A Special Library Visit

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

The DH and I just returned from a little jaunt to Utah and Colorado for our anniversary, and a fun time was had by all, especially when I discovered both The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice in the Pikes Peak Library District collection!

We had visited Arches National Park and then Canyonlands both in Utah before we decided to drive up Pikes Peak in Colorado. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the ranger station, we were told that the summit was closed due to 90 mph winds! ACK! We definitely didn't want to go up there even if they would have permitted us!

Instead, we drove back into town to the historic section called Colorado City. As soon as I spotted the beautiful old Carnegie library building, I urged my DH to stop. The library I'd loved so much as a child was a Carnegie building too!

My DH dropped me off and I went inside to check my email. Since I didn't have a reservation, I could only use the internet for 15 minutes, but that was enough time to get my daily fix! So when I was done, just for the heck of it, I decided to put my name in the library 'author search.' To my complete surprise and delight, both The Wild Sight and The Treasures of Venice popped up!

Matter of fact, The Treasures of Venice was in the very library branch where I was standing! With my heart a-flutter, I logged off the computer and went in search of 'the paperback collection.' After a few minutes of walking around, I discovered that all of 'the paperback collection' was contained on two sets of bookshelves (this was a small library after all).

And there was MY book, on the top of the second set of shelves! How lucky to have my name start with "M" because A through L occupied the first shelf and M through Z the second. With such a small collection of paperbacks, I felt even more special to have The Treasures of Venice included! Best of all, as my DH pointed out when he came in a few minutes later and I dragged him over to see, the pages looked ruffled.

Someone had definitely checked the book out and read it!

I spent many happy hours in the library as a child and even more as an adult, so finding my book in a small library in another state was a very big thrill for me! Plus this was my first time seeing any of my books actually on the shelf in any library. As a child, I used to read all those author names on the spines of all those books and imagine how wonderful it must feel to have a book you wrote sitting there for people to read. Well, now I know, and IT FEELS GREAT!

What about you? Do you have any special memories of libraries? Please share them with us here in the Lair. I know I missed the recent late night reading session, but we can certainly have another one. Please share what you are reading for this lovely weekend. SHHHH! Just don't tell Sven, the gladiators, and the new guy, Paolo!

Hitting the High Points Down Under

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Last Sunday was a very special Valentine's Day for yer olde Aunty. Yes, my DH came through with a lovely bouquet of flowers, and my son even managed to buy me some candy. Both of these gifts were nice but not in comparison to the VERY SPECIAL email I received late that afternoon.

The email was from Margaret Mason, the Awards Coordinator for the Australian Romance Readers Association, congratulating me because "...The Treasures of Venice has reached the final round of the 2nd annual Australian Romance Readers Awards in the Favourite Romantic Suspense category."

WOW! REALLY?!?!

I'm sure I let out a squeal heard all around my neighborhood. Then I went to the website (http://www.australianromancereaders.com.au/awards.html ), looked at the list of finalists and went into full-blown hyperventilation! I mean, look at the list for just romantic suspense:

Favourite Romantic Suspense

• Burn / Linda Howard
• Dark Country / Bronwyn Parry
• Dark of Night / Suzanne Brockmann
• Feel the Heat / Cindy Gerard
• Hidden Fire / Jo Davis
• Kindred in Death / JD Robb
• Made to be Broken / Kelley Armstrong
• Shoot to Thrill / Nina Bruhns
• Stolen Heat / Elisabeth Naughton
• The Treasures of Venice / Loucinda McGary

Way back in 2004 when I first started writing the manuscript that eventually became The Treasures of Venice, I never dared to DREAM of being included in such exhaulted company!

SERIOUSLY!

Even today, the idea that readers as far away as Australia are reading my books, enjoying my stories and loving my characters stretches the limits of my imagination (and you all know I do NOT lack for imagination)!

Truly, being a finalist for this award is the greatest honor of my writing career thus far. And the fact that I am sharing this honor with my fellow Banditas Anna Campbell and Christine Wells (both finalists in the historical category and Favourite Australian Author) just makes it that much more special!

In 2006 when this same story (then titled Jewels of the Madonna) became a finalist in the Golden Heart contest, I believed it just couldn't get any better!

I was wrong.

