Interview at Love Romances and More

A big thanks to Dawn and Love Romances. In case you're new to LR, they're a great review site with a Yahoo group as well, and I have a new interview over there. Take a peek...Love Romances and More.

Guilt

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone out there! My topic today isn’t exactly a fun one, but one I find both humorous and fascinating all the same. It’s called guilt. And specifically, I’m talking writer’s guilt, though you could easily substitute reader’s guilt here as well. (I suffer from both.)

With the holidays bubbling, a major Christmas party to prepare for, and the odds and ends of shopping and wrapping and stocking stuffing going on, the logical side of me insisted on a break from the computer. At first it was tough. I think I even had the shakes. And then after two days I thought I’d survive. And then an opportunity arose. My kids were napping, my husband had gone out for some shopping, whether it be for car parts of gifts I didn’t much care. The computer beckoned. And I responded…

Yep. I sat at my keyboard and edited a manuscript I’d let sit for a while. By the time my husband had returned, I’d convinced both him and myself that there wasn’t that much to clean after all, and that the presents would be wrapped and tucked under the tree Christmas Eve. And then it got easier. Husband and kids outside playing, working on home projects. Computer. More naps. Computer. Last minute grocery shopping. “Honey, pleased take the boys. Do them good to get out.” Computer.

What can I say? I had work needing done, and my creative juices were screaming at me to jot down new ideas. So I did. And I’m not sorry. Really, I’m not. But I do feel a bit guilty that I had to sneak in my writing time. And don’t get me started on the new books I got for Christmas, the first of which I stayed awake last night until two a.m. reading.

Did I forego the party? Slack on my kids and husband? No. I just used some ingenuity to find the opportunity to write. And wow, but it made me feel pretty darned good. The kids still unwrapped a bazillion presents. The husband still received his traditional, annual decorative duck decoy, some tools clothes, and a night he’ll not soon forget. wink wink Heck, I even went to church with the family—an interesting story in itself best kept for another day. So all in all, what did I sacrifice to indulge in my guilty pleasure? Some sleep time, stress and last minute cleaning, and the knowledge that yes, I do have a problem. I’m addicted to writing.

Happy 2007, and here’s to 2008!

Time Flies

Wow. How the time does fly! Hope you all had a nice holiday and Merry Christmas. And we've still got one major event to celebrate...New Years! I actually got some work done during the holiday, though it's more difficult now because my monsters, I mean, small boys, are out of school and underfoot until after the New Year.

Good news. I've finished Satyr's Myst and turned it in to my editor, and am waiting on pins and needles to see how my last Storm Lords fares. In the meantime, I'm starting my new futuristic romance about Rafe of Mardu. [If you've read my earlier work, you met Rafe's younger brother, Catam, in The Thief of Mardu, and his older brother, Sernal, in Winner Takes All.] I had ideas for Rafe a few years ago, and now I'm trying to blend new thoughts and my old ones to make his story work. I like Rafe. He's a peacemaker--lawman--but is a lot less rigid in keeping the rules than his older brother. Rafe likes to go with the flow, loves women, and is one hell of a warrior. But he's not looking for love or permanence. Especially after seeing how it devastated his brother Gar. So you just know love's going to knock him on his sorry butt. :)

Hope you all enjoy the holidays. Just a few more days 'til 2008, resolutions to lose weight, work harder, and become that better person I just couldn't find in 2007. sigh Let's hope this year at least the weight resolution works itself out.

December Drawing Winner

Congratulations to Tamara B., tamben7996@... for winning the December Drawing contest.
106 people eventually entered. Awesome!

Have a great holiday, everyone. And thanks for participating in the contest.

Contest Extended...

Due to a friend's birthday dinner, planned spur of the moment around kids and family commitments, I'm extending the contest a few hours more. So all you last minute folks, jump on in! As soon as I get back from dinner, I'm posting the winner. So far, 105 entrants...

Stand by... Marie

Entrants so far...

Wow! What a great turn-out so far for my December Drawing. That Barnes & Noble gift certificate is a great lure, I admit. I'm a sucker for book cards. You can get what you want, and for a book lover like me, it's the gift that just keeps on giving!

So far 99 people have entered the drawing. I'll be choosing the winner randomly Thursday night. And in case you were curious, this is how it goes... I'll check the number of entrants. So if no one else enters between now and tomorrow (or should I say later today?) at 8pm EST, that would be 99. Then I'll ask my daughter to choose a number between 1 and 99. Say she chooses 42. I count down to my 42nd entrant, and that's the winner!

So good luck to all who entered. And talk at ya later!

New Review for Enjoying the Show

New Review for Enjoying the Show

Never has blackmail looked so dang good! Marie Harte’s newest release with Samhain Publishing, Enjoying the Show leaves me wondering if I should take up voyeurism as a hobby myself! And if I had a neighbor like Gage Warren, I think I just might...Every time I read another Marie Harte story, I become a bigger fan of this talented author. After the holidays are over, I am sure I will be splurging on her backlist! Enjoying the Show is a great addition to your erotic romance library, and is certain to leave you keeping an eye out for your own hunk with a view…

Reviewed by: Jennifer

News

I just wanted to announce to one and all that I am D O N E Chrismas shopping. YIPPEE!
Sorry, I just had to get that out. No last minute rush for me. So with that done, I can once more focus on writing.

• Enjoying the Show continues to do well. It's not only on the MBaM top ten bestseller's list, but it just hit All Romance Ebooks' list as well for top ten sellers. Makes a great Christmas/holiday gift...hint hint.
• I re-read my old futuristics (from NCP) for inspiration and have come up with some interesting new ideas for Rafe of Mardu, the hero in my next book. So stay tuned for updates and excerpts.
• Satyr's Myst is flowing nicely. I'm going to try to wrap it up by the end of the week. Might be a little aggressive, but I'm known for being pushy, ah, I mean assertive.
• I'll be guest blogging at Michelle Cary's blog in a few days. And I have an interview coming up at Love Romances and More. Details coming soon.
  

