It’s a Festival and there are Books!
Happy Friday! I’m a bit bleary eyed from all the writing this week, but it won’t stop me. I will write on! I’m getting towards the end and it’s starting to feel really good. I hope you have a great weekend planned. This Sunday I will be han…ging out with chaptermates from RWA/NYC at the Brooklyn Book Festival and signing print copies of THROUGH THE LENS. The chapter will be out at booth #78 all day and I’ll be there signing from 2-4, rain or shine. Hope to see you there!
All the best,KMJimage from Tin HouseWhere’s Waldo? … #RWA13 in pics
So I’m back from #RWA13, Romance Writer’s of America’s National Conference, which was held this year in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia. Not that I got to see much of Atlanta with all the workshops, and happenings at the hotel. It was quite the high time. Talk about busy and with so many attendees (the number was around 2000) I barely scratched the surface of all the creative greatness in that hotel. What a blast. I tell you was just honored to be in the house.
So here it is my #RWA13 in collage form. Can you spot some of your favorite authors? There are plenty of mine and these are only the few I got pictures of. Wowza!
All the best,
Kwana
Fashion, Art and Romance
Howdy! I hope you’re having a lovely one. Please join me today over at fellow Crimsonista, Synithia Williams blog where she interviews me and I’m talking about a few a my favorite things: Fashion, Art & Romance. Click on over here to see what I have to say. Thanks Synithia!
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)
Lady with Fans (Portrait of Nina de Callias), 1873
Oil on canvas; 44 1/2 x 65 9/16 in. (113 x 166.5 cm)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, Bequest of M. and Mme Ernest RouartAll the best,
KMJ
image from here
…Aaand That Was When I Lost It… BEA 2013- a pictorial
Happy week everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I had a super busy one and a busy end of last week with Book Expo being in town and me excited to head on down there in my capacity as a blogger for here and a sometimes contributor for H&H ready to read especially with Scandal being on Summer break. Well, I did got off to quite a rocky start when I got there and was told my credentials had been denied and for no other reason besides me being a blogger (and me getting no prior notification). You would have thought that was when I lost it, but no. Let’s just say there were a few heated moments where questions were asked and not answered and there was talk of banning which could have been interesting but never happened. Oh well, now that could have made for some good press.
Complications aside, I forged ahead and had a wonderful time picking of tons of new and exciting books and getting glimpses of some of my favorite authors.
One book by a new author that I’m so excited about is The Returned by Jason Mott. Jason will surely be a new voice to watch and I hear his book is already in talks for a TV series.
Check out the fabulous, talented and gorgeous Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer signing her new middle grade book.
Here I am with the amazing Brenda Jackson. And oops, she has now re-named me her author stalker. I’m sure she’s saying thing lovingly and won’t call on security when the day comes that I’m finally signing right beside her (fingers crossed).
Me and my new BFF Megan Hart. She said it first! LOL
And in more excitement I snagged an autograph from Lauren Weisberger for her sequel to the Devil Wear Prada called Revenge Wears Prada. Another, I can’t wait to read.
Oh and here are a couple of the Ellora’s Cave cover models playing rock, paper scissors in between signing calendars.
I also met the charming Elizabeth Gilbert and got an autographed copy of her latest book: The Signature of All Things. She was so sweet and kind when I told her want a fan I was of Eat, Pray Love.
And finally despite there not being an actual copy of the new Bridget book, Mad About The Boy (which I’m still working on getting a copy so that I can do a review) I waited on the longest line ever (I called this guy Smiles to pass the time) to meet Ms. Helen Fielding.
Well, you would have thought I was meeting the President. The closer it got to my turn the more I turned into a Bridget. By the time I got to Ms. Fielding I was stuttering and stammering and telling her what an inspiration Bridget Jones’s Dairy was to me and how I was now published ( Seduction’s Canvas) partially because if it and her. Lawd, I just went on and on. Well, it was then that she looked me in the eye and took both my hands in hers and in this lovely, just as I thought it would be, British accent said, “Well done you.”
Aaand that was when I lost it.
Have a great one!
All the best,
KMJ.
Get Ready for the Seduction… and a Giveaway!
First off, did you watch Scandal last night? Are you ok? Well I’m not, I’m hanging on by a exhausted thread, but I’m here… Whew. I’m still here.
That said, I’m up and chatting today about Coloring Outside The Lines over at Coffee Time Romance in the Latte Lounge along with some other super fab authors. We hope you’ll join us.
