Kate Douglas will join us tomorrow! And she's generously agreed to give away not one, but two, copies of one of her books of which the title will be announced tomorrow!
Stop by and welcome Kate and get your name into the drawing by leaving a comment!
Lizzie
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
How I Came to be in Print at AMP
Given all the terrific authors at AMP, it really was a great honor to have the first two books in my DEAD series selected for their roll-out into print. You can imagine my excitement! Then a little birdie told me how it happened and now I'm not so sure. Understand it went something like this....
“Mom, do really think you should open another bottle of wine? You said you have to make a decision on which author to roll out as the first POD in AMP’s venture into print”
“Not to worry son, it’s only my second bottle. I can handle it.”
“Third.” Son rolled his eyes and shook his head in frustration. No way could he convince her of anything once his mother moved into her third bottle of wine.
“Second, third, whatever. I can handle it. After all, I run a publishing house and I’m use to a little wine in social situations.”
“Yeah, right.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, Mom.” Son uncorked the wine and pour a little into the glass his mother held out.
“More.” He poured a little more. “Oh for pete’s sake.”
His mother grabbed the bottle and filled her glass to the rim. Son envisioned a long night of pirate songs and disco dancing.
In an attempt to direct her focus back to the subject he asked, “What about the print book decision?”
“Got it all figure out.” She handed him a stack of cards. “Pin the top twelve around on the dart board.”
Son did as requested. “What about these others?” He held up several cards still in his hand.
“Oh just stick ‘em on the wall out of the way.”
He stuck the cards on the wall a couple of feet away from the dartboard.
“Now bring me a dart! I’m going to close my eyes and the name on the card I hit with my dart is the one that goes to print.”
Doubtful, Son did as instructed and winced at his mother having the sharp object in her hand, especially since she’d drained her wine glass and refilled again while he set things up for her.
Son positioned her toward the dartboard twice and she finally managed to stay upright facing the board.
“Okay, here goes nothing. Where ever this lands…decision made. That’s the name I go with.”
Plop. The dart hit and stuck. Son bit back a groan. “Mom, you hit the cards on the wall.”
“What the ….! Well, screw it. I did say the name of the card I hit is the one that goes to print. Read it to me son.”
Son walked over and pulled out the dart and read the name on the top card. “Looks like the winner is, Lizzie T. Leaf.”
“Oh crap.” Mom waved her empty glass. “Son, open me another bottle of wine. I’m going to need all the courage I can get for this announcement.”
Now you know the rest of the story…
Comments welcome!
“Mom, do really think you should open another bottle of wine? You said you have to make a decision on which author to roll out as the first POD in AMP’s venture into print”
“Not to worry son, it’s only my second bottle. I can handle it.”
“Third.” Son rolled his eyes and shook his head in frustration. No way could he convince her of anything once his mother moved into her third bottle of wine.
“Second, third, whatever. I can handle it. After all, I run a publishing house and I’m use to a little wine in social situations.”
“Yeah, right.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, Mom.” Son uncorked the wine and pour a little into the glass his mother held out.
“More.” He poured a little more. “Oh for pete’s sake.”
His mother grabbed the bottle and filled her glass to the rim. Son envisioned a long night of pirate songs and disco dancing.
In an attempt to direct her focus back to the subject he asked, “What about the print book decision?”
“Got it all figure out.” She handed him a stack of cards. “Pin the top twelve around on the dart board.”
Son did as requested. “What about these others?” He held up several cards still in his hand.
“Oh just stick ‘em on the wall out of the way.”
He stuck the cards on the wall a couple of feet away from the dartboard.
“Now bring me a dart! I’m going to close my eyes and the name on the card I hit with my dart is the one that goes to print.”
Doubtful, Son did as instructed and winced at his mother having the sharp object in her hand, especially since she’d drained her wine glass and refilled again while he set things up for her.
Son positioned her toward the dartboard twice and she finally managed to stay upright facing the board.
“Okay, here goes nothing. Where ever this lands…decision made. That’s the name I go with.”
Plop. The dart hit and stuck. Son bit back a groan. “Mom, you hit the cards on the wall.”
“What the ….! Well, screw it. I did say the name of the card I hit is the one that goes to print. Read it to me son.”
Son walked over and pulled out the dart and read the name on the top card. “Looks like the winner is, Lizzie T. Leaf.”
“Oh crap.” Mom waved her empty glass. “Son, open me another bottle of wine. I’m going to need all the courage I can get for this announcement.”
Now you know the rest of the story…
Comments welcome!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
And Here's Marie Treanor!!
You must think I'm friends with every author out there, but that's not the case. I am blessed to know (and count a lot as friends) a vairety of authors across the various Genres, and some I've known longer than others. Marie and I met when we both were newbies into the world of publishing at a house that no longer exists. Our interaction there resulted in not only a friendship across the miles, (she lives in Scotland...see how green I am...and I bitch a lot from Denver), but also a mutal love and respect of each others work. So join me today in welcoming the exciting Marie Treanor.
And Marie will draw one lucky winner from all the comments left today receive a copy of from her eBook backlist. You don't want to miss out on this opportunity, so make sure to at least say "Hi"!
