Fun Fluff & Other Stuff

Happy TGIF! 

Helping me celebrate the beginning of the weekend is J.J. Devine, author of The Cheyenne Bride and the newly released Into The Darkness. She’ll tell you more about her work in a moment, but first Zee Questions Pleeze:

 

 

 

Getting to Know You:

 

What did you have for breakfast? I don’t eat breakfast often, when I do it is usually brunch, (bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy, or maybe pancakes and waffles)

What are you wearing? LOL, in my defense it’s almost bedtime, so jammies

When was the last time you cried? When my granddaughter passed away.

What was your favorite Hallowe’en costume? Well, seeing as this is one of my most favorite holidays and yes, I do dress each year to go out with the grandchildren, my costume is always a witch J

What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Whether or not they have a sense of humor. I love to laugh.

 

The Good/The Bad

 

Worst habit: I’m a smoker

Worst movie: Traffic, yuk

Worst food: Liver hands down

Worst alcoholic drink: Beer, gross, I’m a whiskey woman myself J

Worst vacation: I love vacation, even the bad ones, like planning a week long camping trip and it rains the whole time. I’m still up for it J

 

Fav fruit: Peaches (I was born in Georgia and spent a good part of my growing up running in and out of that state)

Fav dessert: Cherry Cheesecake hands down

Fav color: Red

Fav sport: I’m not into sports, but if I had to choose, baseball

Fav flower: Roses

 

This or That:

 

Soup or salad: Salad

Fame or fortune: You mean I can’t have both, LOL. Hmmm, probably fortune

New York or LA: I’ve never been to either, but if I had to choose LA

Jeans or yoga pants: I’m a country girl, so jeans all the way

Mac or PC: PC

Twitter or facebook: Both

Manicure or pedicure: Both

Dogs or cats: Both

Nightie or pj’s: Pjs

Coffee or tea: I’m a southern girl so sweet tea all the way

 

The Really Important Things:

 

What store do you shop at the most? Walmart, because I hate to shop and I can get everything in one place

If you could be any (other) nationality, what would it be? Native American, I love the rich history of their culture.

You own a yacht. What do you call it? The Dreamer

What’s your favorite sports car? Mustang

Do you let your sig other buy jewelry for you on their own or help them pick it out? We’ve been married almost 29 years, so yes I do. He knows my taste and does a very good job at picking out jewelry. In fact the necklace he bought me for Christmas has gotten more compliments than any other piece of jewelry I own J

 

More This or That (Just ‘Cause They’re So Much Fun):

 

Thanksgiving or July 4^th: July 4^th

Morning or night: Night

Summer or winter: Both

Chocolate or vanilla: Both

Print or ebook: Both

Rock or pop music: Both

Heels or sneakers: Both

Europe or the Caribbean: Oh oh both for sure J

Wealth or health: Health

Fly or be invisible at will: Fly definitely, couldn’t you see it, me in my witch’s costume, flying around town on Halloween night J

 

More about J.J. Devine:

 

J.J. Devine grew up loving the written word. She spent her days daydreaming and imagining what life would be like if she lived between the pages of the books she read. Today, she still spends her days dreaming. Only now she pens them into the romance novels she enjoys writing to share with her readers. On her down time, she enjoys spending time with her hubby, children, grandchildren, and pets. As well as helping to bring public awareness on the subject of domestic violence.

 

 

Author Links:

Website:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/

Blog:

http://definingjjdevine.weebly.com/ramblings-of-a-writer.html

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JJDevineAuthor?ref=ts&fref=ts

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JjDevine2010

 

July 9, 2014 with the help of Soul Mate Publishing I just released the first of my paranormal series, Into the Darkness. It’s a coming into oneself story about a young woman, Raven, who believed for the first twenty-five years of her life she was nothing more than a mortal woman. Imagine her surprise when she not only found out she was part witch, but the man who sired her was a vampire. The story takes you on Raven’s journey from innocence into finding her true self. Of course she has the help of a very sexy vampire, Dragon. You may have met him somewhere out there in the blogging world the last few weeks. He does love to visit the world wide web a bit J

You can grab your copy of Into the Darkness on Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Into-Darkness-J-J-Devine-ebook/dp/B00LMS9D2A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405398961&sr=8-1&keywords=into+the+darkness+j.j.+devine

 

#LoveWriteChat

Release Date: May 30th!

 

You’ve found it! My cubby in the compendium of the wonderful writers of Romance Weekly. Welcome.

 

Thanks Dani Jace for the intro! And to award winning novelist Kate Robbins, whose second Promised to the Highlander in the Highland Chiefs series is being released this Friday, asker of this week’s questions.

 

How much of yourself do you write into your characters? Or do you write characters completely opposite to you?

With acting or writing, some bits of me go into all my characters. It’s my interpretation of them. How they feel, what they think, how they act–it’s filtered through me. It’s me/not me. So, kind of like drip coffee, the flavor of me, makes its way into my characters. None of which are autobiographical, if that’s what you mean. Stolen Kiss features a mechanic and a financier. Neither of them me. But their lessons? He has to learn he’s not responsible for and can’t change his brother. She has to draw firm boundaries and stand up for the right to live/lead her own life. I’ve had to do all those things. So yeah, those parts are me.  

Has your writing helped you see events in your own life clearer?

This question surprised me because upon reflection, the answer is yes and I thought it would be ‘negatory, good buddy.’ Not only the practice of writing, but my writing path, my road to publication— absolutely have reinforced so many life lessons. Patience, perseverance, trust, discipline, love. When contemplating and poking inside the head of another who loves or is falling in love, you remember how/why you fell in love. Writing romance (like reading it) has really helped my marriage and all my relationships.

