May 17, 2012

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Between Brothers

March 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A story tends to evolve when I am writing. I  usually get hit with a small part of the story in my head and the characters personalities come out as I write them. At least that is how it’s been with the last few books I’ve co-written books with Cherie Denis.

Sex on the Beach was supposed to be simple. A little rendezvous on a beach, and then we met Harry Ford. He has a lot of mental baggage he had to work through in order to have a good relationship again. He was only on the island because he won a trip on a dating gameshow, but once he opened up his past, he had a lot he had to work through in order to  have a good relationship with a woman again. How could he ever trust a woman again after finding his ex-wife slept with his brother?

He had a serious trust issue and he really had to be able to work through this thing with his brother in order to be free of the mental baggage he was carrying. So how convenient was it to have his brother, Gerald Ford come to the wedding? Very.

I expected the guys to work it out and finally communicate, but in the end Harry was difficult and when he was finally forced to confront his brother, it ended badly. They both ended up with black eyes in the wedding pictures.

Sally is asking to renew the vows so she can have pictures she would be proud to share, but that’s another story.

Inspiration comes in a lot of forms, but this book was inspired by the characters themselves. When I started the book, I just wanted to think about glittering white beaches, and basking in the sun on them while watching aquamarine waves hit the shoreline. It amazes me how much more it became without any real help at all. Sex on the Beach almost wrote itself.

Curious to read more? You can purchase Sex on the Beach at the Whispers Store here:

http://whispershome.com/whispersstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=223

Lots of love,

Missy Lyons

www.missylyons.com

I’m also on Facebook and Twitter:

facebook.com/AuthorMissyLyons

Twitter: @missylyons

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The Winner of the KINDLE is…*drumroll and cheering*

March 2, 2012 By 2 Comments

Thank you all for participating in our KINDLE contest! The authors were on fire, weren’t they? And the scavenger hunt was soooo fun, even if we had a couple glitches along the way! I bet you want to just pan down and see the winner, don’t you? You’re thinking I should quit rambling. LOL. Okay, just do it!

The winner of the Kindle is Ashley Breen! Yay! Ashley, I’ll be in touch. Congrats!

And as a special thank you for all your hard work this month–finding those letters was tricky–Whispers Publishing is giving those of you who sent in the final phrase READ HOT ROMANCE ON YOUR NEW KINDLE something special. Please check your inboxes!

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February 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Leap Year 2012

by J. Paulette Forshey

Leap Year comes about every four years thanks to the Gregorian calendar, and was introduced as part of the Julian reform to even out the days and months. Well, that didn’t quite work , because the guys who came up with all this realized too late they’d screwed up. They found they needed an extra day every four years to make their grand calculations work.

It took the fictional character, Sadie Hawkins, notice a woman, to make something out of this man made mistake. Okay, okay, a man named Al Capp, a comic strip writer, actually came up with Sadie Hawkins, but I’m sure his muse was, until then, a repressed female.

Fictional Sadie Hawkins, daughter of a Dogpatch settler, was called the “homeliest gal in all them hill”. Poor Sadie wanted a man, didn’t matter if he was rich, poor, handsome, or ugly, she just want a guy, after all she was turning the ripe old age of 35. Nearly a sin at the time to be that age and have no one to look after her.

Sadie’s daddy, Hekzebiah, as all daddies do, wanted his little girl to have what she desired, so he declared a “Sadie Hawkins Day”. The bachelors of the area were lined up for a foot race, most kicking and screaming. The one Sadie caught and dragged across the finish line would be her husband.  I honestly don’t remember if Sadie caught her man or not, but Mr. Capp had started something. He gave women a chance to take their lives into their own hands when it came to dating.

Two years later, from when the comic strip debut in 1937, young people residing in the United States and Canada, of high school and college age, started having SadiE Hawkins Day dances in 1939. This new custom gave the girls an opportunity to ask the guys out, where before, women had to wait for the man to make the first move.

Capp was so honored he made it a tradition to have Sadie Hawkins, now give the official month of November, in his comic strip for the next four decades.

Today’s societies still have Sadie Hawkins Day Dances, but there is less pressure for either sex to ask the other out on dates, it’s turned more into a celebration of the young.

As to those babies born on February 29, they have several choices for a birthday. They can claim February 28, or March 01, should they choose to celebrate every year. Those who are more age conscience can party every four years, thus, reducing their age.

Any way you mark the date it’s a day of rejoicing, so bring out the balloons, party hats, cake, ice cream, or champagne and chocolate and dance the extra 24 hours away.

