Remember Me -- How Can I Forget?

Over the years, I’ve been in car accidents, navigated through forests with a compass and a map, slept in houses built before Columbus sailed to America—I’ve even been airlifted off a mountain in Switzerland. I have plenty of life experience upon which to draw for writing. However, the heroine of Remember Me presented me with a brand new challenge. You see, Lucy is a stripper. Well…not only have I not done that (and be thankful for that because I would probably fall off the stage or tell the first guy who tried to tuck something in my G-string what he could do with his fingers before I ripped them from his knuckles)but I had never even been in a strip club when I began the Lucy and Brandon’s story. So…I turned to my friend the Internet. I researched laws regarding strip clubs for this particular geographic area, read as much as I could about salaries and pay. I watched videos on the Internet, including how-to videos for pole dancing—yes, they’re out there(yawn)—but I was still not quite comfortable with the results because I had not actually been to a strip club, and wasn’t sure I could accurately convey the atmosphere. That’s where my ever helpful research assistant, my husband, came in. While his checkered past did include personal experience with strip clubs (gasp!), he was more than willing to make the sacrifice by accompanying me to one because God knows, I wasn’t going anywhere near one alone. The experience was fascinating, and seeing the women actually performing gave me a whole new level of respect for the strength it takes to be truly good at the job. I also discovered that most of these women had other jobs outside of working at the club—quite a few working as fitness instructors of some sort. In the end, I also learned that my research had been pretty solid. I tweaked a couple of things in my story in order to paint a more vivid word picture, but overall I’d done okay. Most of the strippers I talked to would be the first to tell you that the amount of money Lucy makes is way more than they bring home, but that’s the best part about writing fiction—all things are possible.

Seth Barlow-Barrett Speaks Out About Balancing Act

Hi, I’m Seth Barlow. I want to tell you a bit about myself since the story of my pitiful attempts to woo Tessa Edwards are about to be made public. I’ve spent most of my career dodging publicity. I’ve been the one doing the interviews and telling other people’s stories. So having my story out there’s an uncomfortable place to be. I was a little angry about it to begin with. As prominent as the Barlow-Barretts and Barrett Newspapers are, as a whole we’ve done a pretty good job avoiding the limelight. Part of that came to an end with my sister Anna and her relationship with Chris Stevenson. The thing is Laura happened to notice I was having some problems of my own while she was telling Anna’s story. And, yup, now my business is out there too. Like any good journalist, though, Laura kept digging until Tessa and I both spilled everything. I’ve got a lot more empathy now for the people being interviewed. I’m the eldest of six kids. With a publishing empire at stake, my father’s pinned a lot of hopes for the future on me. It’s a tough business, requiring quick decisions and plenty of scrambling in the current marketplace to keep profit margins up. Hell, who am I kidding? I hate running the company, but you can find that out for yourself. Let me tell you about the rest of my family. Besides me, there’s Brandon who’s managed to do a great job dodging responsibility and doing exactly what he wants. Then there’s Stacey. As the eldest girl, I guess she’s like me in some respects—doing her best to live up to the family’s expectations. As much as I love her, sometimes she’s tough to get close to. Next in line is my heart, Preston Anna Barlow- Barrett. Anna was different than the rest of us from the start, and I love her nearly as much as I love Tessa. Phillip’s next. Can you say Mr. Perfect? I swear the guy never takes a step out of place. I called him Saint Phillip when he was little. Personally, I think Mother would have been overjoyed had he really gone into the priesthood. Instead? Ha…he’s a lawyer and planning a future in politics. Finally, there’s Morgan—if you can find her. My youngest sibling’s been slipping in and out of the house like a ghost for years. No one’s really sure what she does or where she is—except when sailing season starts. The kid can sail like nobody’s business. So bottom line, she fits right in, and no one will question her when she can run before the wind without batting an eye. What scares me about my family is the feeling my parents’ expectations of us will never match reality. It’s already torn Anna away from the fold, and I’m afraid she won’t be the only one. The real question in my mind is if my parents will realize that before it’s too late. They have visions of a dynasty, and all I want is a family.

Summer Reading Sale

In that other universe in which I teach English at an alternative high school...summer has arrived. In celebration of the fact that about 10 percent of the graduating class did so because I tutored them through their reading and writing exams during my planning period and after school, I'm putting my Guardian series on sale through the end of June. The coupons are good on Smashwords. All you have to do is enter the coupon code prior to completing your checkout. Book #1: The Guardian Michel was originally $0.99 -- with the coupon code PA46R -- you can get it for free through June 30, 2012. Book #2: The Guardian Michael was originally $1.99 -- with the coupon code KE93L -- it is $0.99 through June 30, 2012. Book #3: The Guardian Gabriel was originally $2.99 -- with the coupon code KX63P -- it is $1.99 through June 30, 2012. The books are available in the e-book format of your choice at Smashwords. Happy reading!

Hey, Mom, I'm Finally Learning Grammar!

Teaching has taught me a couple of very valuable lessons: how much I still don’t know, and how fortunate I was in the circumstances in which I grew up.

One of the facts every teacher understands is that to own knowledge, you must be able to impart that knowledge to another person. That’s what teachers do every day, but it’s also an excellent tool in observing whether students truly own what you’ve taught them. When they can teach that knowledge to a classmate—it’s theirs forever.

