Difficult week

I’m going to try to make a real effort in blogging more often.  Life has been getting in the way big time. Spring/early summer is always hectic with gardening and other pre-summer things that need to be done, but we’ve also been renovating the house, redecorating, fixing up a writing room for me (yay!) and well…my grandmother just passed away this weekend…so I have a difficult week ahead. 

Looking toward the future, however, I’m planning to incorporate video blogging, or vlogging, as it’s termed. I thought that will give readers a deeper look at my life as an author and what’s behind the pages. 

So that’s it in a nutshell. I’m going to have a very challenging week, so I’m going to try to be kind to myself, maybe give myself a break for once.  I was close to my grandmother, and she was a direct link to the past, and that is now gone.  It’s hard.  Death is hard, and as much as it occurs in my life with friends and loved ones lost, I have yet to understand it.  Maybe I never will.  

New book idea

I am a taphophile.  Wikipedia defines this as:

“Tombstone tourist (otherwise known as a "taphophile", "cemetery enthusiast", cemetery tourists or "grave hunter" or "graver") describes an individual who has a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries.^[1] This involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of (famous) deaths.”

While I don’t do gravestone rubbings (illegal is some—or all now?-- states), I do love cemetaries.  I’ve long contemplated writing a non-fiction book about them. I’m thinking seriously of it.  It would be a book I’d self publish.  I’m thinking of one page a description of a particular interesting stone, what cemetery it’s in and the location, then a photo of the stone.  This book would take years to compile.  I have tons of photos of stones.  Some are not well documented, which I regret now. 

The many varieties of romance

When I tell people I’m a writer, they always ask me what I write.  After I tell them I write romance, they seldom question what type of romance.  Romance breaks down into a spectrum of sub genres.  Paranormal, historical, erotic, inspirational to name a few.  Paranormals can then be broken down to vamps, ghosts, werewolves, etc.  Many times they even cross over to urban fantasy or futuristic.

Historicals can be sub-catagorized even further. Westerns, Colonial, Regency, medieval and more.  The erotic genre may be contemporary, futuristic, fantasy, even steampunk.  Confusing?  Sometimes.  But the possibilities are endless.

I love experimenting with genres. I just finished the draft of a fantasy erotic that borders on horror.  Even my paranormal contemporary romance with a demon hero, Wicked Redemption, has been called horror by some reviewers.  Because I dabble in so many sub-genres, I sometimes confuse readers. 

 

 

 

 

One reader loves my historicals, and I caution her about buying my paranormals because I know that’s not what she wants.  Nathan’s Return, for example, is a historical, but it’s also paranormal and time travel—not her particular type of story.  She wants straight historical with no surprises and a guaranteed happily ever after.  And that’s okay. 

At signings I pass out cards that separate the genres of my books. I love to educate, talk books, and I love to open new worlds for readers.  If one of my books can carry someone away from their troubles for just a few hours, then I’m a happy writer.

I'm excited for the release of my historical romance, Blackbird, available now.  Here's a blurb and excerpt:

Adahya, a Mohawk warrior aiding the British, wants no part of love--especially not with the chattering white woman he has just taken captive. 

Katherine St. James, a teacher at a frontier mission, will stop at nothing to return to the man she has always loved, Reverend Joshua Knox. 

Adahya’s attraction for Katherine is threatening his plans to kill Knox.  Katherine is determined to save Joshua’s life…but Adahya is just as arousing as he is dangerous. 

In a fortnight’s journey wrought with danger and deception, Adahya and Katherine make the trek of a lifetime…and sleeping with the enemy might become a very distinct possibility…

Excerpt:

  The Indian slowly ran a hand down the side of her face.  “What do you do with Knox?”

  “N-nothing.”

  “Tell me.”  His fingers traced the curve of her jaw.  “Do not lie.  I will know.”

  “I--”

  “Tell me.”

  “I’ve kissed him.”

  The Indian lowered one arm.  “Kissed him?”

  Katherine found her opportunity to escape and ducked from his trap.  She distanced herself yards from him.

  “What does kissed him mean?”

  Katherine stared at him, momentarily shaken.  He could not be serious.

  But he looked serious.

  “You’ve never kissed anyone before?”

  He looked confused.

  Panic turned to incredulousness and exploded into laughter.  Seeing his scowl, she covered her mouth.  “Kissing is what people do to show that they care for one another.”

  He seemed genuinely puzzled.

  “What do Mohawks do to show their affection?” She should not have asked, but it was too late... 

Click Here to Purchase Blackbird

Author Interview ~ Cora Zane

Author Cora Zane was kind enough to drop by the blog today. 
I’m so honored to have you here, Cora.  I absolutely love your books! Tell us about your latest releases. 

I’ve written across several genres over the years, but I primarily write erotic paranormal romance and literary erotica.  My latest book is an erotica paranormal romance called Chasing Moonlight. It’s book six of the Werekind werewolf series. It’s available at most major online US based booksellers, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, ARE, etc. 

I’ve also recently had several short several published in anthologies for both digital-first and traditional publishers. I have stories appearing in Ultimate Angels: Tales of Winged Warriors, Coming Together: Hungry for Love, and Morning, Noon, and Night: Erotica for Couples. 

What is a typical writing day like for you?

