Why I love Romance

I started reading romance at a young age. Probably too young looking back. I found my mom’s Harlequin stash around the age of eleven and I was hooked. There isn’t one particular book I remember reading or one author I fell in love with. That was to come later. It wasn’t until I discovered Linda Howard that a whole new world opened up to me. That's when I realized that romance as I’d previously thought of it, wasn’t the kind from my mom’s era. It was changing and it was hot and I wanted more. A lot more. So for a few years I devoured any type of romantic suspense I could get my hands on (probably the reason I love writing it now). For the most part, that hasn’t changed. The only difference is now I’ve discovered paranormals, UF, shifter stories, etc. all within the RS genre. I've always been a reader, but in these economic times, I've found myself turning more and more to books for entertainment. We've definitely made cuts, but not on books. And I hope that day never comes.

There isn't one particular reason why I love reading romance, but many. Happily Ever After is pretty much guaranteed and for the most part, I see a little bit of myself in a lot of the characters I read about. It's also an inexpensive form of entertainment, and if I'm being really honest, reading erotica is definitely good for my marriage (my husband wholly supports my reading habit). That's why I don't understand when people dis the romance industry or say they don't read 'those kind' of books when it's obvious they've never read a contemporary romance. So what brought you to reading romance? What's your favorite thing about the genre? And what do you say to ignorant people who belittle it?

As a parting gift, I'm including a picture of my new cover - Dangerous Deception. I haven't received edits yet, but the art department is way ahead of things. Enjoy :)

Wicked Hot Trailer of the Week!

Here it is, WGW's first book trailer of the week! Trust me when I say this story just shot to the top of my must read pile!

Going Wild...What Have You Done?

I think writing romance gives me the chance to run wild...safely. But who knows what this new year will bring.

In June, I'll be attending the Lori Foster Reader/Author Event. This a big deal for me. In fact, this is wild for me.
I HATE to fly, so you know I must want to go pretty bad.

My life is fairly quiet. But I think there's a wild streak that just bursting to come out. Going to the Romantic Times Convention in 2007 was a wild experience for me. I chased down a New York City editor while I was there. Okay, maybe not so wild.

Do you see the pattern? LOL
My wild streak rears up when I get together with a bunch of other romance writers. Safety in numbers don't ya know.

The heroes and heroines of my books do things I've never done. I have a great time living through them. Example: Handcuffed to the bed. Nope, I've never done that.
Travel through time, kiss a vampire or a wereshifter? No. But I find that exciting and wild.

One day, I may get up the nerve to go wild. How about posting the wildest thing you've ever done?

I can't wait to see what y'all post.

Hugs and love,
Tambra

What Women Want (wherein Liane releases her inner geek)

I'd never advise an author to write to trend unless that trend lends well to her personal skills and talents. With that said, I think all of us are wondering how these harsh economic times are going to change the books that readers are willing to buy. It is here that I must confess. I'm a history geek.

I firmly believe that in order for a culture to know where it's going, it need only look into its past. So natch, being a writer who wants to sell more books, I'm reading a lot about the period that most reflects the world climate du jour--the Great Depression.

Specifically, I'm interested in what women writers were creating during the same era that brought us such greats as Steinbeck, and Hemingway. The saddest part of my search is that much of that literature created by female authors was wiped into obscurity by the McCarthy era.

Many of the themes of the day deal dealt with women redefining the role of femininity, marriage and motherhood, much like the women's fiction of modern times. For this reason, I tend to to believe women's fiction is a genre that promises to take off in a big way. But in the process of wanting to know what my foremothers were writing during hard economic times, I found a bonus. I discovered a "new" gotta have every word she ever wrote author and I want to share an excerpt from her work because it taught me that the mood of women during any given period in history cannot be accurately reflected in literature penned by men.