That’s been my experience with grammar, and that’s also where the second part of my valuable learning has come in. You see, I grew up in a household where writing and speaking correctly were simply facts of life. My father, who was a high school dropout, rose to become a top executive in a television broadcasting company. He did it in the way many self-taught people do, by emulating those he admired and by grasping firmly onto any knowledge he could. He read voraciously and had an extensive active vocabulary. While my father devoured a lot of non-fiction and bestsellers, my mother gravitated toward the classics (although she does read what I write – thanks, Mom!). In addition to plenty of time spent reading or locating books in the library to read, we were also a family of debaters. We loved to argue and prove points and learned to do so in a friendly way.

All of this is simply to say that what I learned of the English language was largely through osmosis. I understood the principles of good grammar because that was what we used in our home on a daily basis. Utilizing an extensive vocabulary was second nature, and if I encountered a word I didn’t know, I was either given a definition or synonym, or directed to the dictionary.

Did I pay attention to grammar instruction in school? Oh no. I yawned through it and relied on my innate ability to slide through—like many other students, I’m sure. It wasn’t until I began learning German that I finally discovered the disadvantages of not having learned the difference between indirect and direct objects, of understanding the parts of speech and how each word functions in a sentence. If I could go back (lol) I swear I would pay more attention to that sentence diagramming we did in 5th grade.

Life has handed me a second chance, though, to learn the technical aspects of grammar that I ignored during my education. That’s one of the great aspects of being a teacher. States require continuing education in order to renew teaching licenses. So right now, I am in the midst of an online grammar course offered by one of the state universities. This time—I’m paying attention because I expect it to pay off in two ways. First of all, a better understanding of the mechanics of the English language should help me improve my instruction to my own students. There is also the payoff in my writing career. I hope, and I’m sure my editors do too, that it will make editing and revising a much less laborious endeavor. We’ll see.

Bring on the Wassail--Please!

You know, every year I swear I’m going to get in the Christmas spirit. Really. I’ll decorate earlier, better and I faithfully pledge to take better care of the Christmas tree so that when I pull it down after the New Year it’s not because the Fire Inspector chastised me for crunchy tree needles.
But Christmas seems to fly in and out faster and faster, and after the New Year rings in I’m left to wonder, what did it really mean?
Sure, the economy’s not great, but it’s not the complete inability to satisfy my child’s every Christmas whim that has me on edge.
It’s just a feeling that something’s getting lost along the way. I’m looking for a little peace on earth and good will toward men. That’s really all I desire.
So, once again, I’m going to irritate my spouse when he asks what I want for Christmas because my reply will be—nothing. At least not anything that can be bought and wrapped and placed beneath the tree to be ripped open on Christmas morning.
I want my family around me without the laundry list of gimmes or gots. I want to feel like I’ve made someone else’s holiday better because I could help them in some way.

Last year’s Holiday hangover resulted in the writing of Santa’s Helper, which releases today from The Wild Rose Press. Jack, the hero, is covering a bet he’s lost by ringing a bell and collecting money for charity. Merry, the heroine, is working three jobs to support her and her son—one of them is as a Santa’s elf at the mall. She’s filled with the Christmas spirit and Jack’s not, even though it seems like the opposite should be the case. The attraction is instant, but Jack’s got a secret that could make even Merry say, “Bah, humbug!”
What are the things that put you in the holiday spirit? Leave a comment and I’ll put your name in a drawing for a copy of Santa’s Helper. Drawing will take place Sunday, 12/11 at 10 p.m. Good Luck.
Oh..hey...read the next post and leave a comment there too. You'll be entered in a drawing for my contemporary romance Bittersweet. It released Monday.

Cue the Commercial

(Me) “Okay, I’ll say right up front, this is an unapologetic promotion for the book I have releasing today. So, if you’re looking for some sage advice it’s probably not here. And I’m sure my more market savvy colleagues would cringe at the way I’m opening this blog post. Okay so scoff…”
(Cue the TV infomercial announcer) “BUT WAIT! There’s more. Stick around through the unabashed promotion and leave a comment for your chance to win a digital copy of BITTERSWEET!”

(Me) “That’s right. Here’s the deal… all you have to do is tell me what you believe makes for a really great romance. What is it that makes you pick up a book and buy it…or in the case of ebooks…what makes you click that “Buy Now” button? Is it the cover? The blurb? The excerpt? Genre?
“Do that, and I’ll enter your name in a drawing at the end of the debut week (12/11). Make sure I have a way to contact you, so I can send you your digital copy.”
(TV infomercial announcer) And, it doesn’t stop there…because Laura has a second…yes, a second book releasing on Wednesday. Come back then for an additional chance to win!”

A gift to All my Followers

Thanksgiving, that uniquely American holiday in which we stop to give thanks for what we have before we rush to the TV to watch parades and football followed by a feeding frenzy, is almost here. For us, it's also the start of the Holiday Season.

Every year, The Wild Rose Press offers a free e-cookbook to its authors and readers. I'm thankful I am able to contribute two recipes to this year's edition. I'd like to pass along those recipes, along with all the wonderful ones contributed by my fellow authors. Take a moment to download it, and you'll see there are some super eats included.

I'm not going to give you a sappy list of things for which I'm thankful other than to say -- my thanks to each and every one of you who's supported my efforts as a writer, either by buying my books or offering me your friendship and advice.

Here's to all of you.