vow

XOXO Publishing, June 2010

What inspired A Soldier's vow?

I can’t remember what inspired me to write this story. It must have been after watching a WWI documentary. I wondered why not have a woman take pictures of the front. Although in my story, the heroine doesn't go near the battlefield, I wanted her to experience the horrors and the courage of the war.

What does this book mean to you personally?

This book has a Canadian flavor. It means so much for me to recognize our Canadian heroes of the First World War who we have forgotten a bit over the years.

What is your favorite genre to read? What about that genre attracts you to it?

My favorite genre to read is historical romance. Its like going back with a time-machine. I like discovering interesting facts about different time periods like how they dressed, what they ate, how to acted.

Do you have a favorite book of all time?

My favorite book of all time is Jewels by Danielle Steele. It was the first historical romance I read by her. I saw the movie first. After that I had to have the book. I love the way the author brings us into the characters' lives.

How do you become inspired to write?

Movies, documentaries and everyday life inspires me to write. I carry a notepad with me everywhere. Ideas come to me like scenes from a movie. Sometimes, just a word comes into mind like a flash. Then I write the idea down and develop.

What does your work space look like?

My workspace is pretty organized. I write shorthand so I always have a notebook and a pencil nearby. I don't have a big place so I write in my livingroom. The noise around me doesn't interfere with my concentration. Once I get writing, there's like a bubble surrounding me.

Tell us five random facts about you.

Well, first I love ice hockey. Second, I have a university bachelor's degree in Sociology. I have three younger sisters. I love the Indiana Jones movies. Finally, I'm from Acadian descent.

Are your books more sensual or erotic?

My books are more sensual. I would like to write an erotic story. But nothing hard core. I prefer writing sensual stories.

Where do you see yourself in five years (for your writing career?)

In five years, I hope to have written at least a dozen of books.

Where to find Jackie on the web:
My website
Blog
FB Fan Page
MySpace
Twitter

The GAMES continue....

Today I am visiting with the lovely Sky Purington, and we are discussing GAMES OF SEDUCTION. There is also a very cool contest happening, so please drop by. There are exciting excerpts, an interview about the heart of this story, and some interesting insights to share... Hope to see you there!!

Visit Sky's BLOG

XoXo Publishing(TM) Official Summer Book Launch Party!

XoXo Publishing(TM) Official Summer Book Launch Party!

Will be held on live chat in our XOXO Chat room this Saturday August 7 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST.

XoXo Chat Room

Same time we're holding the same chat in our XOXO Publishing Authors and Readers Yahoo Loop please join in advance.

XoXo Publishing Authors and Readers Group

Win great prizes!

See you there, this Saturday.


XoXo Media Team
http://www.xoxopublishing.com

A look at the research....

Most of the people who read my blogs and interviews have some background on my latest paperback release, SHADES OF DEATH. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, and maybe those who do know it, I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the research that went into this book that I’m sharing with you today. The novel is called Shades of Death, and it’s a very different kind of vampire story than the traditional vampire romance.

When I began this book a few years back, I discovered that there are a wealth of fascinating vampire legends from all over the world. Every culture has a legend, and each legend empowers the vampire creature with different attributes and abilities. I’ve used those types and unique qualities to create both a mystery and a deadly killer who is attempting to evolve into an entirely new species of vampire. There are a lot of elements to this book that are outside the norm, and when I had two best-selling vampire authors tell me I should publish because it was an approach they had never encountered before, I thought it was worth finishing.

In the elements of this book you will also meet two special groups of people, at the Raven’s Eyre you will meet the people who comprise The Institute of Paranormal Investigation and Research. Run by a brilliant scientific investigator who is also psychic, the Institute is part of a worldwide network of professionals who study all realms of the paranormal and the beings who inhabit the shadows. Tied to them is a second group called S.I.G.H.T. – which stands for Surgically Induced Genetically Heightened Telepathy. The purpose of SIGHT is to enhance and enable investigations at all levels, and the team of scientists who work at that project are near a breakthrough when their team leader is drawn into the mysterious killings in Vancouver, close to the Raven’s Eyre.

I’ve tied legends, murders, and a romantic subplot all together to create a story that I hope entertains but also gives you some new information about vampire species. There is the possibility of a sequel here, so there are no total finishes. I’d like to know what your thoughts are before I go back and consider a sequel seriously.

