Happy Birthday "Noblesword"!

This week I’m celebrating Noblesword’s first birthday. Noblesword was released July 10 2009 under Ellora’s Cave Exotica Line and remains my most widely popular book. I always enjoy hearing from female readers but with this book I actually hear from a few rare male readers as well.

I’m a bit obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece “Vertigo”. It’s my favorite movie and after re-watching it one day I was inspired to write an obsessed character Gwen Bel Geddes and include elements of “Vertigo” in “Noblesword”. I wanted to create a fantasy realm where my characters could go for emotional healing, test their personal boundaries and flex their fantasies without judgment, guilt, harm to themselves or others and still survive the experience with their basic values intact. I wanted to put Gwen in emotional peril, bombard her with choices and see what happened. My operative thought was some of us need to be liberated from our self-inflicted limitations with a sledgehammer. Noblesword was Gwen’s sledgehammer. Not only does Gwen get a full-blown erotic experience, she also gets an education about what she really wants, does some deep self-reflection and restarts her life in a fresh direction. I won’t give away the surprises you’ll have to discover them for yourself.

As Mistress Chantal would say, “At Noblesword we know what you really want not what you say you want.”

And the only way to find out what you really want is to surrender yourself to Noblesword vineyards and be brave enough to take the ride.

Happy Birthday Noblesword!

XXOO Kat

As usual my life is busy. I just finished edits for Spend The Night With Me. I have a release date of September 15th.
Edits for Adrift – formally titled Stranded, arrived yesterday. I really liked the title Stranded, but Loose-Id has a book with the same name already. They’re talking about an early Fall release. No date yet.
Edits for Play With Me, book three in the Freedom Fantasies should be arriving in a few weeks. In the meantime I’m working on a Christmas quickie – Naughty St. Nick.
After that I’m planning one more book before switching gears. In all reality I’ve started the switch. I’ve been editing my romantic comedy to send off. This is not erotica. I love the genre so much, but I want a change for a bit. I have two other romantic comedies that need editing and one that’s half written.
I’m sure I’ll write erotic in between. I have too many stories in my head that need to be written.
Back to edits and paperwork. Happy Tuesday.

Naming Your Characters

You’ve either just started writing your next manuscript or finished your book. As you start penning page one or begin your editing process and carefully go through making corrections, please consider the names you’ve given (or are about to give) your heroes and heroines!

As a reader, I would like to see authors use real names and stop with the made-up ones. I want to read about characters I can relate to; a name that sounds normal. Yes, in other world, fantasy books, go ahead and call someone Phryanx and Xr24pq if you want. That's normal for whatever world you create.

Sure. Foreign countries, you say. Have to use foreign names. Okay. Go for it. What about Family names? Well, if it fits in your story and enhances it, then do it. Same goes for historicals. Spread them on your pages and I'll happily accept them but remember that if readers stumble over names that are foreign, family, or historically correct but hard to pronounce, they might get frustrated and not finish your masterpiece.

Your characters are your children. Would you name one of them "Zip-a-dee-do-dah"? I remember reading an article about a woman who named her child this because she so-o-o loved the song. Can you imagine an eighteen-year-old in high school with this handle? Forget that. What about elementary school? College? Business world? A well-built hunk, the hero in your book?

I once overheard a woman talking about "Perkins" and at first thought she was telling tales (no pun intended) about her dog. When she mentioned breastfeeding him I realized my mistake! Turned out Perkins was her maiden name so she gave it to her son as his first name. What would his nickname be? Perky? Can you visualize Mr. "Tall, Dark, and Handsome" being called “Perky”?

Ambivalent names. If your character's a woman, give a name recognizable as such. Remember the song, "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash? Now, if it's a western you're writing and your character's name is Sioux as in Indian, I can accept that and happily will read further into your story.

I once babysat for a darling child. Cute infant I loved taking care of. One day, the family's church called and a very embarrassed and apologetic woman said she needed to ask something for the baby's upcoming baptism. Her question? "Is Morgan Taylor (first and middle name) a boy or a girl?" Well, how would anyone know just by the name?