Also with the countdown to Seduction’s Canvas at T-minus 10 days….Whee… out May 27th! and ready for pre-orders now!
and in celebration of the chat today I’m giving away a 10.00 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner! The contest is open until 5/19 at 12AM
All the best,
KMJ
Good Morning Heartache
Good Day World. I’ve woken with a major migraine today and I’m trying to figure what brought it along. Could it be allergies, hormones, stress or could it be just be and my awful migraines or could it be something deeper like today being one of the most stressful days of the year doing that it’s the season finale of Scandal? Gah! & Wah! And Holey Moles Batman! Somebody Hold me!
Have I already gotten myself worked up and into a state over the state over Olivia and Fitz and my impending withdrawal? Good thing that after today I’ll have to go cold turkey with my Scandal sobriety. Oh well, at least I have tonight and one last bender to live it up. As usual you can look for my recap on Heroes and Heartbreakers tomorrow and you can also see my past ones there too.
Also tomorrow 5/17 I’m chatting with a great group off authors over at Coffee Time Romance and the subject is Coloring Outside The Lines. We will be taking questions, talking about our new projects and giving away prizes. Please stop on by and join in! Thanks!
All the best,
KMJ
Images thanks to Keep Calm-O-Matic and abcScandal Facebook
Fated… Interview with the author: Becky Flade
Hey there lovelies. It’s a great day at ye old blog today because we have with us my fellow Crimson writing sister, Becky Flade here to tell us about her spanking new release from Crimson Romance: Fated Souls. Just released on Monday, April 15, right in time to perk you up after those pesky taxes.
Here is a bit about Fated Souls: Investigative journalist Maggie O’Connell went from hard hitting exposés to alien abductions in the blink of an eye, but she did it with style. Her next big lead takes her to northern Minnesota hot on the trail of a werewolf and straight into the arms of Aidan Gael, a horse rancher with way more secrets than he has friends. Maggie may get the story but the man who shares the wolf’s compelling green eyes may end up with her heart – provided they can keep each other alive.
KMJ: Wow Aliens, werewolves, oh my! It all sound pretty fantastic what got you into writing paranormal romance?BF: I have a seriously over-active imagination and three brothers. I sat through every horror, sci-fi, superhero, mutant, alien invasion movie, television show, cartoon, you name it, that you can imagine growing up; the majority ruled. We did not watch a lot of pretty little pony and princesses at our house as kids. Ha! And I’d put my own spin on things. What can I say…I like football, a really cold beer and the supernatural. I’ll take Batman over Carrie “what’s her name in the city” any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
KMJ: Have you always been a fan of romance? When did you first fall for the genre?
BF: Yes, always a fan of the genre. I’m a hopeless romantic thru and thru! I still have the first Harlequin Presents I read. My mom tells this story of me as a toddler playing on the floor as she was watching Barbra Streisand’s “Funny Girl” and at the end of the movie I burst into tears. She scooped me up and I wailed, “She loves him and he doesn’t love her!” It probably started then.
KMJ: So you have your pick: an alien, a werewolf or a rancher and they are all hot, which one do you choose?
BF: In this post-Patriot Act environment the poor little hot alien would have mean-Mulder after him 24/7 and I’m sorry but I’m a homebody, a nester, I need a guy that can settle down. And as for the werewolf, well frankly, I live in the city; we have leash laws….need I say more? Well, hold on, he’s hot, there’s a leash, hmmmmm…. No, no, scoop laws too that is not sexy no matter how you phrase it. Rancher. Definitely the rancher.
KMJ: Good pick! Tell us a bit about your writing process are you a plotter or a pantser or a little bit of both?
BF: I’m a little bit of both. When I start I have a very good idea of what’s going to happen when and where, some might even refer to it as a plot. But I’ve never had a story go where I thought it would. Fated Souls started as a short, comic piece and that little scene is smack in the middle of the book.
KMJ: And now for my favorite question, can you tell us the story of your ‘overnight’ success?
BF: One of my brothers recommended I get on Twitter because an actor we both enjoy is ‘actually really funny.’ I was home from work with my youngest who was sick with the flu, messing around online while she was napping, bored. I remembered what my brother said and went on Twitter to check out that actor’s Tweets and I saw that Crimson Romance was accepting tweet pitches. I figured it would be a good opportunity to network and treated it like a writing assignment. You could have knocked me over with a feather when they contracted Fated Souls. That was January of this year.
