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Oct 3 2012

Mini Lesson: Your welcome or You’re welcome

Mini Lesson:

Your Welcome or is it You’re Welcome?

By Janice Seagraves

 

 

I’ve been having some guest spots on my blog and website, and when I’m thanked by someone in an email, I write back to them ‘your welcome’. Then I realized that didn’t look right.

Is it your welcome

Or You’re welcome.

The easiest test is to say it out loud; if you can put in you are in the sentence, then you’re is the right word to use.

You are welcome.

See how that fits.

So for future reference always write you’re welcome when someone thanks you.

Oct 1 2012

A Killer’s Field by Susan Elizabeth Alvis

I’m stopping by today to share an excerpt from A Killer’s Field, a new fictional novella motivated by the senseless I-45 Texas killings, most of which have remained unsolved.

A few years ago, I became aware of the overwhelming number of unsolved crimes along the I-45 corridor located south of Houston. In an area known as the Texas killing fields, this property has become a dumping ground for some of the country’s most horrific crimes.

Since the early 70s, bodies have been abandoned in these Texas swamps. Many young lives ended too soon and families were devastated as bodies were recovered but never truly laid to rest. Killers seemingly committed the perfect crimes and thanks to the mysteries surrounding so many of the murders, questions were forever left unanswered.

A Killer’s Field is a short young adult Halloween story available in e-format. Published by Devine Destinies, the novella is fictional but the inspiration behind the story was developed over time by researching some of the true, and quite brutal, unsolved Texas killings.

A Killer’s Field isn’t a true story. However, when I wrote the novella, I tried to write a short story that would appeal to young people and in some small way let the victims’ families know their loved one hasn’t been forgotten. At the same time, this short story includes a warning for all readers with an    underlying message in regards to social networks, a tool often used when criminals make their first connection with their future victims.

I’d like to invite your readers to check out A Killer’s Field, on sale now at Devine Destinies. Readers, please leave your comments about the cover, short story, or any aspect of A Killer’s Field. I’ll stop by again today and choose one random winner for one free e-gift. If you’re posting a comment, please include an email address or check back to see how you can claim your prize.

Thank you for sharing your blog with me, Janice. 🙂

Susan Elizabeth Alvis

A Killer’s Field by Susan Elizabeth Alvis

“A deadly event turns participants into victims as a Texas killing field becomes ground zero for a Halloween hunt….” A Killer’s Field, Susan Smith Alvis

Blurb:

Kristen McMurray is flabbergasted when her boyfriend decides to take her to the Texas Killing Fields for Halloween.  She’s not at all impressed with his plans for a romantic evening, let alone the idea of frolicking on the very grounds known to harbor the deadliest of secrets.

Picturing a moonlit sky high above them and a murderer lurking in the shadows, Kristen is convinced her boyfriend has either lost his mind or worse. Perhaps he’s become a quiet lunatic waiting to emerge.

Reluctantly, Kristen agrees to spend Halloween in the fields. Unbeknownst to her, they enter the heart of a huge Halloween hunt, an organized event and obvious trap used to entice unsuspecting victims to the very place where dozens of bodies have been previously dumped.

One brush with death leads to another, but Kristen keeps her wits about her as her boyfriend turns their Halloween night into an evening she’ll never forget. While the fields live up to their harrowing name, Kristen faces the horrors of the past. Somewhere along the way, she discovers an inner strength and a will to survive, realizing determination and the desire to live are the only elements ensuring she’ll leave the fields alive!

Excerpt for A Killer’s Field by Susan Smith Alvis

I’m about as flabbergasted as my Dobermans were when I went outside to feed them prime rib and a vulture swept down and stole the raw meat straight from the pan. The event occurred last week but I can still picture their wide eyes as they stretched their necks upward and barked at the heavens. They were in terrible shock, poor things. After the clever bird escaped, all they could do was stand there and pant, foam forming in the corners of their mouths.

Okay, so I’m not panting or wiping drool from my chin. I am, however, stunned.

“Well, what do you think?” Dennison asks, backing away from his pickup. “Say yes, Kristen. It’ll be a lifetime experience. One you’ll remember forever.”

“What makes you think we’ll live to later share our experiences?”

“You’re so dramatic,” he says, returning to work on his truck. “Most women would see this trip for what it is—an overnight getaway.”

“Visiting the Texas Killing Fields, on Halloween no less, is not my idea of a romantic weekend.” I stare at his back. “Where will we stay?”

“I’ll pack a tent and a sleeping bag.”

