Nocturnal Journal–Mandy M. Roth

Mandy M. Roth

Mandy M. Roth is a member of the new virtual authors’ group, Dark Muse Society. You can visit her and fellow authors in the virtual world, here.

About Mandy
Mandy M. Roth grew up fascinated by creatures that go bump in the night. From the very beginning, she showed signs of creativity. At age five, she had her first piece of artwork published. Writing came into play early in her life as well. Over the years, the two mediums merged and led her to work in marketing. Combining her creativity with her passion for horror has left her banging on the keyboard into the wee hours of the night. Mandy lives with her husband and three children on the shores of Lake Erie, where she is currently starting work on her Master’s Degree. (more…

Behind the Story: One Love for Liv by Marianne Arkins

“One Love For Liv” was my 2005 NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) story. I’d been working on another novel previously and had originally intended for Liv to show up as my hero’s ex-fiancée. After a great deal of thought, I decided she didn’t work in that story, but despite the fact that she was a snob and terribly unkind, I really loved (LOVED) the character, so had to use her.

I’d also realized that most of my heroine’s were tomboys, so I set out to make Liv everything they weren’t. I’d never had a blonde heroine, so Liv became not just blonde, but platinum. They always loved animals, so Liv? Hated them, one and all. They were strong and unafraid of much, so Liv was scared of most things outside her realm of the routine.

Then I had to give her a hero. And he had to be everything she despised: a poor, uncouth, sloppy pet owner. I think I succeeded in Mike. He’s a nice enough guy, but nothing that Liv would ever have considered being attracted to.
Writing this story for NaNoWriMo was more than a challenge! I had so much fun with it. If I got stuck, I used a “dare” from their message board to get me moving. Thanks to that, I created a colorful secondary character, Frank, who is desperately trying to break a Guinness Book World Record. Completing a novel in thirty days forced me to WRITE. No going back to chapter one and making it perfect, no agonizing over whether the heroine had motivation to paint her toenails purple, no deciding that cleaning the entire house from top to bottom was more important. My job that month was to create.

Once the first draft was completed (two days early!), I set it aside and forgot about it for awhile. Then, after several months, I pulled it back out, read through it and realized just how much work it needed to be in the least bit presentable. I must have rewritten the first chapter ten times, and even then I wasn’t entirely happy with the result. Finally, though, I thought I’d tidied it up enough to share with one particular writing friend, Darcy, who is the best editor in the world.

She read through the entire draft and was ruthless in her suggestions. Red ink flew! When I got the draft back I was both demoralized (“Wow! I didn’t know it was so awful.”) and energized (“Woot! Look at all the ways I can make this better!”).

It took a long time after that to get it all worked out. She challenged me. Questioned character motivation. Loved some stuff, hated others. I had to decide what to take and what to toss—harder than it sounds, because she’s someone whose opinion I value greatly.
Then… it was done and ready. I just had to write up a synopsis. Yeah… well.. that’s a breeze. Still, I struggled through and got it done.

And the rest is history.

Buy link for “One Love For Liv”:

My website:
My blog:

This cracks me up! These actors did a great job! “I’m wearing Orlando’s elephant. Muuuuuwwhhhaaaaa”

Oooo, the drama…

Paranormal Talk Radio ~ Romancing the Paranormal
(listen to the archived show featuring Michelle Pillow, Mandy Roth and Jacquelyn Frank)

Wow, a huge thank you to Annette of Paranormal Talk Radio and all the guests tonight. It was so much fun hanging out on the show! If any of you missed it, you can listen to the archived interview here!

Show Summary: My guests are award-winning authors of Paranormal Romance; Jacquelyn Frank, Michelle Pillow, and Mandy M. Roth! They’re also 3 of the most fun-loving and funny women I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Join us for what’s sure to be one heck of a hilarious show! And don’t forget to call in with your questions.

Behind the Story~ Holding Fast by Emma Sanders

Holding Fast – an extended blurb

Wesley Webb is a professional race-car driver whose only goal is to race, win championships, and continue to race. He uses the speed, concentration and focus of racing as an escape from his emotions and it has worked its magic for years. He doesn’t need or want anything else. He’s elusive with the media despite his high profile career, and doesn’t take too kindly to his ex-fiancée’s reemergence in his life as a journalist, particularly because she has knowledge of a past he’s kept well hidden from his fans.

Caitlyn Daniels is a journalist who has tried to convince herself she’s over Wesley, never mind the fact she sleeps with his cologne on her pillow every night. This assignment to pursue a story on him could be the purging she should have had ten years ago.

Wesley resents Caitlyn’s reemergence in his life, but feels this could be a chance to end things they way they should have ended, with a proper goodbye and a chance to face his guilt head on. But when he becomes a murder suspect, will Caitlyn help or hinder the investigation?

 

I wrote Holding Fast twelve years ago, and pretty much had the story in my head for twelve years. I even submitted a query about ten years ago to Silhouette, the same characters and plot line but without the suspense element and a few other things. I was young, didn’t know what I was doing, and research was hard for me to come by during those years. After I was rejected, I thought writing was for other people, not for me. I had a real job, and writing was difficult while working full time.