First, a big thank you to Lizzie for inviting me to blog today! As well as counting Lizzie a good friend, I’ve been a fan of her books since her very first release, so I feel truly honoured to be here, talking about the great excitement in my life right now.
What am I so excited about, you ask? My new book, of course. Although I’ve been writing for a while now, and have celebrated quite a few releases over the years, this one is something even more special for me. And not just because it’s my first release with big New York publisher NAL, but because it brings together three of my all time favourite reading-loves: vampires, gothic horror (you know the kind: all eerie ruins and brooding heroes and things that go bump in the night), and, of course, steamy romance.
Blood on Silk grew out of a scene in my head that had been there some time – a terrifying yet devastatingly attractive figure rising from his stone crypt and advancing on the poor woman who’d accidentally awakened him. I like my heroines to be intelligent, however unworldly, so the awakener became the academic Elizabeth Silk who’s making her reputation by exploding vampire myths. And the creature she accidentally awakens grew into Saloman, the most powerful vampire who ever existed and who was betrayed and staked three hundred years ago. Now he’s out for revenge and world domination, and because she awakened him, he needs Elizabeth’s blood to reach his full strength.
And then I thought it would be fun to follow Elizabeth and Saloman through more than one book, watching their relationship develop alongside his growing power and the efforts of his human and vampire enemies to stop him. And so the trilogy Awakened by Blood was born, and I’m delighted to tell you the first part, Blood on Silk releases in the United States and Canada on 7th September.
So, yes, I’m excited! And I’d love to share an excerpt with you – the scene that started it all off for me. Hope you enjoy it!
BLOOD ON SILK:
An AWAKENED BY BLOOD Novel
By Marie Treanor
Coming September 2010 from NAL Signet Eclipse.
Available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.
Scottish academic Elizabeth Silk is spending the summer in Romania researching historical superstitions for her PhD. While she is tracing local foktales, one subject in particular sparks her imagination. His name is Saloman, legend's most powerful vampire, a seductive prince staked centuries ago. Now, in the ruins of a castle crypt, Elizabeth discovers the legends are real. Her blood has awakened him. Her innocence has aroused him. But Elizabeth unleashes more than Saloman's hunger.
An army of vampire hunters has amassed to send Saloman back to hell. Sworn to help - yet fearing Saloman's deadly blood lust - Elizabeth seeks to entrap him, offering her body as bait. But something stronger than dread, more powerful than revenge, is uniting Elizabeth to her prey. Caught between desire and rage, Elizabeth must decide where her loyalties lie...and what the limits are to a yearning she can no longer control.
*
Leaning over the sarcophagus, she ran her fingers along the far side of it, but felt only the detailed outlines of muscled arm and hip and thigh, so lovingly carved that it felt intimate just stroking them. She stretched farther so that her hair and jaw brushed against the cold stone of his face, and felt along the table instead. It too seemed to be one solid piece of stone. So where the hell was the body?
Movement stirred her hair, almost like a lover’s breath on her skin. Startled, she jerked up her head, but before she could leap away, or even see what was happening, something sharp pierced her neck and clamped down hard.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t even cry out. Somewhere she knew she should be terrified, but in reality her brain was far too busy trying to work out what the hell had happened.
There was pain at the side of her neck where it seemed to be stuck to the face of the carved sarcophagus, a strange, cold pain that suddenly heated as whatever had gripped her began to suck.
Now the fear surged, deluging her. She felt the blood rushing through her veins, dragging from her heart, and knew she was about to die. Worse than that, the cold thing clamped around her neck grew warm, moved on her skin, and the rushing of her blood became a stream of weird, sensual pleasure. Fire and ice flowed together in her veins as she was held captive.
Everything seemed to tighten in her body - her muscles, her nipples, her clenching womanhood – until it came to her in a flash that this treacherous, paralyzing sexual response was killing her.
With a yell of as much self-encouragement as fear, she tore herself free, falling off the sarcophagus into a heap on the floor and scrabbling backwards away from whatever had attacked her.
She knew, she’d always known, it came from the sarcophagus itself, and yet the sight of the carving rising from the table in a cloud of dust drew a long, low whine from her that she couldn’t control. Her neck throbbed in agony; it felt slippery with her own blood under her questing, trembling fingers. Her heart hammered with the force of a pile driver, as the thing shook itself and emerged through the scattering dust toward her.
Not a beautiful stone carving but a beautiful, terrifying man, heart-churningly three dimensional as he yanked the broken sword from his chest and threw it to the ground. A sound seemed to hiss from between his teeth. It might have been pain, but right now, she didn’t care.
In the spotlight of her fallen, wavering flashlight, he regarded her from burning, coal-black eyes. His cloak, now streaked with black, fell around him in stiff, dust-laden folds as he walked forward with slow, deliberate strides. Beneath it, his clothing was torn across the chest, but no blood oozed from the sword-wound. His pale lips parted.
“Silly girl.” The deep, almost sepulchral voice vibrated through her entire body. “That’s no way to break off a relationship like ours.”
