A Close Encounter With... Tessa Stockton

Today, I am joined by Tessa Stockton.  Please make her feel welcome.

I grew up in a home where music floated from every room. My parents were professional musicians, as well as siblings, uncles, aunts, and cousins. I, too, entered the professional world—but as a dancer first, musician second, with the dream of becoming a romance novelist one day. Now that I’m living in that day, I’m often asked if I listen to music while I write. At first I’d found it distracting, focusing on the progression of the song instead of the story. But now I find it inspires during my writing time, and even sometimes gives me an initial idea from which to launch a book.

Wind’s Aria, my latest fantasy romance, is one of those stories. I sat listening to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The arrangement swells and rises, climaxing, pulling me with it. It’s also described as, potentially, the saddest music ever written—not that I’m a sad person but I’m an emotive individual and the feeling of sadness evokes greater creativity in me, therefore I’m drawn to it.

I imagined/fantasized an entire scene, a gorgeous yet tormented creature, set to doom the chosen Songstress of their realm and of his confliction over it. Not only is he attracted to her, but he sees goodness in her that he lacks, and in fact doesn’t quite understand. So when she finds herself in trouble, he rescues her and takes to the skies with his new charge, the beautiful Songstress in his arms, where they have moment…an Adagio for Strings moment.

Excerpt:

The wind danced. Currents swirled and weaved her hair overhead. The rest of her body he cradled like a babe in his arms. Soaring, she glanced over his marble shoulder at the lights of her city far below, barely twinkling there above the thin clouds.

Gentle, tender . . . he kissed the top of her head.

This is the wretched creature, the Il-Bora; the evil being that . . . that . . . saved her?

And the one she should trust, the Meleyan leader, Governor Talx . . . not what he seemed.

Aria sighed as she mused, fatigued, and rested her head against the expanse of the winged-man’s exquisite form, feeling protected, safe, in a content place.

Not sure how much time they spent in the air, the hypnotic beat of wide, translucent wings . . . whoosh, whoosh, in, out . . . made her drowsy. Though she shut her eyes, Aria could still feel his intent, unbroken gaze on her. She didn’t care and exhaled the burdens she desired to release.

While he spoke, his voice, again smooth like velvet, she kept her lids closed, dreamily enjoying the musicality the tone produced. Like enchantment. What did he ask? Oh, right.

“I’m fine,” she mumbled.

“Really?”

“Truly.” Aria moaned with satisfaction, in spite of the chill his hard arms produced, the wings folding in and out, stirring air that proved even colder at that altitude.

His gentle chuckle broke the spell and she struggled to straighten from the ball he held her in. “Easy. It’s a long way down,” he murmured.

*****

And the rest is history. So, you see, music can play a crucial part in the crafting of novels. Wind’s Aria is almost entirely inspired by music. So is the paranormal romance I’m currently working on, influenced by Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs”—but that’s a different story! : )

What about you? How does music play a role? Or does it? Maybe you’re a creative who prefers the sound of silence… I’d love to hear about it.

 

Bio:

Tessa Stockton is a multi-published novelist of romance and intrigue. Wind’s Aria is the first in her fantasy romance eNovella series, The Brother’s Keep.

Blurb: “Aria falls into the hands of the dreaded angel who seems to have stolen more than her voice…”

Social Media Links:

Website: www.TessaStockton.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tessastockton

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TessaStockton

International Purchase Link:

Soul Mate Publishing: http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/winds-aria/

Thanks for joining us here today.
Imogene

A Close Encounter With... Victoria Black

Today we have a treat - the lovely Ms Victoria Black has come to visit.  Please make her welcome :)

Imogene, thank you so much for having me! I can't wait till we finally meet up in Brisbane for the Australian Romance Readers Convention and have that glass of champers I promised you.