Meet Meridel Le Sueur. (1900-1996). A prolific author, Meridel's body of work spanned genres. She delved into poetry, novels, and short stories. Many of Maridel's stories were set during the Depression era, and she viewed men as the primary victims of the Depression. Meridel's work, imo, suggests that motherhood and the work of raising those who might change the world is eternal, and independent from the activities of men. A recurring theme in her work connected motherhood and revolution. The excerpt below particulary captured my interest:

"The pears are all gone from the tree, but I imagine them hanging there, ripe curves within the many scimitar leaves, and within them the many pears of the coming seasons. I feel like a pear. I hang secret within the curling leaves just like the pear would be hanging on its tree.

It seems possible to me that perhaps all people at sometime feel this, round and full. You can tell by looking at most people that the world remains a stone to them and a closed door. I'm afraid that it will become like that to me again. Perhaps after this child is born, then everything will harden and become small ad mean again as it was before. Perhaps I would have a hard time even remembering this time at all and it wouldn't seem wonderful. That is why I would like to write it down.

How can it be explained? Suddenly many movements are going on within me, many things are happening. There is an almost unbearable sense of sprouting, of bursting encasements,of moving kernels, expanding flesh.Perhaps it is such an activity that makes a field come alive with millions of sprouting shoots of corn or wheat. Perhaps it is something like that that makes a new world. (Anunciation)


Maridel grasped in her writing the revolutionary contribution of women to world change. As with times in Maridel's era, our world is changing. The literature of the women of our era will no doubt be colored by the mood of the day. Whether the changes in what women write and readers read takes the form of sweeping escapism or a return to home and hearth remains to be seen.

End of geek fest. :)

Sold To Red Sage Publishing! Wicked Temptation

I'm pleased to announce that Wicked Temptation, my prequel to the Three Kinds of Wicked series has been accepted by Red Sage Publishing, for a summer release. I'm very pleased to introduce you to Trey, the series hero, and the sexiest demigod evah! Not that I'm biased! ;)

Below, you'll find a blurb and an excerpt. I hope you enjoy!

Warning: By reading the post below, you certify that you are over the legal age in your country to view literature including adult sexual content. You also certify that you are not breaking any laws in your country of residence by viewing such adult content

Wicked Temptation

Beyond the bounds of pleasure, a single chance for redemption…


Trey, a demigod, is sworn to guard the fates of human couples on whose relationships hinge the course of history. Over the eons, his affection for mortals has left him yearning for the one thing he can never have—a heart mate to call his own. When a ruthless goddess resorts to an aphrodisiac to force him to break his vow of chastity, his heart is instead claimed by the woman who is destined to help her human lover save the world. Can a ménage possibly help him undo the damage he’s done?


***

Gods, Sage was so beautiful to him. Trey’s thumb brushed the curve of her lower lip. His lips brushed the arc of her brow. Settling his chin on her head, he held her close, inhaled her fragrance. His hand smoothed a trail to the small of her back until it rested on the swell of her ass. He pulled her hard against him.

Her hands threaded through his hair, needy. When he raised his head again, the raw emotion on her face clutched his heart. He’d never been loved before. Had never been in love. But he was now. And at least for this moment, he knew she loved him, too.

It was more than he ever dared pray for.

Her fingers sang with magic as they settled on his chest, rode the ridges of his belly to the waistband of his jeans. His fading powers trembled in response. She tugged on his pants until they crumpled on the planks beneath their feet. Her pelvis tipped so her mons rode his thigh. Her curls were buttered silk.

The coverlet she wore fell to the porch. His gaze followed. Her body was tight, her breasts pert swells. He hoped she didn’t see his hands shaking as he cupped each one. She loosed a shuddering sigh. Her head fell back as taut nipples kissed his palms. A groan snared in his throat as he bent to nip the arch of her neck.

Her fluids trickled down his thigh.

When he raised his head, her gaze followed. Her hair ruffled, flames in the breeze. Her eyes had gone bronze with desire, as if she suspected what he was about to ask her to help him do. “Help me heal him.”

“How?” Her voice was a breathless pant. Her chest heaved beneath his palms. His heart pounded so hard he thought it might leap from his chest. He angled his head over hers. Her lips parted on a sigh.

“Make some magic with me.” To insure she knew what he meant, he painted her mind with the image of what he wanted her—the three of them—to do.