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Simple Sweetheart Cookie recipe!

February 28, 2012 By 1 Comment

Hi, Readers! 

There’s a fun and simple cookie recipe to bake when you’re  Looking for a tasty treat…..

Simple Sweetheart Cookies:

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons raspberry or strawberry preserves
confectioners’ sugar

Directions
1.In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg yolk; mix well. Stir in the flour by hand. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough for 2-3 minutes or until thoroughly combined.
2.Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indention in the center of each. Fill each with 1/4 teaspoon preserves. Bake at 350 degrees F for 13-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks. Dust warm cookies with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Cool.

I hope you have fun making these yummy treats and be sure to pick up your copy of Jackie’s Red Mustang today!

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Researching wine and food…it’s a terrible job…

February 27, 2012 By 4 Comments

…but somebody has to do it!

Research. After the characters and the plot have started swirling in an author’s head, that’s the next step. At least, it is for this author. And, strangely enough, I really enjoy it.

Normally, that means I spend a lot of time at the library, in bookstores (dangerous, dangerous places…to my bank balance!) and surfing the Internet (where Does the time go?!). But for my newest book, Lush, Bold and Beautiful, one of three stories in Whispers’ upcoming anthology, Restored, with fellow authors Carmen Jones and W. Lynn Chantale, my hero is a winemaker and my heroine is a chef, so something a little different was required.

What’s an author to do? I had no choice; I had to do much of my research at a local winery, eating in restaurants, and researching wine and recipes.

So, yeah, researching this book was a real hardship…to steal from a classic Saturday Night Live routine…NOT. Snort. Giggle. (which, by the way, is how I spent much of my wine researching time—snorting and giggling! Can’t imagine why…) I like to eat, I like to cook—in fact, I have a recipe collection to rival that of any professional chef—and who doesn’t like wine? So off I went a-researching.

I had a plethora of wineries to choose from since I live within one hundred miles of the wine-producing region of southern Ontario. But my story takes place around the harvesting of grapes for icewine, a specialty of Canadian wine producers, so I chose a winery that offered a tour and tasting specifically geared to icewine. (Yeah, okay, I wasn’t the driver, so I also signed up for the red wine tasting and the white wine tasting!) Thank goodness, I didn’t sign up to be a guest icewine grape picker! According to the regulations of the Vintners Quality Alliance in Canada, grapes for icewine cannot be harvested until the temperature reaches minus eight degrees Celsius or lower, ideally minus ten to minus twelve (between ten and fourteen degrees Fahrenheit), and since the temperature must remain that cold long enough to pick the grapes and then press them while still frozen—usually outside—the harvest generally happens in the middle of the night into early morning!

And researching the restaurants and recipes?

Well, I also just happen to live in a tourist town with a first-class chef school, which means that there are a lot of really excellent restaurants with incredible menus meant to entice the tourists! And, of course, if one is researching food and wine, then one must also investigate food with wine. Hmmm, it’s starting sound like I spend my time soused to the gills…really, I don’t, but I sure had fun for a few days!

But now I need to hire a housekeeper! My office looks like a bomb exploded…open cookbooks, newspaper and magazine clippings, and computer printouts everywhere! Do you have any idea the number of hits that come up if one enters “food” and “wine” into a search engine? Eight hundred thousand! I wanted something special for Lush, Bold and Beautiful, and I eventually settled on the recipes I wanted to use, but it wasn’t easy. And there are some very unusual recipes out there. Here’s one of them…it doesn’t have exact measurements and it sounds like an odd combination, but I tried it and it’s actually pretty yummy!  But then, chocolate, that most magical of foods, is involved, so how could it not be delicious?

Beef in Red Wine with Chocolate Sauce

Favorite cut of beefsteak without a lot of fat (enough for 2)
1-2 T olive oil
Crushed garlic to taste
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 glass red wine
Grated orange peel
Pinch of cinnamon
Edible flower petals – optional
Dried hot peppers
Fresh thyme
A bay leaf
4 cubes dark chocolate

