Christmas In July - Last Days

Don't forget Christmas In July ends soon!
I’m participating in the Christmas In July contest over at Romance Books R Us. It’s a great contest. You can win lots of goodies including a Sony eReader. BUT…I’m offering a contest of my own too.

Two contests. Two chances to win.

Amber’s Contest – July 1st thru July 31st contest closes at midnight EST on the 31st. To win a Talk Dirty to Topaz tote bag full of prizes – hat, t-shirt, mouse pad, key chain, notebook and some other goodies you have to:
1. Follow my blog
2. Sign up for my newsletter (over to the left)
3. Send me an email telling me you’re part of both – amberskyze AT gmail DOT com
This is gift is only open to residents of the US and Canada. If a winner from somewhere else is chosen I'll offer a gift card.

Now on to the RBRU Contest!!!!!

Welcome from RBRU MEMBER AUTHORS Marianne Stephens/April Ash, Annie Alvarez, Sandy Sullivan, Paris Brandon, Tina Donahue, Claire Ashgrove, Vicky Burkholder, Linda Kage, Cindy Spencer Pape, Amber Skyze, Fran Lee, Jean Hart Stewart, Molly Daniels/Kenzie Michaels, Renee Vincent, Katalina Leon, Gina Ardito/Katherine Brandon, Donica Covey/Jinger Jackson, Cornelia Amiri/Maeve Alpin, Sandra K. Marshall, Polly McCrillis/Isabel Mere.
BIG CHRISTMAS IN JULY CONTEST! Great Prizes: a new Sony Touch eReader, hats, totes, gift cards, tee-shirts, and more!
To enter:
1. Join this yahoo group (Sorry, no authors, only READERS, WRITERS, or INDUSTRY REPS).
2. Become a Follower at our blog: http://romancebooksrus.blogspot.com. Click on FOLLOW and follow directions. Problem? Contact april@aprilash.net.
3. There are 20 RBRU Bloggers' Websites/Blogs listed on the right sidebar at the blog. Click on each one.
Send a list of 20 authors' names and one book title for each one to: contests.rbrus@gmail.com. If an author has two pen names, you only need to click on one. You'll need a total of 20 author names and 20 book titles. Contest ends midnight ET 31 July. Sorry, we only ship prizes to US and Canadian residents. Others may receive an emailed gift card/certificate. Winners announced on our Yahoo group and blog during the first week in August

Alwaz L8

Sorry!

I can't schedule a post for the night before so I have to try to remember to write one on Friday mornings!

So, hurt my back...not fun. I'm actually thinking of seeing my doctor who I avoid seeing - he's a personal friend so I have a rule - no clothes come off...ever. If he wants to listen to anything or feel anything he does it over my fully-clothed body. Besides all my issues are injury related - fortunately! Illness seems to avoid me, knock on wood!

All righty then, what's new? Beauty and the Feast is selling well on Fictionwise. I think that's good. I know Tessie and Desiree are waaaay up there too, plus Tessie is in the top 100 on Amazon Kindle! Go Tessie Bradford!
The most important thing is that hubby loves loves loves BATF! He thinks it might be my best yet. He's such a good partner! If he doesn't like what I write, he tells me. For instance, he could take or leave Captured because he said - it's you - I know you - why do I need to read about you? But...big but...he did enjoy listening to Captured on his Kindle with the voice thingy. That was actually pretty cool!

WIPs: a post-apocalyptic work of sci fi, a paranormal you will sooooo love, and a sequel to Captured.

Enough of my rambling! My kitty wants to eat, my birds are screeching and I have to clean the house! Oh yeah, and email my doctor. Crap!

The Glam Life - Part 2

Last Friday over at Romance Books R Us, I talked about the glamorous life of a writer. I used blunt examples and I certainly don’t apologize for my choice. My life is so far from glamorous. I’m not going to continue telling of all my woes in my personal life, but I will give you a small example of how much money I rake in.

Last May a story of mine was released in an Anthology. This anthology has been well received by the reviewers, but apparently not by the readers. A year ago, I received a check for $25 as an advance against future sales. The three other authors received the same amount. I haven’t seen any more royalties from this story.

I get my statement every month and I watch our negative numbers creep lower. I might see .25 in July or August. Granted the story probably took me seven hours to write, but let’s look at how that averages out. $25 divided by the 7 hrs is $3.57 an hour. Hmm, gotta love the writer’s life.

Believe me I’m not trying to sound whiney or bitchy because I feel blessed to be published. I get to express myself through my characters and storylines. Not everyone is as lucky. I love creating different scenarios for my hero and heroine to get themselves into or out of. I enjoy the path to happily ever after. If I were in it for the money I’d a quit a long time ago.

In other news, I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this, but I signed a new contract for Submit With Me. It’s a quickie. No release date yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I do.

Be sure to come back next week for my interview with fellow author Katalina Leon! You don’t want to miss this!

Sex Challenge - Will You Participate?

I saw the following article in Cosmopolitan online: "The Cosmo Sex Challenge: 77 Positions in 77 Days". According to the blurb, "One brave writer and her boyfriend attempt to bang their way through The Cosmo Kama Sutra, doing all of the positions in less than three months. Check in every weekday as the two of them get down, get up, get upside down, and, well, get off."

Check: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/great-sex-ideas/77-positions-introduction


Apparently, this couple plans to do all 77 positions and report on a daily basis. You can look back and start at day one. Positions are illustrated (no live shots!).