Happy Holidays!

Emergence: New Cover!

Check out this awesome new cover for my upcoming release, EMERGENCE, coming from Amber Quill/Amber Heat in January 2008.

Since humanity accepted the existence of vampires in their midst, life has become impossibly more difficult for Deacon Cain, former Marksdale police officer and current member of the Nox Squad. Nox Liberi, latin for Night Children—the politically correct term for vamps—are running amok in the city turning humans into mindless addicts. Vamps have turned their alluring pheromones into a profitable enterprise, a rising street drug known as vamp venom. And for an ex-cop like Deacon, the existence of vamp venom is one he can’t and won’t tolerate. Joining Perimore Corporation to fight in the Nox Squad, Deacon spends his time putting rogue vamps behind Perimore’s bars and ridding the streets of venom. But a mission gone wrong leads Deacon to Hope Bradley, a Nox with secrets that might be Perimore’s downfall. Because Hope is Deacon’s future, and she’ll lead him on the path to a truth that will change his life and his world forever.

To read an excerpt, click here

December Contest!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! To celebrate the season, I collaborated with Santa... This month I'm offering a Barnes and Nobles Gift Certificate worth $20.00 to one lucky winner. Simply email me at marie_harte@yahoo.com with the subject line DECEMBER DRAWING to be entered to win. Contest ends Dec 20th at 8pm EST. Winner will be posted on my website and blog. Good luck!

Saturnalia: The Lord of Misrule -- New Release!!

SATURNALIA: The Lord of Misrule
now available from Loose Id

Each year, Saturn requires special tribute, and he prefers abundance in sexual favor, suitable "sacrifice" for the god of nature and the harvest.

Matteo Silvano and Renato Fortuna are up to the task, both charged with continuing their town's prosperity. Used to sharing women, the two are drawn toward something deeper than friendship with the addition of uniquely lovely Allegra Valente.

And when the proper tribute is paid, Saturn will reward not only the town, but Matt, Renato, and Allegra with a very special gift that will last an eternity.

For an excerpt, click here.

New Review for Enjoying the Show

New Review for Enjoying the Show from Romance Junkies. Read what Nickie Langdon, of RJ, had to say...

Hailey and her friends have gathered on Friday nights for quite some time. One particular Friday night they spy the man in the apartment directly across the courtyard from them. The urge to watch is not ignored.

Thus begins the Friday night watching of Mr. Tool, as they’ve named him. He’s become bolder and bolder in his appearance, actions and the television programs he watches.

Hailey is an intelligent blonde whose appearance makes men drool. Unfortunately, her shyness and awkwardness gives the impression that she’s an Iceprincess. She hears the comments from some of her male co-workers. Her track record with men isn’t good at all.

On a particular Friday night, Mr. Tool looks directly across the courtyard back at the women. When they realize he knows they’ve been watching him, they fall to the floor. Hailey, unfortunately – she thinks – is the last one to fall.

The party disburses and Hailey heads for her vehicle. Her quick getaway is thwarted by the man of her dreams. Gage, known as Mr. Tool, demands that she either go with him to his apartment. Once inside he tells her that he knows she and her friends have been watching him. He gives her a choice. Either she takes him to dinner or he turns her and her friends into the police for peeping.

Marie Harte’s ENJOYING THE SHOW is both fulfilled and bittersweet. Hailey is shy and unsure of herself where men are concerned. Her track record with them leaves her hesitant to trust. Gage fell in love with her the first time he saw her. While he tried to figure out a good way to meet her without coming off as a real jerk she moved. He finally found her again and watched from a distance.

Their coming together is sweet and loving. Gage will do anything to prove his love, even propose abstinence so she’ll believe his feelings are real. To him they’re permanent but he doesn’t want to scare her away.

She’s afraid that the wonderful turn of events is headed for a downfall and has trouble admitting her true feelings.

Then there’s his family. They’re the typical All-American family with a mom who loves her three sons dearly. She longs for her boys to find someone to love and make her a grandmother.

ENJOYING THE SHOW is witty, it’s sad and it has some heart pounding lovemaking going on. You don’t want to miss it.

Parades and Santa and Writing, oh my

The season is upon us, or at least upon me. Took the little ones to see Santa this morning and then on to a local parade, where my older kids march in the band. It was nice... and warm. Ah well, such is life in the south.

Been writing at a leisurely pace. Scrapped the second chapter in Satyr's Myst, my next contemporary geared for Loose Id. My heroine was a little too, er, loose to suit the story. I've since rewritten her actions and she's doing much better.

I'm also working up a new futuristic for a publisher that's caught my eye. Total E-bound seems to be an up and comer with great stories and covers. Their authors hit bestseller lists at Fictionwise and they have a solid reputation, far as I can tell, with readers and writers alike.

A few years ago I wrote several futuristics that had ties in the same universe, my first futuristics actually. They did very well and were fun to write. I even created a group of brothers, the Mardu brothers, who never did get all their stories told. Catam was introduced in Lurin's Surrender and had his story in The Thief of Mardu. Rafe and Sernal, his brothers, were introduced in that story and in Winner Takes All, but their stories didn't materialize when I was overtaken with other projects. So I plan to give them new life. And there's one other brother briefly mentioned, Gar, who suffered great tragedy and never quite got over it. I always wanted to write about him, and look forward to doing so.