Anyway, enough chit chat. My book. Ahhh yes. Revenge. I see that word anywhere in a romance title, and I'm there. You have such yummy conflict between the man and the woman he hates yet desires. And that's what Heavenly Revenge is all about, really. Our gorgeous hero hates our lovely heroine, but thinks she's as sexy as hell. Now what form of revenge can our hero inflict on our heroine? Keeping in mind that he would never hurt a woman...

This is a very naughty, even erotic story. Your readers are over 18, aren't they, Imogene?

Blurb:

Revenge can be cold and cruel.

When Rose dies before her time, two sweet, old angels send her on a mission to save another world. The angels worry she will be no match for the land's strong and handsome king. However Rose has learned a bitter lesson courtesy of her unfaithful and very ex boyfriend. She is strong too.

But when the lovely Rose meets King Andrejs, she has a sweet battle on her hands. He believes she is an enemy spy who has learned a secret that may affect the outcome of the war raging between his kingdom and the land to the north. It is against Andrejs' code to hurt a woman.

But, as both he and Rose discover, revenge doesn't have to be cold or cruel. Revenge can be hot and very pleasurable indeed.

And an excerpt? Hmmm. Maybe I'll tease you a little.

"You’re a woman!"

Andrejs touched her chest with the palms of his hands to be sure. Yes, he thought, closing his fingers around the two firm, voluptuous mounds. As he gazed down into the moonlit features of the woman beneath him, a dainty fist flew toward his chin. He jerked back and grabbed her wrist.

"Ow!"

At the woman's high pitched, feminine yelp of pain, he instantly gentled his grip. The fragile bones beneath his fingers had seemed to crack. Frowning, he drew her arm toward him and softly rubbed her wrist with his thumb. "My apol—" He ground his teeth. There were no women in his palace. Grayor would have told him as soon as he'd arrived of a woman visiting, and she certainly wouldn't have been permitted to wander the grounds unescorted. Most of his men could be trusted, of course, but there were so few women now.

This woman had to be Anglandian, part of the enemy raid this afternoon. But despite his fury, he recollected how rough he'd been when he'd captured her. He frowned. "Are you hurt?"

She wrenched her hand away. "I'm fine. And of course I’m a woman, you idiot! Would you kindly remove your hand from my chest?"

Amusement replaced his anger, and he did as she asked. An unusual enemy. He'd never been called an idiot by an Anglandian warrior before. Especially not one who was seconds from probable death. But as his gaze roved over the petite body he could feel between his thighs, he frowned again. He'd never fought a woman before. Certainly never killed one.

What in the name of our Lord is she wearing? Such strange clothes. Such strange, ugly clothes. He reached up and removed the small, peaked cap wedged on top of her head. Long, dark curls fell to her shoulders. Curls. As he drank in the moonlit beauty beneath him, for a moment he didn't care where she came from. Not surprisingly, the first stirrings of arousal hit him. She was lovely, and he hadn't seen—let alone touched—a woman for far too long.

 

Victoria Black is the author of two erotic romances, both e-published. One is an historical novella set in World War Two London, and the other is a fantasy set in an alternate reality. Victoria lives in Brisbane with her husband and soon-to-be-married son.

You can learn more about Heavenly Revenge at my website, or can check it out at Secret Cravings Publishing or Amazon.

A Close Encounter With... Greta Van Der Rol

Today I'm joined by fellow SFRB (Science Fiction Romance Brigader) Greta van der Rol.  So... Take it away!

Hi, Imogene, thanks so much for allowing me to post on your blog.

I've just released my latest book, Morgan's Return, which is a sequel to Morgan's Choice.  Morgan's Choice stars Morgan Selwood, Supertech extraordinaire, feisty, smart, with a super computer in her brain and the body and mindset of a woman. Lost in space with only an accountant as a companion, Morgan is relieved to be rescued by an alien warship. The 'aliens' turn out to be humanoid and both sides quickly realise their races must be related. Over time, a relationship develops between Morgan and autocratic Admiral Ashkar Ravindra. Together, they face a series of adventures and finally find proof that Ravindra's people originally came from the same place as Morgan.

