How Do You Do, How To?

by Anna Campbell

Are you a how-to book fan?

I have to say I'm addicted to reading writing how-to books. Right now they're on my mind in a big way so I thought I'd shoot the breeze about the self-help section of the bookshop. Hmm, perhaps I'd be on millionaire's row if I could just rephrase that sentence as "I'm addicted to writing reading how-to books." I could definitely write a book about reading! And I'd LOVE the research!

How-tos (henceforth to be referred to as H2s) are on my mind because I've just finished reading a really great one - the new edition of Harlequin Mills and Boon author Kate Walker's classic 12-POINT GUIDE TO WRITING ROMANCE. I'm also about to re-read what is probably my favorite writing H2, Dorothea Brande's BECOMING A WRITER so I can review it for my friends at the Romance Dish (check out the review on the 24th March).

I've read H2s for years - there's always some new insight to gather from another writer's experience and sometimes, as in the case of the three books I'll mention today, it's lightbulb moment after lightbulb moment. By the end, I'm dragging out the sunglasses to cut the glare!

I know we have a lot of writers who visit the lair so I thought I'd share a few thoughts about why Kate's book is such a great resource.

Just lately I've judged a stack of writing contests and I must say there's some impressive talent out there! But there are also a lot of aspiring writers who need help with two of the basic building blocks of a great story, conflict (the obstacle/issue keeping the couple apart for 200 or 400 pages so we've actually got, yanno, a STORY!) and motivation (why do these people behave as they do?). The two chapters of Kate's book on these essential elements are masterly - clear, concise and they emphasize that without adequate conflict and motivation a story has the oomph of a piece of cold spagghetti. No offense to all those lovely, oomph-heavy pieces of cold spagghetti who read the blog!


The last of my three H2s that I'd love to mention is BIRD BY BIRD: SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON WRITING AND LIFE by Anne Lamott. This is a book that vies with Dorothea's as my favorite writing H2. I use its advice all the time - especially the story behind the title. The author's brother had to finish a school project about all the birds in America and he left it until the very last minute and fell into a crippling panic at the thought of getting it done. Anne Lamott's father calmed the boy down and said, "Let's do it bird by bird."

When I'm staring down the barrel of a HUGE project like writing a whole book, I remember that. A book is written bird by bird or rather WORD BY WORD. It's a wonderfully calming mantra and it allows me to pick up the tools of my trade (well, turn on the computer at least!) and write my story without being overwhelmed by the task ahead.


Finally, for the non-writers who like to come to the lair to chase the cabana boys and pluck the rooster (no wonder he keeps flying off to Australia!), here are two H2/self-help books that are full of amazing wisdom.

I haven't read WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES: CONTACTING THE POWER OF THE WILD WOMAN by Clarissa Pinkola Estes for years but it's a book that literally changed my life. I read this towards the end of that awful 18 months about 17 years into my pre-publication career when I'd given up writing because I'd decided selling a book was a childish dream that I should relinquish. As you can imagine, that was not a happy time for little Miss Campbell!

I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up this very thick book - especially as at the time, I really wasn't into self-help books. It might have been a recommendation from a friend. Anyway, this book is about women sticking to their guns and it delivers its message through a series of myths and legends from all over the world. You know what a sucker I am for a fairy tale! By the time I finished it, I was well and truly ready to pick up my six-shooter and have another stab (oops, mixed metaphor there!) at a writing career. I joined Romance Writers of Australia (women who run with the wolves aren't scared of no stinkin' writin' organization, no sirree!) and that set me on the path to eventually seeing my books on the shelves.

So having discovered the wonderful world of self-help books, I began to read widely in the field and stumbled across this next book via James Hillman's pupil Thomas Moore. THE SOUL'S CODE: IN SEARCH OF CHARACTER AND CALLING by James Hillman isn't a religious book although it definitely has a spiritual dimension. What I love about this book is it addresses that sense of vocation as a writer I always felt (and that I denied when I gave up after listening to all the 'sensible' people in the world). This book outlines the acorn theory - we're basically born knowing what we are to become the way an acorn knows to grow into a magnificent tree.

Hmm, not feeling much like a magnificent tree this morning. Perhaps more like an overgrown shrub!

