You’ll notice my blog this month is a variation on a famous back-to-school essay theme. While I can’t personally recall every being asked to pen a “What I did on my Summer Vacation” essay during my school career, I hear it’s a common academic request. And I would have loved this topic! No one enjoys a bit of self-reflection and light musing as much as yours truly.

So this month, I’m giving myself the chance to reflect on another sort of vacation entirely—the elusive time that author’s spend recharging between books.

I thought it would be good to track this time since it seems to evaporate so easily. The time I spend actively writing is carefully tracked and recorded, with vigilant attention paid to each day’s progress, whereas the time spend not writing passes in a speedy blur. Afterward, I often ask myself what I did during that blink of time between writing books. Read the rest of this entry »

I came across a great quote the other day. It’s from Carl G. Jung, the ground breaking psychiatrist who plowed the field of analytic psychology. He’s a personal hero for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he developed so many psychological tools to understand characters. For writers looking to create authentic, 3D characters that are relatable for readers, Jung’s insights are really helpful.

But onto the latest bit of Jung wisdom I stumbled across. He said, “In each of us, there is another whom we do not know.” It’s a simple, straight-forward tidbit, really. Yet how freaking profound. And true! Upon hearing this bit of wisdom, don’t you immediately look to yourself and question what “other” lurks inside you?

We’ve all had those moments where we encounter this other. Moments when we act entirely out of character. We become the life of the party when our usual social position tends toward a wallflower. We leap into a relationship whereas we used to be so cautious with new people. Or you suddenly discover a love for mountain climbing when you were formerly afraid of heights. It’s a shock to see this other “you” in the mirror, a person you didn’t know existed.

I think that experience is something a lot of Blaze heroines identify with. How many Blazes have you read where the heroine pushes herself outside her comfort zone or makes a choice to behave in a very different way? I know once- for an old Temptation story- I created a heroine who decided that she needed to actively make decisions that were the opposite of how she’s usually behaved since her life was in a really boring rut. For a writer, it can be really tough to write that experience authentically and believably. After all, why should a reader believe that the career driven heroine suddenly walks away from the high pressure job she loves to spend a sexy weekend with a man she just met? Or why would a reader buy into the photographer heroine who hides from the world behind a camera lens and then, upon meeting the hero, decides to let him take a few scandalous photos of her?

Well, maybe it’s not all that tough to buy since we’re all secretly familiar with this “other” inside of us. Who among us hasn’t made the decision to do something completely different? And who knew that to behave “out of character” was something completely “in” character, for all of us? But there you have it. Jung said it himself. We all have the potential inside us, the wild and crazy woman just waiting for her moment to break free. Shakira sang about it recently when she referenced the She-Wolf in the closet. I think Blaze women are on a journey to find that inner She-Wolf, to find the Other, to a far greater degree than they are seeking a romantic experience.

Maybe that’s how romance happens sometimes. On a journey to find out who we are- to test the limits of who we want to be and what kind of life we want to lead- we attract people who sense that dynamic spirit within.

***Have you ever encountered your Other? Been surprised by a new discovery about yourself or a part of your personality that didn’t seem to fit with all the rest? Maybe you discovered a love of classical music after being a die-hard bluegrass fan, or a Share it with me today on the boards and I’ll give one random poster a copy of their choice of any backlist book assuming I have it in stock.

I’ve had fun thinking about the Blaze Authors Pet Project over the last couple of months. I’m looking forward to highlighting some animal characters in upcoming books and cheering on the good works of the shelters we’ll be featuring on the Blaze Blog.

But for now, while I’m in pet mode, I thought I’d share with you some of my personal favorite pet moments. Because I grew up on a farm, with room for animals to run, I usually had some four-legged friends in residence. German Shepherds have been a lifelong favorite—I just like their sweet natured side juxtaposed with the ability to work hard and be fearsome protectors when the need arises. These dogs chase off the deer—and lest you empathize with the deer, let me remind you what havoc they can wreak on a farm if you don’t keep them away. They don’t even like pumpkins, at least not the ones we grew, but without dogs to keep them away from the fields, the deer can ruin plenty of would-be jack-o-lanterns just by sauntering through the fields, mindless of where their hooves step.