Her breath caught, but she did not flinch. Her lids lowered. Auburn lashes kissed her cheekbones with flame. “Kiss me, Trey.”

A whimper caught in her throat as his mouth dropped over hers. When their lips touched, her tongue was already probing his lips, demanding entrance. Softening his jaw, she sighed into the kiss. Her tongue dueled with his, a hungry battle for power. Her magic wound through him, searching for the fading remnants of his. It flared with a welcome spark of renewal.

The power in her was stronger than any he’d ever encountered. In the distance, thunder rumbled in agreement. Or was that only the roar of his blood rushing in his ears?

He pulled her flat to him. Her tongue traced the vein that throbbed on the side of his neck. His hands settled beneath her ass, fingers curled in her tight crevice. He lifted her up. Slender legs tethered his waist. As her arms wound around his neck, he stepped forward, bracing her back against the wood siding.

Small teeth nipped his earlobe. His fingertip teased her bottom hole. The scalding pain of her bites bolted straight through to his cock. Magic spun in his core. Wriggling hips mapped his length. Her silky fluids heated his tip, fragrant temptation. He’d never felt a woman so wet in his life.

“Fuck me, Trey. Hard.”

The News

I totally forgot it was Wednesday. Oops! This week is particularly hectic as far as my writing schedule goes. I’ve got some things that have to be done (sometimes I miss not having an actual deadline other than the one in my head) Laundry and dishes are piling up and that’s just the small stuff. I work with my sister and found myself complaining about all the ‘stuff’ I had to do when she got a call that one of her friends died. And the story broke my heart. Apparently, some loser (2 felony DUI’s among other charges) ran her off the road in his car (she was walking) and left her in a ditch to go get a freaking burger.

I couldn’t concentrate on writing so I was blindly browsing the net and was inundated by stories of Rihanna. I’ll be honest, I’m not one of those people who watches Entertainment Tonight or reads celebrity magazines (except when I’m getting a pedicure) so I don’t keep up with any of that stuff. From what little I gathered her boyfriend beat her or something and I stumbled across this blog where many young girls (14 or 15) were actually blaming her, saying she must have done something to provoke him. And the male comments were even worse. WTH?

As a psych major and a writer, I love dissecting my characters and discovering what makes them tick, especially the villains, but watching the news is enough to make me want to crawl under a rock and hide. Okay, this turned out to be a rant more than anything else, but sometimes I wonder what’s wrong with people. I’m just glad it’s hump day and we’re halfway to the weekend. Someone please break out the margaritas!

Tuesday Rant--Just What are They Smoking at The Author's Guild?

I'm convinced the leadership of Author's Guild (AG) is out to drop kick the literacy of persons with disabilities into the Dark Ages. For those of you who don't know, the AG has threatened to sue Amazon in an attempt to force Amazon to remove the experimental text to speech technology feature from the Kindle 2.

As soon as I read this, I cancelled my Kindle 2 order. I have no need of a minimally upgraded Kindle if the text to speech capability isn't a feature. The text to speech is the reason I intended to purchase the new unit in the first place. Until this issue is hashed out, I won't order another. And quite honestly, I wonder if certain persons from the AG are smoking some variant of crack, or if they're just high on their own greed.

The advent of the Kindle two and its (very basic) text to speech capacity isn't going to infringe on any author's audio rights. What it *is* going to do is make reading material more accessible and affordable to person's with disabilities. Two of those persons happen to be my sons, so I believe I have as much a right as anyone to speak out on this as any author.

When audiobooks are purchased by readers, the consumer is purchasing professional readings done by professional actors, or, rarely, the author themself. Text to speech technology is a very different thing. Text to speech makes literature accessible, in a computerized voice, to those persons who could not otherwise access texts that are not produced in audiobook format.

The inability to decode text surpasses visual challenges. Individuals who live with dyslexia, autism, cerebral palsy, and illiteracy depend on text to voice technology to access their worlds. And let me tell you, dragging around a laptop everytime you want to read a book, newspaper, or blog gets pretty old and pretty fast. Especially for a teenager who is struggling to fit in with his/her peers.