I got married when I was 18 and, like I said, I did attempt to write at first. But then life became complicated. Work, bills, family. In January 2003 (yes, my New Year’s Resolution) I decided I was going to write and no matter how long it took, I was going to be published.

The story of Holding Fast has changed over the years, been revised, but there was something about this story I just couldn’t let go. Most people would say put it away, do something else. And I did, I did write something else, I wrote something really bad even before this one, but I always came back to Holding Fast. I thought if I couldn’t write this book, I may not ever succeed as a writer. Holding Fast is truly the book of my heart. It will always be my baby.

It’s like Wesley, the hero in Holding Fast, says: “There’s no way to describe how and why you do something you love.”

~ Emma Sandars

My website: http://www.emmasanders.com

Behind the Story ~Her Cinderella Complex by Jenna Bayley-Burke

 

Driving is just not my thing. I know, some people love a road trip, and I like them, just don’t put me behind the wheel. I just don’t have the attention span. I always volunteer to carpool so that I don’t have to drive, and the Emerald City Writer’s Conference in 2006 was no exception.

A friend picked me up, and we chatted all the way to Seattle. We discussed the two stories rivaling for her attention – a vampire tale and one involving the world series of poker. I voted for the poker book. And of course we talked about what I was working on…my ode to all the things I loved in romance. I even had the title – Her Cinderella Complex – because I wanted a title with the word Cinderella.

I wanted to work in everything I read romance for – secret crushes, private islands, an enigmatic hero and a lovable heroine. During the drive I waxed poetic about how I hoped to work in a Jaguar and sex in a pool. Not together, but you get the idea.

At the conference, Cherry Adair challenged everyone to commit to finishing the book they were working on before next year’s conference. No problem, I had two NaNoWriMo workshops to lead. I had to be done by November. I signed up, had a great conference, and spent the drive home thinking of more fun things to work into the book – like stranding my heroine on the island in the middle of lake Shastina with nothing but a suitcase of lingerie!

I finished the book, loving every second of writing it. When Samhain loved it as much as I did, I was thrilled, especially since I was able to come to the 2007 Emerald City Writer’s Conference and share the news as dozens of us stood before the group as those who’d met Cherry’s challenge.

Loving romance novels and Cherry Adair, that’s what’s behind the story of Her Cinderella Complex. Thanks for letting me share such a happy memory.

Jenna Bayley-Burke

www.jennabayleyburke.com

http://www.jennabayley-burke.blogspot.com/

http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/jenna-bayley-burke

Raven Radio LIVE–NY Author Jaci Burton
Wed Feb 20th
11am –12pm EST

Wild, Wicked, Wanton NY Author Jaci Burton joins Mandy and Michelle to talk books, sexy men on Harley’s, demon islands, the paranormal and whatever else we can rope her into! Find out about her new release Riding Wild from Berkley Heat!

Listener dial-in number during LIVE shows
(646) 595-3998 (New York number, long distance charges apply)

There is also a LIVE chat during the shows. Follow the link below and look for CHAT LIVE buttons! You can type your questions or comments in there during the chat and we’ll ask/answer them on air!
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ravenradio

 

Michelle M Pillow
www.michellepillow.com

Mandy M Roth
www.mandyroth.com

Marketing with Mandy ~ Author Nathalie Gray

Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Ellora’s Cave and Red Sage.
A: Ellora’s Cave were the first to take a chance on me. They weren’t afraid to publish a book with a bounty hunting, six-foot tall heroine who cursed, smoked, blew stuff up, and shot her way out of trouble. Since I signed with them in 2005, I have over twenty titles with them. I’m well on my way to my goal, which is World Domination - One Reader at a Time. Recently, I signed with the venerable Red Sage, who, just like Ellora’s Cave, let me stretch my wings. I told them “I write stories about strong women who curse and fight and wear lip gloss and big shiny scifi guns? Wanna read it?” Red Sage, instead of running for the hills, said “Hell yeah”. Well, okay, they didn’t use those words. But the contracts, they started coming in!

 

Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I keep my website updated almost daily. No blog, no MySpace, nothing else but my site. It’s my one-stop shop. I also put paid ads in print magazines, online review sites, etc. I don’t belong to many chat loops because I like to believe that my books can speak for themselves. But I do belong to one group, The HussiesTM, a bevy of unruly erotic romance author gals who’ll give it to you straight. Love them!

 

Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Don’t follow a rule off a cliff. Make your own rules. Don’t listen to anyone giving you advice, especially me.

 

Q: How did you get into writing?
A: Writing is my second career. I spent 12 years in the Canadian military (army), where I learned English (my first language is French), the many uses of duct tape and parachute cord, and how to armpit-fart. Then I started thinking…mm, how could I recycle all those nifty skills? And BOOM! It came to me. Erotic romance writer, of course.