Unfortunately, my pics of my favorite German Shepherds were grainy affairs that don’t do their cute mugs justice. Instead, I’m showing off a dog we had when I was a teenager, Yukon, a Samoyed Husky. Oh, did I love him! He couldn’t show off his working dog skills since I’m not much of a musher, but I think I trimmed a few dress sizes taking him for walks. He loved the snow and shunned his dog house to sit outside in our most frigid temps. He was completely happy and at home in the winter weather, dragging me all over the hills and orchards behind our house in a quest to run off his boundless energy. When I finally collapsed in a heap, he was usually kind enough to give me a break for a few minutes. If he spotted a rabbit while we were out though, all bets were off. Wild horses couldn’t have held him back.

Back home, I liked putting my feet up with a cat when I returned from the dog walking.

While Yukon retreated to his corner of the yard to chase snowflakes, I liked to hang out with the felines and read a good book. Sebastian was one of many cats I had over the years, sometimes two or three at a time. You can trace my interests and time of life by the names of the cats from Tigger (I was obsessed with all things Winnie the Pooh) to Smokey and Bandit (it was the era!). Later in life, I had Kiki (named by my sons) as well as Whiskers (also named by the kids) to Duchess (doesn’t she sound like she was named by a romance writer?). But the name Sebastian surely came from my teenage interest in romance heroes.

And while I was hunting for pics of past pets, I came across Teddy, the unimaginatively named Teddy Bear Hamster. I was probably eight or nine when I had him, and I still had a Teddy Bear named Teddy, his stuffed bear wife named Mrs. T, and then I christened the hamster along the same lines. Maybe that’s why I never got around to naming a hero Theodore… I must have burned out on that one early on. But I had to share my picture of the hamster since I took his photo next to something else that shared great significance in my young life—my books! I still show off those Nancy Drews prominently in my home.

I’m looking forward to sharing the Blaze Author Pet Project with you in upcoming years. Romance and pets are such a natural connection, after all. We know how much our readers adore their pets. One rule of writing we learn early on is that you can kill off whoever you want in your books, but don’t even think about hurting the dog!

** Have any fun names from pets past or present? Did you name your poodle after a favorite cartoon character or your cat after a soap opera star? Do share! I’m giving away a copy of my latest Scots historical, IN THE LAIRD’S BED to one random poster.

I had a fun visit with a friend last night. She’s single and I always enjoy hearing about her dating experiences. They’re not always as much fun for her as they are for me, of course. You remember what dating is like, right? There are far more “hits” than “misses.” So plenty of her anecdotes involve awkward moments, wild mis-matches, and dates that wear out their welcome.

But- as amusing as those stories are—I don’t listen to them simply for a laugh. No, I’m listening and hoping all the time that one of these days I’ll hear about a date with The One. Can you remember hearing that thrill in a friend’s voice when they’ve met The One? You might see it in their eyes or detect it in a dreamy sigh that’s never issued forth from a cynical friend’s mouth before. But you know. You can just tell when they’ve met that right one. And it’s in the hope of hearing that thrill in a friend’s voice that we wade through all the other stories—the misses.

It occurred to me that’s why we read romance, too. Don’t we love the near misses on the way to the happily ever after? That’s what makes it fun when a heroine stumbles across an old boyfriend. Or if we meet the heroine on a date with Mr. Wrong. We hang in there, waiting. Knowing the right one is around the corner, eager to see her find the romance she deserves.

I’m not sure if my friend had found The One yet. But I know the right guy is just around the corner. Romance has a way of finding us, usually when we’re not looking for it. And hearing all about how it happened is a story that we- as romance readers- never tire of.

**Have you had a conversation with a friend where you could tell she’d met The One? Do you remember vividly a moment when you knew a friend, sister, daughter, widowed mom had found a great romantic prospect? Or do you have a near miss dating story to share where you knew you were on a mis-match date within moments of your evening getting underway? Share some dating fun with me on the boards today and I’ve got a fun holiday haul for one random poster including my December book, Under Wraps, Sam Hunter’s fantastic I’ll Be Yours for Christmas, and a holiday ornament for your tree!