Now if only I could clone myself to finish all the other stuff I still have on board to write... On to the weekend, and more later.

An MBam Bestseller!

Wow. Who knew the book would take off like it has? It may not last, but heck, it's fun while I'm in the midst of it. I'm talking about Enjoying the Show, which, after only its second day in release, has nabbed the #2 bestseller slot on Samhain's My Books and More (MBam) bookseller's list. I'm in great company. Joely Skye's Marked and Jaci Burton's Unwrapped, both books also released yesterday, have hit the list as well. So congrats to all and here's hoping the books continue to do well.

Big Smiles, Marie

New Release: ENJOYING THE SHOW

Finally! I've been waiting a long time for this... ENJOYING THE SHOW releases today from Samhain Publishing. This is my first submitted release to Samhain, the title that got my "foot in the door" but took a while to get published due to scheduling concerns. But it's here now, or will be later in the day, and I couldn't be happier! Take a look at the blurb and grab a sneak peek:

It’s “Look, but don’t touch.” Until the object of Hailey’s fantasies catches her looking and demands she touch him. Everywhere.

Hailey Jennison is smart, funny and, unfortunately, stacked like a blonde brick house. She’s well aware the impact her looks have on the male gender, and she hates it. Socially awkward, she keeps to a safe, boring routine, meeting friends once a week for dinner, some laughs, and entertainment. Entertainment comes in the form of a little harmless voyeurism, watching the living, breathing sex god across the quad parade around his apartment half-naked. Hailey watches and yearns, indulging in this weekly fantasy that almost—but not quite—satisfies her every desire. When Gage catches Hailey in the act of ogling him, he gives her a choice—go out with him, or he’ll call the cops. But he has no intention of calling the law down on every man’s wet dream. For he’s been watching her, as well. And he has plans to fulfill her naughty fantasies.

To read an excerpt, click here... And enjoy Enjoying the Show!

Merry Monday

Good Morning, or should I say good afternoon? I've been updating my website and just added a new excerpt for my novella, Emergence, coming from Amber Heat in January 2008. This morning I spent my time working on odds and ends, and sent art requests and blurb sheets for for Emergence and Rachel's Totem, coming in the spring of 2008 from Samhain.

Most publishers want their author's inputs on covers and on the fateful blurb, that grouping of words (normally found on the back of a print book) that's there to hook the reader into taking a chance on peaking at the story or, God-willing, buying the book.

I'm going to round out my day with edits on Guardian's Redemption. Tomorrow Enjoying the Show releases from Samhain. I'll be blogging here, of course, and at The Romance Studio. Looking forward to some downtime once my edits are done. I'm always excited to start a new project. Satyr's Myst and my last Firebreather book for Amber Heat are next on the horizon. Happy Monday and enjoy your week.

November Contest Winner

Wow! There were a ton of entrants for this contest. But the lucky winner, the 66th entrant (my daughter picked the number) is Tammy Garcia.

Thanks to all who participated, and look to December for a new and final 2008 contest.

New Pax Cover

I have to admit to having very little patience. As soon as I saw this, I had to share. This is the cover for the Amber Pax Collection of vampire stories coming out in January. My story, Emergence, will be a part of the anthology, and will have its own cover as I get closer to the release date. Amber Paxes are unique in that you can buy the whole collection of stories OR you can buy each one separately. I like that, as sometimes you want one story but not the whole. So enjoy the cover with me, and happy Friday.

Marie

Update...

As you can clearly see from my picture to the right, I'm finishing my current WIP. It's been both a blessing and a lesson in frustration hosting relatives for the holiday. I love my mom, and was more than happy to see her since she lives so far away...on the west coast while I'm on the east coast. She's gearing for a trip to New Zealand and returns to Seattle only to fly out again next week. But her leaving frees up my much-loved desktop.

The laptop which I had thought crashed actually hadn't. I reformatted the hard drive and restored Windows XP--I've been told by countless users (hello, Teri), not to go with Vista--and the laptop is up and running again, but much more slowly than my old faithful computer in the study.

Bottom line, I'm working like a dog, or in the case of the above picture, a monkey :) , and look forward to turning in my story, which now has a title, to Amber Quill! Emergence will hit the publisher Saturday and, if the schedule follows, be available in mid-January 2008. Yippee Skippee.

Oh, and don't forget. Only one more day to enter my November Contest. Contest ends Friday, so if you haven't already, enter for a chance to win one of my print titles.

Marie

New Contest, Ends Nov 30th

NOVEMBER CONTEST

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! In the spirit of giving thanks, I'd like to show my appreciation for all the readers out there who love romance. Simply send an email to marie_harte@yahoo.com with November Contest in the subject line to be entered to win a print copy of Illicit Pursuits.
**You must include your physical address in your email if you want to be entered in the contest, winner drawn randomly, not dependent upon location.**

Contest will run from Nov 26th through Nov 30th, winners announced Friday at 10PM EST. Thanks, and good luck!

Finally, I'm BAAACCKKK

Hi! Sorry to have been so absent lately. I had family visit for the holidays (Mom's still here, in fact) and haven't had access to my computer since the computer room doubles as a guest room. I rarely get to see my parents, so I've made the effort to spend more time with them and less time working. So now I have MAJOR deadline anxiety. Oh, and did I mention that my laptop crapped out? Any work I might have been doing when everyone was fast asleep this past week was a nonplayer. Yikes.

So far this morning, I finished my second set of line edits for Saturnalia, coming soon from Loose Id. Just received my cover. Take a look on your left...

Now I just have to finish up my vampire story for AQP, part of the Bite Me Pax. And then I'll hit some more Storm Lords edits before submitting.

