The Reason by S.R.Claridge

As Mary writhed with labor pains

and Joseph closed his eyes;

The Shepherds followed a bright star

they’d seen up in the skies.

And to a manger they all came

to see a blessed birth;

And honor baby Jesus

who had come to save the earth.

I wonder what went thru their minds?

What questions filled their souls?

Did chills run up and down their spines?

Did they feel the cold?

I’m sure their focus was on Him,

that child in the hay.

I’m sure they didn’t think about

reindeer or a sleigh.

No sugar plums danced in their heads,

there were no shiny bows …

Ironic how the greatest gift

came wrapped in swaddling clothes.

May we all remember the reason for the season.  Merry Christmas!

Sex is like Pizza

Sex is Like Pizza

I read an article where the writer made this statement:  “Sex is like pizza:  even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.”  I couldn’t agree more!

Sometimes we get into our heads that sex has to be magical or mind-blowing every time, but that’s not reality.  Lighting candles all over the room or sprinkling rose petals in a warm tub for two are great tactics for heightening romance, but it’s impossible to do them every time; and if you did, they would quickly lose their luster. 

Romance and sex do not always go hand-in-hand, despite what most soap operas will lead you to believe.  Sex is possible and even fun without the extra mood-setting and the mental pressure of striving for perfection.  Sometimes a simple wham-bam-thank-you-mam is exactly what’s needed.   

It’s nice once in a while to order your favorite specialty pizza, loaded with toppings and extra cheese, but most the time that plain ‘ol slice of pepperoni tastes pretty darn good. 

Have you had a piece today?

TUESDAY TALKS

 SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR:     D A W N E   P R O C H I L O

Before we get started talking about your books, tell us a little about yourself.  Where are you from?  What is your occupation outside of writing? 

 I am a wife, a mother of three grown children and live in rural Michigan where there's more cows and corn than residents. It's a very serene piece of heaven where I live and when I can look out my kitchen window I can see wild geese and deer.

I am currently a full time writer. I freelance for a local newspaper, write SEO and web content for various websites and am the Administrative Editor of the WM Review Connection and a Contributing editor for the WM Freelance Writers' website. I also contribute to five blogs weekly and coordinate blog tours for two romance blogs. All in all, I don't have time for another career.

Would you describe yourself as an introvert or an extrovert?

 It depends on who you ask. I have a select group of friends that I can let loose with and be myself but when it comes to career and a professional setting I'm very refined and introverted.

What are your favorite books to read?

 I love suspense with a little bit of humor. Two examples are Janet Evanovich and Robert B. Parker. But of course, my heart lies with romance. I love that both authors add a humor to the story line and keep me guessing about what will happen next. 

Aside from your successes in the writing industry, what in your life has given you the greatest sense of accomplishment?

My children. I've raised three of the most responsible young adults that any parent would be proud to call their own. My facebook page is full of family pictures and praises towards my children and their accomplishments.

You write in the erotica genre.  How did you decide this was the best genre fit for you?

When I first really noticed erotic romance was when I was wrote my first sex scene in my novel Crape Myrtle. I was real hesitant to even write the scene. I actually finished the book but that one scene was left blank. I thought about the scene for months before I finally dove in head first and just let my mind wander and fill in the blanks.

Once I had the scene done I had my husband read it. He was impressed and I felt my confidence building. I started borrowing books from the library with heavy, sensual sex scenes and I developed a real love for the genre.

I write weekly erotic romance blogs so the thought of inviting readers into the bedroom with my characters in the scenes comes easier now.

When you’re painting an erotic scene in your novels, how do you keep your ideas fresh and different from what everyone else writes?

I find myself exploring the phrases and developing a better understanding of what readers thrive on. I will mix it up and test the phrases in my mind. Personally there are only so many phrases and words you can use but if you use them in the perfect place of the sentence or scene, it's yours...it's unique. I never repeat what I read and if I have it's never on purpose.

How many books have you written and how many of those are published?

Crape Myrtle July 2009

On Her Own- July 2009

Room 11- February 2011

Rachel's Desire- March 2011

When We Meet Again -  May 2011

How much character and plot detailing do you plan out before you begin writing a novel, or are you a “pantser” (fly by the seat of your pants) ?

Definitely not a panster. I am an outliner. I need structure. I need an outline of each chapter, every detail of the character from personal and physical attributes to the minor characters and their role. I'm note saying once the outline is done that I follow it perfectly. I make changes daily sometimes. When I wrote Crape Myrtle I changed the outline at least two dozen times before it was published.

Prior to becoming a published author, how many rejections did you receive?  How did you handle the rejections?

Well...I have shoe boxes full of rejections and an email folder filled with them too. Hundreds and hundreds if not thousands. This is a very tough market to break into. I learned how to perfect my query letter from those rejection letters and emails so they were a definite learning and teaching experience for me that I appreciate.

How and when do you write? Do you keep yourself on a schedule or do you work while the muse is with you?

