Writing Process Blog Chain

Hi everyone...

So here I am, in the blog chain. Thanks to the wonderful Kate Belle for tagging me.

1) What am I working on?

As always I have a number of irons in the fire. I'm working on edits for Revenge On Cupid the final of my Celtic Cupid books, and I'm waiting for the final edits for The Assassin and the first for Executing Justice.

But writing wise... I'm still working on my historical (I never realised how long they took to write!)  Miss Elspeth's Desire is the first book of a duology featuring sisters Elspeth and Isabelle. 

They are firmly on the shelf at 25 and 27 - but not content to just accept their lot in life, they have decided to go looking for an adventure before they settle down to spinsterhood.  So they decide to travel to India and China, to meet with the traders there, on the pretext that they should know who their shipping line is dealing with.

In India (1878) Elspeth meets Aeddan. When plans go awry though they must marry... and that's where there troubles get worse.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Firstly, I'm not content to stay in my box... I write across a range of genres including Science Fiction, Paranormal and even the odd contemporary. My paranormal series (The Blood Bride) is based on science (and maybe something a little more... **psst I can't tell you more**)

My science fiction has a firm basis is both fact and possibility... The romance is hot but it's the kind of science fiction I wanted to read 15 years ago (when erotic SciFi hadn't been heard of!)

3) Why do I write what I do?

I write what I like to read and because it gives my mind a chance to "empty out" the ideas and concepts that seem to always be there!

I also only write in genres I enjoy and have/do read in. It seems to me that I couldn't possibly do a genre justice if I didn't have more than a passing knowledge of it.

4) How does my writing process work?

I'm very organic in my approach to writing. When I start a book/series all I have is an idea. The couple take shape first, but because I am a "pantster" I have no firm plan at the beginning. It allows my book to weave and duck here and there until it's done.

Research is taken on the hop - looking for info on a "split s manoeuvre"? No worries. Thanks to the joys of google, youtube and of course, my trust book collection.

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Okay, now next week the lovely  Danielle Belwater, Darry Fraser and XXX will be your hosts.

Danielle Belwater

Danielle Belwater adores the concept of true love and thoroughly believes everyone has their Prince Charming or Snow White out there somewhere, even if they have to fight demons, ghosts, and wizards to find it. She lives in rural South Australia with her husband, young daughters and way too many animals to mention. 

She spends most of her time dreaming up characters, stories, ghostly tales, and watching Firefly re-runs. She also cooks the odd meal for her family to avoid them looking like skeletons at official author functions!

Darry Fraser

I love to read forensic thrillers and historical dramas and autobiographies, mysteries and so on - but I love to write about relationships, use lots of dialogue, build characters who are more real than fantasy and create - I hope - great stories within the boundaries of the genre.

A Bite Of... Kate Belle

Edible Delights Vol 2 is nearly here.  So, over the next couple of weeks, I am going to bring you snippets and sneaks into the world of the Edible Delights... And the authors.

Today I'm joined by Kate Belle, author of The Banquet.

 

Kate, I see your friends James and Sheba have arrived.  So, I'll let you take it from here!

Let’s delve into their relationships to see what we can learn about them... 

How did you meet?

J:     When I saw Sheba’s photo in the newspaper years ago, I knew she was something special. All that long red hair, her sexy eyes. I was determined to meet her one day. I booked in the moment I heard about the launch of her cookbook ‘The Devil’s Kitchen’ at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. I stood in that line for over an hour, letting other people in front of me so I’d be the last to meet her. I had a gift for her. A gift I hoped would arouse her interest in me.

S:    (laughs) Ah, James. So sweet. When I first saw him I felt so sorry for him. Imagine a man being born with a face like that? Really, everything is in the wrong place. I thought he was just another dazed fan until he handed me his little gift. Once I tried what was inside, I saw him with different eyes.

What was the food item that caused your story to happen?

J:             I spent years perfecting Sheba’s dishes and researching the aphrodisiac ingredients she used.  Her recipes saved me from a life of celibacy, you know. She’s a magician with food. I followed her passion and created a seductive dish. It never failed to arouse women. Once I’d perfected it, I had to try it on Sheba.

S:            Ah, James’ piece de resistance! What a dish. I had to know what was in it. I couldn’t have a little cook like James running around with a recipe that belonged in my books. But I suspect he tricked me when he finally submitted to me and divulged the ingredients. I could never replicate his version of it.

  Image courtesy of -Marcus- FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If I looked in your fridge right now, what would I find... and how does that describe your relationship?

J:             I cook for a living, so my fridge is always full of left over’s from my little restaurant. I’m never without a few of Sheba’s favourite ingredients. I like to be able to whip one of her recipes up on short notice. And I always have a stock of my special dish, you never know when it might come in handy (grins cheekily).

S:            (laughs) I doubt you would recognize much in my fridge. I like to experiment with exotic ingredients. Imported and very expensive – of course.

