Blogging About What I Love by Linda O. Johnston
February 8, 2010 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as Linda O. Johnston, Nocturne Bites, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, Silhouette Nocturne
Blog = web log. That’s elementary. And what’s a log? It can be a kind of journal. That’s how I look at it, anyway.
I always enjoy blogging on A Slice of Orange. As you may know, I also blog weekly at killerhobbies.blogspot.com. I was invited to join a long time ago because Killer Hobbies’ focus is on hobbies that are featured in mysteries. My Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series features pets, and I’ve always maintained that pets are family, not hobbies. Even so, I usually try to mention pet-related things on my posts there. Of course I love writing about pets, so that works out well.
Other times, I focus largely on writing, its fun and frustrations. Since writing is so important to me, that’s fun, too. It’s often when I get the most comments. Same appears to go for my blog sisters, too.
This week, I blogged about writing short stories, and I was pleased at the number of comments that came up early in the day–faster than usual. Not a huge amount, as some other blog sites get, but a bunch just the same.
So… since A Slice of Orange is the blog of OCC, it’s natural for me to focus on writing here, at least more than pets. I love writing. I do it all the time, and I’m always looking for more! I can always talk about what I’m working on, and that’s a lot of what I’ve done here so far. But I’d still love to hear more about what YOU are interested in hearing. Feel free to ask me to reveal secrets. If I know the answers, I’ll have to gauge whether I want to make them public, but you’ll never know how much I’ll give up till you ask.
By the way, I’m going to be giving a class soon at the new online school, Story Stew University. It’ll be on Blending Romance and Suspense. Check it out, along with other classes at: storystewuniversity.com
Linda O. Johnston
Linda O. Johnston is the author of 15 romance novels and several novellas, including a current Nocturne Bites, with 2 more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. HOWL DEADLY, the newest title in the series has just been released.
Wishes Do Come True by Autumn Jordon, 2009 Golden Heart Finalist
January 29, 2010 by Marianne H. Donley in category Archives tagged as Autumn Jordon, Golden Heart Contest, Guest Authors
“You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true.†Richard Bach
A friend gave me a plague with the above quote inscribed on it many years ago. The plague still remains hung on my office wall and that quote has inspired me to take steps in my life that I might not have taken otherwise.
One path I started on was to strive to write for publication and years later, I’m finally seeing my dreams come true. My first release, OBSSESED BY WILDFIRE, hit the cyber-shelf this past Wednesday, January 27, 2010! I’m so excited.
OBSESSED BY WILDFIRE is not my first completed novel, it’s not even my second or third. Does its ranking, among my completed works, diminish the excitement which tingles my entire soul today? Ah, NO!
OBSESSED BY WILDFIRE is rated HOT! I didn’t know I could write HOT.
Finally, I hope you’ll visit my website http://www.autumnjordon.com/ and check my next release, Evil’s Witness, my Golden Heart entry.
Autunm Jordon
2009 Golden Heart Finalist
Obsessed By Wildfire January 27, 2010 The Wild Rose Press
& Evil’s Witness June 18, 2010
http://www.autumnjordon.com/
A Fantasy Life by Janet Quinn Cornelow
January 27, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives
I have finally finished Sam’s story. At several points I didn’t think I would ever finish, but, his story has come to an end, been sold, and will be out June 6th under the name of Freedom’s Treasure.
Now it is time to start a new book – an alternative universe book. I have been working on how to make the reader know that the characters are moving into an alternate universe. There has to be something that is the same in both universes. In this universe, both sides are in
Both universes have police and detectives. That is because the hero is from our universe and is a police detective. The heroine is from the alternate universe and is a police detective. They have something in common, except he carries a gun and she uses magic. Since they are in her universe, he only has a limited supply of ammunition while her magic is never ending.
I have spent so much time figuring out how to make the alternate universe, I suddenly realized I really don’t have a story to go with the universe. There is an evil wizard slipping between universes and killing people in the hero’s world. He has to be stopped. Of course, he also has to have a reason for killing. He has to want something.
That is what plot group is for.
When creating a new world, sometimes the little things matter. In my world of Augeas, the guards play a dice game. The picture is of the dice for the game.
Art work by Loki Cornelow
February Online Class: “Fast Draft and Revision Hell” with Candace Havens
January 26, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives********** permission to forward **********
Hi everyone! Check out the exciting online classes offered by the
Orange County Chapter of RWA!
“Fast Draft and Revision Hell”
with Candace Havens
February 15 – March 13, 2010
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassFeb10.html
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Fast Draft: It’s easy to come up with excuses why you can’t finish your manuscript. You’re busy, life is crazy, there is always something. The truth is there are no real excuses. If you want to sell a book, you have to finish. There’s no time like the present. Author Candace Havens has developed a step-by-step process to help you finish your work in progress in just two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, you’ll have your first draft.
Revision Hell: It can be daunting going back in and editing, tightening and cleaning up your manuscript. That’s why author Candace Havens developed a system to help get through that process step-by-step. In two weeks you’ll have a polished manuscript that is ready to sell.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Candace “Candy” Havens is a bestselling and award-winning author. Her novels include “Charmed & Dangerous”, “Charmed & Ready”, “Charmed & Deadly”, “Like A Charm” and “The Demon King and I”. She is known for writing strong female characters, who save the world, but aren’t exactly perfect. She is a two-time RITA, Write Touch Reader and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also the winner of the Barbara Wilson award, and the 2009 Pro Mentor of the Year. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood from George Clooney and Orlando Bloom to Nicole Kidman and Kate Beckinsale. You can hear Candy weekly on 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas Fort Worth Area. Her popular online Writer’s Workshop has more than 1300 students and provides free classes to professional and aspiring writers.
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassFeb10.html
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Coming in March 2010–
“The Regency Women†with Nancy Mayer
This workshop will focus on Regency woman and their roles, expectations, rights, and power. Including common myths and mistakes writers make in their stories. (Like can or how do woman obtain financial independence, and can they maintain it in marriage.)
http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html. Check out our full list of workshops.
Want to be notified personally two weeks before each class? Be sure
you’re signed up for our Online Class Notices Yahoo Group! Sign up at
the bottom of http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html or send a blank
email to OCCRWAOnlineClassNotices-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
********** permission to forward **********
Some of Harlequin Editor-at-Large Leslie Wainger’s Pets–presented by Isabel Swift
January 24, 2010 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Harlequin. Pets, Leslie WaingerIn response to the classic “Wassup?” Harlequin’s Editor-at-Large Leslie Wainger had this to say:
“I’m mostly being surrounded by pets. I still have cats (three), and attached are pics of my puppy, Kaiya:
and my sugar gliders, Bug and Gobo:
There are definite advantages to working from home!”
And I said…WHAT are sugar gliders? Aside of the cutest things ever! Kaiya is pretty adorable too—looks smaller than a Chow—just young or something different?
And Leslie said, “Sugar gliders are tiny Australian possums. They’re marsupials, like our possums, but otherwise very different. They glide (like flying squirrels) and have been kept as pets over here for about 15 years. In this picture you can see the gliding membrane folded up along their sides.
And Kaiya’s a Shiba Inu (a Japanese breed). She’s 10 months old and small for a female, but not by a lot. The perfect female is 14″ at the shoulder and around 17 lbs., so they’re a bit like very mini Akitas. They have big-dog attitude, though. She has no idea how small she is.
…And I think—yes, it’s all about attitude. On the other hand, cuteness does count!
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