In Morgan Returns, Morgan and Ravindra travel back to where she came from, in search of his roots. Once again, it's space opera with a dollop of romance. This time, it's not the boy-meets-girl scenario. Morgan and Ravindra are an item. But returning to the place Morgan came from before she met Ravindra puts their relationship under strain.

I had some fun following the pair on their adventures on different planets. Quite a bit of the action actually takes place underwater, because the clues to Ravindra's people's past lie in ancient places which have been inundated. They have to use a submarine – and despite the similarities between spaceships and submarines, Ravindra isn't at all happy about all that water pressure.

As usual for my books, readers will find action and adventure aplenty. But for the excerpt I thought I'd share with you something I had lots of fun writing – Ravindra's strip tease. Just to get you started, this man is in his physical prime, about 190cm (6'3"), and with what we would think of as Indian appearance. That's is, brown skin, black hair. His eyes are like a cat's, and amber in colour. Morgan is showing Ravindra's performance to Cruickshank, who has taken her prisoner.

Excerpt:

Where had that come from? This was a fantasy. Morgan wouldn't be surprised if Cruickshank had never had sex with a living, breathing man. Of course. Plenty of women used virtual sex with images of men they lusted after. That Playmate program? She'd heard about it, but she preferred the real thing.

"Got him in your collection, have you? Playmate?"

Cruickshank grinned. "Never you mind."

"Bet it's not like the real thing, though. Want to see?"

The cargo hold was fitted with a screen capable of 3D. It was more routinely used to display engine schematics but this time, Morgan concentrated on the connection, and built an image of Ravindra in Manesai full dress uniform. The white cloth almost shimmered against his dark skin, and the golden collar and rank insignia sparked in harmony with the glint in his amber eyes. He looked magnificent, a man of power and authority.

Cruickshank couldn't help herself, glancing at the display while trying to concentrate on Morgan. "Thanks. I'll add this to my database." Her voice sounded strained.

Morgan made sure the virtual Ravindra faced Cruickshank. Then she had him unfasten the collar so it parted, showing his Adam's apple. Now the next button, slipping the golden disk through the material with long, strong fingers. Now the next. And the next, until the coat hung open. He slid the arm off one shoulder, then the other, and let the coat drop to the floor, where it disappeared from the display. Now his skin-tight white undershirt, that clung to every muscle, defining his pecs and his abs. He pulled the material out of his belt slowly, a slight smile on his lips. She remembered when he'd done this, just for her. Stop it, Morgan. Keep your mind on the job. He lifted the material in his fists, dragged the shirt up his torso, revealing skin like polished mahogany. Then over the swelling pectorals, up over his head, until he could flick the shirt away. The golden lines of the tattoo on his right shoulder gleamed.

Cruickshank was positively salivating. "He has a tattoo?" The pistol wavered, pointing away from Morgan.

Oh, my.

Blurb for Morgan's Return :

When you delve into ancient history you never know what strange forces you might unleash.

When Morgan Selwood and Admiral Ashkar Ravindra travel to Morgan’s Human Coalition to learn more about the origin of Ravindra’s people, their relationship is soon sorely tested. Morgan is amongst her own people and Ravindra is overprotective and insecure, afraid of losing her. But not everyone is keen to welcome Morgan home, not when they’d gone to all that trouble to get rid of her in the first place. Soon Morgan and Ravindra have a rogue Supertech on their trail with only one goal – kill Selwood.

Together, Morgan and Ravindra follow a tenuous trail back into humanity’s past, to the time historians call the Conflagration. But what begins as an innocent archaeological investigation escalates into a deadly peril for both humans and Manesai when Morgan and Ravindra are thrust into the middle of an unexpected conflict. And that rogue Supertech’s still out there, itching for revenge.