So over to you. Do you like H2s or self-help books? If you do, do you have any favorites you'd like to share? If you're a writer, did you get any invaluable insights or advice from an H2? Let's let it all hang out! Groovy, man!

Runnin' Through the Airport....

This weekend, I was at the RWA Board meeting in Austin, Texas. Now, this isn't the topic of my blog and if you're interested in what we did, grab a look at the RWA Hot Sheet on the website.

No, what I want to talk about is travel. Yes. Travel. We're all thinking about it, I know.....Going to conferences, RWA National included, or thinking longingly of Easter/Passover visiting, Spring Break or summer vacations ahead.

Are you flying?

Now don't wince. This isn't a diatribe about flying either.

I love to fly. Really. I do.

I do NOT love to go through security, but I'm fairly tolerant of all the nutso rules and regs. I've mailed my beloved Swiss Army Knife home to myself at least three times, thrown away perfectly good bottles of water, Diet Coke, Milk, etc. right at the gate of security, let them confiscate my nail polish (a gorgeous OPI color too!) when the no-liquids rule first went into effect, and all that insane stuff.

I love that instant when the wheels lift off the ground and you can feel the almost weightlessness of the airplane. *shiver* It's fabulous. Or the solid bump-soft-shudder-bump-shhhhhh of a great landing. Excellent.

What I'm not fond of? All alcohol and caffeinated drinks on a five-hour flight and no food. (Can you say "belligerent passengers"?) Running through Atlanta's airport. That is one airport you just CANNOT run through. The floors are too slick, the train too slow. Impossible.

Memphis ain't real fun either, as I can attest from this weekend!

However, airline employees, the REAL ones on the front lines, are great. Lorry W, with Delta, made sure that I would have a second connection already ready and waiting if my connection missed in Memphis, so I could get home. Brenda, Mary and Barb, all Delta flight attendants, were cordial, good humored, and sincerely helpful, even to the guy who insisted on taking off his shoes (no socks on, folks. Ugh!) and who gestured at them and demanded yet one more gin and tonic, with his unlit and quite chewed-upon cigar. Double-ugh.

My cousin is a flight attendant. Some of the stories she can tell would curly your hair if it were straight and straighten it to board straight if it were curly. She also tells wonderful stories of meeting Phyllis Dillar (the life of the show, even on board an aircraft), and other celebrities, most of whom behaved beautifully. Grins. It's a hard job, being a service person on an airline, who really is there to protect you. They serve as "staff" but their real job is to be there, be on the front line, when there's a problem. To handle it, to keep people safe, to make sure everyone gets off alive.

Daunting thought, especially when faced with a whole planeful of drunk or over-caffienated, over-salted, tired, cranky, "I'm-sitting-next-to-a-screaming-toddler-who's-mother-is-sleeping one-row-up" people. They pat and soothe and get stern, and issue alerts and warning and somehow balance that frickin' heavy cart in high winds down the center of the aisle and still manage to pour coffee without spilling it.

Hurrah, for flight attendants! Grins.

Then there's the weird shops in airports, like the Braves Shop in Atlanta - hey ya'll, the Season opens in 3 weeks! Go BRAVES!!!

And the weird souvenirs that come with travel. I'm always fascinated with the stuffed armadillos in Texas, the giant guitars in Memphis, the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks mania in O'Hare, and New York's Rolex clocks.

So tell me your travel stories, good and bad.

What do you HAVE to have with you when you travel? Pillow? Eye mask? Magazines?

What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen in an airport? (For me, it's a chiropracter adjusting his girlfriend on the floor of the waiting area)

What's the strangest thing you've carried home on an airplane?

Ever gotten through security with your Swiss Army knife?

Strangest thing you ever brought home for the family as a souvenier.

OH!! And if you're traveling - or even if you're not! - pick up a copy of this month's Cosmopolitan Magazine! An excerpt from my Deadly Little Secrets is featured as the RED HOT READ for April!

Pet Lover Booty!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit with Linda O. Johnston last week. Our magic random number generator actually picked ... Number One! That means the winner of Linda's FELINE FATALE, the most recent of her Pet-Sitter mysteries, is ...

BJ!!!!!

Congratulations, BJ!!

Please email me at katecarlisle99@yahoo.com with your snail mail address and Linda will rush your book out to you post haste!