Having my book recognized and singled out by readers is THE BEST FEELING EVER! My only regret is that (barring a lottery win) I won't be able to attend the Awards Ceremony and dinner on May 15th in Sydney. But I will definitely be there in spirit, raising my glass of bubbly high, and I know that Fo and Madame and so many of our wonderful BBs and other readers will be there cheering when my name is announced!

And one of these days, I hope in the not-too-distance future, I WILL be there to attend, whether I'm lucky enough to final again or not. After all, I haven't been Down Under since 1999. I think I'm past due for another visit!

My very best and sincere good wishes to ALL the finalists and kudos to the winners!

Okay, Aunty will stop gushing now and let the rest of you have a turn. Let's celebrate some High Points today! Please share some of your greatest honors! Don't be shy, step right up and have some cyber-bubbly.

How Paranormal Is It?

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Last month, I got to participate in not one, but TWO fun group booksignings with other local authors. I'm still celebrating the release of my second book, The Treasures of Venice, and the fact that I'm now a MULTI-PUBLISHED AUTHOR! This mind-blowing fact finally hit home for me at those recent booksignings. Having copies of both my books there in front of me, it felt real for the first time!

The Treasures of Venice is a very special book for me because it was actually the first one I wrote after quitting my Dreaded Day Job. It was also a Golden Heart finalist in 2006 in the Romantic Suspense category. Like my first book, The Wild Sight, the story has an Irish hunk hero and an exotic setting.

As anyone who hangs around in the Lair knows, yer olde Aunty likes to write stories that include things that go boom. If I can mix a little murder and mayhem in with the romance, I'm a happy camper. Throw in a dash of 'woo woo' and I'm in hog-heaven, so I try to add that little extra 'woo woo' in all my stories.

But is it really paranormal? My first reaction is to say no. However, The Treasures of Venice does have a theme of past lives and reincarnation that runs through it. Surely that's paranormal, isn't it? I've been assured by other paranormal writers that anything 'not normal' is paranormal. Hmmm, that sounds logical. Or am I just kidding myself?

I do think my first book, The Wild Sight falls a little more heavily on the paranormal side than The Treasures of Venice because the hero Donovan has "the second sight" and has visions of the past. In fact, he can actually go to a place he calls "between" where the events in the visions are real. But in a recent note, a reader told me her favorite thing about The Wild Sight is how "realistic" it all felt, even with the paranormal events. And several reviewers also praised the gritty realism in the story. So I'm left wondering if either book really qualifies as paranormal romance.

Now my third book, The Wild Irish Sea (scheduled to be released next July) is probably more paranormal than either of the first two because the heroine has mental telepathy, as does her brother. But my editor recently told me telepathy is "soft" paranormal, so I'm confused! The paranormal sub-genre is so popular that I certainly don't want to miss out on reaching that group of readers. But when I look at the other books designated as paranormal romance, mine do not seem to fit in.

Who better to turn to for advice than the Banditas and Bandita Buddies? So tell me please, in a subgenre filled with vampires, shape-shifters, and all manner of fantastic and magical beings and situations, do I really write paranormal? If booksellers and reviewers categorize my books as paranormal romance, will readers be disappointed that they do not contain the aforementioned things? I'd love to know your opinion! What do you think makes a story a paranormal romance?

Fun and Game Shows

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

"Come on down..."

"Survey says..."

"I'd like to buy a vowel..."

How many of you recognized those phrases? Or maybe I should ask how many didn't? Phrases from game shows have become such a part of our lives, we might know them without even connecting how we do! I know lots of the Banditas and Bandita Buddies are just like me, we grew up watching game shows on television and we still enjoy them today.

Back in my elementary school days, game shows were on in the mornings before and between soap operas. I watched them on school holidays and during summer vacations. My favorite was "Concentration" because I quickly became adept at knowing where the matching puzzle pieces were. But, much to my frustration, I could never figure out 'the puzzle', that combination of pictures and letters behind the overturned pieces.

Of course, some game shows were on at night, too. My mother and grandmother constantly commented on Kitty Carlisle's evening gowns in "What's My Line." And who could forget (no matter how much you might want to) smarmy Richard Dawson kissing all the women contestants on "Family Feud?"

When I was a single mom and my son was a pre-teen, our favorite game show was "Wheel of Fortune" which was usually on right after dinner every night. We quickly developed our own ritual. When the answer was obvious and the contestant kept spinning the wheel to rack up more cash, either my son, or I, or both of us would shout in a sing-song voice, "Greedy guts! Greedy guts! You're gonna lose it all!" And if the hapless person actually did hit the dreaded bankrupt, we'd both laugh like loons.