So...how many positions do you read about in romance books? As an author, how many positions do you have your hero and heroine use? I must admit, I haven't utilized most of the positions this couple has tried/will try in my books...but some seem quite interesting!

Ah, to be young again and have sex every day...for 77 days straight? Could you and your loved one handle it? Even in my younger days, I wonder if my husband and I could have managed the challenge without taking a breather.

Maybe this guy knows something we don't. Will you take the challenge?


Photos: Flickr: yuankuel, kaysha, rick, AprilSander's photostreams



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National Read a Road Map Day - Can You Find "LOVE"?

Happy National "Read A Road Map" Day! I thought I'd skip going into the boring details of checking road maps...don't you use a GPS system now?...and branch off to a different tangent on this.

Let's see...read a road map and find your way somewhere. Isn't the journey to LOVE kinda like that? Don't you have to follow a "path", go in a certain "direction", to find true love?

Romance books use a road map/path/directions to get their heroines to their heroes. It's called a PLOT...and it's never an easy journey. There are always bumps in the road, detours, obstacles, slowdowns, wrong turns...just as you might find if following a map to some unknown destination.

Usually, you manage to find your way...just as our heroines manage to find that "happily-ever-after" ending despite all the setbacks. Flat tire? Run out of gas? Or, Hero's ex-wife shows up to create havoc? Heroine thinks hero is cheating on her? All detours of some type. A road map may not be able to help sometimes, but a crafty plot written to guarantee happiness can set the hero and heroine back on course to romance and love. 

Why don't we send our heroes and heroines on a fantasy journey using a road map and find "LOVE"?

How many cities in the United States are called "Love"? I did some searching on the Internet and here's some that I found:

Love, AZ
Love, IL
Love, KY
Love, MS
Love, TX
Love, VA

Now, you can also find variations for the word "Love" in cities around the country:

Lovers Leap, CA (tragic idea!)                                                Lover, PA
Love Canal, NY  (not very appealing)                                      Loving, GA
Love Hill, AL                                                                          Loving, KY
Lovejoy, GA                                                                           Loving, NM
Loveladies, NJ                                                                        Loving, OK
Lovelady, NC                                                                         Loving, TX
Lovelady, TX                                                                          Loveland, CO
Love Lady, TN                                                                       Loveland, IA
Love Lake, MO                                                                     Loveland, OK
Lovely, KY                                                                            Loveland, WA
Loveless, AL (sad!)                                                                Loveland, OH
Love Point, MD                                                                      Loveland Park, OH
Loveville, MD                                                                         Loves Corner, IL
Loveville, TN                                                                          Loves Park, IL

Most of those sound like interesting places to check out...do they live up to their names? Does "LOVE" define each city and hold some type of special magic for those seeking romance? Maybe I should have checked "Romance" for city names. Or, things to do with love and romance.

I actually did find a couple that might interest you. How about Horneytown, NC? Or, Romance, AK? And then there's my favorite, Intercourse, PA.

I've actually been to Intercourse more than once. Quaint little Amish city...mostly a tourist spot. Will you put that on your list of places to visit? Check your road map (or let your GPS system find it for you!).

Story idea: What if I have my heroine visit cities with "Love" in their names, and looks for "Mr. Right"?

Hmm...sounds like a good idea!

Photos: Flickr: Andii, Amanda "Bake It Pretty", lorigami's photostreams.
Also: Mapquest: Intercourse, PA

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Diana Coyle, Night Owl Reviews: Reviewer Top Pick: 5 out of 5 STARS!
Top 7.5% Best Selling Romantic Comedy at http://www.allromanceebooks.com
 

Do Vampires Have Birth Certificates?

Okay...I admit I like an occasional vampire story that's not too bloody. I'd rather read a good vampire romance book than watch a vampire movie. Too much bloody stuff for my viewing pleasure (?)  isn't for me.

I started to wonder about vampires and everyday life. Yes, we suspend disbelief for most of this stuff in order to concentrate on the "real" story...that of the romance and passion between the hero and heroine.

But let's talk about some "real life" issues a vampire might face. They can't all be rich, can they? Live in mansions, own expensive cars, never work? Right?

So...how does a vampire get a birth certificate? A driver's license? Social Security number (in the US)? Does a vampire pay taxes?

Maybe there's a secret central Vampire Identification Unit that works solely on providing necessary documentation like fake passports, licenses, birth certificates. And, now in the age of advanced technology, these could be updated quite easily.

Surely a 300-year-old vampire can't provide an original birth certificate. In fact, a new one would have to be issued every 30 + or - years to keep the vampire in question "looking" close enough to be in a particular age bracket. With eternal youth at whatever age a vampire was first bitten and "turned", you could only say, "I've had plastic surgery" so long before people would get suspicious.

Now that I'm dwelling on all this, what about resumes? Do vampires get phony ones? Would anyone do a background check and start asking questions?

I guess moving every 30 or so years would help, but new "ID proof" would surely be needed even then. What about voting? Can vampires register? And, here's another question from a far-off tangent from the inquisitive side of my brain...what costume does a vampire wear on Halloween?


Sigh.

I'm thinking way too much about this. I should sit back and enjoy a vampire romance book at face value...as a romance without pesky "hows" getting in the way.

Photos: Flickr: Design Haus, Robin Hutton, and kevandem's photostreams. 


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