1. Wash and pat dry beef. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry in the olive oil and garlic. If the beef is thick, cook each side 7 minutes covered, turn back to first side and let sit 1-2 minutes. Remove beef from frying pan, but keep the pan handy, and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. (The objective is beef that is done to medium, so you may need to adjust times for the cut of beef and thickness, or personal preference)
2. Pour the red wine over the meat sauce left in the frying pan. Add grated orange peel, a little fresh thyme, a little freshly ground pepper (optional) and a pinch of cinnamon. Crush a few hot pepper grains (not too much unless you like spicy!) with some flower petals and add to the frying pan mixture. Cook for 4-5 minutes then reduce heat to simmer for a few minutes.
3. Strain the wine mixture and boil on low heat until reduced slightly.
4. Grate the dark chocolate and add to the sauce, stirring constantly. Correct to taste if needed (eg. more spices, a little honey if you want it sweeter). The sauce should be creamy, shiny and smooth.
5. Remove beef from the oven. Any juices can be added to the sauce (optional), but the sauce must be boiled until reduced again.
6. Slice beef into 4 thick slices while still hot, place two on each plate. Drizzle with plenty of sauce and sprinkle with edible flower petals. Indulge!

I had a great deal of fun researching Lush, Bold and Beautiful and I hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Look for Lush, Bold and Beautiful by Jane Kent in ebook form in late spring/early summer and in the anthology, Restored, in paperback later in 2012.

Happy 6th anniversary, Whispers! I’m proud and honored to be part of the family!

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Lemon Peels, Mole’s Blood & How to Catch a Man

February 26, 2012 By 1 Comment

Coffee houses, e-harmony, wine-bars, church, your mother are all modern day methods of meeting a mate but, what if you were a woman in the middle ages what would your options have been? Most likely you would start applying old wives tales and superstitious beliefs to lure your potential spouse. Many superstitions were used as real remedies for any number of ailments~

A person with seizures would crush a human skull into a fine powder and then sprinkle it over their oatmeal. Someone bothered by warts might try bathing in the warm blood of a freshly killed mole, while a person down on their luck would carry a calf’s tongue on their person. An annoying nosebleed could be cured by wearing a dried and drained frog around one’s neck.

However, I digress. I was talking about finding a man in the medieval ages. One solution using lemons proved a popular method through to the 19thcentury—If said woman had been sitting around waiting for a certain man to come a-calling, she would speed the process by confiscating lemon peels and wedging them in her armpits for the entire day and only to be removed in the bedchamber. Then she would take the sticky, wet peels and rub them on the four corners of her bed. That evening if she dreamed of a suitor carrying the lemons then he was hers for the taking.

Since most superstitious practices were rooted in Paganism those preaching the new idea of Christianity set about eliminating or replacing many of the old beliefs. Still, people were just beginning to emerge from barbarism and their practices remained deeply rooted in everyday life.

Now, before you scoff at these people for their odd beliefs take a good look at yourself and your own practices. Who among us hasn’t attributed good fortune to an item, or article of clothing for getting up the nerve to ask someone on a date–winning a football game, or landing a dream job? How many of us shy away from stepping on side walk cracks for fear of breaking our mother’s backs? Personally, I never open an umbrella in the house and I take great pains to handle my hand mirror with care. Certainly by these measures we may conclude bathing in moles blood de rigueur in 1498.

Therefore, the next time you read, or hear of an account on the subject of medieval dating rituals and superstition just take a moment to think how our ancient ancestors might judge our beliefs. What might they have to say about the way we conduct our dating rituals? It’s possible they might conclude we’re a bit strange in our ideas too.

Now throw some salt over your left shoulder knock on wood and go about your business.

www.MarieMarch.com

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Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

February 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The month of February gives me two big days to celebrate. The first is Valentine’s Day, which also happens to be the date of my wedding anniversary. The second is ten days later on the 24th, the birth date of my oldest son.

The night I went into labor is one I’ll never forget. A month before my due date my husband felt safe enough to work out of town. He was away overnight and dutifully called around 9pm to make sure all was well at home. I felt fine and was relaxing on the couch after a long day at work. I went to bed shortly after and drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Around midnight everything changed.

A terrible pain in my butt made me wake with a start. It felt like an intense cramp, but I didn’t fear I was in labor because you can’t possibly have contractions in your butt—right? Outside my window raged the ice storm of the century. My house was old and the windows didn’t offer much insulation against the elements, but I’d cranked up the heat and was cozy enough. Unfortunately, all the ice creeping in from outside didn’t mix well with the heat from the inside and abruptly turned to water. The dripping almost drove me insane.

It was so hard to fall back to sleep. Nearly impossible considering the reoccurring pains in my behind and the steady drip, drip, drip in the bedroom. I put a thick towel down to catch the drips but the sound was still there. I found rolling my body from side to side on my waterbed seemed to help with the pain so I did that—for hours.