Perhaps the Author's Guild should back up and reassess exactly what it is they're asking for. Because right now, their stance on text to voice technology such as is available on the Kindle 2 infringes on the rights of persons with disabilities in the most egregious manner. I find it hard to believe that any author wants his/her book made more expensive and difficult to access for persons with disabilities.

Should the AG move forward and prevail in this case, a dangerous precedent will be set. The same challenge will no doubt be waged against every vendor who creates computerized text to speech programs. If you care about someone with a disability that complicates their ability to read, I urge you to take a stance and let the AG know that you are against reducing access to literature for persons with disabilities.

Love Scenes

Hi everyone,

The link below is for guest blogging I did for the Crafty Writer on Valentine's Day.
http://www.thecraft ywriter.com/ 2009/02/14/ writing-love- scenes-that-sizzle/

Writing that blog got me to thinking, what's hot to me might be just right or mild to another reader or author. And why do I love my favorite authors?

To me, there's a big difference between a sex scene and a love scene.

Sex is purely physical. There isn't much of the character's heart or deeper feelings involved, just a raging case of lust.

When it changes into a love scene, the character's vulnerability shows through and the emotional impact is huge. The stakes raise higher because something intensely personal is now involved.

I read and write romance because I love to see the development of sexual tension along with the character's. Love is real. It's something everyone, no matter where you are knows of or about firsthand.

And damn it, I want to a story that I write or read to have a happily ever after. After reading 300-400 pages of a book I want to come away feeling good from the time I invested.

There are some authors that write really hot that I absolutely love and are auto-buys for me. Angela Knight is at the top of my list. Angela's characterization and worldbuidling are awesome. Her heroine's kick ass. They aren't waiting around for the hero to take care of them. Ms. Knight's heroine's are capable and strong. Angela has a wicked sense of humor.

Another author that I run to the store to buy is Sherrilyn Kenyon and for the exact reasons I buy Angela Knight. Sherrilyn's characterization is first-rate. If Dark-Hunters or BAD agents were real, I'd wanting to know where I could get one. The heroes Sherrilyn writes are men who are strong and protective. Honorable. Heroes who actually deserve that title.

Deidre Knight is another author that I love and admire. Her love scenes are steamy and lush, but with a layer of vulnerability that is so real. The character's she creates are strong and ones I can identify with. You know when her hero and heroines get together it's going to be worth the wait.

These three authors are who I look up to, when I create my own stories of love and adventure. It isn't easy to write a love scene that touches the readers heart and stays with them long after they've reached the end.

Of course, there are other others that greatly influence me as a writer:

Liane Gentry Skye
Kimberly Raye
Nina Bangs
Kerrelyn Sparks
Kimberly Ivey

I'm grateful to these authors and what they've taught me over the years.

Here's to many more books filled with love and the beauty of romance.

Tambra Kendall

Drawing from Yesterday's Comments!

The winner from the drawing from yesterday's comments is PG Forte. PG, drop me a line at starmuser@aol.com and I'll email you an amazon.com gift certificate for ten dollars.

Look forward to hearing from you, and congrats!

Happy VDay From the Bottom of my....Heart. :)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Of whips and chains and my Evil Bitch Muse

I get so frustrated with myself sometimes. Or rather, with my evil bitch muse. It seems she's hell bent of forcing me to write blindfolded.

No, I'm not talking about BDSM, although I reserve the right to do just that whenever my muse chooses to drag me there. And judging by the increasing heat levels of my stories lately, it isn't going take long . But whips and ball gags aren't my topic.

Plotting is. Or in my case, the laborious act of birthing stories. And that's pretty much what the process is with me. Long, uncertain, painful, with no idea what my baby will look like once I push it out into the cold cruel world. But unlike our babies, we're allowed to hate our stories, even lock them in the closet forever if we choose! And let me tell you, I've created many a red headed stepchild over the last year.

Sure, once a story is seeded in the junk yard that is my mind, I have a vague idea of the character's arc before I sit down and write. But no matter how many times I try to wrestle my muse into some sort of organized framework to make the writing more systematic, my muse digs her musey little feet into the dust bunnies beneath my desk and refuses to budge.