Have you written a character with more of your personal characteristics than any other? What are they?

Not really. I think they all are subjected to that special Kim Koffee Blend. Like the acting roles I’ve played (moms before I was a mom, a really bitter alcoholic, a murderess, a Danish queen, an Israeli Field Commander), the characters I write are separate entities unto themselves. They even talk to me and occasionally one will try to lead a coup and take over the story. (Don’t yours do that to you?) But someone’s got to be in charge. Ca, c’est moi.

 

Wasn’t this fun? Please hop on to the next blog on our tour and see how Fiona Riplee, author of The Sixxers, answered these fine questions.

http://fionariplee.com/blog

 

And don’t be shy to leave a comment. I’m not. 😀

What Makes a Good Medieval Romance?

My dear friend and critique partner Sarah Hegger released her first book The Bride Gift this past Wednesday on Amazon. It’s an eBook through SoulMate Publishing. Here’s the url:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Bride-Gift-Sarah-Hegger-ebook/dp/B00KBAYOTM

 

The Bride Gift, Soul Mate Publishing

I loved it through its various stages. Helena, her heroine is goodly fierce and Guy her hero is as steadfast a knight as ever there was. It’s not fair for me to review it, being as close to both Sarah and her product, but I was thrilled to see other reviewers give it the 5 stars on Amazon it deserves. One of the reviewers mentioned The Bride Gift was the first medieval (she) had read.

Which brought me to my lead question. (see above) Elements of a good Medieval Romance:

Well, you’ve got to have a castle.

And a girl, either in the castle wanting to get out (like Rapunzel) or on the outside, wanting to get in (like Cinderella). Although in Sarah’s story, Helena is in the castle, in charge and desperate to keep it that way.

 

And a guy (Sir Guy, in the Bride Gift) who probably prevents her from doing so in the beginning, but ends up on her side by the end. It’s always nice if he’s a knight or some sort of chivalrous fellow. Because so many of the men during those times were downright dangerous. Which brings us to the next item on the list:

There’s got to be a villain. Preferably one who is depraved in some way (wicked, murdering Ranulf in The Bride Gift) and completely irredeemable.

 

Since it’s a historical, the facts and time period woven in should be sturdy. The backdrop for The Bride Gift is “1153, in the period dubbed ‘The Anarchy’,” when “King Stephen and Empress Maud are not the only ones embroiled in a fierce battle of the sexes.” The dressing (gowns, armor and mail) and setting (solars, castle keeps, forests and fighting fields) are all part of the enchanting backdrop.

 

Lastly, it’s the relationship between the hero and heroine, isn’t it? The hero’s got to do knightly things, like scale a tower to access his lady love (First scene, first chapter, The Bride Gift), fight off the bad guys (check) and rescue someone (not necessarily the heroine) or something (it could be a basket of kittens). The heroine must display strength and spirit (so many good possibilities in The Bride Gift, and so many spoiler alerts). And the author twines them together (willing or no—not willing in this case) showing how they are better off.

Yes. I am biased when it comes to my author gal-pal, Sarah Hegger’s new release, The Bride Gift. I think it’s awesome. And I’m not the only one. It’s a downloadable romp worthy of your time. Check it out. And let me know if you do! 😉

Romance Weekly #LoveChatWrite

Welcome to my corner of the weekly romance writers round robin. This week’s questions come from Nina Mason, who just released her smexy paranormal The Queen of Swords, available on Amazon. Here’s her site. http://ninamasonauthor.com/

How does your writing impact you inner life?

I first noticed my reading impacting my inner life when I was 19, cutting grass for the City Parks Department under the broiling sun in the midst of the Dune trilogy. Water, its celebration and conservation became my obsession that summer.  I think whatever I’m writing kind of takes over like that. My WIP takes place in the Caribbean. Great setting for mind-retreats during the quasi-eternal Montreal winter. My characters and their problems take up a lot of my free time. The fam-jam has gotten used to knowing where I am when I get that far away look in my eye. The hard part is switching back and forth between reality and inner world.

 

How do you hope your books affect your readers?

 

When a character, like the unstoppable Scarlett O’Hara, or a setting, like the desert planet Arrakis in the Dune series, stays with you and impacts your world view I think that’s the highest achievement a writer or any artist can have. Ultimately, that’s what I wish to impart in my stories. But my more realistic goals are to provide diversion and joy in some of the moments we steal to read…sitting in the mommy-line up at school waiting to pick up the kids, on the bus on the way to work or sitting in the hospital with a sick loved-one. All these times when we seek to be enlightened, entertained or inspired by the lives and problems of someone’s imagination.

 

Has anyone ever told you your book changed their life? If so, how?

I’m unpublished, so far, so no, not yet. But the underlying theme of all my writing seems to be the ability to love others without sacrificing your own power. This was a lesson in give-and-take that personally brought me to my knees and cut up my heart when I was younger. I’m hyper aware of maintaining that balance now in my 20 year marriage and in observing the lives of others. If a story of mine ever helps someone struggling with that, wonderful. Otherwise, I write to bring an authentic emotional experience to my readers with diversion and joy. Because, as Susan Elizabeth Phillips says on her website wall, “Life’s too short to read depressing books.”

Thanks for stopping by. Meggan Connors, coiner of the phrase “There’s a bee in my bodice” is next on today’s blog tour. Check out how she responded to these questions by hopping over to http://megganconnors.wordpress.com