As the keeper of the 11th on the Blaze Blog, it’s my welcome duty to remember and thank our veterans today. I have a few who are close to my heart to remember and I’m sure you do too. To all our veterans, we appreciate you!

My sons had the opportunity to meet a WWII vet a few years ago and have never forgotten his stories. A B-17 pilot who flew daylight missions over Germany, this brave, amazing man was on his seventeenth combat mission when his plane was shot down. He was a POW for six months before he was liberated by Patton’s troops in 1945, but he counted himself fortunate as one of the crew who made it out of his plane before it blew.

Today, I’m thankful for more than this captain’s service. I’m also thankful he took the time to share his story with my boys. Maybe it’s the storyteller in me that values the tale so much, but I have to think the vision of this grizzled vet acting out the plight of his plane before it went down—B-17 model in hand—will be a picture that stays with them forever. No history book could have captivated them the way a man who lived through it could. And, more importantly, no history book could have underscored so well why our veterans deserve our gratitude.

In honor of Veterans Day, I’m giving away a three-pack of books for one random poster, including Silk Confessions, an advance copy of Under Wraps and a sexy Desire from my critique partner (and military romance author!) Catherine Mann. Just post your salute to the service member of your choice in the comments section. With how much we enjoy our military heroes in the romance community, I’ll bet we can rack up quite a few cheers for their real life counterparts!

The appeal of Blaze interests me, and not just because I write them and read them. As an observer of culture, I think it’s neat to see what brings us back a romance line again and again. Obviously, if we were just wild about the romance part, we could find that in any one of the Harlequin series each month. But you and I return to Blaze. Not just for romance, but apparently for the steam factor too. The covers and titles in Blaze make the “red-hot” component a prime selling point and it’s one readers have really responded to.

But I think there’s more to the unique appeal of Blaze tales than just steam. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certain we all enjoy the sizzle factor. Today, however, we’re going to dig deeper to see what it is that sends us to the shelves for a sexy story.

Sense of possibility – I like the idea that a sexy story has the “will she, won’t she” dynamic at work. By that, I kind of mean sexual tension, but in a more general way, there is a sensation of standing at the edge of a big ravine for our heroines. Will they cross that line and take a risk? When? We know they will sooner or later… the books promise that they’ll take that gamble. And it’s not just a gamble on romance. There is a bit of physical speculation that goes on, too. I think we enjoy this sense of “when anything is possible” for our heroines. But perhaps because it ties in to my next thought for why we love Blaze….

Sense of power – We like the adrenaline rush of that first love scene and the empowerment it gives the heroine. Now, I know that the sex is going to complicate her life in a big way. But side by side with the conflict is the realization that sex is a heady brew that gives the heroine a rush of “hoo-yah,” so to speak. Let’s set aside being P.C. for a minute and just admit that the headrush that comes with amazing sex is intoxicating. The idea that it can happen again is potent. And while sex makes us vulnerable on the one hand, it also makes us feel powerful on the other because we’re not the only ones feeling the heat.

Remember when? – We’re not just getting caught up in the hero and heroine’s romance when we read a Blaze. I believe there’s also a healthy dose of comingling our own memories of falling in love every time we pick up a romance. Is it just me, or isn’t all that heart pounding anticipation a fun cue to bring back your days of falling in love (or pre-love lust)? I think we savor those reminds of what it felt like to lose your heart completely to someone. And for readers who haven’t found “The One” yet, I think the books create a great vision of what the right partner could be like.

***So tell me this… as I try to think about the Blaze reader, I’d be curious to know what you’re reading when you’re not reading Blaze? Are you enjoying another series line? Reading sexy romance from other authors? Knee deep in non -fiction? Share with me on the boards today and I’ll give away a copy of my new 2-in-1 with Rhonda Nelson, 1-900-LOVER and Silk Confessions, to one random poster.

I was thinking about sex the other day. Not any one love scene in particular, but sex and sexiness as sort of general concepts. As a Blaze author, I put a fair amount of thought into writing love scenes that are compelling – not just in a sensual way, but in an emotional sense too. So – from a professional standpoint – sex isn’t always just a happy diversion for me. It takes some work.