I always wanted to be on a game show, and even tried out for one once. But I always feared that once I got in front of a live audience and the cameras that I'd blank out and turn into a blithering idiot. A former co-worker was on "The Price Is Right" when she was a college student, and she actually won the big showcase which included a new car (which she said she had to sell in order to pay the tax and license fees) and a tanning bed (particularly useless since she was African-American). She showed us the video of her appearance at an all-staff party and we got a huge kick out of seeing her. And one of our Banditas was on "Jeopardy" but I'll let her tell her own story.

Turns out my dreams of being on a game show came true, not once but TWICE this past year! Well, sort of... This year, at RWA National in DC, our very own Joanie T. was in charge of the Golden Network dessert reception, and I volunteered (along with a couple of other Banditas and other members) to help her. For entertainment, we decided to have our own game show, kind of a cross between "Deal Or No Deal" and "Jeopardy." We had a board full of little golden suitcase cutouts with questions to go with each. I got to play "Vanna" to Kristina McMorris' "Howie" with Joanie as "referee." Our questions included trivia about agents, editors, authors, and books. A good time was had by all, and our very own Posh T. was the victorious team captain!

My second brush with game show 'stardom' happened a couple of weeks ago on my cruise. On our "at sea" days, the cruise director and his staff hosted activities like trivia, scavenger hunts, and other games. One day, the game was "What's My Line" just like the old show I watched as a kid! The cruise director asked for passengers with 'an unusual occupation' to write it down and turn it in before the game started. I thought, "Hey! I have an unusual occupation -- romance novelist!" So with my DH egging me on, I entered and was one of the 6 contestants picked to stump the panel (two comedians and a singer).

Considering I had to follow an owner of an "adult entertainment" store and a female SWAT cop, I thought my occupation would be pretty anti-climactic. But when the audiece saw my profession, they responded with lots of positive laughter and applause. And I completely stumped the panel! Best of all, the cruise director asked me the name of my latest novel and where people could buy it. When I returned to my seat, dozens of people asked if I had a card. Of course I did! So I passed out post cards and book marks for The Treasures of Venice. The DH even helped.

Plus, for the rest of the cruise, people would stop me in the hall or look at me in the elevator and ask, "Aren't you the romance writer?" I even had one woman say, "Thank you for writing stories with happy endings." So I guess I wasn't too much of a blithering idiot, and I definitely had fun being on a game show!

What about you? What are your favorite game shows, past and present? Have you ever been on a game show? Which one would you like to be on?

Reader Appreciation

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Writing and publishing is a CRAZY business!

There, I said it, and I know none of the Banditas will disagree with me. (And no, not just because they are scared of my riding crop.)

Another statement on which I'm SURE all the Banditas (pubbed and AYU alike) will agree is:

READERS ARE THE GREATEST!

Back in the day when I was AYU (As Yet Unpublished) I lived for those occasions when my critique partners or beta readers would tell me how much they enjoyed a certain chapter or passage in one of my WIPs. Written words of praise from contest judges or agents and editors (even if they were on a rejection letter) I treasured for the pearls they really were!

Even though I am now a multi-published author (Aunty supresses a tiny squee of joy), not much has changed. Hearing from readers that they enjoyed one of my books, whether it is an email, snail mail letter, or phone call from a friend, is the high point of any day!

Fan mail truly makes all the other craziness worthwhile.

But how can us writers let readers know how very much we appreciate them? Well, I tried to do my part. Last Sunday I threw a party for all my local friends and readers. "Officially" it was a Launch Party to celebrate the release of The Treasures of Venice. But "unofficially" it was an excuse for me to get together with everyone who could be there and give them pizza, cake, and sign copies of their books.

It was all great fun, and I got to see friends and former co-workers I hadn't connected with in weeks, months, or in some cases years. Since the book had already been on store shelves and shipped from online sellers for a couple of weeks, a lot of people had already read it. That meant I got to hear how much they enjoyed the story. "When is your next book coming out?" was a question I happily answered at least a dozen times.

Okay, so maybe the party wasn't entirely an altruistic gesture on my part. I enjoyed all the LOVE 'my baby' kept getting from everyone. And all those 'atta girl' pats on the back weren't bad either.