Anyway, that's a brief glimpse at what's it all about. For anyone who would like to read the first chapter of this novel in its entirety, you can do that here on my website: http://www.denysebridger.com/books-ShadesDeath.html

If you’d like to buy it, in print, eBook, Kindle edition, (or review it), here’s that information:

SHADES OF DEATH
Genre: Horror/vampires/ thriller/ romance
Page Count: 305 (short novel)
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
BUY eBook: http://solsticepublishing.com/shades-of-death-p-6.html

PRINT: http://solsticepublishing.com/shades-of-death-print-edition-p-61.html
AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003LUHE96

BLURB: Deep within the ageless Carpathian Mountains , an ancient evil wakes. Imprisoned many centuries ago, the creature has waited, patiently, for the one destined to grant her freedom.

Arienne Lereaux has studied the preternatural menace called "vampyre" for most of her life. She is an expert in the field. Loosely affiliated with a secretive organization called The Institute of Paranormal Research and Investigation, she turns to them when she unearths what may be the first representation of the vampyre ever to exist.

The enigmatic and attractive Head of the Institute, Adam Raven, has spent a lifetime tracking the clues left by his mother's disappearance in the mountains of Romania nearly twenty years past. When Arienne arrives at the secluded island headquarters of the Institute, he wonders if she holds the key to finding his lost mother. But before too many days pass, the city of Vancouver is rocked by a series of grisly murders. As it races to find the culprit, the Institute faces an evil unlike any it has encountered before...

In the middle of their hunt, another branch of their network is making a scientific breakthrough in genetically heightened telepathy. The team responsible may soon hold a weapon that will have world powers at their door—until their lead scientist vanishes after leaving Toronto to consult Raven and his people. Ancient myth is suddenly not myth, and evil may take many guises before the Institute can restore the delicate balance that was destroyed the night Arienne stumbled into a remote castle in the mountains half a world away...

Surprise!

So, if you're in the mood for something hot and sexy... drop by and check out this bit of sizzling flash fiction that is being featured on The Mistress Journals.

Because I Am Yours - Erotic Fantasy

CLICK HERE

GUEST: Isabel Roman

Today my guest is Isabel Roman... The book sounds wonderful, and I'm sure you'll enjoy learning more about this talented author! Welcome Isabel...

World Building

Things you need in your world-first, you have to figure out that you want to create a world. It’s like a flow chart, one leads to two, or sometimes three depending on your answer. Follow the arrows, and you’ll have a great world. Don’t follow them, and confusion and delay ensue.

1. What is the setting? It’s most important, whether it’s 1882 Philadelphia or 2002 Philadelphia. Special government? Particular society? Is what you’re building (vamps, magickers, whatever) public knowledge like in True Blood or hidden like in the Buffy verse?

2. Your verse. Are you writing straight history, alternate history, vampires in historical or modern times? Magickers in any time—what do they do, who are they? Very important to know these things before you get going. It’s a pain in the ass to change them later.

3. Continuity. Don’t change things between the first half of the book and second. (See #6)

4. Characters: what are their special ability? Do they have one? What are they trying to do and with what?

5. The Bible: For example: Contemporary alternate history vampire world. Define central characters; here it’ll be your vamps. Do they have special needs or abilities not the traditional vamp needs or abilities? Figure out if the World needs anything unique to accommodate those needs/abilities.

6. Remember all this. No forgetting and fudging it later. Star Trek had The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers where they picked all the problems each episode had either within a specific episode or overall in the larger Trek universe. (And yes, I did have them! I’m such a geek.) Ah, to be big enough to have a bestselling book nitpicking all your mistakes. Move over JK Rowling and Trek! Here we come!

This is your verse. This is your world. This is where your story, be it one or a series of a dozen will inhabit. Don’t forget what you said HERE so it’s the same THERE. Whatever you put in, broad or specific, it’s part of the world, the characters. There’s no need to explain it, your readers are smart enough to get it.

Read Dark Desires of the Druids: Sex & Subterfuge available now in bookstores! And be sure to check out Isabel’s free story!

BLURB:

A master magicker, Morgana Blackthorne has a tenuous hold on her following. When a strange Englishman arrives on her doorstep with news of other druidic magickers, and magicker problems, she’s intrigued but suspicious. There hasn’t been contact between the American and European druids in over a hundred years. Plus she has her own worries and doesn’t need the handsome earl adding to them.

