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Published on April 28, 2013, by in Raine's Posts.
Passion

Damn, I seem to be getting later and later with my posts!

My fault, please pardon…

I was watching “The Twin Towers” segment of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy this weekend, when it struck me–how long the movies are, all the particular details, the emotions, the physical drive of the things…all of these elements are maintained throughout the films.  With no lapse in the worldbuilding, no loss of interest in the characters, no visible decrease in the passion for the film at any time.

Eight years.  Yeah, I looked it up.  Altogether, it took about eight years for Peter Jackson to finish the films.  Eight years!

I wonder if I could ever maintain the passion for a project for such a length of time.  As it is, before I’m a good 3/4 of the way through one book, I’m well into thinking about the next.  And I wonder if that takes away some of the passion for the book I’m currently working on, that I’m so quick to move on to something else.

Part of it is putting the product out there as much as we can, I know.  And the fact that authors’ brains are usually so full of stories it’s only natural to feel driven to get them out.

Still…I wonder about creating something that would require absolute focus, complete devotion, for as long as it’d take to do the thing complete justice.

Can you imagine it?

lotr



 
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Published on April 24, 2013, by in Tanya's Posts.

:tavatar3To the demons in my head that constantly:

 

 

 

 

1. Tell me I will never get this book back on track.

2. Compel me to rework the same damned paragraph for hours at a time.

3. Barrage me with words like “hack,” “wanna be,” “loser,” “pretender,” “joke,” and lovely, inspiring sentences like “Everything you write sounds like sh**.”

4. Keep me second guessing a plot decision.

5. Work me into such a frenzy of doubt that I don’t know my hero’s arse from my heroine’s.

I say:

This has been a public service announcement.



 
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Published on April 21, 2013, by in Raine's Posts.
Half-Staff

Mixed emotions.

The events of this past week have left me feeling uncertain, and angry, and sad.  And a little fearful for the country.  And that’s saying something.  I’m a member of the duck-and-cover generation, a full-blooded cold war baby.

We knew exactly what posture to assume beneath our school desks when the sound of a siren indicated that a nuclear missile was approaching.  We knew that the Russians were eager to “bury us”, that Castro blinked first, that our heroes seemed destined to be assassinated, and in those first days, when radioactivity was rampant, the water in the body of your toilet would still be safe to drink for a while.

Not a childhood conducive to security, lol, but we survived it all.  But I have to wonder about now.  Now, when so many people seem to have so many reasons they deem legitimate to strike out at our system—by harming the innocents.

9/11.  Shoe bombs.  Children massacred.  Events made to promote brotherhood and a common good feeling.  Nothing’s too extreme anymore, and there is no safe place.  I find myself watching in fascination, and wondering how we’re supposed to survive.  I looked at the flags outside the post office flying at half-staff on Friday, and I swear I couldn’t remember which disaster it was for.

I don’t have any solutions.  But this was heavy on my mind.  I’m supposing each generation will have to be that much tougher, to stand with their principles and belief in country.

At least, I hope they can.  Because I don’t think I can fit under those damn desks anymore…

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Published on April 17, 2013, by in Tanya's Posts.

:tavatar3Let me state upfront that I’ve been a Spartacus fan from the beginning.

I grieved when the title character was forced to murder his best friend Varro for Roman entertainment. I cheered when Gannicus won a gory, to the death, street fight, despite having to wear a blindfold—this thanks to a vicious bet between his two Roman captors. I grieved when Melitta drank poison wine which caused her to hemorrhage and die in Gannicus’ arms. I grieved when spCrixus thought he’d lost his one true love, Naevia forever. I grieved when Andy Whitfield (the original Spartacus) lost his battle with cancer. I rejoiced during the show’s final season when Liam McIntyre (Andy’s replacement) finally made the character his own.

And now I’m utterly distraught that the show I’ve invested four years in has come to an end. But what I’m really distraught about is that Gannicus, the mad Celt, one of my favorite characters—EVER—was not spared, nor was he given a glorious death in battle. WTF?

Okay, you’ll prolly say, Tanya, it’s just a TV show. Get over it.

Fine, I will get over it, but just let me whine and grieve a tad longer.