Wonderful. For a minute, I consider his idea of snuggling inside confined spaces. That is, until a body bag comes to mind. After all, those fields symbolize decades of horror.

Copyright © 2012

A Killer’s Field by Susan Elizabeth Alvis is available at Devine Destinies. Cover art for A Killer’s Field was created by Carmen Waters.


Sep 26 2012

Ginger Software Program

Ginger Software Program for Self-editing 

By Janice Seagraves

I tried out Ginger. And here’s what I think.

It’s a big program and took a lot of space on my laptop and slowed it way down. Going online is a pain, so after I finish trying it out, then I’ll delete it off my hard drive.

It works online so staying online as you use the program is a must.

It’s fast. It checks over your prose one sentence at a time and shows the sentence at the top of your screen along with the sentence with the suggested changes just underneath. You have an option of skipping or accepting the changes.

It only checks your words, not your punctuation. But it will check for correct word usage, which is great.

However, I suggest you look closely at what words are being suggested before you click on accept. Some of the suggestions on names was laughable, especially since I’m currently working on a SF Romance series, so you know some of my names are going to be far from normal.

It also corrects your email and posts online.

Here’s what I think: for a free program, it’s an excellent tool for self-editing. Just make sure you have the room on your hard drive before you download it.

But, if you’re looking for a program to check for punctuation errors, then you’ll have to look somewhere else.

Sep 3 2012

DAY NINE – ‘CLAIMING MAGIQUE’ BLOG TOUR

DAY NINE – ‘CLAIMING MAGIQUE’ BLOG TOUR

Welcome again to my Virtual Book Tour for Claiming Magique , Book One in my Appointment with Pleasure series for Ellora’s Cave. If you enjoy sultry sex with a deeply moving love story, then you’ve come to the right place.  🙂

Here’s the cover, blurb and a brief excerpt to give you an idea of the plot.

I’m also offering a contest – the tour winner will have her choice of THREE of my backlist ebooks. So, read on!! And leave comments at each of my stops (check my blog daily for details: http://www.tinadonahue.com/blog/ ) for your chance to win! The more comments, the better your chances.

 

 

Blurb:

Claiming Magique

Book One – Appointment with Pleasure series

Tina Donahue

A man at the center of power…a woman who won’t be ruled…

They call her Magique.

Sought out by the District’s elite, she’s no ordinary call girl, deciding who will pleasure her for the evening. Her preference is for several men at once. Games of bondage and submission heighten her arousal and desire to have a strong male take her…to be adored.

Lobbyist Hunter Prescott was only looking for a good time, not a woman who unleashes a hunger so deep it changes his world. He won’t stop until Magique is his alone, a prisoner of his lust, powerless against his growing need for her body and heart.

With this man, resistance isn’t allowed. For this woman, he’ll create a world of sensual delight and yearning like none she’s known. Proving that only with trust and true surrender will she find unparalleled rapture.

 

Excerpt:

She accepted their silence as though moments like this had played out before with countless other men who were fascinated by her presence and confident sexuality. Jack had claimed she didn’t like one on one, preferring group sex. As far as Hunt was concerned, Tim and David no longer existed. He and Magique were alone in this room.

His mind went into overdrive, picturing her facing the wet bar, obedient to his every demand. He had dozens, but contented himself with the most pressing first. With his hands on hers, he directed Magique to grip the edge of the counter. She turned her face to his, their mouths so close he could smell her sweet breath. It warmed and tickled his skin. Kissing her shoulder, he guided her to bend at the waist. Her hair tumbled over her arms, away from her ass, his sole focus. Inch by delicious inch, he edged up her wicked dress, exposing her buttocks. Two lush globes that begged him to squeeze them.

In his fantasy, she wasn’t wearing panties or a thong. He wanted nothing separating her skin from his, not even a condom. According to Jack, there wasn’t any worry about getting her pregnant. She protected herself well. She also knew that he, Tim and David had submitted to testing and passed with flying colors, free of any social disease. None of them would have been here tonight if they’d been a threat. It was one of her many demands.

Images unwound in Hunt’s mind of him kissing the crease at the top of her thigh. The scent of her sex washed over him. He suppressed a groan of delight and touched her slit. Slick with her arousal. Ready for—

Her sleek muscles rippled beneath the shimmering gold fabric as she turned back to the bar, pulling Hunt from his outrageous fantasy. He stared stupidly at the tray she held.

On it were three glasses of varying heights. The squat one with the amber liquor was bourbon neat, no water or ice. His favorite drink.