My muse is my schedule. Writing is not a nine to five job. You write when the mood strikes, whether it's two in the morning or seven in the evening. I'm always jotting down possible story lines, character names and phrases that pop into my head at any given time.

Tell us about your new release coming out.

Room 11 is scheduled for release on February 2, 2011 and is about two classmates from high school who haven't seen each other in over two decades. Both are single and not really looking for a commitment, just fun and playful times...yes, including sex. It’s a friends with benefits story line. They meet up and both get more than they thought possible.

If you have many books already released, tell us which is your favorite and why. 

My favorite is probably Crape Myrtle, my first release. I grew quite attached to the characters and based the hero and heroine on people I'm close with and admire. I know it sounds weird that I grew attached to the characters but that's something that happens when you spend five years developing them and actually seeing the world through their eyes.

If you could give one piece of advice to writers trying to get published, what would that advice be?

Be persistent. Accept every one of those rejection letters with the positive determination to continue. Taking advice and being critiqued is normal- you just need to know how to handle it, let it roll off your shoulders and continue on.

What's up next for you and your writing?

 I'm currently working on two anthologies of short erotic romance stories. The theme for the first anthology is office or work place fantasies. The second is a genre mixture that I have never seen before- erotic old west. Mixing in a little sex with a lot of ranchers and cowboys from the 19^th century through the early 1910's. I'm real excited about both of these anthologies and hope to have something available for publishing by early 2011.

Where can we read more about you and your work?

My website is http://dawneprochilo.webs.com

and my blog is http://dawneprochilo.blogspot.com.

Both locations can lead readers to my other blogs and writing.

Thank you for being my spotlight author on TUESDAY TALKS.  Best Wishes and Happy Holidays!

MILITARY MONDAY

Many people want to say thank you to the men and women actively serving our country, but aren't sure how.  Well, here's a quick and easy way to express your gratitude and it's free too!


http://www.letssaythanks.com/


All you have to do is go to the website, pick out a card, write a personal note and click send. 

VHP Author Dine-Around Blog Event

CRISPY COBB SALAD

Find out why Kate can’t finish her Crispy Cobb Salad in No Easy Way by S.R.Claridge

Ingredients:

• 1 qt. torn assorted greens
• 2 c. chopped turkey breast
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, chopped
• 6 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
• 1/4 c. blue cheese crumbles (optional)
• 1 (8 oz.) bottle Ranch dressing

Preparation:

Arrange greens, turkey, tomatoes, eggs, avocado and bacon in rows on large serving platter. Serve with dressing. Sprinkle with blue cheese.

NO EASY WAY by S.R.Claridge

Swerving with the kind of deliberate precision only blind rage can empower, the black pick-up crushes Kansas Oil Tycoon, Lou Martin Miller, leaving Miller’s widow with an impossible choice.  Cover the sin that lead to her husband’s death and conceal the identity of his killer, or risk the destruction of her family.  She carefully weaves a net of protection around her family, but the day she dies it begins to unravel, leaving her grandson, Tom and his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Kate, in grave danger.  

Missing evidence, mistaken identity and manipulation leave private investigator, Stephen Braznovich trapped between white lies and dark lusts, as he races to piece together a family secret before the next victim falls prey to deep-rooted revenge.  The trouble is anyone who gets close to the truth winds up dead. 

On the verge of an unwanted divorce, Tom must decide between a confession that could save his marriage or lie to save himself.  Tension mounts as Tom and Kate’s lives hang in a twisted balance of crossed lines and misunderstood motives, all pointing to one simple truth.  There is No Easy Way.

Available at SPECIAL DISCOUNT for all Dine Around Blog Event Readers at:

www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com

____________________________________________________________________________

 AUTHOR DINE-AROUND FULL MENU

Thank you for stopping by and tantalizing your taste buds at the Vanilla Heart Publishing Author Dine-Around. I hope you enjoyed my Crisby Cobb Salad from No Easy Way.  Below is our full menu.  Please enjoy a delightfully delicious sampling from all the authors.

An Elegant Dinner Party

http://bit.ly/gklZbA   A complete menu from To Be Continuedby Charmaine Gordon

Main Dish recipes

http://tiny.cc/6ocas  Tranoc’s Lecho from Forest Song: Letting Goby  Vila Spiderhawk

http://bit.ly/g2ZWY3  OR  http://bit.ly/dXQoTn  Crispy Cobb Salad from

No Easy Way

by SR Claridge

http://bit.ly/hy7s5E  Chicken Pot Pie from Within the Law by Chelle Cordero

http://bit.ly/f6XQKH   Pot Roast from Appalachian Justice by Melinda Clayton

http://bit.ly/dgk2mD  Purple Platter Meatloaf from Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire by Malcolm Campbell

Dessert

http://bit.ly/glJHHT  Pecan Pie from Sabbath's House by Marilyn Celeste Morris

http://bit.ly/eoNgaF  Poppy Seed Cake from Opal Fire Barbra Annino

http://bit.ly/dMNNTS  Gingerbread from Frank, Incense And Murielby Anne K. Albert

http://bit.ly/i2bI0m  Creme Brulee from Conquering Venus by Collin Kelley

Beverage

http://bit.ly/gBBw4K  Russian Czar Drink from Bartlett’s Rule by Chelle Cordero

Happy Holidays!