The Little Gray Cat

by Cassondra Murray

Early in the summer of 2008, a lonely gray cat, skinny, in trouble, and so small she looked about six months old, wandered into a subdivision and arrived at the back door of a girl named Amy. Amy is a friend of ours, and works with my husband, Steve.

Maybe it was luck, coincidence, or an angel guiding Little Gray Cat, but let's just say that if you were a cat in trouble, Amy's door would have been the one you'd want to find. Because as luck, or the Divine, would have it, Amy had a soft spot for cats.

Amy cleared out an entire spare bedroom for the forlorn little cat, laid out old blankets, moved in a cat tree, litter box, and a scratching post. After a trip to the vet, Little Gray Cat took up residence, and in August, 2008, five little ones arrived. And no group of kittens had ever come into the world to more love.

They had everything they needed, and Little Gray Cat settled in to motherhood without a hitch.

A few months before that, we'd lost our beloved Max at age 17. He'd been lost in a field when his mom and siblings were taken by owls, and come to us when he was three weeks and weighed 3/4 lbs. Max was our companion for all those years, and we were devastated when we lost him. This is Max, engaging in his favorite spectator sport.




Our younger cat, Amon (pronounced Aaaahh-muhnn) was bereft. She sat around, staring out the windows, and although she made an effort to pick up and move on, no doubt she was lonely all day in the house when we were out at work. No more night stampedes through the house. Nobody to lie in wait for from the top of the armoire. It was time to find her some company. I'd always wanted a black cat, but we always seemed to end up with grays.

That's Max. on the right, with Amon, on the left. Amon came home with us after we coaxed her and her sister out from under a car in the parking lot of a Captain D's. She weighed a whopping one pound at the time. One of the employees took the sister, and Amon has been with us since.



As fate would have it, of the five new arrivals at Amy's house, three were gray, and two were black.

We went for a visit. We got to know the kittens in their first five weeks. And eventually we settled on a little black furball with big green eyes and a white snip under his chin. We brought him home and named him Umbra.





Umbra was the first kitten we'd ever brought home who had not been abandoned, and was not in trouble. He'd never known anything but love, and perhaps as a result, he loves everyone who comes to our home. Umbra knows no stranger. He's truly a laid-back cat. At sixteen pounds, he's now a hoss of solid, purring muscle.

Here's Umbra in the new kitchen sink during a construction phase just before Christmas.



Flash foward to the summer of 2010, and Amy found herself, as Little Gray Cat had once been, in the family way. Things were a little different for Amy, though. She had a fellow who loved her, and would love their baby. Amy already had her own house, so everything was set. There was just one problem.

Amy's husband wasn't fond of cats, and as time passed, turned out to be allergic to them. With a baby on the way, there was nothing to do but find a new home for Little Gray Cat.

We'd always told Amy that if Little Gray Cat couldn't stay with her, we'd bring her to our house, but Amy didn't want us to feel pressured, and we already had two cats. So we got the email three weeks ago. With the baby due in 8 days, and her husband sick from the dander, Amy was feeling the pressure. She'd taken Little Gray Cat, Umbra's mom, to the shelter.

We needed another cat like we needed a hole in the head. But sometimes that just doesn't matter.

It was 11:00 in the morning on a Saturday when we opened that email.

By the time we found Little Gray Cat on the shelter website and figured out what we had to do, it was ten minutes before noon. We needed a reference, and our vet closes at noon on Saturdays. We called anyway.

Joy, the sweetheart who works the front desk on weekends (and who loves cats, and has a few more than she needs as well) stopped everything to phone the shelter with a reference for us. We called a friend who volunteers there, hoping these efforts might help us jump more easily through the Nazi-like hoops of the shelter's watchdogs and allow us to spring Little Gray Cat from the slammer. Our friends rallied around the effort, and we drove too fast on the way there.

I have to tell you, I admire people who volunteer at the shelter. I can't do it. I cry from the time I walk in the door until I drive away. I cried a bunch, as usual, and apologized to the people at the shelter for doing so. Nothing makes me lose it like too many faces looking back at me through the bars. We sponsored another cat because we couldn't bring all of them with us.

And we brought Little Gray Cat home.