KMJ: What can we expect next from you?
BF: I’m currently working on a contemporary romance about would-be high school sweethearts that get a chance at love nearly twenty years later.
KMJ: That sounds lovely. Now please tell us, where can our readers pick up Fated Souls and find you on the web?
Fated Souls is available at www.crimsonromance.com and everywhere E-books are sold. It will also be available Print-On-Demand later this year. And you can find me on my blog, Facebook or Twitter.
You can also pick up Fated Souls on Amazon here
Thanks so much for being here today. It was a real treat!
I loved it! Thanks for having me.
Go Becky!
All the best,
KMJ
The Thirty Year Old Virgin… Guest Post fm author Synithia Williams
Today on ye old blog we have something a little different, a guest post. Now normally I do an author interview but when I read (I will say with my own bit of skepticism followed by pure enjoyment) fellow Crimsonista, Synithia William’s Worth The Wait I had to ask her here to tell us about her reasoning behind writing an older virgin heroine. Take it away Synithia….
The Thirty Year Old Virgin
The thirty year old virgin. Some scoff and say that’s unrealistic. How could someone possibly hold onto their virginity throughout their twenties? Romance readers may feel it’s an antiquated idea that is overplayed in contemporary novels. Yes you may be right, but if there’s one thing I do know it’s never say never. And to say that nowhere in this world is there a woman approaching thirty who’s never had sex would be (in my opinion) a lie.
I have friends who managed to hold on to their virginity through college. And only gave it up, for lack of a better phrase, when impending engagements approached. I admire these friends for doing this. It takes a lot of confidence in oneself to ignore the peer pressure, and relationship pressure, and stay true to your beliefs. One friend in particular, I could see still holding onto her virginity if she hadn’t gotten engaged and later married her husband. She’s the same age as me.
That’s why I believe someone like the heroine in my book, Worth the Wait, can, and probably does, exist. Tasha Smith was raised by strict parents who instilled in their daughters the importance of waiting for marriage. As she got older and saw friends in high school and college hurt, pregnant, or with a sexually transmitted disease, it was easy to keep to her decision to wait for marriage. But after college things got a bit dicey. Men weren’t thrilled by the idea that the only way to have sex with her meant they had to put a ring on it. Therefore, her love life became one break up after another.
That’s where my dose of 21st century realism comes in if you still doubt the whole almost 30 virgin idea. I can’t see how dating could be easy for someone holding out sex until marriage. That’s a lot of pressure on a new relationship. So, stuck between a rock and a hard place, Tasha resolves to lose her virginity by asking playboy entrepreneur, Jared Patterson, to be her first.
And from there the excitement ensues. I love drama, and put these two through their fair share. There are consequences to rash decisions, and the consequences almost tears families apart.
I hope you can understand why I went with an almost 30 virgin for this book. Give it a try. Let me know if I made it work. But for now, tell me your thoughts. Do you think a virgin would have a hard time dating in 2013?
Worth the Wait Blurb
After Tasha Smith is dumped yet again because of her virginity, decides it’s time to stop saving herself for marriage and start dating like women in the twenty-first century. She sets out to find a man rumored to be good enough in bed to relieve her of the nuisance, but discreet enough to keep her request a secret. Jared Patterson seems like the perfect candidate. Yet after one searing kiss, she wonders if she’ll escape the night unscathed.
Jared’s job as a successful fitness instructor and entrepreneur has helped him keep a string of meaningless relationships from the east to the west coast. After learning the hard way that women can’t be trusted, he has no qualms going from one sex only relationship to the next. Although Tasha is one of the few types of women he avoids—a good girl—the man in him can’t turn down her tempting offer.
What starts out as a onetime thing quickly turns into an affair neither want to stop. But when an unexpected situation drastically alters their relationship, it leaves them both asking if it was Worth the Wait.
Buy Links:
All Romance Ebooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-worththewait-1030587-237.html
Crimson Romance: http://www.crimsonromance.com/upcoming-releases-romance-ebook/worth-the-wait/
Biography:
Synithia Williams has loved romance novels since reading her first one at the age of 13. It was only natural that she would begin penning her own romances soon after. It wasn’t until 2010 that she began to actively pursue her publishing dreams. Her first novel, You Can’t Plan Love was published in August 2012 by Crimson Romance. When she isn’t writing, this Green Queen, as dubbed by the State Newspaper, works to improve air and water quality, while balancing the needs of her husband and two sons. You can learn more about Synithia, and her novel, by visiting her website, www.synithiawilliams.com, where she blogs about writing, life and relationships.