I've updated my website with a new contest and plan to work on my newsletter later this week. Considering I only have five more days of November, I'd better get cracking, eh?

Well, happy Monday. Here's hoping you all had a very nice holiday (Thanksgiving for those of us in the states) and that your week looks much less stressed than mine.

Marie

The Alpha's Appeal

Alpha Males are hot. They're arrogant, strong, sexually domineering and very, very popular in the world of romance. The days of the loving beta seem to have disappeared, replaced by uber-strong hero with just a touch of emotional vulnerability that lends to his likability.

Honestly, though, could any of us really live with a real alpha? Imagine a partner who constantly bossed you around, never let you make a decision and always thought he was right? To hear my husband tell it, that would be like living with me. A nightmare even I wouldn't be able to handle. haha But though many of us like the thought of a strong partner with such confidence, I don't think we'd be able to live with him.

Yet in fiction, the alpha is not only sexier than hell, but a roll model for most heroes. Though he's often tortured in some way, he normally has to overcome his own aversion to accepting help to become whole. And what's more appealing than a strong man who's broken in some way, prodding in us that need to fix him?

I like the werewolf, in particular, as an example of the ultimate alpha because I've read some really great werewolf stories lately and I've studied them to see what grabbed me. A few hot-ticket items I noticed in the stories:

1. Hot, sexually magnetic, if not handsome, heroes
2. Strong heroes who protect what they love
3. Mates, the one and only female they can truly love
4. Sexy, take-charge in the bedroom types
5. And come on, wolves are beautiful

So okay. The alpha male, as a werewolf, is sexy. But why is he so charming? It's that mate thing, the ultimate hero taken down a peg by the vulnerable (physically at least) woman he loves. There's nothing quite like a strong man who's putty in his woman's hands. That dichotomy of strength and weakness, power and vulnerability that interests me as both a reader and writer.

Whether my heroes shift form or are completely human, they all share that same, powerful trait. Because what woman doesn't secretly want someone to lean on when times get tough? Someone who will remain strong no matter what? And to know that person will remain loyal and faithful 'til the end?

Some alpha stories to enjoy: A Wolf at The Door by Christine Warren (and all of her Other series), Christine Feehan's Dark Magic (Carpathians) , Lora Leigh's Hidden Agendas (Tempting Seals series), Shannon McKenna's Behind Closed Doors.

Smiles and happy Monday.

Marie **(wolf picture by feebleminds.com)

The Nox Liberi

Feeding Time!

Work on my latest MS, Nox Liberi, is going smoothly. Vampires can be a fun trend, if for no other reason than to try a whole new approach to something that's been done nearly to death. :) No pun intended.

My working title is still up in the air, but in the world of the Nox Liberi, the Night Children, a select group of humans have been chosen to protect the human populace. But what's not so clear is who the populace really needs protection from.

Hope Bradley and Deacon Cain will have to come to some type of compromise if they're going to destroy an enemy too big to take down alone. Because when the truth is something no one wants to face, exposing it can have dire consequences on all sides.

A paranormal-suspense-romance that is growing from a single title into the beginning of something bigger. Just wondering if I can contain the Nox Squad in a few short volumes..

There's Deacon Cain, Oscar "Oz" Williams, Flynn, Ghost, and a few others who keep pulling at my fingers to throw them in the story. But for now, Deacon takes center stage with his best friend Oz in the wings. And they have their sites set on Hope, and for more than she can bring to the table, but for what she brings to the bedroom as well.

Chapter Five...Finished!!

I've been remiss in my blogging lately, but it's all been for a good cause. The story that's been dogging my heels for a freakin' year--Guardian's Redemption-- is D O N E!!!! Say it with me, DONE. Or I should say, almost done. The run-through and nitnoid 2nd, 3rd and 4th edits have yet to be attempted, but the actual story is finished.

I am so relieved, words just can't express how great I'm feeling. Though my celebratory hazelnut latte and pumpkin cheesecake should give you hint.) Don't get me wrong. I love what I've been writing. But I've felt a lot of pressure to make the story right not just for the characters, but for the readers and heck, myself as well. I've invested a lot in the storyline, my first "grand" scale series that arcs from the very beginning, when Tanselm is under attack by the evil 'Sin Garu and the Storm Lords are thrust from their homeworld, through each Storm Lord's quest to find his affai, his bride, and ending with Arim, the Guardian of Storm, and the fate of Light Bringers and Darklings alike.

The last story is a whopper, topping 80000 words, and there's more story to this one (obviously) as it ties up a lot of loose ends. But I was striving to make this also a stand-alone, so if you hadn't read the other Storm Lords books, you could still read this one and not only enjoy it, but understand it. :) Not sure if I've done that or not. We'll see...

Next on the agenda, finishing up my vampire romance for Amber Quill. And then a short break, because man, do I need one!

Chow!

Marie

STORM LORDS: The Fire WIthin

The Fire Within is the first book in my Storm Lords series. It was published in November 2005, and I'm currently finishing up Guardian's Redemption, the fifth and (so far) final book in the series.

A few years ago, I'd been writing futuristics for NCP and wanted to do something a little different. I liked reading series books about interesting families, particularly hunky brothers, and from that inspiration struck and the Storm Lords was created. An alternate world. Four identical quadruplets with the power of the elements. Light versus Dark. A great concept, I thought, and my return to the paranormal after my first romance for NCP in 2004, a vampire paranormal.

The Storm Lords is a cross between the paranormal and fantasy romance, since much of the action takes place not on earth, but in Tanselm, a parallel world.

A Fictionwise Bestseller -- To save his homeworld from destruction, the Prince of Fire must find a suitable bride in a parallel world without magic, and finds instead a woman who lights his fire both inside and out.