She scrabbled backward in a futile attempt to escape the horror, but inexorably, he kept coming…
Copyright Marie Treanor. This excerpt is from an unedited version and may differ slightly from the final, published version, which will be available on 7th September 2010.
Check out all of Marie's great books at http://www.marietreanor.com/news.html
And Marie will draw one lucky winner from all the comments left today receive a copy of from her eBook backlist. You don't want to miss out on this opportunity, so make sure to at least say "Hi"!
Giving Birth to Blood on Silk
First, a big thank you to Lizzie for inviting me to blog today! As well as counting Lizzie a good friend, I’ve been a fan of her books since her very first release, so I feel truly honoured to be here, talking about the great excitement in my life right now.
What am I so excited about, you ask? My new book, of course. Although I’ve been writing for a while now, and have celebrated quite a few releases over the years, this one is something even more special for me. And not just because it’s my first release with big New York publisher NAL, but because it brings together three of my all time favourite reading-loves: vampires, gothic horror (you know the kind: all eerie ruins and brooding heroes and things that go bump in the night), and, of course, steamy romance.
Blood on Silk grew out of a scene in my head that had been there some time – a terrifying yet devastatingly attractive figure rising from his stone crypt and advancing on the poor woman who’d accidentally awakened him. I like my heroines to be intelligent, however unworldly, so the awakener became the academic Elizabeth Silk who’s making her reputation by exploding vampire myths. And the creature she accidentally awakens grew into Saloman, the most powerful vampire who ever existed and who was betrayed and staked three hundred years ago. Now he’s out for revenge and world domination, and because she awakened him, he needs Elizabeth’s blood to reach his full strength.
And then I thought it would be fun to follow Elizabeth and Saloman through more than one book, watching their relationship develop alongside his growing power and the efforts of his human and vampire enemies to stop him. And so the trilogy Awakened by Blood was born, and I’m delighted to tell you the first part, Blood on Silk releases in the United States and Canada on 7th September.
So, yes, I’m excited! And I’d love to share an excerpt with you – the scene that started it all off for me. Hope you enjoy it!
BLOOD ON SILK:
An AWAKENED BY BLOOD Novel
By Marie Treanor
Coming September 2010 from NAL Signet Eclipse.
Available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc.
Scottish academic Elizabeth Silk is spending the summer in Romania researching historical superstitions for her PhD. While she is tracing local foktales, one subject in particular sparks her imagination. His name is Saloman, legend's most powerful vampire, a seductive prince staked centuries ago. Now, in the ruins of a castle crypt, Elizabeth discovers the legends are real. Her blood has awakened him. Her innocence has aroused him. But Elizabeth unleashes more than Saloman's hunger.
An army of vampire hunters has amassed to send Saloman back to hell. Sworn to help - yet fearing Saloman's deadly blood lust - Elizabeth seeks to entrap him, offering her body as bait. But something stronger than dread, more powerful than revenge, is uniting Elizabeth to her prey. Caught between desire and rage, Elizabeth must decide where her loyalties lie...and what the limits are to a yearning she can no longer control.
*
Leaning over the sarcophagus, she ran her fingers along the far side of it, but felt only the detailed outlines of muscled arm and hip and thigh, so lovingly carved that it felt intimate just stroking them. She stretched farther so that her hair and jaw brushed against the cold stone of his face, and felt along the table instead. It too seemed to be one solid piece of stone. So where the hell was the body?
Movement stirred her hair, almost like a lover’s breath on her skin. Startled, she jerked up her head, but before she could leap away, or even see what was happening, something sharp pierced her neck and clamped down hard.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t even cry out. Somewhere she knew she should be terrified, but in reality her brain was far too busy trying to work out what the hell had happened.
There was pain at the side of her neck where it seemed to be stuck to the face of the carved sarcophagus, a strange, cold pain that suddenly heated as whatever had gripped her began to suck.
Now the fear surged, deluging her. She felt the blood rushing through her veins, dragging from her heart, and knew she was about to die. Worse than that, the cold thing clamped around her neck grew warm, moved on her skin, and the rushing of her blood became a stream of weird, sensual pleasure. Fire and ice flowed together in her veins as she was held captive.
Everything seemed to tighten in her body - her muscles, her nipples, her clenching womanhood – until it came to her in a flash that this treacherous, paralyzing sexual response was killing her.
With a yell of as much self-encouragement as fear, she tore herself free, falling off the sarcophagus into a heap on the floor and scrabbling backwards away from whatever had attacked her.
She knew, she’d always known, it came from the sarcophagus itself, and yet the sight of the carving rising from the table in a cloud of dust drew a long, low whine from her that she couldn’t control. Her neck throbbed in agony; it felt slippery with her own blood under her questing, trembling fingers. Her heart hammered with the force of a pile driver, as the thing shook itself and emerged through the scattering dust toward her.
Not a beautiful stone carving but a beautiful, terrifying man, heart-churningly three dimensional as he yanked the broken sword from his chest and threw it to the ground. A sound seemed to hiss from between his teeth. It might have been pain, but right now, she didn’t care.