At about six in the morning I decided to give up trying to sleep. I got up and went into the bathroom. When I came out, a ripping pain in my back-end had me keeling over in agony. I called my sister, who having two children of her own, I considered an expert on childbirth. Yes, you can have contractions in your bum! Call the doctor! she said.

The doctor told me to get to the hospital right away. I called my mom to meet me down there, and then called my sister-in-law. She said she’d try to get hold of my husband and would send her husband—who happens to be my husband’s twin brother—to drive me to the hospital. These were the days when everybody didn’t readily carry around cell phones. My husband didn’t have one and locating him turned into quite an escapade. Thank goodness for the tenacity of my sister-in-law or he’d have missed the birth of his son.

My brother-in-law got me to the hospItal in good time despite the treacherous weather and white-knuckle drive. He checked me in, signing his brother’s name and I got into my room and waited. My doctor arrived soon after and confirmed I was in labor—a month early. I was nervous but I’m very lucky to have a large family, several of whom came by and sat with me throughout the day.

My brother-in-law, who my doctor thought was my husband, helped time my contractions and encouraged me to breathe. My sister had a toy elephant all ready and waiting for her nephew. She also let me squeeze her hand when they put an IV into me. I think she still bears the grip marks I left on her.

Finally, when my husband arrived hours later, he and his brother swapped places, freaking out my doctor in the process when she saw them side-by-side. My husband had been pulled over at the border, of course, and the windshield wipers had died on him halfway home. He’d had to drive with the window down and use a squeegee to clear away the icy snow.

It took a grand total of 19 hours and 43 minutes before I could meet my son. His beauty was unmatched until I gave birth to his brother two years and eight months later.

Though my first little boy is now 19 years old, it feels just like yesterday that he made his entry into the world, turning a cold, crazy day into a celebration of life, and love.

Julie

My website: http://julieparker.yolasite.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/JulieParker26

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/juliep2

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And the Oscar Goes to…

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Like many writers, my two favorite things to do when I’m not writing (or taking care of kids, doing laundry, packing lunches, volunteering with the scouts, helping with homework, working, grocery shopping, vacuuming or driving someone somewhere) are reading and watching movies. Since the Oscars, the Super Bowl for movie fans, are on Sunday, I have been in a movie mood lately.

Here are some thoughts on some of the Oscar-nominated movies I saw this year:

Moneyball—I like baseball and everybody loves and underdog, so this one worked for me. It had just the right balance of baseball and life and Brad Pitt was really, really good in it. The biggest surprise for me was Jonah Hill. His character was the total opposite of the raunchy loud mouths he usually plays. I’m not surprised he got a supporting actor nod (though I don’t think he’ll win). Hubby liked this one, too.

The Help—funny, poignant, educational, this movie was all that and more. I think Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer will win their categories for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Jessica Chastain was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but I thought Bryce Dallas Howard was as good or better as the snotty Southern socialite bully whose main goal in life seemed to be passing a law requiring separate toilets for the help. I liked the movie and would watch it again, but I think there was a lot of superfluous stuff that could have been left out so that we could concentrate on the main themes of the movie—the injustice of Jim Crowe era South and how various characters operate in that environment. That’s the danger in adapting a book into a movie, I think. You have time in a book to go off on tangents. That’s tougher to pull off in a movie.

Hugo— If you thought this movie was about a robot who can draw, you’d be wrong. Though this starts out as a children’s mystery/adventure type movie, it ends up being an ode to film itself. I saw this with my kids and they loved it. I thought it was a beautiful movie with many fine performances, (Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley) but it felt disjointed to me. The first half was about loss and broken dreams, the second half a complete and unrealistic happy ending and extremely self-indulgent. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a romance writer. I love a happy ending. But I felt it was a little contrived and that the characters didn’t do much to bring it about themselves. There wasn’t a real situation or challenge that made the characters change. This may be again a casualty of the book to film adaptation, although Hugo did receive a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination.  

The Descendants—This is hands-down the best movie I saw this year. It was a great story, a great adaptation of the book and had some great acting. And George Clooney. And Hawaii. It’s about family, about secrets and about disconnection—from other people, from oneself, from one’s environment. The story is complete, it flows, it’s balanced. It’s funny and sad and thoughtful. Shailene Woodley was fabulous as the daughter and deserved a nomination. I will definitely be rooting for this one, though I suspect it will not win Best Picture. See this movie anyway. You won’t be sorry.