Twitter: http://www.synithiawilliams.com/@SynithiaW
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/synithiarwilliams
Thanks so much for being here Synithia. I really enjoyed Worth The Wait and can’t wait for your next release.
All the best,
KMJ
A Writing Life… Interview with author Micah Persell
I’m pleased to have on ye old blog a new writer friend of mine, and I’ve come to find out for myself a fantastic author, Micah Persell author of Of Eternal Life and Of Knowledge of Good and Evil , Books 1 and 2 in the Operation: Middle of the Garden Series. Now I’m not a huge paranormal reader, but I will say that Micah pulled me in right from the start with her fantastic descriptions of the frankly horrifying circumstances that her ultra-hot hero Eli found himself in. But wait, I think I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. I’m so excited coming off the end of Of Eternal Life. Slow down, Kwana, and let’s start the interview…
Thanks so much for being here today Micah. Now can you tell us a bit about Of Eternal Life?
Of Eternal Life is the first book in my series. It’s also the first book I ever wrote, so it has an extra special place in my heart. It follows the love story of Eli Johnson and Abilene Miller, but it’s also a suspenseful paranormal romance that focuses around what might happen if the government stumbled upon the ancient Garden of Eden in the Middle East. My theory is that we would turn it into a weapon, especially if it turned out that immortality was in the mix.
Of Eternal Life is categorized as paranormal romance, but it does have some mystical and sci-fi elements. How would you categorize it?I’d love to categorize it as science fiction. A lot of scientific and medical research went into the making of Of Eternal Life. I think a lot of readers would be shocked to find out that the science in the book is all accurate. As far-fetched as it sounds to have an ancient tree’s fruit turn characters immortal, scientists have tested several methods of extending the human life, one of which is introduction of a substance that extends the Hayflick limit (the number of times a cell can reproduce before dying). I took their research and put a fictional spin on it.
Wow real? That is so cool and interesting and a little scary. Now are you a Plotter or a Pantser? Can you please give us a glimpse into your writing routine?
I started off as a pantser, but then Abilene’s best friend in Of Eternal Life, Dahlia Gutierrez, turned out to be the villain. Surprise! I turned into a religious plotter after that. Every single plot point in Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was meticulously planned out. When I start a new project, I plot out all of the major turning points. Once I have a plot mapped out, then I write a first draft and revise, revise, revise until I’m moderately happy with the result. Then I revise some more 🙂
Now for one of my favorite questions: Can you please tell us the story of your “overnight” success?
I actually got “the call,” which for me was an e-mail, while on a field trip with my students. I’m a teacher in real life. It was a pretty special day, because I was able to share the news with the kids, and no one has a better reaction to good news than dramatic teenagers. I felt like a celebrity right away.
I’m looking forward to the follow up to Of Eternal Life, Of Knowledge of Good and Evil; as a matter of fact I already have it on my Kindle. Can you tell the blog readers a bit about it?
Well, even though Dahlia turned out to be the villain of book 1, I wasn’t ready to give up on her yet. Book 2 is her story. It’s a story of deep secrets and redemption. I’ve got to say, Dahlia is one of my favorite characters.
What can we expect next from you?
I’m putting the finishing touches on Emma: The Wild and Wanton Edition right now! I’m so excited about this book. It’s Jane Austen’s classic book, but with lots of steamy, steamy added in. Mr. Knightley and Emma definitely burn up the pages. Hopefully, it will come out some time in the spring.
That sounds just wonderful and quite hot. Who doesn’t love Mr. Knightly?
Thanks once again for being here. It was a fantastic treat, and I can’t wait to read more!
You can find Micah on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, or check out her website for a special sneak peak of both Of Eternal Life and Of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
All the best,
KMJAnd She Lived…
Oh my goodness! Not only have I gotten my power (back as of last night), but I have a post up today on USA TODAY’s Happy Ever After Blog where at talk about some of the authors who have inspired me. Talk about a coolness moment, and whew, I’m so happy to be able to actually see it and you can see it too. Just click over here at the USA Today HEA Blog and please stay awhile. I think you’ll really like it there. Have a fantastic week!
BTW… have you looked Through The Lens?
All the best,
KMJ
image fm here