Buy the book in print or e-book Amazon US Amazon UK Smashwords Omnilit

Bio:

Greta van der Rol loves writing fast-paced, action-packed science fiction with a large dollop of good old, healthy romance. Her novel Morgan's Choice was in the top 100 best sellers for space opera on Amazon for several months. But she writes other genres, too. Her historical novel To Die a Dry Death was awarded the bronze medal for historical fiction in the 2011 eLit Awards and her latest work, Black Tiger, is a paranormal romance. Greta lives not far from the coast in Queensland, Australia and enjoys photography and cooking when she isn't bent over the computer. She has a degree in history and a background in building information systems, both of which go a long way toward helping her in her writing endeavours.

   - http://gretavanderrol.net/
   - http://twitter.com/GretavdR
   - http://www.facebook.com/Author.Greta.vanderRol

Thanks for having me, Imogene. It's been fun.

Thanks Greta for popping in today.   It's always great to chat to a fellow SciFi Buddy.

Imogene

A Close Encounter with... Kate Belle

The lovely and multi-talented Kate Belle has popped in today to give us some tips on rejection letters - the bane of every writer's existence, yet so important in helping us hone our craft.

Take it away, Kate!

Dear John...

...Thank you for submitting [insert title]. While your writing is [insert complimentary adjective] and the plot [insert alternative complimentary adjective], the piece lacked [insert hard won skill you thought you’d mastered]. Unfortunately we are unable to offer you a contract on this occassion, but encourage you to submit again and wish you the very best for the future.

Sound familiar?

After writing seriously for over five years I’m no stranger to rejection. I got my first one at age sixteen. At the time I was so devastated I didn’t write another thing for twenty years. On reflection, the rejection itself wasn’t that bad. I submitted two hand-written poems, filled with teenage angst, along with a hand-written submission letter (come on – it was the early eighties), to Deakin University literary magazine.

Yeah, it’s funny now, but at the time I had no idea how completely out of my depth I was. Their response was gentle enough – thanks for submitting, unfortunately it’s not right for our magazine, perhaps you should consider submitting to Dolly magazine. It was this last bit that really got me miffed. Didn’t they realise that these poems were far too deep for Dolly? I was a serious writer, not some producer of fluff (my, how times have changed!).

Tackling the inevitable, diabolical rejection letter is part of the rough road to publication. It’s a necessary rite of passage. It helps you grow the required rhino skin over your oh-so-sensitive creative soul. And believe me, as a writer, you’re going to need it once you’re published.

Rejection letters come in many forms and, in my experience, most of them these days break the news as gently as they can. Occasionally, when your manuscript catches a publisher on a bad day, it might come across as a little terse, but take heart. The best of the best have all suffered humiliating rejection letters from publishers who make no effort whatsoever to protect an author’s delicate sensibilities (see
Famous Author’s Harshest Rejection Letters if you want to see how bad it can get).

But ‘No’ is still ‘No’, and no matter how sweetly it’s said it still deflates you and drives you to the nearest drug of choice – chocolate, bourbon, shopping, voodoo. Most of the red wine hangover’s I’ve suffered in the past five years have been a direct result of rejection letters, because it just plain hurts when someone doesn’t love your baby as much as you do.

Everyone kept telling me that this was part of the writer’s journey and I wouldn’t be a proper writer if I hadn’t been rejected as often as biggies (800 times for CS Lewis!). In the end, and to save my liver, I had to change the way I viewed rejection. Instead of falling into a hopeless, weeping (and drunken) heap of self-loathing, I started to count each rejection as one step closer to publication. This attitude helped enourmously, because suddenly the rejections had a purpose in my journey (other than just making me feel like a failure).

After this mind-shift I noticed the rejections hurt less. Without realising it I was growing the much needed rhino skin every author needs once their work arrives in the public sphere. Needed because once you’re actually published the potential scale for rejection expands exponentially, and you have absolutely no control over it.

And the reality is that wading through all those rejections only makes the first publishing contract all the sweeter. Finding a publisher who loves your work, wants to share it with their audience, is like falling in love all over again. The grass is greener, the air is fresher and bright, bubbly champagne replaces the more reflective red wine binges.

So save those rejections in a little folder and count them as steps toward being published so when you’re famous you can look back and say that at least you got there faster than CS Lewis!
  