FANtastic Friday FAN

Spotlight FANtastic Friday FAN

of the week is:

R O S E   A.   V A L E N T A

Rose A. Valenta is a nationally syndicated humor columnist. Her irreverent columns have been published in Senior Wire, Associated Content, Courier Post Online, NPR, Newsday, USA TODAY, the WSJ Online, and many other local news and radio websites.

She is the author of Rosie’s Renegade Humor Blog – http://www.rosevalenta.com; and the humor book “Sitting on Cold Porcelain.” Her book of humorous essays is available at Amazon, the Kindle Store, Barnes and Noble online, Better World Books, and Google Books. It will be featured in an Internet virtual book tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book, from January 3rd to February 25, 2011. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @rosevalenta.

Rose is an avid fan of author S R Claridge, regularly attends the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop at the University of Dayton, and is a member of the Robert Benchley Society and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC).

Thank you, Rose, for being my FANtastic Friday FAN!  Happy Holidays!

TUESDAY TALKS

Spotlight Author:  C H E L L E    C O R D E R O

Before we get started talking about your books, tell us a little about yourself.  Where are you from?  What is your occupation outside of writing?

I am very fortunate to be a full-time freelance writer, both fiction and non-fiction - both writing personae and as Chelle Cordero. I've written articles for many regional and national magazines and newspapers.

I'm also a wife, a mom (2 adult kids), and a volunteer NYS-EMT with my local ambulance corps. I grew up in the Bronx (NYC) and attended the High School of Art & Design and Fordham University at Lincoln Center. I married the love of my life in 1975 and we live in the scenic Hudson Valley in New York.

Would you describe yourself as an introvert or an extrovert?

I tend to be an introvert but I have learned to "act" like an extrovert when necessary.

 Do you have any pets?

I'm a cat person. Right now I have three amazing pussycats, Tigger, Mario and Luigi. Tigger likes to hang out on my desk and send emails and Luigi still thinks he is a baby and insists on being held. And Mario just likes stealing everyone's food.

What are your favorite books to read?

I love to read mysteries, romances and romantic-suspense. Not surprisingly, that is what I like to write as well.

 Aside from your successes in the writing industry, what in your life has given you the greatest sense of accomplishment?

My kids. They continue to amaze me everyday, I am so very proud of them. They are totally different from each other and yet they share many of the same values. My daughter is a paramedic and terrific at her job, she also teaches paramedic students and heads up our ambulance corps youth squad; she lives with her husband just a few towns away. My son is an EMT and treats his patients magnificently, he is also Captain of our volunteer ambulance corps and a total computer genius; he lives at home with his longtime steady girlfriend. 

 How many books have you written and how many of those are published? 

I've written ten books, nine are published. The only one that isn't published is called "More Than a Friend" and is a romantic-suspense.

Of the nine books one was just published as an e-book and it's a writing guide, Living, Breathing, Writing: A Lesson a Day. Seven are romantic suspense and are in print or e-book: Bartlett's Rule, His Lucky Charm (formerly Forgotten), Within the Law, Courage of the Heart, Hostage Heart, A Chance of Riches, and Common Bond, Tangled Hearts. The ninth book, Final Sin, is a murder-mystery.

How much character and plot detailing do you plan out before you begin writing a novel, or are you a “pantser” (fly by the seat of your pants)?

I'm definitely a "pantser" - I create my characters and throw them into a situation (or two) and let them make decisions about what they want to do.

How and when do you write? Do you keep yourself on a schedule or do you work while the muse is with you?

Aside from writing when I have deadlines, I write when the mood strikes me - or when I can't sleep. Since my office is a mere three feet from my bedroom, it's easy to find my way in there at all hours. 

Out of all the books you’ve written and the characters you’ve created, which is your favorite character and why?

I tend to fall in love with all of my heroes, but I admit being partial to two of them; Tom from Within the Law and Be from A Chaunce of Riches. Both makes are a bit of gamma males, just a little bit of bad boy thrown into the mix.

If you could give one piece of advice to writers trying to get published, what would that advice be?

Never, ever give up.

What's up next for you and your writing?

I'm working on a murder-mystery starring a character who was in Final Sin.

Anything else you'd like to share with my blog readers?

I've also written several short stories in five antholoigies. Three anthologies are from Vanilla Heart: Arms Wide Open, Nature's Gifts and Passionate Hearts. One anthology is from Mandimam Press (edited by Shelagh Watkins), Forever Friends and one more from Shelagh will be coming out soon.

Where can we read more about you and your work?

My website is http://ChelleCordero.com and there are links there to info and buy-links for my books, history about me, and links to my blog and my writing business website.

Thank you so much for allowing me to speak to your readers today!

Thank you for being my Spotlight Author on TUESDAY TALKS.  It was a pleasure learning more about you and your books.