A WRITER'S HOLIDAY.

She lay sprawled on her beach towel, the sun beating on her back. The sound of the surf lulled her brain, relaxing her whole body.  Only the screech of the seagulls disturbed this strip of isolated sand and confident of the solitude in this cove she’d shed her bra’.

The pages she’d been reading held her cheek off the towel, keeping any grains of sand from seeping into her eyes. The erotic scene on page 94 had been a disappointment. She could write better than that! Dozing, languid and as relaxed as a floppy limbed baby, her mind arranged words, shuffled them to new places and rewrote the scene’s beginning.

 ‘The sun bounced off the white wall of the shed, blinding her gaze for a moment and in the shadow of the porch she couldn’t see his face.
 “Yes?”  Who was this man? “Can I help you?”
 “I hope so,” he murmured, taking a step toward her, causing her to step back and trip. Damn mat. How many times had she thought to remove it? Strong arms caught her as she fell and, her sight clearer in the shade of the hallway, she recognised their gardener.
 “Maxwell, thank you for catching me.” She struggled to stand but he held her tight against his chest.  She inhaled, breathing in the smell of tree pruning, earth and sweat. It all seemed rather nice and she gave up her struggle, resting against the smooth fabric of his shirt. She stroked his back thinking it funny how her hands found their way around his waist and slid down his tight buttocks to grasp them. As if all her daydreams had been answered he lifted her, his arms under her knees, and carried her into the conservatory, placing her gently on the daybed.
 “Are you hurt, M’am?”
 “I will be if you leave.  Here,” she patted the space beside her, “sit beside me for a moment until I recover……’
 That would read better than the original draft.  She sat up and pulled her duffle bag closer, searching in the bottom for a pen, snagging her notebook at the same time.

 “I’m pleased to see you working?”

 She gasped in shock, and wrapped her arms across her naked breasts before she dared to look up. She recognised his gnarly toes. His legs dripped, the hairs stuck in dark rivulets. There was sand between his toes.  Even on holiday he haunted her - her editor.

 “What do you want?” she asked, echoing her heroine’s words.

 “Have you finished those edits yet?”

WELCOME TO MY BLOG for the PARANORMAL BLOG HOP WEEKEND

I AM DELIGHTED TO BE PART OF THIS BLOG HOP. 
READ BELOW ABOUT MY 'NEXT BIG THING' -  MY LATEST STORY FROM THE GENETICALLY ALTERED CORBAN FAMILY SERIES. 

Look in the  'MY BOOKS' page and read excerpts from all three stories and choose which one you would like to win as a prize.  By leaving a comment you go into the draw.

REMEMBER - LOVE'S BRIGHT STAR is a free download at present on the Secret Cravings Publishing site.  You might like to read that and then choose a follow-on. 

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you return often and read my regular contributions.

Have fun with your blog hopping this weekend, a golden opportunity to catch up with the goings on of the talented authors who publish with Secret Cravings



MY NEXT BIG THING - STOP PRESS! 'A STELLAR AFFAIR' HAS BEEN ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION BY SECRET CRAVINGS.

Hi Jan, thank you for inviting me to take part in this blog hop. It's a great opportunity to talk about my next big thing.

I write futuristic novels about genetically altered people, spiced with romance and adventure.

Q. What is your next big thing?

The working title for my “Next Big Thing’ is ‘Stella’ after the main character, but I’ll  publish it as

 

‘A STELLAR AFFAIR’

This is the fourth in my series of romances about genetically altered people who endeavour to blend in with society. Set in the future Stella appeared as an infant in the first book, but is now in her mid twenties, multi-talented and very attractive. Falling in love with a ‘normal’ will put her and her whole family’s security at risk.

This is a futuristic romance with as touch of Sci Fi.

Your story in one sentence.
The story line could be summed up in one sentence. “She jumps between locations, he has to take a plane. Can love overcome their differences?” Of course there's a lot more to it than that - but you did say just one sentence!

How are my books published?
My books are published by Secret Cravings Publishing, a publisher of romantic e-books. They are now branching out into publishing Young Adult and New Adult e-books as well.  I don’t have an agent.   I submit my work directly to publishers, having checked their reputations on the www.editorsandpreditors website.
I have a fifteen thousand word piece being published as a single in June/July by Total-e-Bound, and a twenty thousand word manuscript, which is a follow-on, that they have, this week, accepted for publication.

How long did it take to write A Stellar Affair?
It took several months to write the first draft of 'Stella',  my ‘next big thing’. It’s 42,500 words and is about a third longer than my previous novellas.  As I wrote each chapter I sent it to my critique partners, which meant that by the end of the story I‘d made most of the corrections necessary and knew the story line ran smoothly without any plot holes. There will be further refinements necessary as it goes through the publishing edits, to fit the style of the publishers.

Who writes in a similar form?
I don’t know of any other romance writers who are using the same type of characters as I have created.? No doubt there are science fiction writers who would write along similar lines.  Perhaps Nalini Singh’s romances would be the closest. Hers are set off-world and have characters with various skills. Although futuristic my stories are set in New Zealand and Australia, in areas I have travelled through or are familiar with. What I don’t know - I google! God bless Google Earth.

What’s next?
I’m waiting to hear whether Secret Cravings will accept 'A Stellar Affair.' They will give me a decision within a week and as they have taken the other three, I hope they will take Stella.  If they do, I will then have to move on and decide which story rattling around in my head will jump to the top of the queue and become my “Next Big Thing.”
I became hardened to rejections before having success with the first in the series, called Love’s Bright Star. I take any suggestion made by publishers very seriously and thanks to their comments I was able to improve and enrich Love’s Bright Star’s content until it became good enough to be accepted. The lessons learned stood me in good stead with the sequels.

Are you going to self-publish?
NO - not at present. I don’t mind the editing process with the publishers. They provide the cover art, editors, formatting and arrange the sale outlets: therefore it’s up to me to conform to their style of content. The two publishing companies, both of e-books, have different styles and require different alterations. I’m happy to oblige because the thought of self-publishing makes me quake at the knees.

Look at "MY BOOKS" page, (at the top) and see my covers, plus read excerpts from my three published futuristic novellas.

To read about other authors taking part in this blog hop, visit the sites listed below and read about their “Next Big Thing”
Daisy Banks at: www.daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com and her new site: http://daisybanks.wordpress.com. Look at her fabulous covers, read the blurbs and be tempted.
Daisy writes romantic fantasy and historical romance.

Jan Goldie at: www.shellbewritemate.blogspot.com Jan writes Junior Fiction and Young Adult fantasy. Her blog is full of interest.

Lee Murray as guest blogger at: http://thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/guest-post-next-big-thing-lee-murray.html Lee is a prize winning author with her YA novels

http://garth2112.wordpress.com  Garth Lawless writes YA fanatasy. pop over and view his covers and his work.

These blogs will hop you on to other authors busy with their NEXT BIG THING.