I’m so distraught that I have yet to see the last episode. Though I’ve read every spoiler out here, I just can’t bring myself to watch it. Hell, I haven’t even watched the episode where Varro gets whacked, and that’s from Season 1!

I knew the series had to come to an end. I knew Spartacus and his band of rebels were doomed. I mean, this season was aptly named, Spartacus: War of The Damned. HELLO. Not only that, Spartacus was a real historical figure. As was Crixus and Gannicus. Though they never found Gannicus’ or Spartacus’ body, it was always assumed that they died in battle. Crixus’ death is well documented. So it’s not like I didn’t know they were toast. It’s just that I kinda hoped the writers would take creative license. But whatever.

UPDATE: I just watched the final episode and I’m completely WRECKED! Bawled like a baby. OMG. It. Was. Epic!

Is there a TV show you loved so much that, when it came to an end, you had withdrawal issues?

 

 

Venture Below To View My Shrine of Mourning….

Yes, I’m serious. (WARNING: SPOILERS)
(more…)



 
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Published on April 15, 2013, by in MelB's post.

So…it’s April 15th. Most American’s know that as tax day. Me, I see it as the day in which my brain starts to melt in my head. I should mention I work for the IRS. So, I want you to imagine all that mail that is going to be top news tonight. The post office will be open late and still accepting mail. All across the country.

A good 1/4 of that mail is coming to my job. I could be exaggerating, but in the last two days we’ve had a little over a million pieces of mail. And all the mail put in for the 15th, of course, hasn’t made it’s way to us yet. So that means I’m working overtime until all that mail is opened. 10 hour work days until the 24th. I’ve got nothing brilliant for ya. lol But, in the midst of all this crazy my newest release, Double Dare, has gone free. And…it’s done well for itself.

DDBestseller

 So…I’ll see y’all in two weeks. Hopefully, I’ll have my brain back and will be rested fully.



 
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Published on April 14, 2013, by in Raine's Posts.
Celebrate!

S  P  R  I  N  G.

At last!!!!

I know how overly-dramatic that sounds, lol.  Yes, we’ve managed to make the transition into another season, as we do three to four times a year.  Each season has its good and not-so-good points; it’s just a matter of personal preference to choose a favorite.

Unless, of course, you live in what  is, meteorologically one of the cloudiest cities in the U.S. under NORMAL conditions.  So that in winter there are only two colors available to the cold, weary eye: gray and white.  And the wind comes off the lake in sharp, merciless waves, dumping snow over a cringing city for far more than the four or so months a season should claim.

So when I sing in celebration of SPRING—you’ll have to forgive me.

spring 2

And right now I can ignore the less-than-perfect aspects of SPRING.  Yes, I’ll slowly become aware of the frequent thunderstorms that lead to the even more frequent power outages.  Or the return of worms, snails, and ants to the land of the living.  Or the high humidity leading to the zomigod bad hair days.  Rising rivers.  Tornado warnings.  Insect bites.  By the end of spring I’ll have a list nearly as long as winter’s.  But the complaints will be gentler.  Bearable, as once again we can look back and marvel at making it through the bitterness.

Never mind that the temps here are still in the forties.  There is hope, along with the ionization in the air.  Maybe even inspiration for delving back into the writing.  So that just saying the words makes me want to smile.  And I thought I’d share them with my friends.

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYONE!!

spring 1

 



 
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Published on April 10, 2013, by in Tanya's Posts.

:tavatar3

Read any good books lately?  Read something that shocked you ’cause you didn’t think you’d enjoy it?  Well, I have recently.

In the past, I avoided the subject matter in the book in question, but as I’ve been broadening my horizons lately, a whole new world of crazy has opened up for me.

Case in point:

BEAUTIFUL BASTARD

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling.s

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate–and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.  Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative–completely infuriating–creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules–or outright smash them–if it means he can have her. All over the office. As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other.

 

This book takes hate sex to a whole new level.  First off, the hero is a grade A asshole, a pig, a jerk, an egomaniacal narcissistic tool, a major prick, an SOB to the tenth power … a BEAUTIFUL, IRRESISTIBLE BASTARD.  The title fits him.  Oh, wait.  I’m not done.  He’s got major control issues, a bad temper, and he treats the heroine horrifically.