Her name is Holly (Amy had named her that when she first arrived), and it's clear that Umbra got his huge, pale-green eyes and laid-back ways from his mother.

She's obviously no longer a scrawny little cat, and is being put through laser-pointer chase drills for weight loss.



After some hissing, spitting and a bit of flying fur, the cat chain of command has been established and there seems to be a truce in the house, and Holly is taking her share of shifts on mouse watch.

She's fitting right in.



What about you, Bandits and Buddies?

Have you ever taken in a stray animal?

Have you adopted from a shelter? If so, how do you leave there without bringing them all with you?

Have you ever had too many already, but brought in one more?

How many do you have? If you don't have them now, did you have animals in your home when you were a kid?

Tell me how your furry friends came to be with you.

Julianne MacLean's Winner!

Thanks so much to everyone for a fabulous day of blogging last Friday! Julianne had a marvellous time and asked me to thank you all too.

It's with much pleasure that I announce the winner of the copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE:

MARIEE!!!

Congratulations, Mariee. Please email Julianne on julianne @ juliannemaclean.com (no spaces) with your snail mail details and she'll get your book off to you pronto.

Jana DeLeon Takes Us Into the Spooky Bayou!

interview with Suz

Fellow Bandits and Bandit friends please help me welcome my dear friend Jana DeLeon to the Lair! Jana is a multi-published author who has her first book with Harlequin Intrigue, THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU, coming out on March 8th. Jana, pull up a chair and we’ll get the cabana boys to bring you your favorite drink. (Isn't this a great picture of Jana and her dog Bogey reading together?)

Suz: Congratulations, Jana. THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU received a 4 1/2 start TOP PICK review from Romantic Times magazine! Can you  give us a glimpse into THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU?

Jana: I would call the book a "gothic lite." It's a bit of a ghost story set deep in the Louisiana swamps.

Suz: Your heroine, Olivia Markham is a horror writer, but she has a very unique way of researching her books, doesn’t she?

Jana: Olivia rents reputed haunted houses to stay in while writing her books. She says the location provides the ambience for creating a good horror novel.

Suz: Okay, that's like way too much realistic research for this author! Your hero, John Landry, isn’t quite the caretaker he is supposed to be, is he?


Jana: John in an undercover cop with his own agenda, and Olivia is not part of it. In fact, she's in the way. But he has good reasons for wanting her to leave the house even though he ultimately becomes her champion and protector.

Suz: And he's all secretive, yet sexy, too! One of the best parts of your book is how you made the setting a character in this book. How did you make the bayou feel so alive?

Jana: By writing what I know. I grew up in the bayous of Louisiana. I know the appearance, the weather and the peculiarities of small-town bayou inhabitants well. It's easy to write something so familiar.

Suz: Setting often has big impact on a story. The mansion where the book takes place is La Malediction? What significance does this have to the plot?

Jana: The name laMalediction means "The Curse." Legend has it that the house and all its future inhabitants were cursed by the original owner, who went insane and murdered his wife. The house is isolated deep in the swamp with a single, muddy path connecting it to the closest town. A big rainstorm can leave people stranded at the mansion without power.

(Check out the exerpt here: http://janadeleon.net/harlequin-books/the-secret-of-cypriere-bayou-excerpt/ )

Suz: While this is your first novel for Harlequin, you’ve had several single titled books published. Would you tell our readers about them and how they differ from THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU?

Jana: Prior to writing for Harlequin, I wrote five single title contemporary humorous mystery/romance novels. The combination of mystery and romance is the same and all my prior works are set in Louisiana, but the big difference is the humor. While the plots are serious, the humor is a key component to all my previous work. All of my previous books are available in ebook format.(Check them out @  http://janadeleon.net/ )

Suz: What future books do you have on your agenda?

Jana: In July 2011, BAYOU BODYGUARD releases. This book is a related book to THE SECRET OF CYPRIERE BAYOU and finished up the overarching mystery surrounding the house and its history. I have another book under contract with Harlequin scheduled for a release in early 2012. So far, all of my books with Harlequin have that hint of spooky.

So dear readers, Jana wants to know, Do you believe in them and if so, do you think you've ever seen one? One lucky commentor will receive an autographed copy of THE SECRET OF CYPIERE BAYOU.