The land of Tanselm will fall to evil if the Tetrarch, four identical princes wielding elemental powers, do not find their intended brides. Thrust into the parallel realm of earth to escape death and insure a future for their world, they have one mission and one mission only--to find their destined mates... Darius Storm, the Prince of Fire, is impatient and frustrated to be so far from his home, so marriage is the last thing on his mind. The women of the foreign world into which he's been thrust lack the inner power and strength to truly connect with him, and his job at a local nightclub only brings him into contact with more unsuitable prospects. Until he meets Samantha Brooks, a beauty with the fiery passion to meet Darius head-on, and a special magic all her own.

To read an excerpt, click here.

New Cover for ENJOYING THE SHOW

ENJOYING THE SHOW

Check out the gorgeous cover for my upcoming release from Samhain, Enjoying the Show. Scott Carpenter is the talented artist who created the cover, and I cannot thank him enough.

Now, I'm not sure if you saw the old cover I posted, thinking it was the final cover. But the one below and to the right is the one that was considered... At the time I was really in love with it, and still really like it. But having a choice between the guy on the left and the guy on the right, I have to go with the guy on the left. (Hold on while I wipe the drool off my mouth.)

The countdown is ticking. December 4th is right around the corner. I can't wait!

The Big Day

Well, today is the big day. The celebration to end all celebrations. Yep, you guessed it. My birthday. I had a great day. No cooking, cleaning or thinking about cooking and cleaning, a night out at the Columbia County Fair with the family, and a great new idea for a story. Nope, can't take a night off from storytelling. Not like I don't have a dozen other ideas pending, but this one really struck me as special. Demons, possession, hot sex... can't wait to write it.

As far as the birthday goes, I pretty much got everything I asked for. And like the dweeb I am, I was drooling with glee over my new dictionary and writer's thesaurus. Hey, I've been using the same dictionary (American Heritage) since 1989. Time I updated my resources, eh? :) Oh, and I also received two DVD sets, a box of Godiva chocolates (that my hips really don't need), a Starbucks travel mug and coffee, and one of the funniest books I've ever seen but didn't ask for: The Contemporary Dictionary of Sexual Euphemisms by Jordan Tate. Not only does the book list a bunch of sexual phrases--some I've heard of, others I has no clue--but it explores how these phrases came about. Now, I write erotic romance, but a lot of these euphemisms floored me. I won't go into detail, but did you know that a "rusty trombone," "jazz in the park" and a "pearl necklace" have OTHER meanings than those you and I might commonly give them. What a funny, funny gift from my husband.

Well, a bit of writing to wind down the night and some cheesecake, and then I'm off to bed, a year older.

Marie

Happy Halloween!

A Happy Halloween to everyone out there! I'm a guest blogger at Simply Ali this week, and wrote a piece on the vampire in honor of today's holiday. Check it out at Ali's blog.

The picture on the left is that of Bela Lugosi's Dracula, from the 1931 film. Classic horror. I thought I'd list my favorite classics just for fun. Got any I've missed? Feel free to add them. :) Here's another oldie but a goodie. Boris Karloff's Frankenstein. And how about Lon Cheney, the man of 1000 faces? Recognize him in The Phantom of the Opera? Or how about his son, Lon Cheney, Jr., as The Wolfman? And who could forget The Creature From the Black Lagoon?

I've since introduced my smaller kids to these movies, and they love them. Free from mindless blood and gore, these movies still imbue that sense of awe and trepidation psychologically, without resorting to out and out violence. The shadows, the creepy music, the lingering pauses, all of it adds up to a thrill that still makes me tingle when I watch them.
No offense to Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees or Michael Meyers, but the oldies are goodies for a reason.

Backlist Tuesday: Seriana Found

SERIANA FOUND, a futuristic romance

On the run from an undeniably sexy and ruthless pirate, a desperately determined woman falls headlong into love when she is captured by her relentless pursuer.

For years Abjon Afier has coveted his captain’s beautiful daughter, biding his time until the moment is right for bonding. But before he can claim the headstrong woman as his own, she flees into the dark recesses of space. On the run from a pirate as ruthless as her father, Seriana Blue darts from planet to planet, all too aware her capture is inevitable. Yet instead of the imprisonment she so dreads, she finds passion and much, much more in her pursuer’s strong arms.

A little backstory: I wrote Winner Takes All about a mercenary named Gren. When Gren attends a slave auction to try to rescue kidnapped women, he runs into a bruiser of a Ragga--a race with incredible strength--named Abjon. They struggle and fight, and Abjon flees before the System law arrives. Instead of leaving it at that, Abjon developed into a complex character, and the woman he was looking for, Seriana, escaped as well into her own story ...Seriana Found.

Seriana Found is now available from New Concepts Publishing. To read an excerpt, click here.

October Contest Winners

CONGRATS to Aliza and Jenilee C. for winning the October contest. Thanks to all who participated, and look to next month for more fun and games.

Friday Humor: The Mom Song

For some Friday fun. This is just hilarious. Anyone who's ever had children will get a huge kick out of this, or it might just remind you of your own mom. Enjoy!!