In the spotlight of her fallen, wavering flashlight, he regarded her from burning, coal-black eyes. His cloak, now streaked with black, fell around him in stiff, dust-laden folds as he walked forward with slow, deliberate strides. Beneath it, his clothing was torn across the chest, but no blood oozed from the sword-wound. His pale lips parted.
“Silly girl.” The deep, almost sepulchral voice vibrated through her entire body. “That’s no way to break off a relationship like ours.”
She scrabbled backward in a futile attempt to escape the horror, but inexorably, he kept coming…
Copyright Marie Treanor. This excerpt is from an unedited version and may differ slightly from the final, published version, which will be available on 7th September 2010.
Check out all of Marie's great books at http://www.marietreanor.com/news.html
This week's Guest
Tomorrow is Thursday and that means the beautiful and creative Marie Treanor will be out guest. Make sure to stop by and say "hi".
Lizzie
Lizzie
Monday, August 23, 2010
Things I Know!
1. Family is mucho important to me, but they have to realize I need time for me.
2. I am learning to say "No" and mean it.
3. As much as I love to travel, have decided unless the budget can handle First or Business Class (yeah, don't see that coming soon), overseas trips in Sardine Class are going to be few and far between, if at all.
4. I have to stop stressing myself out on the "what I didn't get done" and focus on the "what I did accomplish."
5. When a book is fighting me, I have to keep plugging and not just throw up my hands in frustration...it will come around either to my way, or me to its way.
How about you? What have you come to realize about yourself?
Lizzie
2. I am learning to say "No" and mean it.
3. As much as I love to travel, have decided unless the budget can handle First or Business Class (yeah, don't see that coming soon), overseas trips in Sardine Class are going to be few and far between, if at all.
4. I have to stop stressing myself out on the "what I didn't get done" and focus on the "what I did accomplish."
5. When a book is fighting me, I have to keep plugging and not just throw up my hands in frustration...it will come around either to my way, or me to its way.
How about you? What have you come to realize about yourself?
Lizzie
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Featured Guest - Lucynda Storey
Lucynda Storey and I have been friends for a lot of years. We, along with Lena Austin, started our path into the writing world as critique partners. Tough love was our method and it helped each of us "not faint" the first time we received edits back from an editor. Quite a bit of time and lot of experiences behind us, we still support each other in our writing careers and in life.
Today, she shares her views on what makes a hero.
Heroes
What makes a hero?
According to the dictionary a hero is an “illustrious warrior; a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities; one that shows great courage” (www.m-w.com). While the emphasis seems to be masculine in this day and age there are a lot of women who should be and are designated as heroines the female version of hero. Merriam-Webster has this to say about heroines: a mythological or legendary woman having the qualities of a hero; a woman admired and emulated for her achievements and qualities (www.m-w.com).
What I like about the heroine definition is the addition of the word ‘emulated’. This means heroic women are women to model ourselves after, women who could be mentors and guides as we as individual women strive to be more.
So who are these heroines? I posit they are the people you may live next door to. The school teacher, the doctor, lawyer, project manager, computer guru, the single mom raising her kids alone, the widow rebuilding her life after the death of her spouse, the waitress at the local pub putting herself through school without the benefit of alimony or child support.
Sadly, there are anti-heroes/heroines as well. The seductress who lures a husband away from his loving family; the gossip who enjoys ruining reputations and causing mischief; the backstabber who pretends to be a friend and in fact is doing all she can to ruin you or the life you’ve spent a lot of time building.
We all need heroes, be they male or female. If you’ve seen Salt with Angelina Jolie, then you’ve seen a female action hero. There is a host of male action heroes such as the crew Sylvester Stallone put together for The Expendables, and let’s forget my favorite, Bruce Willis, the guy that says (paraphrased) “I’m the guy in the wrong place at the right time willing to do something.”
When I wrote my cops, Case and Jack in Simply Irresistible and Refugee, I wrote heroes. But my women were heroes too. Stepping up to the plate and doing something that only they could do at that particular time and place. Using their brains and self-determination to do what is right and improve their lives, facing down the demons of their past, taking on roles in order to rescue the hurt and lost.
As women, we need to look for real life heroines to emulate. While its wonderful to think that our man would jump in front of a car to save us more are likely to say ‘that’s okay it will hit you first.”
We can’t count on men to be our heroes. We have to be our heroes. We have to look inside ourselves and to our closest, most trusted friends and emulate their positive qualities. And if we’re lucky, we’ll not only be heroic, but our man will be too.
ALSO: A winner will be drawn for a PDF copy of the steamy fantasy, BLIND DEVOTION (one of my favorites of her many books), from reader comments today.
Lucynda started life as the first born in an Air Force family. She traveled often going to such exotic hot spots as New Mexico, Texas, and Turkey. After a stint in Maine, her father settled down in Colorado, the location Cyn calls home.
Traveling, moving in particular, is as inherited trait for Lucynda. She's lived in Nebraska, Michigan (both east and west sides of the state), and is currently residing in her beloved Colorado.