Breaking the Rules:

Grace is a beautiful woman in complete control of her world. A long time ago she chose a career over children and marriage, and has never regretted it. Then Ramon Mendez walks into her office. Ramon is about to commence his PhD, a work on erotic literature, and from the outset there is something about him that makes Grace’s blood run hot. Aware of the need to maintain her professional reputation, she rejects his advances, but he persists. And during their intimate supervision sessions, her defences start to crumble, for Ramon’s work is exposing desires within Grace she never knew existed.

Available Here: iTunes  Amazon 

Bloom:

Thirty-six-year-old Emma’s life looks as perfect as could be. She loves her solid, straight-laced husband Gary, who has given her three beautiful, if spoilt, children and a secure life. But something is missing. Gary hardly notices her anymore and she feels frumpy and invisible. Her friend, Lisa, talks her into joining a social boot camp class at the local gym. Emma immediately recognises their instructor as the gorgeous runner she sees each evening while walking her dog in the park. He introduces himself as Ramon Mendez. In spite of herself Emma is besotted.

Before long her mind is filled with guilty fantasies of him. One evening, when things at home have become too much to bear, she bumps into him alone in the park. An opportunity presents itself and no one need ever know. Ramon promises and delivers everything that’s missing from her marriage – passion, romance and excitement – but Emma must discover if they are the things she really wants.

                              Available Here: iTunes  Amazon 

Author Bio:

Kate Belle Kate is a woman of many passions who juggles her pens with the rest of her life. She holds a tertiary qualification in chemistry, half a diploma in naturopathy and a diploma in psychological astrology. Kate believes in living a passionate life and has ridden a camel through the Australian desert, fraternised with hippies in Nimbin, had a near birth experience and lived on nothing but porridge and a carrot for 3 days.

Kate lives, writes and loves in Melbourne, juggling her strange, secret affairs with her male characters with her much loved partner and daughter, and a menagerie of neurotic pets.

Where to chat with Kate: 

Blog/website  Facebook  Twitter

Thanks Imogene, it's great to be here and e-meet your lovely followers. The indomitable Ms Nix asked if I'd talk about rejection letters, something I've got years of experience with. So much so, I can write one with my eyes closed...

Thanks for joining us today Kate!  There is some very valid points that you have raised.

Imogene

Writing Believable Dialogue

Congratulations!  So now you have hunted and picked through your manuscript.  Found all those tricky nasty little commas and spelling errors that we talked about in the previous craft entry.  But Wait!  You’re still only part way to a completed manuscript.

Welcome to the world of dialogue and action – another essential part of a well rounded manuscript.

Before we begin, what exactly is a dialogue or action tag?  Great question, young Padawan.  A dialogue tag is she said, he murmured, she grunted...  Likewise an action tag is he laughed, she danced, he rode...

Dialogue tags (and action tags too) should only be used sparingly.  You can also find a wealth of different ways to share that information... she hissed, he yelled, she bellowed... don’t use said, said, said... it does become monotonous otherwise.

 

Image courtesy of [anankkml/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So dialogue... how do we present it? 

Dialogue is when we speak.  In Starburst, I have this piece of writing...

            “Is there something I can do for you, Meredith?”

Meredith’s eyes glazed with passion, and he watched, fascinated, as a red flush crept up her cheeks. She licked her lips, sending a surge of awareness through his body.

“I, um…I came to see how you were feeling.” Her eyes flicked nervously, as if she didn’t know where to look, and he smiled, feeling triumph roar through him. He had guessed—well, rather hoped—that she too felt that quick spark of lust. Yet his experience remained limited to vids and reading, so he hadn’t been totally sure. At least, not until now.

The dialogue is short and snappy without going on and on.  One thing new writers do is write long sections of dialogue without stopping or breaking it up somehow.  It does become tiring to read so remember to break it up with action.  But just remember the action must belong...