Click on the picture to listen "The Mom" song, sung to the William Tell Overture, by Anita Renfroe. What a mom says in 24 hours, condensed into 2 minutes and 55 seconds! Hilarious and talented! Lyrics for "The Mom Song" is given below. "The Mom Song" Get up now Get up now Get up out of bed Wash your face Brush your teeth Comb your sleepyhead Here's your clothes and your shoes Hear the words I said Get up now! Get up and make your bed Are you hot? Are you cold? Are you wearing that? Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at? Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat Don't forget! You gotta feed the cat Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play Don't shovel Chew s lowly But hurry The bus is here Be careful Come back here Did you wash behind your ears? Play outside, don't play rough, will you just play fair? Be polite, make a friend, don't forget to share Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare Get along! Don't make me come down there Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day? Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay? Can you even hear a word I say? Answer the phone! Get off the phone! Don't sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table No more computer time tonight! Your iPod's my iPod if you don't listen up Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you're coming home? Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam You'll appreciate my wisdom someday when you're older and you're grown Can't wait till you have a couple little children of your own You'll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate Use your fork, do not burp or I'll set you straight Eat the food I put upon your plate Get an A, get the door, don't get smart with me Get a grip, get in here, I'll count to three Get a job, get a life, get a PHD Get a dose of, "I don't care who started it! You're grounded until you're 36" Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven's sake And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too? If I've said it once, I've said at least a thousand times before That you're too old to act this way It must be your father's DNA Look at me when I am talking Stand up straighter when you walk A place for everything and everything must be in place Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about Oh! Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on Get in bed, get up here, say a prayer with mom Don't forget, I love you And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom's work never ends You don't need the reason why Because, because, because, because I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so I'm the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!! Ta da!!!

Characters We Hate

The title of this post might imply I'm going to talk about villains and the dastardly folks we're supposed to hate when we read our favorite books. But see, I always like the villains in that I'm a sucker for a great bad guy. I'm talking about the heroine who's Too Stupid To Live, or the hero that makes the same mistakes again and again, yet we're supposed to sympathize with him because...well, because he's the hero.

Wrong-o.

There's nothing that turns me off to a book more than an author who doesn't understand her/his own characters. A confusing concept, but one that unfortunately exists. Now, I have no problem with irritating secondary characters that have issues which help the story progress. They're supposed to be aggravating to push us toward some outlying truth about the main characters or the plot. I'm just tired of the heroine who can't say what she means because she's too meek, who overnight finds a backbone. Of the woman too afraid of love because her parents died or her first fiancé died, so she spends the entire book whining about lost love only to end up glued to a guy who happens to be a cop--a totally dangerous occupation that she's suddenly okay with. Hello???? Or how about my all time favorite... the alpha hero who treats his ladylove like crap the whole book, but learns he's really being a jerk on the last page and changes a paragraph before the words "The End." And I'm supposed to buy this Happily Ever After? Not.

We've all seen characters thrown into contrived plots that drive us nuts. The idiotic moron who goes into the basement--alone with no flashlight--of a haunted insane asylum rumored to be the home of a psychotic killer. Makes no sense. But horror movies love this device to ratchet tension. We see it again and again. In a good book, the author can have the same effect building tension by creating a decent plot with characters true to their natures.

No, a man hurt by women in the past won't automatically open up to the woman of his dreams. But maybe he can learn through empathizing with her problems or by watching what happens to his friends in the same situation. Or maybe he never learns, and that in itself prods him toward an act so out of character for him that it in fact shakes him into acknowledging hard truths about himself. Just because a character is one of the good guys doesn't necessarily make him a good, i.e. well drawn out, character.

I, for one, loved Hannibal Lecter the first minute I "met" him. Same with Freddy Krueger, Darth Vader, MacBeth and Medusa--okay, I admit, an odd collection of villains. But each character was so brilliantly detailed, flaws and all, that he/she sticks with me years after having read the book or seen the movie where the character was introduced.

Oh, and just as an aside, I could come up with a dozen male villains off the top of my head. Female villains? Besides Cruella Deville and Medusa, who technically could be called a monster? Not so easy...

:) Marie

Backlist Wednesday: WINNER TAKES ALL

Well, it's that time again. But I have to space this out....too many more backlists and I'll be out of books! **Smiles** So I thought I'd break out Winner Takes All, partly because I like the cover, but also because the hero of the book caught me by surprise when I wrote my first futuristic romance, Lurin's Surrender, where he made his first appearance. Gren was never supposed to be more than a secondary player to help Lurin out, but he turned into so much more. And that cover... be still my heart.

In Winner Takes All, Temis Freya constantly works to be taken seriously in a man's world, battling her beauty and a stubborn male mindset. Now a peacemaker close to promotion, she finds herself unfortunately assigned to an undercover mission with a man known only as Gren, an infamous mercenary with a reputation as a murderer and thief.

Gren, a secret protector of the Thesha, wants nothing more than his first vacation in years, but he's unable to let the plight of kidnapped young women go unanswered. Drafted into helping the peacemakers, he is further drawn into the game by the magnificent though stubborn woman fighting herself and him at every turn.

The sparks fly when Gren and Temis discover a passion sizzling all too close to the surface. And soon they realize that only by working together can they accomplish their mission, and reach the wonders of true love.

To read an excerpt, click here.

Have a great Wednesday!!

Marie

October Contest

October Contest!! Running from Oct 21st to Oct 26th.

To be eligible to win a free download of any of my books, send an email to marie_harte@yahoo.com with OCTOBER CONTEST in the subject line, and tell me how you heard about me in the first place... i.e. word of mouth, a specific publisher or distributor, etc. Contest runs Oct 21st through Oct 26th. Two winners will be chosen randomly. Good luck!

New Cover: ENJOYING THE SHOW

ENJOYING THE SHOW will be coming out from Samhain in December of this year. I'm very excited, since Enjoying the Show is the first contract I received from Samhain, though it will in fact be my third release with them. Scott Carpenter did the artwork, God bless him. I LOOOVEEE this cover. But then, my tastes are fairly simplistic. Hot guy, great cover. Check it out...