Family life keeps Lucynda busy. Her son recently graduated, and her daughter is about to start high school. Her youngest son will be a fourth grader this fall.
Lucynda loves to travel and has visited some interesting places. She did extensive traveling in eastern Europe before the demise of the Berlin Wall. On her latest trip, she visited Ireland, the setting of two of her novels.
Lucynda shares one of her recipes with us today.
Balsamic Glazed Chicken
Yield: 4 servings
Source: “Italian Diabetic Meals in 30 Minutes - Or Less!”
INGREDIENTS
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1-1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and saute the chicken breasts on both sides, for a total of 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
Combine the vinegar and mustard and add them to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Boil and reduce by a third.
Pour the balsamic glaze over the chicken and top with toasted pine nuts.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (4 ounces):
Calories: 231, Fat: 10 g, Cholesterol: 69 mg, Sodium: 195 mg,
Carbohydrate: 8 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 5 g, Protein: 28 g Diabetic Exchanges: 1/2 Carbohydrate, 4 Very Lean Meat, 1-1/2 Fat
Blurb: Blind Devotion
In this highly sensual tale, Azari has no idea her life is about to change irrevocably. Unwittingly, she has awakened two mythical beings intent on taking her virginity. Escaping to an isolated cabin, Azari meets an unlikely protector, Tor, the High Priest of Eiliki. Together, Azari and Tor face the greatest challenges of their lives - survival. Will Tor-s blind devotion to the Goddess prevent him from accepting the greatest gift he-s ever been given, or will the dogma of his religion and his own past keep him from making the right decision?
Excerpt: Blind Devotion
Silence reigned. Tor looked about his sparse quarters. His hutch, table, globe stand, chest, and bed were all he’d really needed or wanted. While away at the temple, he cast a spell on the wooden cabin, an enchantment to hide the building from the view of others.
He frowned as he covered her feet with the blanket. The enchantment had been in place when he returned. How, then, did this woman enter his abode? Something was amiss. Her story, the ineffective enchantments of his home allowing her entrance to his house through locked doors, left him uneasy.
“Azari,” he said gently. “I need to know if you are a virgin.”
Bright red quickly stained her cheeks. “Wwwhat?” she stammered.
If she were untouched, her state would explain the arousing of the large cat animal she suspected, the cevere. “Are you a virgin?”
Her voice continued to quake. “I am.” She ran a slender hand over her face. “But, I see not what business it is of yours.”
“According to the histories, the cevere is brought forth from its lair when it inhales the aroma of a virgin. I believe this is the animal that gave you chase.” He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. “Your scent is imprinted on the cevere’s mind.”
Tor watched Azari swallow. Once more, her eyes widened. He imagined the things he told her were difficult to believe. Slowly, he continued. “Listen to me carefully. When the cevere wakes, so does the dragon.”
“A dragon?” her voiced squeaked. “I don’t understand.”
He spoke with measured words. “They will both come for you. They will wreak havoc wherever they go, and not care what they destroy. If you awakened the cevere and thus awakened the dragon, one of the two will take you.”
Also coming soon to Aspen Mountain Press: Simply Irresistible and Refugee
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
August Prize!
Forgot to give a shout out on what the prize is for the August drawing.
How about a Faerie to celebrate the completion of the first book in the Magic series!
Lizzie
How about a Faerie to celebrate the completion of the first book in the Magic series!
Lizzie
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Booklover 0226
Still need you to contact me with your info before the end of August or the goodie bag goes into the pot for a drawing later in the year.
lizzietleaf@comcast.net
Lizzie
lizzietleaf@comcast.net
Lizzie
Monday, August 16, 2010
I've Become Submissive!
“Never thought I’d be a submissive!
Here it is Wednesday again and my day will pretty much go as it has each middle-of-the-week day for the past month.
Right now, I’m contemplating what to wear. I know color is enjoyed, and patterns seem to be greatly appreciated, so I’ll dig through my closet to see what meets the criteria. In a couple of hours, I’ll get in my car and drive across town to my destination. There I will spend the next few hours being totally dominated, dancing to the demands of another being.
Today there will be no work accomplished, even though the current book is starting to flow. Instead, I’ll be on call to cater to another’s wants and desires. Even my trips to the bathroom will be based around their mood.
I’ve never seriously considered dominance as a lifestyle, but the fleeting thoughts I have entertained were always with me in the dominant role. I envisioned me as the strong, leather-clad mistress; whip in hand, as I directed my subject to do my desires. That’s not the case now on my regular Wednesday liaisons. My outfits are selected for color, comfort and easy to care for. Color to stimulate the eye of the beholder, comfort for me as I sit and rock while my clothes catch the flow of spew that is sure to come several times during the day and will end up in the laundry tomorrow.
You see, on Wednesdays my new mistress is a lady of high demands. But who can blame her. Though not dressed in leather, at not quite four months she has nothing better to do than demand the things that make her world comfortable and who better to submit to those demands than her grandmother. And if I am submissive enough, my reward will be one of her delightful smiles.”