And just like sex from a personal standpoint – you wonder sometimes if you still… ahem… have what it takes. I mean, I’ve written a lot of Blazes. I occasionally panic at the thought—what if I’m all Blazed out? What if I’ve lost touch with what is sexy after writing so many love scenes over the years?

But a fun scene that I wrote a few weeks ago helped to reassure me. It wasn’t even for a Blaze. It was for a Harlequin Historical Undone- another place where I need to be sure to deliver an appropriate level of steam. The stories are short – about fifteen thousand words- which is about the same length as a Blaze Encounters story if there are 4 novellas in the book. Anyhow, the story was shorter and that means I have to work fast to build characters, conflict and steamy situations.

I got to work on the characters, putting them in close proximity (a must in a short length story) to get things jump started fast. The hero is a strong Alpha type and he needs to marry. Heroine is intimidated by his reputation and put off by his arrogance. She really won’t give him a chance and she wants no part of marriage to him. He figures he won’t marry her – save them both the trouble—but he thinks maybe seducing her might be a good idea just so she knows what she’s missing out on. So how does he seduce her when she won’t get anywhere near him? Anonymously, of course. In the dark. When she thinks he’s someone else.

Oh, did I have fun with this. I didn’t realize how sexy it would be until I was mid way into the scene and had to break out the fan. Not only did these characters remind me I wasn’t even close to “Blazing out,” as I’d occasionally feared. Their love scene helped me remember that’s where the real sexiness comes from in any love scene. Not the scenario. Not the body parts. Although both of those contribute to the overall sizzle. But at the end of the day, it’s the characters that make any love scene. Their hunger for each other. Their unique feelings for each other at that given moment. The way they relate.

I think it was the short format of the story that helped me really focus in and feel the epiphany. With just fifteen thousand words to tell your story, you have to be really efficient. And even without a lot of build up or backstory, without a subplot or a side kick, the love scene really stood out. And it worked. In fact, it was so fun, I might just go work on another…

***Best kiss? Best sexy banter? Best almost-love scene? What steamy scene have you read recently that’s really stuck in your mind? I’ve got an advance copy of my Harlequin Showcase book with Rhonda Nelson containing 1-900-LOVER and Silk Confessions for one random poster.

I’m blogging today at Access Romance about my recent family vacation. But here, I thought I’d tell you about my girl time—the five-day summer party officially billed as the Romance Writers of America national conference but what I like to call my personal summer camp.

It’s so much fun to hang out with my romance writer friends and meet new readers every year. My good friend, Love Inspired author Renee Ryan, led the First Timers Orientation this year and she had a really fun analogy for a writer’s first time at RWA. She talked about the conference at large as the cool sorority and the other first timers were your pledge class. That each year you attend RWA, you look for your sisters who rushed along with you, cheering on their successes and commiserating on the bumps in the road. You share your journey with those folks, and it’s all the more fun for having a few BFFs around. Together, you become the cool sorority, squealing in the halls to see each other once a year at your personal summer camp. I loved that idea. To me, RWA is exactly like that.

Renee, for example, was in my pledge class. So was SIM author Beth Cornelison and Desire author Catherine Mann, my critique partner. Other classes close to me included Tanya Michaels, Winnie Griggs and Anna DeStefano, friends I seek out faithfully every year.

And we do more than just gab it up. We sign books to raise money that supports a literacy initiative. We teach workshops for aspiring writers to share what we know and attend workshops to learn from our peers. Oh, and we dance.

Summer camp isn’t summer camp without a glitzy party after all. The RITA and Golden Heart ceremony is our fun excuse to dress up and the publisher parties provide our opportunity to shake our collective groove thing. I’ve discovered Blaze authors Wendy Etherington and Jacquie D’Alessandro are just as committed to the dance floor as me, so I like to hunt them down once the music starts hopping.

I think every woman should have a summer camp – your personalized version of the sorority reunion. Whether it’s a handful of high school friends or the crowd from your book club, you owe yourself a retreat weekend to celebrate friendship and a common interest. Don’t have a big budget? You can tent it down by the lake for a night and share a few bottles of cheap champagne. I guarantee you’ll come home happier!