ENJOYING THE SHOW is a fun, contemporary novella concerning a socially awkward bombshell and the sexy construction worker putting on a show across from her friend's apartment. Hailey Jennison is smart, funny, and unfortunately, stacked like a blond brick house. Though socially awkward, she’s aware of the impact of her looks on the male gender. And she hates it. So keeping to her safe if boring life, she meets once a week with friends for dinner, some laughs, and entertainment which almost fulfills her every desire--watching the living, breathing sex god across the quad as he parades around his apartment half-naked. Watching and yearning, she eagerly accepts the routine, never anticipating she might find herself caught by her dream man, or that he has plans of his own to fulfill her naughty fantasies.

Too Vanilla, or Too Spicy?

I find myself in an interesting position. I'm writing a book with the central romance between one hero and one heroine. The books I've written lately, however, have been decidedly more "alternative" when it comes to the romance. Mirror, Mirror and The Lord of Misrule (due out in Dec from Loose Id) are both hot, sexy ménage stories. It struck me that I was returning to a more vanilla romance, and I actually had to tone down a few of my scenes to fit in with the context of the story. "Vanilla," in case you're unaware, is the term many use to describe a basic physical relationship between a man and a woman.

With so much erotic romance out there, readers, reviewers and publishers wanting more, hotter and heavier, it's no wonder so many stories now involve what was once considered (and in many states still is :) forbidden. But underneath it all is still the story. Some stories I write with a specific goal in mind. Fun, short erotic interludes that promise escape in a world of fantasy and physical enjoyment. Others are longer tales, the sensual content there to reinforce the love and growing intimacy between partners, where the plot is more involved, the characters more flawed.

From one story to the next, content changes, both plot/character-wise and in explicit, mature content as well. But as an author, I find the real interest in what drives the story--the characters themselves.

Just a bit of mental babbling. And that's what you get when the hamster in my mind falls off the wheel.

Marie

Backlist Wednesday: LURIN'S SURRENDER

Having missed yesterday's Backlist Tuesday, here's a book that an "oldie" but a goodie. :)

Lurin's Surrender was my first single title with New Concepts Publishing, and started my addiction to futuristic romances. What was going to be a single work spanned into several more, all connected by the world in which they live, but as separate stories. Lurin's Surrender started it all.

When a bounty hunter sets out to capture a hardened criminal, she finds more than she bargained for in her sensual prisoner.

Captain Mara Seni captures the larger-than-life Lurin Vez and intends to deliver him as promised to the royal Elaran family for a hefty bounty. But she can't quite figure out why the handsome man with intelligence shining in his electric blue eyes would resort to such heinous crimes. Lurin is innocent and needs to escape. Using the inherent sensual skills of the Thesha, he seduces the captain only to find himself seduced in the process. But only with love can Lurin and Mara survive against the enemy threatening both their freedom, and their lives.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Marie

A Productive Weekend

Time sure does fly. I can't believe I haven't posted since Tuesday!! Well, at least I have some good news to share. I recently completed my second round of edits for Enjoying the Show, a contemporary romance coming out in December from Samhain.

I also finished my galley edits for the print version of I Dream of Dragons vol 1, in which The Dragons' Demon appears, along with Bianca D'Arc's Wings of Change and Summer Devon's The Knight's Challenge. The book will be out in print in March, 2008. Check out this hot cover...

And I just submitted the complete manuscript of Saturnalia: The Lord of Misrule for Loose Id's Festival of Lights collection coming out in December. I'll be posting an excerpt on my website soon.

I got a lot of work done thanks to my husband, who held down the fort while I typed like a madwoman. :) I will say I had more fun editing the stuff I'd already written, enjoying my work a second time. So hey, if no one else is entertained, at least I am!

Cheers, and happy Monday.

Marie

New Release: MIRROR, MIRROR

New Release from Loose Id.... MIRROR, MIRROR

Mandy Rovela has had the hots for Lincoln Baron for years, but refuses to become another notch on his bedpost. So she agrees to his stupid wager--to spend Halloween at her grandmother's house, a feat no Rovela would ever consider--to win twenty-four hours with Linc at her beck and call. Every Halloween, her grandmother flees the house in fear of the ghost trapped in a cursed mirror. For only on Halloween can the ghost be freed. Ignoring family superstition, Linc uses his bet to lure Mandy to him. For years he's tried to avoid his attraction to the smart-mouthed woman, but to no avail. He wants her, but more, he's in love with her. And it's high time he does something about it. Ghost or no ghost, he plans to have Mandy. But the ghost is more than a spirit. He's an earth mage who needs sex to gain power. And he'll use everything Linc and Mandy have to push him back into the spirit realm where he belongs. Lovers beware, Dominic de Sange is ready to play.

Now available from Loose Id. To read an excerpt, click here. Enjoy, and happy release day!!!

Marie

A Monday Morning Update

Good Monday morning! I'm happily typing away while the house is quiet and empty. I don't like to write with any distraction. No music, no TV, nothing but my characters writing their own story.
Tomorrow, Mirror, Mirror releases from Loose Id. It's a Loose Id Fling, a short story, and a fun romp complete with a ghost, Halloween, and a sexy couple needing a push into love.

I've got Guardian's Redemption working, and another story, The Lord of Misrule, in the works for Loose Id.

Just a brief update. Have a great week, and more later.

Marie

A ROYAL CONTINUUM, behind the scenes

BEHIND THE SCENES: A ROYAL CONTINUUM

I skipped Tuesday's blog on purpose. No, really, on purpose. I wanted to keep the attention on my newest release so Backlist Tuesday is being pushed to the end of the week.

Today I'd like to talk about A Royal Continuum. I'm always interested in how writers create their stories, what goes into the whole process and how they come up with plot lines and characters. So I guess I'd better start at the beginning.