He wondered if it was Jim Beam and suspected it was. Had Jack told her his preference in hard liquor? Most likely.

With the grace of a runway model, she moved toward them, her heels clicking lightly on the floor, her steps in rhythm with the music’s beat. Slow and suggestive. In front of David she stopped, her slender fingers circling a Manhattan, what he always ordered, complete with three, not one, maraschino cherries. Just as he liked.

Ice tinkled in the glass as she lifted the drink to him and murmured, “Nĭhăo ma?”

David stared as if she’d just spoken Martian, rather than what sounded like Chinese. He blurted, “Wŏ hĕnhăo.”

Whatever he’d said had her commenting again in the same language. To Hunt’s surprise, David actually relaxed. Hell, he started to flirt, his tone husky and provocative, making her arch one slender eyebrow.

Before David could react or say anything else that might get him banished from here, she moved to Tim, offering him the tallest glass with a wedge of lime at the top…his usual scotch and soda.

“Et comment allez-vous ce soir?” she asked him, her French as effortless and flawless as the last language she’d spoken.

Amazing. Not only was she multilingual, she seemed to know that Tim had spent several years after college screwing around in Paris, blowing his trust fund before his father cut him off and ordered him home.

Unlike David’s initial reaction, Tim grinned. His fingers caressed hers as he took his drink.

“Bon!” he said, “Mais j’espère être encore mieux.”

No arched brow this time. She took in Tim’s length in the same manner he’d done with hers, pausing on the good parts, particularly his fly and obvious erection straining against it.

Screw that. Possessiveness, hard and uncivilized, coiled within Hunt, making him restless to have her first, to keep her from Tim and David.

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10319-claiming-magique.aspx

 

Tina

Tina Donahue

“Heat with Heart”

CLAIMING MAGIQUE (AVAILABLE NOW)

THE YEARNING (HOLT MEDALLION AWARD OF MERIT)

UNENDING DESIRE (BEST BOOK Rating – LASR Erotic)

SENSUAL STRANGER (BOOK OF THE YEAR 2010)

DEEP, DARK, DELICIOUS (HOLT MEDALLION AWARD OF MERIT)

Website: http://www.tinadonahue.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/tinadonahue

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authortina/my-books/

 

*** CONTEST ***

 

To celebrate the release of Claiming Magique , I’m offering a contest. One lucky commenter during this blog tour will have her choice of THREE of my following ebooks**:

 

  1.          Adored – RWA award-winning; EPIC 2011 Finalist; 4 Stars RT
  2.          Deep, Dark, Delicious – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Holt Medallion Award of Merit
  3.          Lush Velvet Nights – EPIC 2011 Finalist; Golden Nib Award
  4.          In His Arms – SIX 5 Star Reviews; 4 Stars RT
  5.          Sensual Stranger – 2010 Book of the Year (erotic); 4 Stars RT
  6.          The Yearning – Top Ten Bestseller
  7.          Take Me Away – #1 Pick, Miz Love Loves Books
  8.          Unending Desire – Best Book Rating LASR
  9.          SiNN – Nominated for Book of the Week LASR

 

 

** Winner chosen at random. Winner chosen September 13

 

 

Aug 30 2012

I have Liz Crowe on the Hot Seat

Conditional Offer: Stewart Realty Book 5 August 30, 2012

How I Write.

I’m a notorious head writer and have been known to stop dead in the grocery aisle forcing people to mutter under their breath and move around me as I have various “a ha” moments during the first part of my process.

I typically do not make written outlines, but as I work my way through this longer series I am doing a fair bit of character mapping with timelines as I do some back and forth between books.  And by the time I hit the last book it will be the story of all the main characters’ children so I gotta make sure I remember who belongs to whom and how old they should be.

Once I can’t keep the story stuffed inside my brain pain I take a seat, open the Mac Book Air (one of my quirks. I simply canNOT compose on the main Mac house computer. I think it’s a function of needing to write where I am when I’m in full-on compose mode) and have at it.  And at it.  And at it…typically until the whole thing is done.  Housework goes begging, children eat a lot of cereal and Whole Food food bar for dinner, dogs start to whine anticipating the lack of walk they know they will get.  As an example, I wrote Essence of Time, the 4th book of the Stewart Realty series between April 1 and May 10, ended with about 85,000 words then added about 20k more in a few days more after getting it back from editors who said “this needs more here…and here.”

Not all my books come that easily mind you. And I subscribe to the Hemmingway school of “Your first draft is always shit” so I’m never averse to revision, rewriting or anything suggested by my kick ass editing team.