What do you think about the name Brooklyn? Boy or girl? Actually it's my dog's name. And, I've seen it used for both boys and girls. A teacher looking at the name on a list couldn't tell.

Naming characters after cities, states, whatever. Haven't we had enough of names like Dakota, Yuma, Jackson, Paris? Oh, don't get me started on Hollywood names! Apple? Someone named after a fruit? Do we need these names in your novels?

Please don't mix names to make them sound "prettier". Sharindalynn, Annalisajo, Marydeanne (I knew one in college)...you get the picture. And two-named first names like Billy Bob? Does it really fit in the culture you're creating and you just have to use it? (The tattooed name you see here is for a pet black widow spider.)
 What happened with just using names like Mike? Nancy? Greg? Katie? I know people with these names. And those are the names I'd like to read in your book!
 http://www.mariannestephens.net
http://www.aprilash.net
http://flirtyauthorbitches.com
http://romancebooksrus.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/romancebooksrus

Photos: Flickr: graphic.ward, Anne Varak, and red5standing's photostreams.

Places that wind up in my stories

Looking back at all the places I've lived and traveled, I KNOW so many of them wind up in my fiction (of course, my non-fiction, too...yep, of which there is A LOT).
(FYI: PIX here is mine taken from the corridor window of the Doge's Palace in Venice, looking across the Lagoon. Inhale. Appreciate. Dream.)
I thought for the hell of it, I'd list some of the places I've been, just for fun and reflection. Next week I am off with 2 other couples to a Shakespeare Festival in Utah (where I have never been before) and thought, hmmm.
Here's my list, if for no other reason, than my random day-dreaming and yours (not in any order, either!):
New York, Brooklyn, Long Island, Syracuse, Watertown, Binghamton
Pennsylvania: Scranton and Peckville, Lancaster, Phillie, Pittsburgh
Washington and all points north and south within 100 miles radius
BALTIMORE! Hated Charm City growing up and then they CLEANED IT UP and as an adult, I adore it.
Virginia: Jamestown and Williamsburg, Virginia Beach
London
Paris
sigh.
Florence, Montalcino, Montepulciano, San Guistino. CAN I LIVE HERE, please?
Venice. Live here, too, please.
Bonn, Cologne, Munich. Ja vohl, Ich bin eine Deutsche Madchen. I need to return, reconnect to my roots. In September, I think I will!
Japan: Tokyo and Okinawa. Where I taught university level Chinese and Japanese History. Yes. I did. And I taught foreign army officers how to speak jargoned English.
Boston, Cape Cod.
Maine. York Beach. wow. I wanna go eat lobster. Want to come with?
Chicago.
Seattle.
Greece, Athens and Mykonos. Athens and Mykonos. Can I go back??? Soon?
Israel. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Inhale deeply.
Hmm. There may be more.
One note: I hate tours. (THAT IS IN BOLD.) Repeat with me. Too fast, too simplistic. your life is run by guides who have their own preferences--and sometimes their own misinformation! I can speak German and Chinese, but I can get along otherwise.
WHAT HAS TRAVEL done for YOU?
Changed your life, your thinking about who you are? What you want? How you live?
Mine has.
How? I live more and more with good food, fine wine, dining with friends who have marvelous perspectives on life, an education and intriguing careers and endeavors.
AND...
I LIVE for my annual (sometimes) bi-annual now, trips to Europe. AND I AM SAVING MY SHEKELS for China. And Egypt.
Ciao, bella!

I am splitting my Saturday into two posts...

Regina Carlysle's Regency is now in PRINT!

Chasing Temptation

Regina Carlysle

Resplendence Publishing

London's Haute Ton calls her Miss Temptation. But Elizabeth Grayson can't be bothered by society's diversions while seeking justice for her murdered sister. She is a woman on a dangerous mission.

Now is not the time for mindless social engagements or courtships from men she has no intention of marrying. However, Christian Delaford is no ordinary man. He stirs her like no one she has ever met before. His eyes speak of sin and tangled sheets. Of decadent nights spent in his arms. Far too diverting for her peace of mind.