I write at night, usually from about 9pm to 2 in the morning.

I used to write during the daylight hours, but there were too many interruptions and distractions. I shifted my schedule to give myself the daylight hours for home and family. At night, once my son is asleep, I take care of the dishes and laundry then head to my office to write.

What does your writing office look like?

I have an office at one end of the house. My desk is a simple, wooden pre-fab desk right inside the doorway. The desk faces a window overlooking the front yard, I have to keep that main window covered with curtains and a blanket; otherwise, the sunlight would hit me directly in the face throughout the day.

If you’re sitting in my desk chair, to the left of my desk, stands the official “keeper shelf”, a half-bookcase that contains all my writing related reference books, my address book, and Kindle. To the right of my desk is the door to the hallway. On the back of that door, I have a large bulletin board for notecards, and a dry erase board. I reset at least one of those boards whenever I start a new novel.

Honestly, my office stays cluttered most of the time. It’s organized well enough at the front end, but all the spare furniture from the rest of the house has somehow migrated here over the years. The back half of my office has built in twin closets and shelving, and there is a full-sized, massive curio cabinet filled to the brim with family treasures against one wall. Across from the curio cabinet, there is floor to ceiling industrial shelving that hold bins of books, shipping materials, office supplies, and stuff like that.

That sounds so creative.  What other things inspire you?

Inspiration is everywhere, but I think reading is probably my largest wellspring. I get inspired by reading about author’s processes, collecting quotes, and by reading outside my genre. Most of the books I pick up are non-fiction or writing craft related, but I also like to read category romances and horror novels.

When I can afford it, I like to travel, take photographs, explore—that sort of thing. I’ve used vacation destinations and events in my books before. There is always inspiration to be gained by going out into the world and opening yourself up to new places and experiences. What may otherwise be a mundane event, such as driving across a bridge or sitting through a summer thunderstorm, can leave a completely different impression on you when it happens in an unfamiliar place.

Are you a plotter or a pantster?

A little of both.  I used to spend a lot of time plotting, but I don’t do that now unless I have subplots to work with. Whenever I start a new project, I typically spend a few days, up to a few weeks, brainstorming. That includes researching settings and figuring out who my characters are. Once that is done, if the project is longer and seems complex, I might write out a synopsis to use as a loosely built road map. From there, I simply turn my story over to the characters and let them run with it.  

How can readers find you, website, blog, etc.?

Readers can find my website at www.corazane.com. The site is always up to date with all the pertinent information and social media links, such as my Twitter and Facebook accounts. I also have a blog at http://corazane.blogspot.com   where I talk about anything and everything that pops into my mind: what’s going on, books and writing, and just about everything else under the sun. I welcome readers to drop by and say hello.

Thanks so much for dropping by, Cora!

Thanks for having me, Nancy. It’s been a pleasure visiting your blog.

Time and Again Books and Tea

It’s a rare occasion when I discover something new and unique right under my nose.  I did just that today.  I was in Oswego, NY when I came across Time and Again Books and Tea on 18 East Utica Street in the city.  Time and Again is a gorgeous Victorian era home turned into a bookstore.  Treasures can be found in every corner from comfy book-motif tapestry covered rocking chairs, to old paintings, to of course books galore.   The only thing lacking was a cat or two.  Despite that, I was in heaven.

The owner was incredibly sweet, even had me sign her guestbook.  I left her with a handful of my bookmarks to set by her cash register, and I purchased a Debbie Macomber novel and a recipe book on making bread.  I intend to go back every time I visit Oswego, and I’m so excited I found a new bookstore.

Excerpt Sunday ~ Stranger In His Bed

Constance Sterling slapped the reins against her mount and prayed she would not meet her maker this night.  

     Skeletal trees loomed like tombstones.  She zigzagged between them, kicking up a cloud of rotted leaves in her path.  The air was as cold as a corpse’s breath, and she had no idea if she were still behind enemy lines. 

     Fear, raw and relentless, tripped her heartbeat.  She swallowed the knot of bile at the base of her throat and tried not to panic.  Tonight was nothing new.  She’d taken chances before.  Not to say she’d never been in predicaments, never had her back forced to a wall, but never this close.  Tonight fear did not bring an anticipated rush, no challenge, nor thrill to the chase. 

     Tonight had scared the hell out of her.

Quick breaths escaped her in clouds of icy fog.  At least three of Schuyler’s henchmen had been naught but a horse’s length behind her.  She heard no trace of them now. 

     She slowed, pushed the hood of her cloak back, and rose upright in the stirrups as her horse pranced nervous circles beneath her.  Nothing but fog and forest.  No sign of the enemy.

     Her mount stomped, pinned its ears back, and snorted protest.  She would have bent to stroke his neck had the pain not been so great.  Every breath clawed her insides, burning throughout her chest and into her shoulder.   She didn’t know how much blood she’d lost. 

     Regret was undeniable and cut like a dull, rusted blade.  She’d survived the massacre in Boston, had escaped enemy fire countless times, had served as escort to some of the wanted men amongst the King’s Regiment. Tonight had been all so needless.  She’d gotten cocky in the six years she’d been working, which had resulted in failure.  Failure was unacceptable, intolerable, better to die than accept.

     If she died this night, she would deserve it.  At least Eric would never know of her failure.

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