Thanks so much for having me!

Arches and I Don't Mean Golden

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

A few months ago, the DH and I took a little jaunt to celebrate our anniversary. This time around we stayed pretty close to home, only a few states away. We went to Arches National Park near Moab, Utah and close to the Utah/Colorado border.

As anyone who knows Aunty will attest, she is NOT an outdoorsy type. But the sights at Arches were just too spectacular to view strictly from the car window. Within an hour of our arrival in the park, I actually found myself doing something I literally had not done in years --HIKING! But there was just no other way to see these fabulous rock formations, which are unlike anything I've ever seen anywhere else.

Here are a few of my piccies so you can see what I mean:

The Windows

One of the most famous formations in Arches National Park. Individually they are the South Window (on the left in this picture) and the North Window. They, and all the other fantastic rock formations in the park are the result of wind and water erosion over hundreds of thousands of years.

To put the size of the Windows into perspective, here's the DH (all 6 feet 5 inches or 1.97 meters of him) standing in the middle of the South Window.

I'm standing about 100 yards down the hill so that I can fit the whole thing in. And yes, it was a stunning day, as evidenced by the clouds and blue sky behind the South Window.

Delicate Arch

Probably the most photographed and therefore the most famous of all the formations in Arches is this one. Also called "Bloomers" or "Cowboy Chaps" for obvious reasons. I viewed it from a very long distance and let the DH hike the extremely steep three mile trail for a closer look.

Delicate Arch stands 52 feet (or 16 meters) tall, and sits all by itself on the edge of a rocky plateau in the absolute middle of nowhere. This photo does not do the bright red and orange coloring of the arch justice. It is absolutely striking (even through binoculars down in the parking lot)!

Landscape Arch

This is the longest arch in the park, and I'll have to take DH's word that this is it. Once again, I stayed behind and read a book while he make the arduous hike through the Devil's Garden to view this arch and the other formations. It does look like the other pictures I've seen of it, so I guess I can trust his word that this is the genuine article.

One of the rangers told us that ten or fifteen years ago, a piece of rock cracked and fell from the center of Landscape Arch. Luckily it happened at a time when very few tourists were around and nobody was hurt!

The Three Gossips

Finally, a formation that is not an arch. The guide book described these gigantic pillars that look like over-sized human figures as the Three Gossips. I personally thought they resembled the Three Wise Men of New Testament fame. Or perhaps three ancient Egyptian dieties.

The park is full of pillar type formations. Some of them were undoubtedly arches whose middles collapsed. Other formations look like giant ships or castles. I won't bore you with any more of my less-than stellar photos. If you check Google Images, you'll see many fabulous ones.

Better yet, take a trip to Arches National Park yourself. Aunty guarantees you won't regret it!

When you travel, what is your favorite destination? City or great outdoors? Foreign or domestic? Same place different day or some place entirely new?

Quick 5 for the Weekend

by Anna Sugden

Welcome to the weekend!

It's a funny thing. I write full-time at home and my lovely hubby is retired, so there's no valid reason why we should treat a weekend like a weekend - we could have Monday and Tuesday as our weekend or Wednesday and Thursday. Yet, for some reason, we still treat the weekend like a weekend.

Obviously some things can only be done at that time eg going to a football game, seeing people who work outside the home, seeing kids who are at school, watching the family in their sporting events.

Some things too, we've taken to doing during the week eg going to the cinema or a matinée performance at the theatre, going out for dinner, shopping!

But other things, we still keep for the weekend eg brunch, sleeping late, Sunday roast.

With that in mind, here's a special weekend Quick 5!

1. Do you sleep late on the weekend or are you 'up and at 'em'?

2. Do you have special weekend meals eg Sunday roast, brunch?

3. What's your favourite weekend activity?

4. Is there anything you do on a weekend that you wish you were able to do during the week?

5. If you could have any two days as your weekend, which ones would they be?

The Highlanders and Julianne MacLean!

by Anna Campbell

It is my very great pleasure to introduce Julianne MacLean, one of the STARS of historical romance, to the lair! Julianne is a three-time RITA award finalist and her books have hit the USA Today list.