Lucien, Earl of Granville, left England to seek out the Blackthorne Druid line and discover what they’ve been up to since contact was lost. Once he and Morgana meet, their mutual attraction distracts him from his purpose. Embroiled in her problems, he finds himself more concerned with her welfare than is practical for a passing affair.

When I invited you into my bed, it never occurred to me I wouldn’t want you to leave.
There are darker forces at work and the hunger of a weak magicker desperate for power. Will Lucien convince Morgana of his true feelings before things spiral out of control? Or will the surrounding subterfuge tear them apart?

EXCERPT:

“Lucien Harrington,” Jacobs, her butler, intoned, “the Earl of Granville.”

Smiling, Morgana swept out of the circle, stepping into the foyer, and greeted her guest. His timing was off, but as the magicker she knew him to be, not suspect.

“Welcome, Lord Granville,” she said, offering a slight curtsy.

He was tall, with dark blond hair, dark blue eyes, and a sharp nose over which he looked down at her. Her eyes traveled over his face, down his body, clothed in immaculately tailored Savile Row, back to his face. Arousal pooled hot in her belly.

She’d never wanted any man. Yet Morgana wanted Lord Granville. Her skin prickled at his nearness, her womb clenched with want.

Forcing her mind off his body, she studied his face. Briefly, want flashed in his eyes and she smiled a truly wicked smile at him. It was gone as fast as it’d shone and she returned to studying him. There was grief hidden deep in his eyes, along with suspicion and weariness. Tilting her head, she wondered what caused those emotions. Suspicion she could easily understand. It’d been more than a hundred and thirty years since their families had any contact. Though, since he’d sought her out, she should be more suspicious of him.

“Mistress Blackthorne,” he bowed over her offered hand. Flicking a glance behind her, he said, “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all,” Morgana smiled. She could all but feel David’s displeasure. Suppressing a giddy smile, she took Lord Granville’s arm and led him into the parlor. “We’re about to begin the New Moon Ritual. Do you still practice it in England?”

Looking up at him with guileless eyes, she waited for his confusion, gratified when it sparked briefly in those bottomless depths. Damn them all. She could be as gracious as she liked, but in the end, resentment bubbled to the surface. They’d abandoned her ancestors to indentured servitude and hadn’t bothered to contact any of them since.

“I’m afraid we lost that custom when we lost the valuable Blackthorne line.”

Morgana raised her eyebrow at him as they entered the parlor. Wasn’t he the diplomat?

“Would you care to join the ritual, Lord Granville?”

He bowed again and smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Blackthorne.”

Visit Isabel's website

HOUR OF THE WOLF - a review

HOUR OF THE WOLF
by CJ Elliott
ISBN: 978-1-60088-543-3
Publisher: Cobblestone Press

Today I have done something I rarely do – I’ve read an eBook, and now you’re going to hear about it! For the first time, I’ve been so drawn to a concept that I have *gasp* BOUGHT a book online. Of course, being the dinosaur that I am, I promptly printed it to read…. LOL

Anyway, having just indulged in the world created by C.J. Elliott – I wanted to share some impressions of the book, which is the first of a set called “The Four Brothers Clan Series” – and oh my what brothers!!

So, in Hour of the Wolf you will meet Matéo – and the beautiful Reese Emerson. Reese is a unique character, and a perfect match for the loup garou hero of this tale. She hears whispers, other people’s thoughts constantly disrupt her life. In an effort to escape and find some peaceful rest, Reese flees to her sanctuary in the mountains. What she finds is not solitude and peace, but a passion that will change her life forever.

Matéo is hunting a predator who owes a blood debt that Matéo intends to collect. When his prey sets sights on Reese, he is forced to reveal his true nature.

Cindy Jacks has a beautiful, fluid writing style that takes her readers in and keeps them enchanted with her descriptive words and strong imagery. The passion is seductive and sensual, the story exciting and vibrant with life and tension. I wanted Hour of the Wolf to go on because I wanted to know more and stay in Cindy’s world. I can’t wait to read the next chapter of this exciting and engaging series…

If I was a reviewer, I’d give this five kisses, five stars, whatever you want to use as a label. Instead, I will give CJ Elliott five HUGS and ask her to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible, because I love what she’s doing and can’t wait to meet the next of her sexy brothers and see what he’s all about!!