Yes, I have every intention of throwing another Launch Party when my next book is released. I just wish more of the Banditas and the BBs and all my wonderful online readers could be there!

What about you? If you're an author, what are some things you do to show your readers how much you appreciate them? Besides writing more great books, of course. And for all you fantastic readers, what can we authors do to show you that you really are appreciated?

Venetian Booty!

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

WOO HOO!!! We had quite a time with all our celebrating and treasure hunting on Friday. Aunty still has a teeny weeny lingering headache just behind her eyeballs. (Note to self: DO NOT mix mimosas, margaritas, mojitos, or any other "M" drink again!) I hope everyone else is sufficiently recovered, though I fear some of those 'assistant' treasure hunters may never be quite the same. (Aunty lifts her eyebrow at certain Banditas and BBs.)

Anyway, the handy dandy Random Number Generator has selected the WINNERS in our treasure hunt... DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

Looks like the designer purse, Clive Owen, and the mini-metal detector proved to be a winning combination! PINK PEONY... you are the WINNER of the autographed copy of The Treasures of Venice!

And I hope CYBERCLIPER and her assistant Gerard Butler have managed to find their way back from the deep dark reaches of Romania, because she is the WINNER of the autographed copy of The Wild Sight (or a box of chocolates if you've already read the book)!

Ladies, please send you mailing information to Aunty Cindy at her website: www.LoucindaMcgary.com

And HUGE THANX to everyone for joining in on my Launch and treasure hunt!

A Venetian Launch Party!

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

YIPEE!!!

HUZZAH!!!!

and BRAVISSIMO!!!

Aunty's Launch Party for The Treasures of Venice is finally here!

Aunty is so excited she can scarcely keep her straw gondolier's hat on her head. Yes, my Banditas, Buddies, and curious on-lookers, this celebration has a Venetian theme! The cabana boys are serving up gelato and lots of bubbly champers (or Asti Spumati if you prefer) while dressed in their striped gondolier shirts and sparkly Carnevale masks.

Meanwhile, Demetrius and the other gladiators are giving gondola rides out in the moat. (No, Aunty did not make them dress up, their tunics are quite festive enough!) The line forms to the left of the entrance.

I am soooo excited to finally see this book on the shelves! In case you hadn't heard, The Treasures of Venice was the story that finalled in the 2006 Golden Heart and led to me meeting all the other wonderful finalists. And of course, that ultimately led to the founding of THE ROMANCE BANDITS! Is it any wonder this story has such a special place in my heart?

Here's a brief blurb about the story (and a peek at the gorgeous cover): When American librarian Samantha Lewis and Irish rogue Keirnan Fitzgerald set off to find priceless jewels, they become embroiled in a 500-year-old love story that eerily prefigures their own...

In 15th century Venice, beautiful and wealthy Serafina falls in love with Nino, a young Florentine sculptor. They decide to flee to Padua, and to fund the trip, Nino copies a set of jewels that then disappear.

In modern-day Venice, Keirnan needs Samantha's help to locate the jewels so he can pay his sister's ransom. Samantha must decide whether the man she's so drawn to is her soul mate from a previous life...or are they merely pawns in a relentless quest for a priceless treasure?

Here's what our own dear Le Duchesse Jeanne Adams had to say: "A fast paced, intricate plot, a deliciously dangerous hero and a smart, intriguing heroine. What more could you want than to be immersed in the delicious adventure that is The Treasures of Venice? Loucinda McGary has done it again with a brilliant novel that looks to the past, entwines it in the present and makes you wonder at every twist and turn if the hero and heroine will get out alive. Snap this one up, it's a keeper!"

Meanwhile, that squealing sound you hear would be yer olde Aunty, who learned a few days ago that Romantic Times magazine gave The Treasures of Venice a 4 star review! The reviewer said: " Samantha and Keirnan's romance is the stuff dreams are made of, and their adventures while trying to track down the jewels and rescue his sister will keep you on the edge of your seat."

Aunty spins giddily out of control and collapses into the waiting arms of Sven and Lars who carry her to the nearest fainting couch. Thank goodness for our historical author Banditas who have furnished some rooms of the Lair in period furniture.

WHEW! Where was I? (Aunty fans herself vigorously.) Oh yes! This Launch Party!

Since The Treasures of Venice is all about hidden jewels, we need to celebrate with a good old fashioned treasure hunt!