When I first started reading Julianne's books, she was writing about American heiresses marrying into the British nobility but she seems to have come over all Scottish lately with her Highlander trilogy, the first of which, CAPTURED BY THE HIGHLANDER, comes out this month from St. Martin's.

Romantic Times chose CAPTURED BY THE HIGHLANDER as one of their Top Picks for March and said:

MacLean ensnares readers with her powerful writing and emotional love stories, once again crafting a book to cherish. Her richly portrayed characters and intriguing, fast-paced plot combine in a read that will leave you speechless with delight. This new novel reinforces her reputation as a premier writer of Scots-set romance.

You can find out all about Julianne and her delicious Highlanders on her website: http://juliannemaclean.com/index.php

Julianne, welcome to the Bandit lair! I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to lure you here. Clearly you need TLC. Sven, a message! Paolo, a margarita! Gladiators, a sword! Um, perhaps I should rephrase that! Congratulations on the release of your latest historical romance, CAPTURED BY THE HIGHLANDER (capture and Highlander, you’ve got me at hello!). Can you tell us about this story?

CAPTURED is the first book in my new Highlander trilogy, and it’s a classic tale about a savage beast of a Highlander (he always carries a big axe, and they call him The Butcher of the Highlands) who kidnaps his enemy’s fiancée for revenge, but OF COURSE he falls crazy in love with her in the process! There are bunch of twists and turns after that, but I have to keep most of them secret, otherwise I would be guilty of the “spoiler” offense, and we can’t have that!

I notice the fabulous CAPTURED BY THE HIGHLANDER is being followed a mere month later by CLAIMED BY THE HIGHLANDER. Can you tell us about that story too?

CLAIMED picks up not long after CAPTURED leaves off. A lot happens in the first book, and I don’t want to spoil too much by giving stuff away, but the hero’s best friend does something bad which betrays the hero, and is banished from his clan. Two years later, he returns to find that his father’s castle has been overtaken by another clan, and he brings an army to win it back. After breaking down the gates and winning the battle, he claims the daughter of the fallen enemy chief as his wife, but she’s a real spitfire, and he finds he has a few more challenges ahead of him when she defies him and tries to deny him his “husbandly rights.” You know the ones I’m talking about, right? Wink wink, nudge nudge.


What? She won't share her haggis? For shame! Snicker. So, Ms. MacLean, what IS it with you and Highlanders?

I’ve been writing about dukes and earls for too long. I needed to get out of the polite London ballrooms and get down and dirty with some seriously old school, savage heroes who aren’t afraid to sleep in a cave and swing a really big sword.
Oh, no, not with more sword jokes! Where is the decorum? What’s coming up next for Julianne MacLean?

The third and final book in the Highlander series – SEDUCED BY THE HIGHLANDER - is coming out in October, and that one was my editor’s favorite. I think I had a soft spot for that hero, because he was as tortured as they come, and I, for one, love a tortured alpha male! I’m also working on a new series set in Regency England, called The Royal Weddings Trilogy. Though I loved being in the wilds of Scotland – and will probably go back there again - I felt ready to return to the charming gentlemen of London, and the clothes. I love the clothes.

You also write contemporary romance as E.V. Mitchell. Can you tell us about your alter ego and the stories she tells?


THE COLOR OF HEAVEN is a book I started working on six years ago, and finally put the finishing touches on last summer.It’s a contemporary women’s fiction novel with romantic elements about first love, but it’s not a romance novel, which is why I felt it was necessary to adopt a pseudonym, so that my readers would know it’s something very different.It was born out of a few personal events in my own life that have changed me as a person. I had a serious car accident when I was twenty-five, and there is a scene in the book that is very similar to what I experienced, but I explore what could have happened if I wasn’t so lucky that day.I’ve always had a fascination with near-death experiences, where a person can float outside of their body and experience something strange and unusual – so I was inspired to write a story about a character who experiences such a thing. But that’s only one part of it. Mostly, it’s a story about a woman’s journey through some hard times, and how she learns to overcome those challenges, having learned something about life and love.

Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

Step one: Write. Step two: Write some more. Step three: Polish and revise and get feedback from others who know the genre. Step four: Revise some more. Step five: Decide you’re in it for the long haul, and that giving up is not an option. Step six: When you get rejected, go back to step one, and always remember step five. Because we all get rejected. Even multi-published authors still get rejected.