In February 2007, Amber Quill Press released Firebreather, what was initially written as a single title story for the BeastmasterI Pax. Firebreather was about a shapeshifter, Ferin Dekker, the Dracon king, and his dealings with a human female, Lea Venlay, who intrigues him on every level. The story revolves around Ferin and how he brings Lea into his culture and into his heart, despite the enmity between their families. In the course of binding her to him, Ferin shares Lea with his brothers and best friend, respectively Matthias, Adrian and Lucas.

Okay. That's Firebreather in a nutshell. I had intended to let the book stand by itself. But Firebreather was such a fun story and had such a wonderful response (was a bestseller on AQP's list for several months and hit #1 on Fictionwise in erotic romance) that I began toying with the idea of writing about Ferin's brothers. In a flash, Matthias's story began to unfold. A plot not so much built on danger and rebellious Dracon, but on character tension. And of course, the promise of hot, hot lovin'. :)

At the end of Firebreather, Matthias and Cora Venlay, Lea's sister, seem to have an attraction. Yet when I began writing, Cora just didn't fit. Matthias needed something more... And then she hit me. Ava Tailstack, cousin to the villain in Firebreather, suddenly popped into existence. She reveres family, but has problems with self-blame since her cousin brought down the Tailstack name, which further troubles Ava since she's been in love with Matthias forever. A wonderful character. But...not enough for Matthias. He needed more. And he found it with Tanner Flay, a half-breed Dracon with issues, the least of which is that he's straight and finds himself attracted to a man and a woman way out of his league. Half-breeds are rare, and not accepted in either human or Dracon culture.

With Ava and Tanner, the possibilities for conflict exploded, and I was having a blast trying to find out how Matthias could possibly mate Tanner and Ava. Matthias was royal, and I wanted a title to express his tie to Ferin. Firebreather II? Return to Dracon Mount? A Royal Match? Yech. Those titles totally didn't work. And then I thought about the story. Matthias has to continue his line. Hmm. He's royalty. Hmm. A Royal Continuum. Ah, I liked it.

I wrote a great first draft pretty quickly. Good juju. Until I reread what I'd written. I had to go back and make sure I stuck to all the rules I'd created in Firebreather. If Dracon and humans can't procreate, how the hell does Tanner exist? And there were inconsistencies in the physical lovemaking scenes I had to get straight. Names and spellings to correct. Tanner became Tannon for pages on end. Hello, Asheville has two "e's". Ack. A lot of crap to get right.

But I fixed it. And then Karin, my wonderful editor with AQP, fixed some more. Galley edits came back, and more corrections were made. Whew. So I hope it works now. I'm very proud of A Royal Continuum and wanted right away to get to work on Adrian and Lucas's story, which has so many twists and turns at this point that I'm not sure how to direct it. Alas, my current WIP is taking me FOREVER to finish, so I have to push the last installment in the Firebreather "series" aside. (I hate to say "series" because to me, that implies the books need to be read in order to be understood. But the Dekker brothers each have their own story that is related, but not dependent upon the other stories.)

Tanner is a great character, and a lot of his story still has yet to unfold. I'm thinking some revelations about Tanner will come out in the last book, tentatively titled Icebreather. (Still not sure if that works.) Then again, maybe not, because the focus of the story is Adrian and Luca. sigh I really need to finish my current stuff, get to another AQP book for the Bite Me Pax, a collection of stories about vampires coming out in Jan 2008, and a work for Loose Id I'm very excited about coming out in Dec 2007.... and THEN I can start Adrian and Lucas's story. whew

More later!

Marie

New Release: A ROYAL CONTINUUM

New Release!! A Royal Continuum has released today from Amber Heat and Amber Allure. I'm very excited about this. When I wrote Firebreather, I created a family of royal Dracon, not expecting the other brothers to become so engaging. And then I just HAD to write Matthias's story. (Adrian's will be coming later as well.) I hope you enjoy it!

In A Royal Continuum, Matthias Dekker is one of the three royal Dracon, a princely shapeshifter sought after by many, but who's finally found the other half of himself--a mate. The problem is, his "other half" happens to come in the form of two problematic Dracon. Ava, a female he's been hungering after for years, has finally come of age and is no longer under the watchful eye of her protective uncle. And Tanner, a wandering half-breed with a huge chip on his shoulder when it comes to love, protects Matthias because he's been ordered to by the head of Dracon security. Trying to justify two mates to the Dracon community is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Matthias's troubles. Because neither Ava nor Tanner seems to relish the idea of a royal mate, and Matthias's plan to cement his new family goes astray when he mates both Ava and Tanner without their knowledge, and without the express permission of the Dracon king.

Click here to read an excerpt.

Heroes is Back!!!!

Sorry, I try to keep these blog posts writing related, so I'll loosely tie the television series Heroes in by saying it's sucking away my writing time while giving me ideas. What a great freakin' show!! If you missed it, check it out tomorrow by clicking here. Season one is no longer available for viewing on the website, but I think season two will be posted there sometime soon. Last season I missed a few episodes and watched them the next day online.

If you're one of the people living under a rock and are unfamiliar with the show, Heroes is about a group of seemingly normal individuals who have extraordinary abilities. One girl can't die, another guy can fly, another can move through time, etc. There are conspiracies and mysteries, subplots withing plots, and the best part is that each show delivers answers while asking more questions. Unlike Lost, which I quit watching because they never answered anything, season one of Heroes ended with a bang. And season two picked up with a blast. Great show! New heroes, and lots of fun. Don't miss it. Oh, and Journeyman after Heroes was pretty good too. A guy who travels through time but has no idea why. The Quantum Leap for the new millennium.
Cheers!
Marie