So please, tell Aunty and the rest of us where in the Lair (or the world, for that matter) would you look for jewels hidden for 500 years? And whom would you like to bring along to assist you in your search?

Aunty will be giving away an autographed copy of The Treasures of Venice to one clever treasure hunter. And an autographed copy of The Wild Sight, or a box of chocolates (if you already have one or both books) to another successful treasure hunter.

GOOD LUCK! And PAR-TAY!!!

Hurry Up and Wait

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

While certain other Banditas were busy cavorting around Europe (AHEM!), Aunty came home from RWA National and had to sequester herself deep in the writing caves of the Lair in order to meet a deadline. Well, I no sooner extricated myself from the deep dark recesses than I was called to Jury Duty!

HRUMPH! I scarcely had time for a brief neck massage from Sven before I had to do my civic duty and show up at the county courthouse at the horrifyingly unholy hour of 8 a.m. Now everyone who has spent more than five minutes here in the Lair knows that there are very few things that will entice Aunty to pry her eyes open at such an early hour. Cruises, flights to exotic locations in far away time zones, and scantily clad hunks all fit into this category. Doing ones civic duty by participating in jury selection does NOT! It is not that Aunty is opposed in any way to our fine judicial system with a right to a speedy and fair trial, but PLEASE, start at a bit more civilized hour.

After arriving promptly at the county courthouse, it quickly became clear to me why very few courtroom dramas, be they books or movies, mention the jury selection process. For the most part, the whole thing is BOOORRRRING! A classic case study in "Hurry Up and Wait."

First there's the long wait in the shuffling check-in line along with the other 299 people who were told to report at the exact same time. UGH! Then it's time to wait for names to be called for the first panel. The clock drags ever so slowly while a movie is started on the overhead TV (a comedy with Robin Williams which I've already seen and did not find amusing). Eventually, three panels are called and I'm not on any of them.

Just when I started to think I'd get a lunch break without being called, a third round of names is announced and I'm in it. I walked to the elevators along with the 59 others, then waited to be let into the designated courtroom. After about fifteen endless minutes, we were allowed inside where once again, there are not enough seats, so 20 names were called to sit in what the judge refered to as "the bleachers" (the jury box and a row of seats in front of it). I wasn't one of the chosen 20.

The judge started to lecture all of us on "presumed innocence" and "burden of proof" before he decided it was time for lunch and turned us all out for an hour and a half. Blessed relief! All 60 of us arrived back promptly. The judge and his assistants and the two attorneys did not. After another interminable 20 minutes, we are called back into the courtroom and the endless questioning of individual jurors began. Everyone in the jury box got asked the same questions over and over, and everyone gave basically the same answers over and over.

Those of us not in "the bleachers" began to nod off. The judge noticed and gave us a ten minute break. When we returned, roughly half the people in "the bleachers" were let go and eleven more names called to replace them. Lucky me, I wound up in the second group. Now I had to actually appear semi-conscious. But I lucked out again, and the judge decided to send us home early and told everyone remaining (in both the audience and the bleachers) to be back at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

I did appreciate the extra hour of sleep, but was still not happy when I returned the next morning. Most of my fellow potential jurors seemed to share my opinion, especially after twenty, then thirty, then forty minutes passed while we all sat in the hallway. Finally at 9:45, the judge's assistant opened the door of the courtroom and told us we were all dismissed. Turns out the defendant 'cut a deal' with the district attorney while we all cooled our heels! ARGH!!!

All right, now that I've finished my whiny tale of woe, I'll admit that I couldn't escape the parallels of jury selection and writing.

First, you work and slave weeks and months over your baby/masterpiece until you have it in a resonably readable shape. Time to start the submission process! First you craft (with the help of your CPs and other writer-buddies) a flawlessly clever query letter, which you dutifully send off to meticulously researched agents and/or editors.

Then comes the hurry up and wait part!

With any luck at all, you will hear back from your query somewhere between six hours and six weeks. Again, with some small modicum of luck, you will receive at least one positive response, and you will then send off your partial manuscript and synopsis. This time, your wait will most likely range from six weeks to six months, maybe longer.

Now you will need a very large measure of luck and the correct star-allignment in order to receive the much coveted "request for a full." After screaming and telling all your online and in-person friends and unsuspecting family members, you hurry up and send your entire manuscript.