“I really like that bra you are wearing.”  He turned the music up in the club as everyone gyrated on the floor.  “I’d rather see it off you though.”

Sure I broke up the dialogue but the actions don’t match the words what was going on in the story (unless they are about to do something on the dance floor... uhh, maybe not, though.)

Dialogue that doesn’t fit the natural cadence of speech is another issue for young writers.  Do you know anyone who speaks like this?

                “I can not see how you will possibly take control of the ship.”

More likely the people you know would say: “I can’t see how you’ll take control of the ship.”  This dialogue is more believable, simply because saying ALL the words gives it a formality that we don’t use anymore.

There are times, when this rule doesn’t apply though.  If you are writing a character from another planet/time/culture then you need to be aware and careful of the cadence of their speech patterns.

All dialogue should be able to be attributed to a single speaker.  If you can’t then you may need to employ a dialogue tag (be careful there!) or give them an action (action tag) so we can tell who did or said what.

Keep the dialogue appropriate to the character being portrayed.  A young girl, for example, about to have her first sexual experience is unlikely to cry out...

                “I’m coming... Oh My God!”

In fact, this character is more likely to be unsure, and say something along the lines of...

               

                “I don’t... What’s... ohhh...”

When action takes over

Okay, I’m going to try to keep the action section brief.  Action is any act or movement undertaken by a character.  It must, at all times, be meaningful.    You also need to be aware that in most cases there is a natural progression to the actions.

You can’t have a character kissing the hero and sighing at the same time.  It isn’t physically possible.  So, you need to give the actions a progression.

He kissed her softly on the lips, then drew away.  She exhaled.  Nothing more than a sigh escaping her lips.

Alternative:

He kissed her.  The she sighed.

Two actions in natural progression. Believable.   In the alternative, it’s still there, a natural progression but with nothing to soften it or draw the reader in.  I know which I prefer...

Action should also be paced.  Slow, medium or fast.  Your use of a variety of verbs can help to set that pace effectively.  The Emotional Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi is a great title to help with setting the pace.

 Image courtesy of [Arvind Balaraman/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Imogene’s tips to dialogue and action:

·         Work out who your character is and then write the dialogue to match with their level of experience, age or even when or where they live.

·         Keep the dialogue and action tags to a minimum.

·         Break up your dialogue with appropriate actions.

·         Remember to look for the natural progression in the actions of the character, always remembering to ask can they do this while doing that?

·         Keep an eye on body parts that do actions without the rest of the body.

·         If you can’t easily work out who is speaking or acting, then you need to find another way to present that action or speech so the reader can work it out quickly.

Some Resources:

                The Everything Guide to Writing You First Novel – Hallie Ephron

                Writing a Romance Novel For Dummies – Leslie Wainger

A word from: Alysha Ellis

Dialogue tags are words like said, replied asked. There is nothing wrong with dialogue tags especially the word said, provided it is not over used, but active writing requires the use of action tags as well.

“I am angry,” he said.  There are several ways this can be made more active. The dialogue is in inverted commas so most of the time we know he said it. Already then, you are wasting your readers’ time telling them what they can figure out for themselves. He questioned or he asked are the same.

He said is also telling.  You could write he said angrily but adding an adverb is not advisable (see above). Even worse is the constant use of dialogue tags like he argued, he harangued, he warned, he lectured. These are called bookisms and are not well received (In spite of what elementary school teachers try to tell you.) One or two now and then might work, but not if they are too extreme. So what do you do? You use action tags. These have the advantage of being different and most of all they SHOW...always your first and most important aim.

“I am angry.” He punched his fist into the wall, and paced the room.

Or His cheeks turned flame red, and two line bracketed his narrowed lips. “I am angry.”

The skill is to get a balance, making sure nothing is overused and that you do not double up, using dialogue tags when you have a suitable action tag in place.

AUTHOR BIO& LINKS

 

I write stories your mother would never let you read, even now that you're all grown up - but what Mama don't know can't hurt her. Live on the wild side a little. Bad girls have all the fun!

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