Now I find myself pretty much in the same boat as two years ago when I first wrote the above piece. Wednesdays have evolved into Tuesdays, and she’s a little over two years old vs. four months, but she’s still a lady with a mind of her own. Instead of demands through screams, she tells you what she wants (most of the time) and how she wants it done…her way, of course. She still loves color and prefers to select her own outfits (some most interesting), that often garner comments when we’re out and about doing fun stuff.
Is it worth taking a day out of my week, each week to dance to her wants, whims, desires and demands? You bet! Because in between all of those are the rewards…the hugs, kisses, giggles and the “I love you,” that comes at the most unexpected moments. I don’t see where I can go wrong, even if looming deadlines force me to write faster on the days she’s not making me laugh…or pull my hair out at times. And I still get those 'delightful smiles.'
Lizzie
Here it is Wednesday again and my day will pretty much go as it has each middle-of-the-week day for the past month.
Right now, I’m contemplating what to wear. I know color is enjoyed, and patterns seem to be greatly appreciated, so I’ll dig through my closet to see what meets the criteria. In a couple of hours, I’ll get in my car and drive across town to my destination. There I will spend the next few hours being totally dominated, dancing to the demands of another being.
Today there will be no work accomplished, even though the current book is starting to flow. Instead, I’ll be on call to cater to another’s wants and desires. Even my trips to the bathroom will be based around their mood.
I’ve never seriously considered dominance as a lifestyle, but the fleeting thoughts I have entertained were always with me in the dominant role. I envisioned me as the strong, leather-clad mistress; whip in hand, as I directed my subject to do my desires. That’s not the case now on my regular Wednesday liaisons. My outfits are selected for color, comfort and easy to care for. Color to stimulate the eye of the beholder, comfort for me as I sit and rock while my clothes catch the flow of spew that is sure to come several times during the day and will end up in the laundry tomorrow.
You see, on Wednesdays my new mistress is a lady of high demands. But who can blame her. Though not dressed in leather, at not quite four months she has nothing better to do than demand the things that make her world comfortable and who better to submit to those demands than her grandmother. And if I am submissive enough, my reward will be one of her delightful smiles.”
Now I find myself pretty much in the same boat as two years ago when I first wrote the above piece. Wednesdays have evolved into Tuesdays, and she’s a little over two years old vs. four months, but she’s still a lady with a mind of her own. Instead of demands through screams, she tells you what she wants (most of the time) and how she wants it done…her way, of course. She still loves color and prefers to select her own outfits (some most interesting), that often garner comments when we’re out and about doing fun stuff.
Is it worth taking a day out of my week, each week to dance to her wants, whims, desires and demands? You bet! Because in between all of those are the rewards…the hugs, kisses, giggles and the “I love you,” that comes at the most unexpected moments. I don’t see where I can go wrong, even if looming deadlines force me to write faster on the days she’s not making me laugh…or pull my hair out at times. And I still get those 'delightful smiles.'
Lizzie
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Samantha Storm Dishes about Samanta Storm!
Domestic Goddess Wanted
I’m the first to admit I’m a bit of a slob. I never make the bed, I can easily ignore dishes in the sink, and I never think about doing laundry until there isn’t a stitch of clean clothes left to wear.
I’ve been married for eighteen years and my husband married me with the full knowledge that I am not a domestic goddess. Throughout our marriage we’ve divvied up the chores. Being a far more organized person than myself, I can tell you that on his watch the house is much neater and the laundry is done in a timely manner.
When it comes to cooking, between the two of us we can almost make a solid week’s worth of meals. I rock the scrambled eggs and he is a genius with a tuna fish sandwich. But we could not truly survive without pre-packed meals and junk food.
So you can imagine my horror when a year ago I was suddenly faced with a life altering situation—- I had to stop eating anything with preservatives in it. No pre-packed meals, no junk food. I was only supposed to eat whole foods and things made from scratch.
This change in my life wasn’t by choice, I had come down with a case of chronic fatigue, eating well was on the list of things I had to do to get better.
Things made from scratch--When I heard those words I admit I panicked. Fantasies about being fabulously rich and having a personal chef flitted across my mind, but unfortunately the ugly reality was if there were going to be meals made every day from scratch somebody was going to have to make them and that somebody was going to have to be me.
I remember the first time I lived on my own, calling my mom and asking her how long it took to boil and egg. How the heck was I going to pull this off? I had no idea, but I figured at forty-three it was time I learned how to cook.
And so it began. There were a lot of not so great meals in the beginning, but as I chugged along the food got better and I started to enjoy myself.
I can’t believe I am saying this but now I actually like to cook. There is something really satisfying about making something from scratch and having people “ooh” and “aw” after it. It’s the same satisfaction I feel when people read the stories I write. I guess I can now list cooking as one of my hobbies.
Do you have any recipes you would like to share? I’m always on the lookout for something new to make. I have a rocken recipe for apple salad and if you have never tasted watermelon salsa then you really need to give me a shout.
When I am not cooking you can find me working away on my writing. I have a bunch stories up as free reads you can access on my website: http://www.samanthastorm.com/
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Welcome, Celina Summers!