Champagne, chocolate and oysters... the food of love.  Which one would you share with your lover?

J:             A prospective lover deserves nothing but the best. All of them.

S:            They might be entrée. I prefer to make myself the main meal.

The one food you refuse to have in your house is... and why

J:             Brussell sprouts. I was raised on them. I can’t bear to even look at them.             

S:            All food is welcome in my home if it is fresh or professionally prepared. I can’t abide by the rubbish that fills most of the supermarket shelves. Commercially made jams, canned vegetables and Vegemite - what god awful stuff– urgh!

 Image courtesy of -Marcus- FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What does your future hold, do you think, for you as a couple?

J:             I’d do just about anything to be with Sheba forever. She’s so completely dazzling. If I was a wizard I’d slip her a love potion.

S:            Couple? James and I…? (titters) You are old-fashioned! James and I have a modern relationship. We are colleagues with a powerful interest in each other’s, err, culinary abilities.

Do you see eating as a source of pleasure or a necessity to live?

James & Sheba together: Pleasure, of course!

J:             Food is the path to many, much greater pleasures. (smiles goofily at Sheba)

S:            Eating and pleasure are one and the same. There is no difference between them.

What makes the best 'plate' to serve food – when not using a plate??

J:            I think I’ll leave that question to Sheba.

S:            Read The Banquet and find out!

Thanks for joining me on my blog. 

J: Thanks for having us Imogene!

S:            Will someone call my car?

The Banquet:

Unattractive and lonely James is a chef and restaurant owner who is obsessed with Sheba, a sexy celebrity chef famous for her aphrodisiac recipes which have saved James from a life of involuntary celibacy. James has studied Sheba’s recipes and created the ultimate in aphrodisiac desserts – chilli and rose infused chocolate – a recipe that never fails to lure women into his lonely bed.

James takes the opportunity to meet Sheba at a book signing during the Sydney Writers Festival and woos her with a gift of his chocolates. Sheba finds James’ special dessert irresistible and exchanges a night of pleasure for the recipe. Two months later James receives an invitation to Sheba’s annual banquet, a mysterious event everyone who’s anyone in the hospitality industry is aware of but knows little about. Nervous and out of his depth, James attends and is introduced to a world where the boundaries between food and sex are entirely blurred.

Author Bio

Kate writes dark, sensual contemporary women’s fiction. She 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. 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.


Where can readers find you?

Facebook    Website     Twitter    

News!

Yeah I seem to be missing in action a lot at the moment.  So what have I been up to?

Lots, I tell you.  Lots!

Where to start?  Okay ARRA - what a blast!  Honestly, it was so much fun.  I got to meet up with other Authors I chat to a lot.

Khloe Wren, Imogene Nix and Georgiana Louis - all trying to outgrin each other.  Lovely ladies I am so proud to call my friends.  Yes, we did misbehave just a little bit.

Hazel Gower, Angela Castle and Kate Belle shared a table, so you can imagine the hilarity that went with the main evening.  Kate did mention something about the wine...

And of course, the lovely Jan Graham was there too!  Hi Jan!

Did someone say group Author photo?  Haha Yes there was over 60 of us again attending.  So getting a group photo was like herding sheep.  They did, however, get there in the end!

I attended the author book signing (yes I was signing) and giving away Imogene Nix sleep masks, bookmarks and even mentos!  The New Author panel - most people laughed... *phew* and scored a few books to bring home and read.  (Well just one... five... okay twenty eight... including those I won and those I bought!) oh and the Keynote Address by Anne Gracie!  Oh my!!! Wish I could get hold of the video she ran.  Oestrogen ran like a river while that was on.

On a purely personal note, my oldest daughter was inducted as her schools Student Committee Secretary.  I know she'll do a good job.  Doesn't she look pleased with herself?

 Ah and my latest news.  I made my dozen!  Contracts that is :)  Today I received word that my near futuristic romance, Hesparia's Tears has been picked up by Total-E-Bound.  (The home of Blame The Wine, The Blood Bride and so on...)

I don't have any further information yet.  But here's the blurb:

What will happen when the past catches up?

Galan is from Hesparia, where the females are dying out.

Jessa has a past, one she hasn’t earned but cannot escape from.

What will happen when opportunity knocks?

Galan travels to earth, hoping to plead the case for Hesparia. He doesn’t expect Jessa or The Quickening.

Can he make the case for women to migrate to Hesparia? Can they trust one another with their hearts. And can Jessa really escape her past?

 Hesparia’s Tears.

I've also still got one title out on submission - Loving Memories (A romantic suspense)... and one getting closer to submission - A Soldier... My Soldier.  It needs some tweaks and work... but it should be ready soon.  It will be my first "real contemporary" with no paranormal elements or suspense or sci fi... lol, I'm sure you get the idea.

Yes, for all I've been quiet, I have been busy!

Okay, time to sign off for now!  Have fun, be good and if you can't, well... enjoy yourself!

Imogene