Midnight in Paris—This one was a head-scratcher for me…until the closing credits when I realized it was a Woody Allen movie. Would it have been nominated if it had a different director’s name attached? Uh, no. Some of the reviews I’ve read talk about how unique and innovative it is, but we in the romance world have been doing time travel for a long, long time. One really fun thing about this movie, though, was seeing all well-known actors playing famous artists and writers (Adrian Brody as Salvadore Dali was hilarious).

The Artist—I would have loved to see this movie, especially since I suspect it will win Best Picture. But unfortunately the only place that plays (artsy) movies in Nashville is across the city in an area I avoid if at all possible because of the traffic and parking situation. The Artist has gotten a ton of good reviews and nominations and there’s a buzz about it that makes me think it will win. Also, it’s a silent film and is black and white—those off beat aspects seem to attract awards. Guess I’ll have to catch it on DVD.

OK, so here are my predictions:

Best Picture: The Artist (though The Descendants deserves it; Hugo has a shot, too)

Actor: George Clooney (or Jean Dujardin from The Artist. I think it’s 50/50)

Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer

Actress: Viola Davis

Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer

Animated Film: Chico and Rita

Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)

Adapted Screenplay : Hugo (though the Descendants deserves it)

Original Screenplay: The Artist

How about you? What was the best movie you saw this year and why did you liKe it?

Bethany

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Hart & Souls

February 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Hart & Souls
by Bethany Michaels
On sale date: 02/24/2012
Category: Paranormal

Description

Terminal loner Jordan Hart sees dead people…and helps them cross to the other side. But when she meets hunky spirit Tom and takes him home with her, Jordan begins to think she’s finally met a man worth keeping. Too bad he’s already dead.

Jordan has never had a lover like Tom, but knowing their steamy nights can’t last forever, Jordan tires to help Tom discover his true identity so he can cross over. Letting the one person who truly understands her will be the hardest decision of her life and she can’t help but wonder if true love can overcome even death.

…read excerpt
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Interview with Cover Artist Extraordinaire- Elaina Lee

February 23, 2012 By 8 Comments

Welcome! Thank you so much for joining us today on the Whispers Publishing Blog! Please tell us a little about yourself and your job.

Thank you so much, I’m so happy to be here!  I’m a designer for authors, doing cover art, website headers and promotional items.   I love to be creative, so designing just sort of fell into my routine.  I’m also an award winning author and a mother of two boys, ages 2 and 14.  Yes, it’s as exhausting as you think….

How many years have you been a cover artist?

Actually I’ve only been a professional artist for a little over a year now.

Can you name some of the Whispers Publishing covers you’ve Worked on?

I’ve just been invited to start doing Whispers covers, but the two that I’ve done are 33 Days ‘Til Christmas and Perfect to the Corps.  My upcoming cover releases will include Gillian’s Angel, All the Wrong Moves and The Pick-up Wife.

Since we’re rocking out to Christmas music in here, what are you listening to? Do you listen to music while you draft covers? Do certain types of music inspire you?

I am listening to a whining toddler and America’s Funniest Home Videos, LOL!  I don’t listen to music when designing because my toddler becomes jealous of my earbuds and HAS to listen too.  Makes it hard to concentrate.  When I do get to listen to music I prefer Rock and some Pop.

What cues do you wish authors would give on cover art request forms? Do you like a lot of direction or do you prefer to let your creativity have free reign?

Authors are usually pretty good with giving me exactly what I need.  I do prefer direction because the more info I have the closer I can get to creating a cover the author will really want to show off and therefore market.  The more people they show their cover to, the more people will want to read their book.

What’s one genre you’ve always wanted to create a cover for?

I have created art for every genre out there.  My absolute favorite is fantasy.  You can really let your imagination take flight and the use of colors is strongly encouraged.  Anyone who follows my work knows I’m a color diva!

Do you have a favorite stock photo site?

I have about five. *grin*  I really love Photoxpress because they don’t have a size limit and they have some of my favorite photographers.


What kind of software do you generally use?

I actually use a free software program called GIMP.  I have Photoshop for printing reasons, but after creating three or four covers in it, the program just wasn’t doing what my free program could, so I went back.  I know that may shock a lot of people, but don’t fix what isn’t broken!

When you look at covers, do you find yourself critiquing them and reworking them in your mind?

Bad cover art has always bothered me, it’s why I became an artist.  But now I find that truly horrible cover art makes me want to cry.  And then there are covers that just blow my mind, there’s some awesome talent out there.


How did you become a cover artist? Do you have a degree in art? Or are you self-taught?