It seems my attempts to post Celina's blog from my cell phone didn't work. Due to lots of computer issues that I may (or may not) rant about at another time, Thursday's blog didn't make it up. Today, instead of my rantings, you get the opportunity to enjoy Celina's thoughts.
Also, a winner's name will be selected from those who comment for a PDF of Mythos 1.
So, here it is today. Celina Summers is a friend/editor/author, whom I have no doubt, as an author, will be NY published soon.
During high school, I won several writing competitions including national awards for history and mythology. I was also a national champion in Greek and Latin mythology. (See where the story ideas come from?)
I attended college in Tennessee, where I developed an overwhelming love for UT football. A one-act play I wrote for a master class while in college was produced - "Puppets".
It was only then that I realized my education did absolutely nothing for my immediate professional future. Given a choice between law school and summer stock theatre, I took theatre and remained in the acting/directing/designing profession for ten years. This career took me all over the eastern United States.
Eventually, however, I got tired of living other people's words (except for Shakespeare, naturally) and decided to try something different.
After a car accident that left me unable to work for three years (and left me with untold medical bills and a very successful disc replacement operation) I began reworking the first book I wrote. It has since developed into a projected ten-book high fantasy series, of which eight books are finished. (For those of you keeping count, that's about 2 million words) I also started a second mainstream project last year, a two-book dark fantasy series currently in rewrites.
In my spare time, all six hours of it a week, I enjoy reading, old Katharine Hepburn movies, new sci-fi/fantasy flicks, a mean game of euchre, numerous vodka martinis, (chilled, straight up, only a teensy splash of vermouth with both an olive and a lime wedge) and Rolling Rock beer.
It's hard to come up with a great story idea. You spend a lot of time and thought worrying over it. I write fantasy primarily, so I was always trying to think ahead—what tropes are overdone? What kind of races should I use? Are there too many stories with Elves? I'd sit at my desk and fidget and fuss for hours over it. But since I've been editing, I'm finding a lot of new authors constantly question themselves in the same manner—what can I do that hasn't been done before?
I'm going to make it easy for you. You ready?
There's no such thing as a story idea that no one's done before.
No matter how hard you try, some Johnny Know-It-All is going to look at your book cover and say, "Oh, wait a second—this is just another Lord of the Rings/Gone With The Wind/Da Vinci Code/Twilight/Harry Potter/whatever."
Now here comes the good part—no one has ever told that story the way that YOU are going to tell it.
It is impossible for a human being to precisely duplicate another's thoughts. Let's say you sit two writers down and direct them to write stories about kids who do magic. One might come upon with Harry Potter; the other may come up with Narnia. You see, it's all about the creative process and how we, as individual writers, implement it. Sure, you can waste a lot of time worrying about whether someone else has told a story about a woman's life during the Civil War. As a matter of fact, lots of writers have told a story with that theme and basic plot—but those stories are going to be different from your story. Your story will be just as individual and distinct as you are—so why not tell it?
Once I learned this lesson, creating a new storyline became a lot easier for me. It enabled me to go back into the stories of history—Greco-Roman mythology, for example, and utilize those sources for my work. In my Mythos series, I'm gleaning all the original classical sources about these individual myths and retelling those ancient stories in my own narrative style.
So don't worry yourself into a fret trying to come up with a perfectly original story. Instead, concentrate on telling the best story you can, in your own particular and original voice, and you'll find that no one else in the world has told your story.
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/mythos-3-beloved-of-a-
mortal/prod_335.html
Blurb: After a prophecy that Thetis’ son would be greater than his father, the male gods of Olympus shun her. She is now an outcast, wandering the mountains in Greece and seething against the petty motivations of the other immortals.
Peleus is a Greek hero and warrior prince. On a visit to the king of Iolcos, he fends off the advances of the Queen. When she lies to her husband and claims Peleus is in love with her, the King strands Peleus on a mountain. Only the intervention of a beautiful immortal saves him from a horrible death.
Peleus and Thetis fall in love, but their future is uncertain. Can Peleus overcome the obstacles the gods have set in his way? Or will Thetis be strong enough to fight for the man she loves? When a goddess is the beloved of a mortal, only the help of those who love her can save her from the anger of the gods.
Also, a winner's name will be selected from those who comment for a PDF of Mythos 1.
So, here it is today. Celina Summers is a friend/editor/author, whom I have no doubt, as an author, will be NY published soon.
ABOUT CELINA
I've been writing for a long time. I started writing poetry when I was very young (like, seven) and progressed fairly quickly to short stories. I wrote my first full-length novel (horrid, by the way) when I was 17.
During high school, I won several writing competitions including national awards for history and mythology. I was also a national champion in Greek and Latin mythology. (See where the story ideas come from?)
I attended college in Tennessee, where I developed an overwhelming love for UT football. A one-act play I wrote for a master class while in college was produced - "Puppets".
It was only then that I realized my education did absolutely nothing for my immediate professional future. Given a choice between law school and summer stock theatre, I took theatre and remained in the acting/directing/designing profession for ten years. This career took me all over the eastern United States.