You can get a copy of Hour of the Wolf from Cobblestone Press, LLC – and believe me, you will love it!!

Visit the author at her website
http://www.cindyjacks.com/

GUEST: Phyllis Schieber

Hello everyone. Today I have a very special guest to introduce you to, and I think you'll enjoy this post, and meeting Phyllis, as well as learning about a very cool book! So, first, meet Phyllis:

Sinners Guide to Confession - Kaye and Barbara are longtime friends, now in their fifties. Ellen, who is several years younger, develops a friendship with the other two women years later, solidifying this close-knit group. The three women are inseparable, yet each nurtures a secret that she keeps from the others.

Willing Spirits - Jane Hoffman and Gwen Baker, both teachers and in their forties, have a friendship that helps them endure. Years after Gwen is abandoned and left to raise two sons alone, she finds herself in love with a married man. After Jane is humiliated by her husband’s infidelity and Gwen must face her own uncertain path, the two women turn to each other. Now, as each is tested by personal crisis; Jane and Gwen face new challenges—as mothers, as daughters, as lovers. And in the process, they will learn unexpected truths about their friendship—and themselves.

Phyllis Schieber: The first great irony of my life was that I was born in a Catholic hospital. My parents, survivors of the Holocaust, had settled in the South Bronx among other new immigrants. .In the mid-fifties, my family moved to Washington Heights. The area offered scenic views of the Hudson River and the Palisades, as well as access to Fort Tryon Park and the mysteries of the Cloisters. Her first novel, Strictly Personal, for young adults, was published by Fawcett-Juniper. The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, was released by Berkley Putnam and in March 2008, Berkley Putnam issued the first paperback publication of Willing Spirits.

NOW, join us on the Sinners Guide to Confession and Willing Spirits virtual tour. To learn more about the tour, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2010/05/04/phyllis-schieber-blog-outreach/. You can also learn more about Phyllis Schieber and her books at http://www.phyllisschieber.wordpress.com/


Now, Phyllis herself:

I am a wife, the mother of a son, a sister to a brother, the daughter of a father I adored, and quite fond of men. Nevertheless, I cannot think of one man I would choose to have lunch with over one of my girlfriends. I know some will balk at this confession, but it is true. Mind you, I would happily have lunch with any or all of the men aforementioned, but it simply would not be the same as lunch with one of my girlfriends. The details matter so much with women, and we savor them shamelessly. Everything matters. The best men (in my view) are the ones who recognize their deficiencies and genuinely work to compensate. The nuances that come naturally to women require just does not seem to come as naturally to them.

I had a phone call this week from the woman who took care of my mother for many years. Marva is at least ten years younger than I. She is also the mother of five, a grandmother, and the person who taught me more about patience, kindness, and good humor than anyone else I ever knew. One day, in the early months of my mother's first serious decline, we brought her back to her apartment from yet another hospitalization. I was already weary, and I had no idea what was ahead, how really bad it would become in the months and years to follow. After we got my mother settled, I left to do some errands. When I returned, my mother was resting. She looked so sweet, so vulnerable, curled into herself with her head resting on her folded hands as though in prayer. Her skin was flawless as it remained to the day she passed. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. I had this sense of knowing that I would never again have my mother whole. I lay down beside her, curved my body around hers, and placed one of her hands on my cheek, flattening her palm with my own. I cried softly for no other reason than I was sad and exhausted. And then Marva sat down beside me on the bed and stroked my back, soothing circular strokes, murmuring in her lilting Jamaican accent that, "It's gonna be alright." I believed her.

I knew from the start that Marva was unique. She was, as my mother always said in Yiddish,a Gutte neshumah (goot-teh nesh-uh- mah): a good soul. A decent person with a good heart. Marva and my mother became the best of friends, and I took joy in their compatibility and in the knowledge that my mother was so well cared for while I went about my business. After my mother passed, I stayed in touch with Marva because she had become part of my life. Still, lives get busy, and sometimes months go by before one of us calls. She phoned me last week, and I was so happy to hear her sweet voice. She said, "Oh, Phyllis, I had a longing to hear your voice and your laugh." And, as always, I was moved by Marva’s sincerity, her ability to speak from her heart. We talked for quite some time, and at the end, she said, "I love you." And I told her I love her, which I do. After we hung up, I began to think about how women express their love. In Willing Spirits I describe the night that Gwen and Jane, the two main characters “fall in love”:

Yes, women do fall in love with each other. Differently, of course, than they fall in love with men. Falling in love with a man is a feverish experience. There is little control. But falling in love with a woman is much more serious. It guarantees so much more for the investment. For it is from other women that women are nurtured. It is from other women that they hear what they hope to hear from men. I understand. I know how you feel. I’m sorry for your pain. I care about what you think: Words that need no prompting. In that circle, women tell each other things that men and women tell each other first with their hands and lips and tongues before they can tell each other with words. Women comfort each other with touch that is meant to heal, rather than to excite. The mysteries of love are less complex between women. The hidden passages are easier to negotiate. And the dangers do not seem as great as when the same journey is taken with a man. Around each dank and frightening corner, women hold out their hands to each other and form a human chain that is, quite simply, spiritually different. The lucky ones find men who (and it is a deep and well-kept secret between women) are more like women.

I know a woman who was my student many, many years ago. P. was in my tenth grade class when I was a twenty-three-year-old English teacher. Her life story was incredibly sad and painful, not unlike the stories of many of the students I met along the way. I became a presence in her life, and we stayed in touch. After she graduated from college, she visited often. I welcomed her into my family, called her frequently, sent her money when she was in need, and told her that I love her at the end of every conversation. My son, now twenty-five, recently overhead me say, “I love you” to her and asked, “Do you really love her?” And I said, “It doesn’t matter.” I tried to explain that the words were a balm to P.’s soul. She knew she could rely on me for that bit of normalcy in her other otherwise complicated and often lonely life. My words were an offering that asked for nothing and gave everything. In fact, I do love P., but I wanted my son (who always, always, says, “I love you too” when I say, “I love you” to him at the end of every conversation) to understand that expressing love is an offering that should be made often and with joy.

I love the women in my life because we speak the same language. I have a circle of women friends who sustain me, keep me sane, remind me of my worth, and reassure me that I am treasured. We say, “I love you,” at the end of every conversation; we sign off our emails with the same words, and when we see each other, we embrace and affirm our love. I think it is because women spend so much of their lives nurturing—their children, their husbands, their partners, their ailing parents, their students, co-workers, the list is endless—that they understand the words are a gift, a promise. The words are a reminder to those we cherish that they are not alone, that they matter.

Thank you so much, Phyllis, for joining me today and for letting my readers get to know you and your books!!

Visit Phyllis: http://www.phyllisschieber.wordpress.com/

GUEST: Brita Addams

Today, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Romance Author BRITA ADDAMS. We did a brief interview, and I think you'll agree, she's a charming and fun guest! So, meet this talented author and hear about her work....

Denysé: From what I see on your website, you write some very cool and naughty books! ;) Why have you chosen the erotic genre?

Brita: It is simple to answer – sex sells. I wish there was a better answer, but that is it. I enjoy reading erotic romance and I know others do as well. Therefore, I write what people want.

Denysé: A lot of writers take a “seat of their pants” approach to writing, is that the way you approach it, or do you keep the story in your head and write it?

Brita: I develop the beginning of the story completely and have a general idea where the story will go. However, I don't outline but take notes. I have a full main character listing and add as characters appear. I have a full description of the main characters, including their hair and eye color, disposition, and basically what makes them tick.

Denysé: Do your characters dictate plot twists that you just run with, or do you keep them in line?

Brita: They definitely dictate plot twists. I have actually sat down to write one thing and find myself taking the story in a different direction because the characters have decided to take a detour. Truly, I think it makes for a better story.

Denysé: What styles of books do you most enjoy writing?

Brita: Of course, I love a book with a happy ending, whether I am reading or writing. I love historical romance, particularly Regency.

Denysé: If were attempting to "sell" yourself to a new reader, what would you tell them about your work, and why they might enjoy it?

Brita: A reader should know that I write stories with characters who find themselves going about finding love sometimes in rather circuitous routes. My stories are about characters as real as I can make them, with feelings and actions people can identify with. Of course there are things they do that are extraordinary, and that is what gives readers the feeling that they are living in another world.

Brita Addams writes erotic Regency romance, with raucous sex and feisty characters. I use my real name, Tina Ordone when I write sensual but what would be considered more traditional Regencies.

Denysé: In an ideal world, how much time would you devote to your writing, as opposed to how much time you realistically have to devote to it around “real-life” and its demands?