Christian Delaford, the Duke of Haverton, must be married by midnight of his birthday or forfeit his heritage to a distant relation. After years of living a hedonistic life in the Orient, the thought of binding himself forever to an insipid English Miss fairly curls his toes. London's current 'diamond of the first water', however, changes his mind. In Elizabeth, he finds a bold and daring woman who harbors a terrifying secret. He vows to chase Miss Temptation, to the ends of the earth if needs be, and save her from the forces that would tear them both apart.

One More Back List Book...

Her Own Set of Rules

The prom queen and the king of the campus gridiron, married right out of high school, and the envy of every other couple.. Right? On the surface, they are the perfect couple. She's beautiful. He's handsome and still built.

But for years now, Haley has yearned for the fire that her husband has never shown her in bed. Or course, as a virgin, she had no idea what to expect. But surely she should be able to expect an orgasm once a week?

Harry is hot and sexy. Great body. Great looking. But his idea of great sex is to get on, fuck hard for a few minutes, come, then roll over and go to sleep. And Haley seldom manages to get anything out of the deal but horny.

A visit with her best chum from high school opens her eyes wide. Krissa and her hubby of ten years are swingers. Unable to envision her husband screwing her best pal, Haley gives a flat no to the offer of a mate-swap, but is titillated by the information Krissa gives her about her little brother Josh, who has had a mad crush on Haley since school...back when he was a tall, gangly, three-year-younger kid who trailed the girls like a shadow.

Something has got to give, or Haley will go nuts! She still loves Harry, and has never considered cheating on him...until Josh comes back to town...

Bored with her sex life with a husband she still loves, but who has the Saturday-night, three-minute orgasm—his—down to a fine art, Haley takes the first step on a journey of sexual discovery when Josh, younger brother of her closest friend, expresses a decidedly carnal interest in her. The result is more than she imagined in her raunchiest fantasies.

Josh has had a crush on Haley since he was a kid, gangly and too damn tall for his weight. But he isn’t a kid anymore, and he grew into his six foot five inches, plus some. He’s come back home for one thing only—for a shot at the girl he fell for when he was too damn young to do much about it.

But Harry’s not done with his wife—not when he finds out that inside that prim, repressed shell, she’s been hiding the sexual temptress he’s always hungered for. Now all Haley has to do is ask, and two men are ready to give her everything she wants.

Pondering Prequels

Over the holiday weekend, one of my cable channels ran the “Force of July” marathon. Three glorious days of all six Star Wars movies, in order, over and over again! I’ve been a fan from the moment I sat in a sold out theater, in 1977, and gasped in stunned awe at the opening scene. I was somewhat confused by people talking about how the first three films were actually episodes IV, V and VI of the story, but I didn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it.

When the Phantom Menace released in 1999, I was highly skeptical. Why was George Lucas messing with a good thing? Seeming to prove my point, I thought this movie was a bit slow and in parts confusing, but I found it interesting to learn about Anakin Skywalker as a child. Then came Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and I was in prequel heaven!! To learn the back story of beloved characters and understand better how the universe George showed us so many years before came into being answered questions I hadn’t realized I had.

I’m pondering the possibility of writing the prequel to “The Lady’s Not a Vamp”. A friend mentioned she’d like to read the story of how Tony and Rick got together. Actually, I’d like to know how they got together, too!? When these men jumped into my head, they were already a long term couple very much in love. They wanted me to tell their story of finding their blood mate and they wanted me to tell it quickly!!

I was really quite shocked to discover I’d never given any thought to the details of what came before. For the guys, my job as their author was to focus on the most wonderful event of their lives together – finding Sandy. But I now have questions! How did they meet? What trials and tribulations did they go through on the road to love? Why did they settle in the little town of Deckton, and why in the hell are there so many vampires there? I’m looking forward to spending some more quality time with Tony and Rick!

On a completely different note, I have another book coming out this summer! “Treasuring Evie” releases with Ellora’s Cave on August 11th! More on that next week.
Tessie
www.tessiebradford.com