Short shorts! Can you do 'em?

Oh be still my heart: to write a short story and have it be a complete piece of fiction!
Can you?
I did.
And when you read it, hopefully you will think I did well.
BE MINE is a bit of 5000 words. Coming soon from DECADENT PUBLISHING and a request for the girls in the TOYS-4-US gang of 7 from that publisher!  The stories, all 7, debut for Valentine's Day.

But on to the challenge!
We were to fulfill the requirements of a short story with LOTS OF HOT HOT HOT sex in 5K. Pant, pant.
Not easy.
Sure. You can write a scorcher of a sex scene, but that ain't good fiction. EVER.
I came up with a story line that I loved: a man who had a plan to meet the woman he had adored LAST year on Valentine's Day.
The 7 of us decided that the stories would be set in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. and that every one of the heroes or heroines had to walk into Valentino's gourmet wine and food shop in a blizzard!

Ever try to write a short short? With or without your buddies? For a series? The demand is growing.
So here's your challenge!
Give us a one-liner, then sit down and see if you can do it in 5 K or less!  Let us know!

Is it Saturday already?

Did anyone get one of these for Christmas?

No?

Sigh...me neither.  But one can always hope.  Okayyyy...so back to the business of my January SWAG giveaway....

Sadly, I cannot seem to give free stuff away.  Of course, this is not a reflection on the Swag...I warned everyone that I would only give one notice.  But people stopped sending in entries about five days before the giveaway ended.  I guess that says something for continuous, relentless spam attacks...they seem to get people's notice more than refusing to spam.  Sigh.  But I still refuse to repeat posts over and over on my loops.  And was so hoping to get rid of all that stuff I accumulated...

Ah well...I did manage to get rid of a lot of it.  Gave away 2012 wall calendars, books, mugs, tote bags, T-shirts, pens, key chains, notebooks, and you name it.  I hope those of you who entered are enjoying your prizes. 

Hope you all have a nice weekend.

Hugs,

Fran Lee

http://www.franleeromance.com

 

Sur le Point! or Your Pointing Sir!

Whoops!

Look closely, is that what I think I see? Is there a tiny tear in the upper left hand corner of that cloth backdrop?

This picture showed up in yesterday’s email titled “New on the job?”

I’m all for cultural enrichment and I think it’s wonderful when a ballet company is brave enough to actually include some nuts and a big thick nutcracker in the Nutcracker Suite.

That poor guy must hate knowing his, ahem… Personal moment is zipping around the world. Sorry dude, I had to share.

In other news, there is no news. I have so many good things going on, and I can’t talk about any of them yet. It’s just killing me! lol

All I can say is 2012 has brought more positive changes my way in the past 11 days than the last months of 2011 combined. I’m going to go with the changes!

XXOO Kat

Happy New Year!

Okay, so for 2012 I decided I would spend more time at my desk and try to be more productive. I have one word for my progress/process – discombobulated. I’m finding it hard to get used to this new routine. I’m not really sure why either.

Honestly I should be sitting at my desk…I have a day job. They might get mad if I’m not doing it. But I’m not looking at my two work laptops. I’m concentrating on the desktop. I’ve decided to take a magazine writing class, which started yesterday. Although I’ve been doing this type of writing for years, I felt like I was in a rut. I needed to shake things up, so hopefully this will help.

I don’t like to make resolutions because I’m such a procrastinator that I know I’d fail. So I make a few goals and pray for the best. This year my only “true” goal is to complete the full length contemporary romance I’m writing in time for the RWA NEC Conference in April. I’ve scheduled two agent appointments and would like to pitch this book. And hey, if they don’t want it there’s always self-publishing.  I watch my friends in amazement at how much money they’re making and how many books they’re selling.

I have to say since self-publishing my two Christmas stories I’ve sold more in the 3 weeks than I did in the 3 years they were at Aspen Mountain. Well, what I was told I sold. Something tells me I sold more.

So please bear with me as I adjust to my new routine. I also want to promote more. I’m hoping to get my newsletter up and running by the 15^th. I’ll be giving away a ton of swag to those interested.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2012? Please share them with us!

Could I be any more scattered??

*  Conflict, either internal or external is madatory in romance novels. I love the hero and heroine in my WIP but they, and the story, are currently in a conflict-free zone!!

*  Do people watch Judge Judy before they go on her show? Why would anyone show up unprepared?