Brita: I am very fortunate to be able to devote as much time as I want to writing. My husband and I are retired and our children are grown, so we have no dictates on our time in that regard. It is an ideal time in my life to write.

Denysé: Which do you prefer, erotic or non-erotic, as a reader, and as an author?

Brita: My preferences vary. I confess, as a reader, I enjoy a solid story with sex woven in. I like erotic or sensual equally as well. As a writer, I like a story with sex that fits the story. For instance, Serenity's Dream takes place at the Sapphire Club, a sex club owned by the hero, Lucien Damrill. The erotic sex that takes place at the club is varied, as dictated by the story.

Denysé: Do you ever push the envelope solely to test yourself, then edit it out of your final draft, or do you challenge your readers to keep up with you?

Brita: I can't say that I have ever done that, but I have certainly written things that I said later, "No I can't put that in there." Never purposely though.

Denysé: What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment thus far as an author, and what is the thing you want most to achieve in future?

Brita: I think my greatest accomplishment as an author is simply to finish writing my first book, which was not Serenity's Dream. I write a novel called, She Wouldn't Be Denied, which is a 120,000 word manuscript that I simply love. Due to its length, it has never seen the light of day. However, since then, I have finished seven novels, four of which have been accepted by Noble Romance. That is quite an accomplishment I'd say.

The thing I most want in the future is to be a respected author of erotic and non-erotic books that readers enjoy reading. When I see my books being recommended by people who have already them, I will feel very good about my craft.

Thanks, Brita, for being my guest today and telling us more about your books, and your experience as a writer.

Brita: Thank you Denyse. I appreciate being your guest. I love hearing from readers and I can be found in various places:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Shelfari
Goodreads

My book Serenity's Dream can be found at:
Noble Romance

Scandalous Books and other things of interest!

Recently, I was checking out a friend's website - it's always filled with stuff that enchants me - and I came upon one of her new blogs! Scandalous Books - sounded too good to miss, so I clicked and became immersed in yet another of Mirella Sichirollo Patzer's adventures! Apart from the fact that the first discovery was a FREE eBook called A Sicilian Romance - had to have that!! - I began scanning posts only to discover that she has very generously been taking the time to format other fabulous novels - and she charges a nominal fee for the downloads - when was the last time you bought an eBook that was over 500 pages in length, and all it cost you was $1 - yes, you did read that right, only ONE DOLLAR.

So, if you like historical fiction, from many eras, you just might want to stop by this site and the first treat you can get is for free... Can you resist this:

A Sicilian Romance
by Ann Radcliffe

Lust!

A Sicilian Romance is one of my all time favourite classic novels. It is one of the first, if not the first, gothic novel.

The story is about the the turbulent history of the fallen aristocrats of the house of Mazzini, on the northern shore of Sicily, as related by a tourist who becomes intrigued by the stories of a monk he meets in the ruins of their doomed castle.

The novel explores the "cavernous landscapes and labyrinthine passages of Sicily's castles and convents to reveal the shameful secrets of its all-powerful aristocracy." You can download it for free here: A Sicilian Romance

You can visit Mirella's sites here, she's a talented author, and a keen historian, and I can guarantee you will love exploring her many projects!

Mirella Patzer
Mirella's Website
Historical Novel Review Blog
History and Women Blog

ROGUES: A review...

Title: ROGUES
Author: Denysé Bridger
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Genre: Historical/Pirates
Publication date: March 2010
Pages: 132
Reviewer: Tina

Rating:

I really enjoyed all these three pirate tales. They have a sensuality that kept me turning pages and the hint of danger that kept me glued to the pages. In the future, I hope to read many more tales by Ms. Bridger about pirates and the daring women who love them. The high seas will never be the same now that Ms. Bridger has unleashed her pirates.

Read the full review HERE

A Time To Remember

CLICK HERE or on the IMAGE

Sometimes we are given the opportunity to speak about something that is not only important, but vital to other lives. When I asked some friends if there was anything at all I could do to draw attention to the on-going and ever-present need in L'Aquila, Italy - I was told to do what I know best - to write and remind people that despite the passage of a year - the rebuilding of this amazing city is still in the infant stages.