He’s the type of character you LOVE TO HATE.

But, but, but wait!  There’s this undeniable sexual attraction between the hero and heroine that borders on nuclear.  They hate each other, but they can’t seem to stop humping each other.  LOL  It’s sick.  It’s hilarious, and normally a set up like this wouldn’t work for me, but somehow the authors (Christina Lauren is a pseudonym of two writers) manage to skillfully shift their protagonist’s dynamic from:

(1) hate sex, to (2) hate angry sex, to (3) frustrated angry sex with a dash of hate because even though I may see that you’re actually intelligent and good at your job, I still find you unbelievably annoying, to (4) angry frustrated I kinda sorta think I actually like you sex and I don’t know why, which pisses me off even more, to (5) scared frustrated I definitely like you sex even though you still annoy the hell out of me, and finally to (6) shocked that I’ve fallen in love with you sex even though you still drive me up the wall, but I can’t live without you.

And it all works … for me anyway.  You’ll either love or hate this book.  There’s no middle ground.  The sequel, Beautiful Stranger comes out May 28. This one features two different characters.  I can’t wait to see how the story develops.

Do you have any good book recommends?  Anything on the wild side?

 



 
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Published on April 7, 2013, by in Raine's Posts.
Appetizer

They say that everything is fodder for the artist.

Every sight, sound, and impression.  From the glee of childhood to the angst of adolescence, the first romantic pangs, and the stirrings of mortality.

We use them all in our work.  For some who may not be extroverts by nature it’s the primary way of expressing those feelings.

We even use the people we know, those who’ve fallen into the path of the pen and become inhabitants of our other-worldbuilding.

And let’s face it.  We even use the people we DON’T know.  Especially when they make themselves character or quote-worthy, intentionally or not.

Some time ago an old friend and I found ourselves at a rather busy little restaurant, waiting, inevitably, to be served.  It was still early in the evening and the food was worth the wait, so I didn’t mind.

At least, until I noticed one of the customers monopolizing the time of one of the waitresses.

He was a fair looker, just approaching middle-age and dressed to the nines, obviously affluent.  The lady with him was, I thought, lovely.  Somewhere in her mid-thirties, I thought, and also impeccably dressed, she had shining black hair swept back from a striking face, and exuded a calmness that made me want to take lessons.

Because her dinner companion had been flirting with their waitress for a good ten minutes.  And even if we hadn’t been waiting for service, it was bad form all the way around.

When he finally—FINALLY—let the girl escape (and I do mean girl…she couldn’t have been out of her teens), he turned his attention back to his partner, who was quietly sipping her drink and, after a few silent moments asked if anything was wrong.

“It was just an idea I had.  A silly thought,” she said easily.  I was sitting right behind her and  couldn’t help overhearing that perfectly cultured voice.  “But it seems to me that you might not want to proposition young ladies in front of the woman who gives you blow jobs.”

Is this line going to find its way into one of my stories somewhere, at some time or another?

You betcha.

Am I going to feel guilty about it?

Um…  :no:   :no:   :no:

How much of your real life (or that of other people) has found its way into your stories?

And have you ever felt a little guilty about it, whatever form it takes?

huh



 
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Published on April 3, 2013, by in Tanya's Posts.

:tavatar3I’ve read some authors who either manufacture the same hero, or the same plot, heroine, or internal conflict over and over again. That’s not a bad thing necessarily. Some readers like recycled themes, and are loyal to certain authors because they know what they’re getting. But other times, it just gets annoying. I mean, books aren’t cheap, and I’m kinda sorta getting tired of reading the same thing again and again.  But people in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks because I’m as guilty as they are.

Here’s my most glaring infraction.  Most of my heroes are suspected psychopaths and/or murderers.  And during much of the story, most of my heroines struggle with loving these men while fearing them.  I just can’t get enough of this dynamic.  I think that’s why I love Anne Stuart’s books so much.

All of her heroes are batsh*t crazy.

Do you have similar themes in your books? Or similar heroes/heroines? Do you always write Betas or Alphas? Is your heroine always spunky? Does your internal conflict always involve a lost love reeking havoc on one of your protagonists? Do you always have a woman running from a psychotic ex-husband/boyfriend etc? What similarities do you see in your last two or three books?



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