If research is required I typically do it alongside the writing as it’s hard for me to be motivated to research if I don’t have a specific project or question to answer right in front of me.  Of course, since every time I say “never” I end up doing that thing—and am in the process of doing research into soccer clubs as a business as I prepare the extension of the Stewart Realty series—the Black Jack Gentlemen will tell the tale of the expansion soccer league and team that Jack Gordon develops for Detroit.  The stories will focus on individual players and the coach and will run the gamut from m/m, m/f, with a dose of “second chance” for one married player, to a dose of femme dom as the BJ’s (as they laughingly call themselves) are gonna break a serious traditional mold and hire a woman as an assistant coach—a successful former team USA player, divorced who discovers her inner domme when confronted with a young player who is floundering at the club.

In the meantime, I’m pleased to announce that Conditional Offer: Stewart Realty book 5 is now available! It’s an in-between novella (about 45,000 words) that tells the tale of Craig Robinson, one of the men smitten with Sara in the first 3 books but who has quite a history of his own…and how he finally find happiness with a damaged woman. Two people who more deserved an HEA never existed I tell you and I was so happy to give to them!
Cheers
Liz

Conditional Offer: Stewart Realty Book 5

Craig Robinson and Suzanne Baxter had no reason to meet, no real excuse to be friends. But when heart calls to heart…blood to blood…should two people who seem destined to be together heed the spin of Fate’s wheel?

Craig spent years floating through life on cruise control, using directionless jobs, his rock band, swimming, and a string of older women in his bed to smother feelings of loneliness and loss.  He finally thought he had found his true love in one Sara Thornton — A sexy, beautiful, fellow real estate agent and mentor. But his self-doubt and innate sense of failure is only reinforced when he realizes her heart belongs to another man.

When Sara introduces him to Suzanne, a woman fighting her own demons from an abusive marriage and subsequent feelings of inadequacy and deep unhappiness, that chance moment snaps Craig’s hazy existence into crystal clear focus.  A bond born of instant physical attraction is nurtured by time and shared experience, and plenty of erotic energy.

As Suzanne’s past continues to haunt her, making her push Craig away just as he thinks he’s getting closer, each of them must come to terms with their true selves and face their ultimate realities.

Liz Bio:
Microbrewery owner, best-selling author, beer blogger and journalist, mom of three teenagers, and soccer fan, Liz lives in the great middle west, in a Major College Town.  Years of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as an ex-pat trailing spouse plus making her way in a world of men (i.e. the beer industry) has prepped her for life as erotic romance author.  When she isn’t sweating inventory and sales figures for the brewery, she can be found writing, editing or sweating promotional efforts for her latest publications.  Her ground breaking romance sub genre: “Romance for Real Life” has gained thousands of fans and followers, interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”)

Her beer blog a2beerwench.com is nationally recognized for its insider yet outsider views on the craft beer industry. Her books are set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch and in high-powered real estate offices.  Don’t ask her for anything “like” a Budweiser or risk painful injury.

www.lizcrowe.com
www.brewingpasssion.com
www.a2beerwench.com
www.facebook.com/lizcroweauthor
www.twitter.com/beerwencha2
www.facebook.com/romanceforreallife
www.facebook.com/jackgordonrealtor

Other Books in the Stewart Realty Series:
Floor Time
Sweat Equity
Closing Costs
Essence of Time
Conditional Offer
Escalation Clause (November 2012)
House Rules (March 2103)
Due Diligence (May 2013)
Good Faith (September 2013)


Aug 18 2012

Mini Lesson: Up

Mini Lesson: Up

By Janice Seagraves

Up like the word down is a direction, but do we really need it in our writing?

Let’s take a closer look:

Example: She stood up.

Do we really need up in this sentence? No, not really. If she stood, then up is a given.

Correct: She stood.

Example: Grandma told Brian to put up his toys. He placed his toy cars on top of the TV, which made grandma angry.

You can see here Brian got confused by what Grandma wanted when she told him “to put up his toys.” Most readers would probably understand what Grandma meant, but to avoid confusion another word choice might work better.

Correct: Grandma told Brian to put away his toys. He placed them in his toy chest.

Example: The cat climbed up the tree.

We can assume that if the cat was climbing, it would climb up, unless you indicate the direction.

Correct: The cat climbed the tree.

Example: She looked up at the tall man.

If the man is tall then we can assume that she was looking up at him, unless of course if she’s taller than the man.

Correct: She looked at the tall man.