Here's an example. My upcoming Secret's Vol. 27 novella, Heart Storm, began as a children's book. Suffice it to say my sweet little mermaid had a will--and a libido--of her own. Then the little witch turned me into an erotic romance author. I really didn't have much to say on the matter.

What's up with that?

If there's one thing I could change about myself as an author, it would be my utter inability to follow an outline.

I want to be a plotter. With my record of sales increasing, I need to find a faster way to spin out stories, and in order to do that, I need some method of predicting my output. But no matter which plotting method I try, I just can't find a way shut my characters up long enough for me to figure out where the story they're telling needs to go--preferably before I write myself into a corner!

The closest I've come to a plotting method I can sneak past my muse is one author Linnea Sinclair talked about on Deidre Knight's author loop. She called it leapfrog plotting. She only plots her stories three chapters ahead. With those chapters done, she then sits back to assess where she thinks the story will go in the ensuing three chapters.

To some degree, I can use leapfrong plotting AFTER the story arc turns over in the middle. Until then, the characters do the talking and nothing I do can shut them up.

Hmmm, maybe this post is about whips and ballgags after all. Because I think a ball gag might be the exact thing my characters need to allow me to get a handle on the story before it spins in a different direction entirely. That's it! I'll get my characters a ball gag. Maybe I can find a nice two-for -ne sale so my darling muse (not) can have one, too!

Either way, I've vowed to find a way to organize my stories before I get fifteen thousand words in only to find I should have taken that left at Albequerque after all. Here's hoping I can put my money--or rather, my story--where my mouth is.

What do you struggle with as a writer? Have you found a way over your personal weaknesses, or do you simply write around them? Enquiring wild women want to know

Deal Breakers

A couple weeks ago, Shannon (What Women Read) discussed deal breakers in romances. She was reading a book where the two main characters were both cheating on their significant others and one was about to get married in a month. Yikes...this is a romance? Infidelity and cheating are such hot buttons with many women, especially if the lead characters aren't even sorry about it. Since I haven't read the book, I don't have an opinion other than I don't dig reading about cheaters as main characters. It's sort of an ick factor with me.

Her post got me thinking and she said I could hijack her idea ;) (Thanks Shannon!) I definitely have a few pet peeves when it comes to books. I'm not a fan of 'Big Misunderstandings'. Sometimes this works very well but often times it just plain annoys me and I won't finish the book when all it takes is a simple conversation to clear up things. I LOVE category books, but there are a few lines I won't pick up anymore. Long ago, I got tired of reading about Greek (or Italian, or whatever) billionaires and their inability to commit, DESPITE having had great childhoods and their parents have great marriages. It's all about characterization and to me, this makes no sense. I just can't get past men who won't commit for no reason.

That being said, I love the following story lines: friends to lovers, hero kidnapping heroine (yum), and pretty much any story that involves men in uniform. Firemen, policemen, any branch of the military (though I am partial to the Marines). I'm also really into shifter stories and paranormals, but only if things from the above mentioned paragraph are not involved.


What are your deal breakers with romances? What are your favorite story lines? Most hated story lines?

Pushing the Comfort Boundaries

Pushing the comfort boundaries. Does that make you feel uncomfortable?
I try to do this in my writing. If I'm not growing and learning, I'm afraid my stories will become stagnant.

Can you push too much? Yes, I believe you can.

Where as writers, can we find the right balance to keep our muses happy and our work fresh?

For me, it's being creative in other areas. Keeping the creative well from running dry. Sometimes I take my laptop outside or to a local writer friendly restaurant and write. A small change in scenery does wonders.

I read and that's another way to stimulate my muse and see what's currently on the market. After I read, I try to see if the author pushed any boundaries with their writing. No, I don't mean just in the heat level.

How did this author handle a topic? Create their hero/heroine?

Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone is painful. We open ourselves up to the criticism of others-readers, reviewers and our peers.