Weeks and months crawl by as you try not to think about your full manuscript that is under consideration... Who am I KIDDING?!?! I open my email every darn day holding my breath, and I know YOU do too! When the phone rings unexpectedly, I leap on it like that proverbial duck on a June bug.

Waiting and hoping for that magical SOMEDAY when "The Call" happens! And eventually, oh yes, that wonderful, mystical day really does arrive! But are your "hurry up and wait" days over? Aunty is sad to inform you that they most certainly are NOT.

You will still need to hurry up and wait for your revisions to be done and approved, for your copyedits to arrive, for your cover to be created. And most of all, you have to wait and Wait and WAIT for your finished book to actually be released.

This takes months, sometimes YEARS! And when you write and sell another book, you get to do it ALL OVER AGAIN!

But unlike Jury Duty, it is absolutely WORTH THE WAIT!!! Aunty guarantees it!

When was the last time you had to hurry up and wait? Are there some things (like a massage from Sven) that you don't mind waiting for? And have you ever been called to Jury Duty? Did you hate it as much as Aunty?

Showing Off My Brand New Brand

posted by Aunty Cindy aka Loucinda McGary

Turns out I have a brand! I mean, I know authors are supposed to have them, but I didn't really think I did. That is, until I attended my own publisher, Sourcebooks' Spotlight session at RWA National last month.

My publisher and my publicist gave excellent presentations about the company in general and the romance line in particular. They gave a cool slide show of all the Casablanca authors' covers, including mine (SQUEE!). Then my editor took the microphone to talk about some of the Casablanca authors. Imagine my surprise when she started talking about MY brand!

Mine? Really? I had to curb the urge to run for the ladies' room to see if I had somehow attained a tatoo when I wasn't paying attention! Luckily I was too close to the front and in the middle of the row to make a graceful exit, so I was obliged to sit and listen to what my editor said.

She said here's what readers can expect when they read a book by Loucinda McGary:

• an Irish hunk hero
• an exotic, but very real setting
• suspense, as in a little murder, a little mayhem
• a touch of the paranormal, like the Second Sight, reincarnation, or mental telepathy

Well whadaya know? I do have a brand after all! I always knew my editor was a smart cookie.

So with a little over three weeks to wait until the release of my new book, The Treasures of Venice, let me go over that check list one more time to be sure...

Irish hunk hero? Keirnan Fitzgerald from County Kildare, dark-haired, blue-eyed Irish charmer. Check!

Exotic setting? Beautiful, romantic Venice (both current day and in 1485). Check!

A little murder and mayhem? Stolen jewels, kidnappings, knives and guns. Check!

A paranormal element? Possible past lives recreating themselves. Check!

All that's missing is YOU, the reader! So here's a short excerpt to whet your appetite:

A closed door blocked the top of the stairs, but it must not have been locked because Keirnan opened it after only a moment’s hesitation.

They emerged into another corridor right on the heels of a Japanese family--mother, father and two bored teens. While one parent snapped photos, the other ran a camcorder to capture every millimeter. Within moments, they all reached Bridge of Sighs.

Keirnan stepped forward and offered to take a picture of all four family members. Sam was not the least bit surprised to hear him utter some phrases in Japanese.

“Shall I take your picture too?” he asked after the family moved on.

She gestured at the fanny pack beneath her coat. “No camera. Besides, I was just here yesterday.”

He tilted his head and studied her for a long silent moment. The blue of his eyes gleamed iridescent in the dimness of the narrow enclosed bridge. “You don’t seem to fancy this romantic Venetian landmark.”

His open scrutiny made funny flutters kick up along the nerve endings in her spine. She wished some other tourists would show up. “I hardly think a bridge built to secretly imprison your political enemies is romantic.”

His dark brows lifted in a sardonic salute. “You had an excellent tour guide yesterday.”

“Actually, I’m a librarian so I read several books before the trip.”

Sam turned aside to escape the probing of his too perceptive gaze and stared out the small square opening cut into the stone. Urban legend said during the Middle Ages prisoners got their last look at Venice through this window and their sighs of longing gave the bridge its name. Wintry gray walls rose up on either side, and the cold green-black water of the canal loomed far below. Nothing romantic here at all.

“He’s a fool.”

“Excuse me?”

The sudden pronouncement caught Sam completely off guard. She turned to find the charming Irish rogue standing uncomfortably close. She took a step backward.

“Whomever ‘twas that let you come to Venice alone. He’s a bloody fool.”