I became a cover artist because I never wanted a bad cover to grace one of my books.  I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it.  But another cover artist, who works for some big name publishers, took one look at my work and said I had the potential to be an industry leader.  I was blown away by her words.  I never expected that!  So I just kept going with it and hoped she wasn’t wrong.  I’m self-taught, lots of trial and error and lots of tutorials and conversations with other designers.

Do you ever read the books you design covers for?

I wish I could!  I do like to get the print copies of some of my cover designs, so I can see how they look and hopefully, eventually read them.  I’ve read one or two to date, it’s hard to find the time to read lately.

Okay, a few more personal questions.

Coffee, tea, or something harder? Tea, black with a hint of mint.

What do you prefer your hero to wear? Boxers or briefs? Boxers.  *wink*

Favorite comfort food? Fried chicken

Favorite author? Iris Johansen

Cat or dog? Cat

Sweet or salty? Sweet

Early bird or night owl? Night Owl (I hate mornings)

Thanks again for joining us. We’ve loved the insight into your mind! Thank you for having me!!!

www.elainalee.com

www.forthemusedesign.com

elaina-lee.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/elainaleeauthor

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SCOTTISH ISLANDS

February 22, 2012 By 11 Comments

I am here today to tell you all about my Scottish historical paranormal romance, DRAGON’S CURSE. Since writing a historical novel of any kind must start with a location to stir the readers’ imagination, I researched books, clan maps, and the internet to find the perfect setting for my novel. The only requirement? It had to be a real place in Scotland. I discovered many islands, which I mention in the book, but the main location I chose was Staffa.

Using poetic license in my story set in sixteenth century Scotland, I made my hero, Draco Macdonald, wrongly accused of being the villager that a roaming band of Macleods spot, thereby causing the deaths of his clansmen. The village witch comes back as a ghost to haunt him and curses him for the deaths. For the next 15 years, her curse causes him to shape shift into a dragon at inopportune times.

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In need of a new home, he flies over the ocean to nearby Staffa. In pre-historic times, ice sheets covered the island. Around 20,000 years ago, sea levels were about 125 meters (410 ft) lower than at present and researchers believe Staffa was a larger island. It sits just off the coast of mainland Scotland—near the Isle of Mull, and Iona. Steadily rising sea levels have further isolated this little island of volcanic origin. The slow cooling of a layer of basalt resulted in an unusual pattern of hexagonal columns. They form the walls of the principal caves.

Staffa’s most famous feature is Fingal’s Cave (known pre-eighteenth century as An Uamh Bhin, also known as “the melodious cave”. I use this information during my story when my heroine, Brianna Macleod, notices the ghostly music. DRAGON’S CURSE also sports a wonderful book cover where the cover artist, Traci Markou, used an actual photo of the big cave on Staffa.

Its severe weather, rocky coasts, giant caves, and closeness to the mainland of Scotland made Staffa a perfect setting for DRAGON’S CURSE. I hope you will pick up a copy and think of the dark and ominous islands of Scotland as you read.

DRAGON’S CURSE

Nancy Lee Badger

www.nancyleebadger.com

www.RescuingRomance.nancyleebadger.com

Like a short military romance? Check out UNWRAPPING CHRIS, from Whispers Publishing

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A Need for speed

February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I must admit it.  I’m a sucker for fast cars plus smooth chrome and steel.  The sound a new turbo charged engine makes me quiver at the knees.  That super charged feeling of excitement that I get hearing a fast car lead me to create my latest Whispers release.

Being an AmericaN, we’ve long been connected in an intimate way to our cars.  I remember as a female kid boasting with the boys about what car I’d get to  drive one day.  The machine topping the list was forever a mustang.  Every time, I’d see one cruising by on the street; I’d pant like an in love school girl.  Only the object of my attention and affection contained hard metal and plush leather seats.  Although, life’s seasons changed and a little girl grew up to marry her handsome prince, a fascination with  automobiles remained.

It was during my last visit to the Brighton speed trials that the idea for my latest release as Marina Cross, Jackie’s Red mustang was born.   This story of a Las Vegas city planner carried away on a night of high charged passion to push the limits of what she’d ever done before formed while listening plus watching automobiles of every shape and model tear along tarmac as they attempted to beat the speed trial  leader’s personal best.

Jackie’s story should resonate with people of all shapes and sizes that find their lives are carried away by form coupled with a function that overshadows some of the fun of just living.  I hope readers will find a reason to cheer, laugh and even feel a bit of excitement as Jackie takes on her lover in a sexy chase she secretly wants to lose to win.

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