When I feel I'm getting to cozy in my writing, I stop and evaluate where I am and where I want to go.
Writing isn't for the faint at heart. I've been knocked down and gotten back up. I keep working and trying to create the best books I can.

My most recent project didn't push me, but shove me into a different genre. Young Adult.
Last Novemeber, I took the National Novel Writing Month challenge with the intent to finish the damn book and I did. I've never written in the young adult genre. I read two books.

By writing in this new genre I now have a few more authors on my reading list. Stephanie Meyer, Tera Lynn Childs and MaryJanice Davidson.

If I hadn't decided to try this new area of writing I would have missed out on some great authors and expanding my knowledge.

Go ahead, step out of your comfort zone and push you're writing boundaries.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall
also writing as Keelia Greer
www.tambrakendall.com
www.keeliagreer.com

Confessions of a Book Cover Slut

I admit it. I'm a first class cover slut. I'm that book buyer your agent/editor gets glassy eyed over. Show me a rocking good cover, and I'm likely to go in search of promo copy. Chances are if I've gone that far, and I'm still intrigued, I'm going to take a gander at page one. If that draws me in, book sold. See? Cover slut. I'm that part of the demographic editors have in mind when they go in search of the cover image most likley to launch a gigazillion sales.

I still remember the first book cover I saw with Nathan Kamp on it Oh baby. I still break into a sweat just thinking about it. Let's face it. The man was born to go shirtless. In fact, I'll go so far to say that putting any shirt on that man that isn't ripped open to the navel is a heinous sin. Nathan's been around a few years. And to this day, the sight of that man and his uber ripped abs still makes me get all tight in my throat.

Nathan has sold a heckuva lot of romance novels, and at least for me, personnified the increasing heat levels of once tepid mainstream romances---and their covers. Woah, baby, I heart me some Nathan. Never read a book with Nathan on it I didn't like. And what's not to love?

The naked man chest, when it first hit the shelves was fresh, hot, head turning, and no doubt sold a lot of books. But lately, I find myself walking on by. Yikes. Me, an erotic romance author failing to double take when she walks by a perfect specimen of the nekkid man chest? Is it just me? Do I need like, I dunno, a hormone patch or something? A weekend away with the hubby? Or has the naked man chest simply been done to the point of overkill? Is it an image so overused at this point that it simply fades into the vast array of other naked man chest covers? Is it, dare I say...a potential sales killer for a new author seeking that break out title?

I'm not sure, but I do know when the cover preferences came down to my last release, Believe, I specified no naked man chests. I'm saturated on them. Lately, what's catching my eye is the perfect male back. Or an elegant representation of a nude man/woman in a tender embrace. While I still like my romance hot, I'm drawn to covers that suggest a very deep, emotional attachment between the hero and heroine. Wow, is it just me? Or is it just the yearning of an avid romance reader/writer to know from page one that there is a true HEA waiting for me at the end of the story's journey?

Eureka, I think that's it!

So give me your take. The images of the cover model in this post are both of Nathan Kamp. So, tell me, nekkid nan chests...still hot, or not? Which image would get your book buying buck?

Struggles of a Writer

Lately I've totally been getting into the show 24. If Jack Baeur was real, he'd be my hero. I'm only up to Season 3 and just when I think things can't get worse, the shit hits the fan. The writers of this show keep emotions high each episode and while I'm not a big television fan, that's a rare occurrence. My husband gets so frustrated watching it and I think it's because of the constant conflict. As a writer, this is something I'm always working on so I consider watching it research ;)


The writers have characterization and plot down to an art. Watching it is like reading a fantastic suspense novel. There are so many twists and turns along the way, I find myself not trusting anyone because they could wait to reveal their true self until the last episode. From what I've seen, the writers are really willing to take chances (i.e. kill off favorite characters), which is also something I'm trying to work on with my own writing. Sometimes I question how dark I'll allow myself to write and end up taking the middle of the road. So the current 3 book series I'm still in the process of plotting out, I'm going to allow myself the freedom to do what I want. If it sucks, I'm sure my critique partners will tell me anyway :)


If you're a writer, what do you struggle with? And what do you do to work on it?