 

Q: What types of research do you do for your books?
A: This has to be the one aspect of writing that makes me turn from friendly, tail-wagging Labrador to fanatical, snarling she-demon. My research, I’m proud of it. There’s nothing I won’t do to get the goods on something. Etymology, historical goodness, metallurgy, nanotechnology. If I need it for my story, then I’m all over it like, well, me all over my kid’s bowl of candies on Halloween.

 

Q: How do you balance family and writing?
A: Stephen King has a good one on this. He said that he once owned a manmade, mammoth desk that he’d use for writing. That it throned in the middle of the room, just like his writing primed in his life. Until a realization hit him. Life isn’t a support system to writing. It’s the other way around. He says his desk is now a normal, office desk, in the corner of the room, and he sits at it with his back against the wall. That’s perspective, man. I feel the same way. My office door is never closed, my back is to the wall.

 

Q: What would you do if you weren’t a writer?
A: I’d like to be a bouncer at a rowdy tavern. Nothing tickles my inner Chihuahua more than the idea of grabbing a pair of boorish drunkards and tossing them out on their heads. That or archaeologist. What?! What did I say?!

Links
I invite you to my site, where you can browse my catalog of digital and print books, read interviews and reviews, or just laugh at my picture album.
http://www.nathaliegray.com/

There will be multiple winners! Enter to win EC Ebook (winner’s choice) — One from Ciana Stone, One from Sahara Kelly, One from Ann Wesley Hardin. All you have to do is comment on any of the Marketing with Mandy~Spotlight posts this week! Winner will be announced on Sunday!

Marketing with Mandy ~ Author Sahara Kelly

Q: Tell us a little about your experience with Ellora’s Cave.
A: It’s hard to believe that my first novel came out with EC in 2001! Since then…well I’ve had an incredible journey, supported all the way through nearly four dozen books by my very patient editor! LOL

Q: What tips/tricks do you use for marketing or promoting your own titles?
A: I write the very best book I can. Before I even think about contests or promotions, I need to know that what I’m offering readers is accurate, interesting and hot!! If it doesn’t make my grade, I’ll work on it until it does!!!

Q: What is one thing you’d want to tell a newer author, just coming into the game?
A: Don’t take yourself too seriously. We’re writing romance novels, not working on a cure for cancer. So one book doesn’t do as well as you’d hoped? Don’t worry. Others will surprise you!

Q: Could you tell us a bit about your latest release?
A: That would be “Perfect Whore”! My first foray into erotica - full blown sexual intensity without the usual kind of ending. It was an enormous challenge for me, but I grew to really love my characters, especially Scarlet Angel, the title character. She was so fascinating to me. The kind of woman I’d like to sit next to on a plane!!!

Q: Can you tell us a little about your current WIP’s?
A: Currently I’m awaiting word on my latest submission - a novel in the new HUSSYTM series. Becoming a HUSSYTM, getting together with six wonderful authors and exchanging ideas - well, it’s been very revitalizing! I found a medieval story taking root in my mind and my own Hussy appeared - a Welsh woman with a quest into dangerous English territory. And of course there’s a Knight just made for her!

Q: What types of research do you do for your books?
A: Long, loooong hours of intense research. I have a somewhat eclectic library of resources next to my desk (everything from the history of lingerie to a book of seventeenth century swear words), spend hours on the ‘net, talk to people whenever I can, and draw on my own travels for settings when it works. I like to add that little “something” that you pick up from different places. The light, maybe, or the scent of the air. It adds an extra dimension that helps take readers along with me as I go to wherever my current novel is set.

Q: Why do you like writing romance/erotica?
A: My first novel (published over twenty years ago under another name) was a straight sweet Regency. It was fun, but once I discovered the erotic angle, I found I could really get into the characters. Er…no pun intended there. I found I could reveal so much more of their passions and their emotions by describing how they touched - how they loved. It eliminated pages of dialogue, drew readers into the romance and seemed so natural I wonder now how I ever managed to write an entire book without those sizzling sex scenes!!!

Links
http://www.saharakelly.com (Website)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PartnersInPerversion/ (Yahoo group shared with S.L. Carpenter)

There will be multiple winners! Enter to win EC Ebook (winner’s choice) — One from Ciana Stone, One from Sahara Kelly, One from Ann Wesley Hardin. All you have to do is comment on any of the Marketing with Mandy~Spotlight posts this week! Winner will be announced on Sunday!

Raven Radio

TODAY LIVE! 11am-12 pm EST
Authors and hosts of Raven Radio, Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow, invite you to come participate in the fun! Ask questions through live chat or by calling into the show! Author Gia Dawn will be stopping past to visit with us and talk about her latest book, Princess of Thieves. We promise to put her in the hot seat, demanding she tell us all about her Dunmore series and how it is she can pen such deliciously wicked heroes.

Listener dial-in number during LIVE shows
(646) 595-3998 (New York number, long distance charges apply)

There is also a LIVE chat during the shows. Follow the link below and look for CHAT LIVE buttons! You can type your questions or comments in there during the chat and we’ll ask/answer them on air!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ravenradio