Italy is not a struggling third world country, but that does not mean it hurts less when not only the land itself is torn apart, but the wonderful people of this special country are lost to death. There were small villages destroyed entirely when the 6.3 magnitude quake hit on the 6th of April, 2009 - the losses suffered are heart-breaking. Those still without homes are in the range of 48,000. Even the pets are homeless, so many of them orphans because their people have died, or simply been forced to leave them behind.

Many of you know Riccardo Foresi through me, his music will soon be heard by everyone, I'm sure... I turned to Riccardo when I was asked to do this special article. This was close to his home, and I knew he'd lived that terrible night firsthand. He was gracious, as he always is, and he helped me to write.... if you click on the image above, you will see what he has to say, and what I learned in my research. You will meet the special people who own the site Life In Abruzzo, Abruzzo being the province where L'Aquila is. Read this, it's important - and then tell others. ALL donations, however small, they make a difference - remembering makes a difference because these courageous and beautiful people then know they have not been forgotten by the rest of the world. People have to care...

This is from the Life In Abruzzo site - reposted here with full permission:

The story of L’Aquila should be kept in the news and pressure applied onto both local Abruzzo and Italy’s national governing bodies for restoring or offering serious, viable alternatives in housing for the people whose homes have been completely lost. Drifting & corruption issues haven’t got 48,810 people who were assisted away from their L’Aquila homes still very far in the past year apart from the erection of wall-to-wall scaffolding, whilst 16,641 have been re-housed at this time in temporary accommodation.

You don’t need to be a descendant or have even visited L’Aquila or one of the local villages to support the rebuild; yes it is in a developed country within Europe, but in the same way that we support NGOs rebuilding developing nations the same support & pressure on the Italian government to keep their promise should be applied to L’Aquila.

So, remember, and do what you can to make a difference, however small a thing it may seem.

GLOBAL GIVING

Slow Food has launched an international fundraising effort to assist the victims of the Abruzzo earthquake.

Progress Reports

Wild week.....

Hello everyone!!

It's been one crazy week here, and I've been MIA all over - I know, probably a massive relief to many, but hey, I'm back!! *LOL* So, to get us all up to speed on the immediate news, here we go....

TODAY I will be hanging out all day at the Coffeetime Romance Blog, we'll be chatting about lots of stuff, throwing a contest or two, and just generally - I hope - having some fun together. So, please, if you have a moment, drop by, let me know what you'd like to talk about, ask a question - whatever is on your mind - ok??

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/

For those of you who have been following the online magazine I do - Sensual Treats - the June issue - one year anniversary! - was posted on June 1st, and it's our biggest issue yet! In keeping with the theme of romance, it's an ALL ITALY feature issue.... the entire backlist if available of course, and it's always FREE! Visit the website, look around there - because the website has stuff different to the magazine itself. ALL issues of the magazine are on the Archives page!

http://sensualtreats.webs.com/

I've had six new releases this year, and I'll be talking about all of them over at Coffeetime today - everything from paranormal to high fantasy, to deeply erotic romance that is based on real-life.... So, lots of fun!!!

Let's rock and roll! I will also have a very important announcement to make a little later today, too.

Be seein' ya soon!

Blessings & Hugs to all....
Denysé

GUEST: Robert “Doc” Gowdy

BUILDING CAPTAIN BONNY MORGAN’S WORLD FOR THE NOVEL CAPTAIN BONNY MORGAN: THE CASSANDRA PROPHESY

So, how did I go about building the world that my characters inhabit in my novel, Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy? For me, building Bonny Morgan’s world in the novel was quite easy. Being a big fan of science fiction—novels, movies, and television—I had a ready template to work from, especially where futuristic galactic space travel and alien worlds are concerned. However, I wanted to do something a little different given my love of the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean at the turn of the eighteenth-century. I also used my Ph.D. to good advantage in that I put to work for me my knowledge of mythology, particularly the writings of Joseph Campbell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces, and supplementing that with Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey where Campbell’s Hero’s Journey (the monomyth) is readily explained in literary terms.