Who are some of your favorite authors? When did you figure out that they had a brand? And what is it about their brand that you find the most appealing?

IOU Booty!

Aunty Cindy fired up her handy dandy Random Number Generator to find a winner for her post on the 18th. So without further adieu, the Generator says:

Treethyme!

You are the winner of the IOU for Aunty's September release The Treasures of Venice! CONGRATS!

Please send your snail mail into to cindymm18 AT gmail DOT com. Only 70 more days to wait!

The Road To Romance

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Next Tuesday I'm excited to be a guest speaker at the Solano County Library in Fairfield, California as part of their Summer Reading Program for Adults. The librarians asked me to talk about my experiences as a romance reader and writer and I thought I'd give you all a sneak peek at part of what I plan to say.

My mother is the one chiefly responsible for setting me on the winding path that eventually became my road to romance. She loved to read the great old gothic romances by Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Mary Stewart.

Back in the day (all right, I'll admit it, I'm a child of the 60s) you could very definitely tell a book by its cover. If the cover had a house with only a single lighted window, it was a gothic! My mom always had a paperback or two lying around the house. She often traded them with her friends.

As a bored young teen, I started picking them up and reading them and--WONDER OF WONDERS!--I liked them! (In fact I liked them so much, that I wound up naming my son after a character in Mary Stewart's The Moonspinners!)

I say 'wonder of wonders' because in those days I was an avid science fiction/fantasy reader and an all-out LOTR fanatic! I read everything from Piers Anthony to Roger Zelazny and anything in between. In fact it was a fantasy novel first published in the late 1970s that convinced me I should try my hand at writing my own novel. That book was The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks and it was a complete homage to Tolkien.


I LOVED IT! I also decided that if some lawyer from Chicago could do it, I could too (ah, the blissful ignorance of youth). So I made my very first attempt at writing a novel. I wrote the first draft in long hand and typed the revised copy on a portable manual typewriter.

Yes indeed, it was a terrible trial and so was the story! After a few rejections (can't believe I actually had the nerve to send it out) it went into a very large box under the bed and somehow through various moves and a divorce became lost forever. Thank goodness and may it Rest In Peace!

Meanwhile, my rocky road to romance continued. In the 80s I discovered and devoured most of the 'bodice rippers' of the day -- Rosemary Rogers, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Patricia Matthews (remember her?). But contemporary romances pretty much left me cold and fantasy continued to be my genre of choice...

Until one day in 1992 when I was browsing the SciFi/Fantasy section of my local bookstore and I pulled out a book that had somehow been misshelved. I mean, one look at the cover (front and back) and I knew that in spite of its very odd title, Outlander, that this was a romance. My BFF's birthday was fast approaching and I knew she liked to read romances so I bought the book to give to her. Of course, I just couldn't resist reading the first chapter...

...And the rest, as they say, IS HISTORY! I couldn't stop, and finished Outlander in a 3 day reading binge. By the time I gave it to my BFF wrapped in pretty flowered paper with a bright shiny bow (to distract from the slightly cracked spine), I'd already stopped at the library and checked out the sequel, Dragonfly In Amber. And when I finished it, I ran to the bookstore and bought every time-travel romance in sight. Finally, when I grew impatient waiting for Diana Gabaldon to finish the third Jamie and Claire book, Voyager, I decided to write my very own time-travel romance.

This second effort wasn't nearly as bad as my previous sword & sorcery attempt. In fact, an editor at Leisure books actually requested the full manuscript, but didn't buy it. But I also knew I had a lot to learn and started reading a lot of 'how-to' books and taking online classes. I also kept reading romance! By now, I'm happy to say I was firmly on that road.

Eventually, I joined RWA and attended some regional conferences. I also kept reading and writing, and decided to go back to my 'roots' and give romantic suspense a try. My first completed romantic suspense manuscript finaled in the 2006 Golden Heart (sound familiar?). And in 75 more days, that book will be released as The Treasures of Venice! Just goes to prove that happy endings happen in real life too!

Now you all know a little of my story of my road to romance, so it is your turn to share yours! Who helped set you on your own road to romance? What are some of the books you remember most along the way?

Please share and at the end of the day, Aunty will pick one commenter to receive either an autographed copy of The Wild Sight (which just WON Best First Book in the More Than Magic Contest!) , or an IOU for an autographed copy of The Treasures of Venice when it is released on September 1st.