**You know what I’m talking about…. girlfriends speak a different language than our significant others! What’s been one of your favorite friend-dates? Ladies’ poker night? Neighborhood bunco? Chat with me on the boards today about fav ways to hang out with friends and I’ll give one random poster a signed copy of my August relese, Double Play.

Summertime is baseball time at my house and not just because I have an August Blaze with a major league manager. We watch a lot of baseball—from major league to little league—and critique games, plays and coaching decisions on an almost daily basis. The sounds of cheering ballpark crowds and the crack of a bat on a hardball are as rooted in our summer family memories as the scent of barbecue and cut grass.

Even the pace of baseball is suited to summertime. With one hundred and sixty-two games in the regular season, the sport is spread out over time so that we don’t live or die by the outcome of a single game. Win some, lose some is a given attitude, though obviously we want the win column to boast the better number by the time all is said and done. Games are long and languid, with plenty of downtime as pitchers kick the dirt around and batters adjust their gloves. That leaves me enough time to order a beer and a bag of peanuts without missing a beat.

I like the friendliness of baseball and its players, too. The tradition of batting practice allows fans to see their favorite players up close before game time. The ability to catch a foul ball or a home run ball gives everyone in the park a shot at returning home with a free souvenir. Also, the accessibility of tickets means you can afford to take the whole family to a game without taking out a second mortgage, the way you might have to if you want to catch the NFL live.

So summer and baseball go hand in hand for me. I’m already planning a trip to watch the Reds beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh the first week of August. But I’m not just going to root, root, root for the away team. I’m going to savor a family tradition with my glove in hand in case any balls are fouled off in my direction. And with any luck, maybe I’ll lay eyes on a player who inspires the sequel to Double Play…

***As I make a list of what to bring to on my road trip to see the Reds, I wonder what road trips you’ve got in mind for the summer. Water park for the weekend? Picnic at a friend’s camp? Chat with me on the boards about your summer day tripping plans and I’ll give one random poster an advance copy of my August Blaze, Double Play.

I hope you don’t mind if I put you to work today. But I have a question and I hope it’ll be a fun one. I’m teaching a class called Writing Popular Fiction this fall, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot today. I’m asking the students to write an opening chapter and a synopsis during the course. It’s a task that sounds fun to me, but I know there might be a few who weren’t expecting to wade so deeply into storytelling during an undergraduate course.

Still, I’m convinced that there’s a story inside us all just waiting to get out. Maybe most people don’t have twenty or thirty or a hundred the way some prolific authors do. But I think we all have at least ONE.

Some people don’t have the desire to tell the story, of course. I know some folks flat-out don’t enjoy writing. That doesn’t stop the story from lurking inside us! Haven’t we all thought at some point, “That would make a good story.” It seems like everyone I meet—who isn’t a writer—tells me at some point that they have a great idea for a book. The writers I know, of course, have ideas for books too but they keep them for their own Muse to work on.

One of my favorite authors, Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote a book called Women Who Run With the Wolves. As a cantadora, or storyteller, Estes talks about the story as medicine and our need to carry on the storytelling legacy. She writes, “Although some use stories as entertainment alone, tales are, in their oldest sense, a healing art.” Look how much we learn about life and ourselves from stories. And frankly, I think some of the stories that are fore entertainment are healing in and of themselves since occasionally we crave the total escape that only fiction can offer. That ability to travel into a book is one of the most healing pastimes I know.

Assuming we all have a story to tell, what would yours be? That’s my question today and I hope you’ll take a moment to think about it. Maybe you’ll shout out the answer the moment I ask the question because you already have an idea for a self-help treatise for people married couples or a memoir about your childhood in a foreign country. But if you haven’t already got a book idea brewing, what kind of fiction story would you tell if you had the talents of a writer at your disposal to put the idea on paper? They say the best story to write is the one you want to read. So maybe you can ask yourself what kind of book you’d like to read in order to answer the question.

I know I’d like to read something historical and paranormal. Something involving magic and romance. I’d also like to read a great twin story in Blaze… maybe as an Encounters. So… what story ideas are brewing in you?

**I’m giving away a copy of any book from my backlist to one random poster today.