Nevertheless, I built my novel’s world around Captain Bonny Morgan, a beautiful, mysterious, fairy-like galactic pirate. I derived her name from the real pirates Anne Bonny and Sir Henry Morgan. As a result, given my love for the Golden Age of Piracy, I made her a true pirate, right down to the West Country brogue she speaks, and placed her in a high-tech, futuristic galaxy where pirates roamed freely among various pirate strongholds like the real Tortuga. But in my novel’s case, it became Spiller’s Point (where, by the way, they serve Spiller’s Ale—good to the last spilt drop). In the case of Spiller’s Point as a pirate stronghold, or safe haven, I drew on my love of the mountains, particularly the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Building around the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I fashioned Spiller’s Point as a very green, vastly mountainous planet with dense, dark forests, and high mountain peaks with glaciers that produce spectacular waterfalls. On Spiller’s Point I placed a pirate tavern called the Pretty Red. The Pretty Red is an ancient tavern, perhaps several millennia old, created in log cabin fashion and hidden within a narrow valley among very mountainous terrain. The pirates must know its coordinates in order to get there, and its fairly hidden from most ships’ sensors.

However, to compliment Bonny Morgan, I had to create a pirate world, or galaxy, in which she could operate. Drawing on ancient Irish mythology, I took as my model for my galactic pirates, the mythic Fianna—mythic Irish warriors. As a result, I made the bulk of my galactic pirates descendents of the “ancient” Fenians derived from the Fianna. As Fenians, then, they are all basically of Irish descent, and speak with an Irish brogue—not all, but most of them, anyway.

As a result of all this beginning “world building,” I found myself very quickly sketching out galactic maps in order to situate the various pirate strongholds, the center of the Galactic Empire, and internal tavern diagrams and Brethren Hall diagrams in order to situate locations in my mind, various pirate shootouts, and spacecraft battle scenes. While doing this “world building,” I happened on creating the pirate Queen, Colleen O’Malley, who is the leader of the O’Malley Brethren (one of nine Brethren factions) and has a pirate hideout on the snow planet Prilla. She, too, has an ancient, but high-tech, hideout facility, in which she also has an in-house tavern. It is in Colleen O’Malley’s Brethren Hall in-house tavern that Bonny Morgan does much of her pirate business and planning (not to mention the Pretty Red on Spiller’s Point).

In effect, then, I created one huge galactic Caribbean in which my characters live and operate. And that “world” served as a wonderful contrast for my favorite character (and the most fun to write) Tink to operate in. Tink is my nod to both J. M. Barrie and his creation, Tinker Bell. While Tink is a full-grown, human woman, she is nevertheless very Tinker Bell-like. She is beautiful, mischievous, playful, and very much in awe of the “world” around her. And having Tink operate within an ancient (albeit highly technologically advance) pirate world was a lot of fun. However, Tink is also a slave. She is the Princess Lysette’s favorite slavegirl, another main character in my novel. Nevertheless, since Tink is a slave, I had to also create within the galaxy a “world” in which slavery was an ancient practice and tradition. So I had to build a “world” in which slave rules, etiquette, and protocols are observed, including the buying and selling of slave. Hence the creation of Miin, the planet where one of the galaxy’s premier slave market’s is located. There Tink meets Jon Black, a pirate of the same species as Bonny Morgan, and who owns a café in the Miinian Slave Market. And there she also meets Lady Brit, a beautiful young Miinian noble who is drawn into Tink and Princess Lysette’s adventure, along with Jon Black.

So in addition to pirates and slavery, I also had to create “worlds” in which royalty and nobles exist. And it seemed that the more I wrote, the more the “world” I was creating, created itself. I was quite fascinated by how once the germ of an idea began to take shape, the darn thing took off and snowballed into a rather wonderful, and quite magical, “world” in which my characters exist and, to my mind, live.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robert “Doc” Gowdy is a graduate of the University of North Texas with a Ph.D. in Literary Criticism and Theory and an emphasis on Nineteenth-Century British literature. His specialization in literary theory is psychoanalytic criticism and theory, particularly Lacanian psychoanalysis, with further emphases on Milton and Eighteenth-Century British literature. Doc Gowdy is currently an adjunct assistant professor at Texas Woman’s University where he teaches various literature courses. His interest in writing is long standing, but aside from academic writing, his first novel, Captain Bonny Morgan: The Cassandra Prophesy is his first foray into fiction. Captain Bonny Morgan is based on archetypal themes and patterns from mythology, such as fairies, goddesses, and the Hero’s Journey, and based loosely on Doc Gowdy’s active duty service in the United States Marine Corps with special emphasis on the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean at the turn of the Eighteenth-Century.

My Facebook page is listed under Robert Gowdy.

Shades of Death - Trailer

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