That's great advice, Julianne. Thanks for hanging out with us today. The cabana boys were all agog when I told them were coming - and an agog cabana boy is a sight to see, don't you agree? Do you have a question for the Bandits and Bandita Buddies?


So here’s my question: All three heroes in my Highlander trilogy are dangerous, tortured alpha males. Tell me – who is your all-time favorite tortured alpha male hero? And name the book. Let’s spread the joy!

Just to whet your appetite for Highlanders (yeah, like that's a big job!), Julianne has very generously offered a signed copy of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE to one lucky commenter today. Good luck!

The Last Go Red Pin Prize!

by Suzanne

Our AHA prize -- Go Red for Women pin -- for February 28 goes to

Deb!

for giving me two young western historical women with TRUE GRIT!

Deb, email me @ suzanne AT suzanneferrell DOT com and I'll see that you get your GO RED pin and the $10 Amazon gift card! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Moon Cursed

posted by Nancy

Bestselling author and RITA winner Lori Handeland makes her first appearance in the Lair today! Lori's books have hit the New York Times, USA Today, Waldenbooks, and Bookscan bestseller lists. They have also won numerous awards, including the RITA in two different categories, a Romantic Times Award for Best Harlequin Superromance, the PRISM, and the National Readers Choice Award.

She's here to celebrate the continuation of her Nightcreature Novels with the March 1 release of the tenth volume, Moon Cursed. Welcome, Lori!

We love call stories here in the Lair. Would you like to tell us about your first sale?

I remember that day very clearly. My kids were 5 and 2. I was making lunch, still hadn't gotten dressed or taken a shower. The phone rang and it was my agent. Since she'd just called to give me a rejection on what I thought was the last submittal we had out, I had no idea what she wanted. Turned out she'd sent my first book one more place and hadn't told me. Alicia Condon had called and made an offer on SECOND CHANCE, a western.

Of course back then we had no cell phones. I called all my friends and relatives and no one was home. My DH didn't find out until that night. My 2 year old was unimpressed. The 5 year old wasn't either.

But it was very exciting and I'll always remember.

How frustrating to have no one home! But it's a great story.

Moon Cursed is the latest installment in the Nightcreature saga. Who are the Nightcreatures?

The Nightcreature novels are my paranormal romance series, which deal with a group of monster hunters called the Jager-Suchers, or Hunter-searchers. They are led by an ancient German double agent from WW2 named Edward Mandenauer. Edward discovered Mengele was creating monsters for Hitler back in the day. When the Allies landed, the monsters were released and he's been chasing them, as well as all the others, ever since.

Who are the hero and heroine of Mooncursed? What internal conflict keeps them apart?

In MOON CURSED, Kristin Daniels hosts a show called HOAX HUNTERS where she debunks myths. She travels to Loch Ness to debunk the greatest myth of all, the Loch Ness Monster. Kris doesn't believe in magic or mystery, she hates liars. Which caused quite a problem when she meets Liam Grant, the keeper of the loch, a believer in Nessie and one of the biggest secret keepers of all time.

Are Kris and Liam working together on anything, or do they have a common problem?

Kris is trying to prove Nessie doesn't exist. Liam is protecting the secrets of his village, Drumnadrochit.

(To read an excerpt, click here. Or go to http://www.lorihandeland.com/moon_cursed.php )

You've written several other series. Could you tell us a little about them?

I've also written an urban fantasy series, The Phoenix Chronicles. In it, the heroine Elizabeth Phoenix, must save the world from the Nephilim--the offspring of the fallen angels and men, which are all the creatures of legend--vampires, werewolves and more. She has help in her quest from her childhood love, Jimmy Sanducci, and her mentor, the Navajo shaman Sawyer.

I have also written The Luchetti Brothers series for Harlequin Superromance, which deals with 5 brothers raised on a farm in Illinois and the stories of each one finding true love. There are quite a few fun characters in these books, both human and animal.

And then there is the Shakespeare Undead series, which began as one book and morphed into more. The concept is that Shakespeare is a vampire, an immortal undead, which explains how he
could write so many plays and know so many things a commoner from Stratford couldn't know. The first book, SHAKESPEARE UNDEAD, dealt with his finding his love, the Dark Lady of his sonnets, who just happens to be a zombie hunter. The second, ZOMBIE ISLAND, is my take on the Tempest.