*  If I'm replacing the windows in my house to increase energy efficiency and decrease outside noise, why would a sales person waste my time by pushing a single pane product with a low Energy Rating as a viable cost-saving alternative?

*  I don't want to send or receive text messages, and refuse to believe my life is lacking because of it.

*  Our new dog baby Butch, a Chihuahua mix, "screams" with excitement each time my hubby enters the house, but only barks, jumps and tail wags when my daughter or myself comes home. Our feelings are hurt. :)

*  Next week we celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

*  Why is it getting harder to come up with new things to make for dinner?

*  New Year's Resolution:  FOCUS


Have a great weekend everyone!
Tessie
www.tessiebradford.com

2012 Off To A Great Start!

So far this has been a great week. I started my 2012 celebration a bit early. In the late afternoon of Dec 31^st, I wrote the final lines on two WIPs I had started this fall. I really wanted to finish those WIPs by the end of the year and it felt so good to reach that goal. One story is a paranormal and came in at 66k and one is a very romantic contemporary that rolled in at 47k. Both need to be proofed and polished but I was really happy to end the year by completing those 1^st drafts.

I’m reading the new Ellora’s Cave anthology “Something Wicked This Way Comes Volume 1” and loving it! I’m reading the stories in order and I can promise you, so far this anthology is good! It’s a perfect sampling of six very talented and diverse Ellora’s Cave authors. I highly recommend this anthology to anyone who enjoys erotic-romance, variety and short fiction.

Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9698-something-wicked-this-way-comes-volume-1.aspx

My husband and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary today. Our first wedding ceremony took place way back when, at dawn, on top of a seaside pyramid in the Yucatan.

We planned to marry in a Spanish colonial cathedral on New Year’s Day, but that plan went terribly wrong. Several days later, with no bath in two days, wearing Levi’s and boots and smelling of monkeys (don’t ask why…) we got married on top of a pyramid instead.

Later, that day I was treated to an all day smelly, subterranean tromp through twisting limestone caves to look at bats. As we were scrambling around in the semi-darkness, I was so scared I was going to lose my new wedding ring in bat guano. Fun honeymoon, huh? Do I trust my husband to plan important events? No. Do I still love him? Yes, absolutely!

We are celebrating tonight by setting the alarm for 3 am and going out to watch the Quadrantid meteor shower together with a thermos of coffee. It’s supposed to be a great meteor display with a few “earthgrazers” to light up the sky and add a little color and excitement to a cold, dark pre-dawn sky. If you live on the East Coast and wake –up early, you could be treated to 60-70 meteors an hour—lucky you!

I hope this year is off to a good start for you.

XXOO Kat

Resolutions? I got 'em.

An Italian man, wealthy, who cooks!

For 2012, I am into FUN and $$$.

To ensure the laughs and my fat wallet, I promise myself to:

1. GO AFTER PIRATES more often.  WEEKLY.

Hey, all these people are ripping me off to the tune of thousands of $$$. What if I came to their house and did that??? Besides, Congress--those folks who haven't done anything but dither all year but collected their $150,000 salaries--are debating Our Anti-Piracy Bill like it was an attack on business. SAY WHA? Yep. Google and their buddies are fighting this bill, saying it would "criminalize" their business. NEWS FLASH: Pirates have already criminalized it. Google needs to step back, THINK and get a new way to make a buck, not off my back!

2. ADVERTISE more.

Yeah. It costs. But people, time or money? I am only one people, have only a bit of time and some money (esp. if I kill these pirates, I'll have more)!

3. Love FACEBOOK and TWITTER more.  This stuff really works to get the old name out there.

Color me happy.

4. Stop cruising the net. 'nuf said.

5. Invite all of you to come to my blog to post! Often! Any time!

6. Go to the gym 3x a week.

I need it.

My office chair is wunderbar, but it does not ensure my a$$ is any skinnier.

7. My last Res. This I am offering a saying to you for your consideration as one of your resolutions. This one, I used as a kid when things were tough. And they often were, especially at holiday time.

What is it?

One I wish some of the HOUSEWIVES of X-city, the Kardiasians (sp.?) and Snooki, and all her generation would use, cuz they give me HIVES with their narcissism!

Don't criticize and Don't complain.

Use facts only.

And the pix at the top?

Shameless Self-promo.

My very first EC release about a lovely widow and a smokin' hot Italian stud.

My Sweet.

Mia Dolce! Go here for author page for all my EC books: www.jasminejade.com/m-560-cerise-deland.aspx