Eventually, however, I got tired of living other people's words (except for Shakespeare, naturally) and decided to try something different.
After a car accident that left me unable to work for three years (and left me with untold medical bills and a very successful disc replacement operation) I began reworking the first book I wrote. It has since developed into a projected ten-book high fantasy series, of which eight books are finished. (For those of you keeping count, that's about 2 million words) I also started a second mainstream project last year, a two-book dark fantasy series currently in rewrites.
I am married, live in southeastern Ohio, and have two teenaged daughters and many, many, many cats--one of whom is perched stubbornly on my lap as I try to write this. Just for kicks, their names are Satan, Impy, Dante, Gabriel, Pixie, Meowkovitch, Crookshanks, Volunteer, Elf, Muggle, Asphodel and Biscuit-the kitten. (obviously, those are the cats and not my daughters.)
In my spare time, all six hours of it a week, I enjoy reading, old Katharine Hepburn movies, new sci-fi/fantasy flicks, a mean game of euchre, numerous vodka martinis, (chilled, straight up, only a teensy splash of vermouth with both an olive and a lime wedge) and Rolling Rock beer.
CELINA'S THOUGHTS!
It's hard to come up with a great story idea. You spend a lot of time and thought worrying over it. I write fantasy primarily, so I was always trying to think ahead—what tropes are overdone? What kind of races should I use? Are there too many stories with Elves? I'd sit at my desk and fidget and fuss for hours over it. But since I've been editing, I'm finding a lot of new authors constantly question themselves in the same manner—what can I do that hasn't been done before?
I'm going to make it easy for you. You ready?
There's no such thing as a story idea that no one's done before.
No matter how hard you try, some Johnny Know-It-All is going to look at your book cover and say, "Oh, wait a second—this is just another Lord of the Rings/Gone With The Wind/Da Vinci Code/Twilight/Harry Potter/whatever."
Now here comes the good part—no one has ever told that story the way that YOU are going to tell it.
It is impossible for a human being to precisely duplicate another's thoughts. Let's say you sit two writers down and direct them to write stories about kids who do magic. One might come upon with Harry Potter; the other may come up with Narnia. You see, it's all about the creative process and how we, as individual writers, implement it. Sure, you can waste a lot of time worrying about whether someone else has told a story about a woman's life during the Civil War. As a matter of fact, lots of writers have told a story with that theme and basic plot—but those stories are going to be different from your story. Your story will be just as individual and distinct as you are—so why not tell it?
Once I learned this lesson, creating a new storyline became a lot easier for me. It enabled me to go back into the stories of history—Greco-Roman mythology, for example, and utilize those sources for my work. In my Mythos series, I'm gleaning all the original classical sources about these individual myths and retelling those ancient stories in my own narrative style.
So don't worry yourself into a fret trying to come up with a perfectly original story. Instead, concentrate on telling the best story you can, in your own particular and original voice, and you'll find that no one else in the world has told your story.
Mythos 3: Beloved of a Mortal
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/new-releases/mythos-3-beloved-of-a-
mortal/prod_335.htmlBlurb: After a prophecy that Thetis’ son would be greater than his father, the male gods of Olympus shun her. She is now an outcast, wandering the mountains in Greece and seething against the petty motivations of the other immortals.
Peleus is a Greek hero and warrior prince. On a visit to the king of Iolcos, he fends off the advances of the Queen. When she lies to her husband and claims Peleus is in love with her, the King strands Peleus on a mountain. Only the intervention of a beautiful immortal saves him from a horrible death.
Peleus and Thetis fall in love, but their future is uncertain. Can Peleus overcome the obstacles the gods have set in his way? Or will Thetis be strong enough to fight for the man she loves? When a goddess is the beloved of a mortal, only the help of those who love her can save her from the anger of the gods.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Our August Entertainment Menue
In addtion to my blitherings, we have a great lineup of guests!
August 5th Celina Summers
August 12th Samantha Storm
August 19th Lucynda Storey
August 26th Marie Treanor
September 1 (technically not August, but close enough) Kate Douglas
Not bad for the Dog Days of Summer!
Lizzie
August 5th Celina Summers
August 12th Samantha Storm
August 19th Lucynda Storey
August 26th Marie Treanor
September 1 (technically not August, but close enough) Kate Douglas
Not bad for the Dog Days of Summer!
Lizzie
Monday, August 2, 2010
July's Monthly Prize Winner!
Hi everyone. Hope you had a great July. Can you believe it's already August? This is the point when it hits you (or at least me)...Fall is just around the corner. Summer is really flying by.
Enough of meandering down the lost path of summer and on to accouncing todays' winner of the July goodie bag.
The winner is booklover0226!
booklover, send an email to lizzietleaf@comcast.net with you snail mail addy. You have until August 31st to get the info to me or the prize will go into another month's drawing.
Lizzie
Enough of meandering down the lost path of summer and on to accouncing todays' winner of the July goodie bag.
The winner is booklover0226!
booklover, send an email to lizzietleaf@comcast.net with you snail mail addy. You have until August 31st to get the info to me or the prize will go into another month's drawing.
Lizzie
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