How cool! What's next for you?

As soon as I finish ZOMBIE ISLAND, I will turn to a new venture. I'll return to my roots, western historical romance, writing under the name Lori Austin. The first book CHASE THE WIND, deals with a con man and a female bounty hunter.

Sounds like fun!

For more about Lori and her work, visit her website or check out the Goddess Blogs.

Lori will be signing books in NY at the RWA conference on Tuesday, June 28, which is coincidentally the release date of the next Nightcreature novel CRAVE THE MOON.

Lori's giving away, to one winner, a stuffed Loch Ness Monster and an autographed backlist Nightcreature novel of their choice. So tell us, what's your favorite Shakespearean play (or book or movie inspired by or based on Shakespeare)? Which of the legendary creatures Lori writes would be your favorite? Would you side with Liam or Kris about the Loch Ness monster?

Surviving the Ups and Downs

Gerri Russell returns to the Lair today. She's an award-winning author known for her adventurous and emotionally intense novels set in 13th and 14th Century Scottish Highlands. Her most notable series to date is that of the Brotherhood of the Scottish Templars. She is a two-time recipient of the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart award and winner of the American Title II competition sponsored by Dorchester Publishing and Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine.

Today's visit, though, will be a little different, as Gerri will explain.

Welcome, Gerri!


No matter how successful fiction novelists are, they will always have ups and downs in their careers. Sometimes the downs come because of a changing market, a change in technology, or in my case lately, a change within my own publishing house. It’s no secret that Dorchester Publishing has been going through some difficult times, as have their authors. But being the “glass is half full” kind of person that I am, I’m choosing to look upon what’s happened to me and my books over the past year as an opportunity for change.

You will not find my book in any brick and mortar book store, and very soon you will not find them in electronic form either, because the rights for all of my books, five published and two yet-to-be-published works, will revert to me by the end of this month. Personally, it will be a moment of great celebration and the beginning of something new and wonderful.

I love being in the lair with the Romance Bandits. I’ve visited here before when I’ve had new releases and great things to share. But I wanted to slip into the lair today to share something else that I’ve learned over the past year, and that is how to ride the highs and lows of a writing career without losing balance or momentum. Whether you’re just getting started in your career, you’re an experienced writer in or out of a slump, or a reader who wonders why their favorite authors are not publishing new books at the moment, I hope the following tips will help.

1. Diversify your writing. Every writer, fiction or otherwise, must always look for new writing opportunities. This way, if you do stumble into a slump with one publisher or one specific genre, you’ll have another area to develop.

2. Maintain a blog or a website. Having a place to regularly write not only validates you as a writer, it’s a great place to explore your interests, allow for visiting “experts”, and allows you to grow as a writer in your own skills and in educating/entertaining your audience.

3. Do some sort of work that is not writing-related. Do something for yourself that either feeds your passion or your pocketbook. Finding ways to get away from your writing helps with the insecurities that come with our chosen profession by generating new ideas, writing inspiration, character developments, plot twists, etc. By leaving the writing behind, it truly helps keep the creative juices flowing, and sometimes helps deal with the financial droughts that come with the job as well.

4. Network with other writers and other professionals. Spend time with other writers in groups such as Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, etc. But also explore opportunities to be with other professionals as well. Find other organizations that cater to entrepreneurs where you can network and share ideas and energy with people who are building and maintaining their own businesses. Learn how they cope with the highs and lows of success.

5. Share your knowledge. Even if you are not publishing at the moment, you have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can be shared. You can keep your name out there in publishing circles by writing regular columns for magazines, guest blog on popular blogging sites, or write for trade publications that will still help you keep your writing skills sharp.

6. Never lose faith in yourself or your dreams. It always comes back to this. You decided to be a writer for some reason. You had something to say…a story to tell…a need to communicate with others. It’s a gift. Don’t take it lightly. Highs and lows are normal in any occupation. The trick is to learn how to ride them out, to keep your focus, and celebrate making it through the low times.

For more about Gerri and her work, visit her website.

Do you have any other tips to share? How have you made it through a difficult time in your life or your career?