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.