Hey, all! Moonlight Kitty here to announce the winner of the April $25 Gift Card Giveaway sponsored by Beth Caudill. Congratulations to Cate Parke! Cate, please contact Beth at beth@bethcaudill.net to claim your prize. And happy shopping!

The May contest, sponsored by Niecey Roy, is underway now. Don’t forget, every time you leave a comment on a post during the month, that comment enters you in the monthly giveaway.

And, it’s almost time for the Authors By Moonlight annual Summer Solstice Bash coming in June! This year we’re gearing up for a month full of “Summer Lovin’” and the prize basket is going to be overflowing with love, too! You’ll have mega chances to win a Kindle Paperwhite, e-books, and other great prizes. Keep an eye out for full details coming soon!

I am SO EXCITED. The official release for Fender Bender Blues, my first published book evah, is this week! To celebrate, I’ve got an autographed copy giveaway going on at Goodreads. If you are interested in entering, there’s still 17 hours yet to enter.

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/51511-fender-bender-blues

On May 3rd it’ll be all over the place Fender Bender Blues was released exclusively at Amazon on January 24 this year before its official release. I wasn’t sure at first if I would like the Amazon-only release, just because I know of quite a few people who don’t have Kindles or the Kindle app, but so far it’s been a great experience, and Fender Bender Blues has received a lot of great reviews at  Amazon and Goodreads.

For anyone interested, I’ve got two more scenes to write on the second contemporary romance…finally! I’m so excited to get this second one finished and to start on a new project I’ve been brainstorming. I’ve decided to dip my toes into paranormal I won’t be hanging up my contemporary romance hat, but I think it will be good for me to have some variety in my writerly life.

It’s really been a great journey so far, and I’m just thankful to be where I’m at in my writing today, and thankful to be part of Authors By Moonlight.

Fender Bender Blues

Amazon Kindle ~~ Amazon paperback

Official release EVERYWHERE May 3, 2013

Goodreads giveaway

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“Classic cars, garden gnomes, and steamy romance? My kind of book!”

~Bestselling Author Kate Perry

“Reading Niecey Roy’s FENDER BENDER BLUES is like eating Lays Potato chips. Once you start, you can’t stop! It’s just that good! For a new (non-fattening) addiction, read Niecey Roy!!! ~Robyn Peterman author of HOW HARD CAN IT BE?

“Fender Bender Blues is a rip-roarin’ good time from start to finish. Filled with handsome men, crazy friends, and love scenes to rev up your engines, you don’t want to miss this one!” ~Amie Louellen, author of Brodie’s Bride and Love Potion Me, Baby

FENDER BENDER BLUES

Her life took a wrong turn. He’s driven by success. They didn’t count on crashing into love…

Rachel Bennett loved her job until the day she finds herself doubting her choices. Now she’s hunting for a new career, but starting over isn’t easy. Her plan is simple—no distractions until she finds her dream job. She didn’t plan on fate throwing her a curveball in the form of a fender bender with a sexy guy in an expensive suit.

Craig Larsen is a wealthy, successful business owner with a plan of his own: survive his current PR nightmare and stay away from his overly determined ex-girlfriend. His need for control and personal success is turned upside down when he meets Rach, a sassy redhead who can’t drive.

Soon they find themselves battling with Rach’s grumpy old neighbor, toilet-papering the trees of a high school nemesis, and fighting over the last slice of pizza. Can two very different people plus one fender bender equal a chance at forever?

EXCERPT:

“Now what?”

“Nothing.” Rach sniffed.

Craig shifted to eye her warily. “Since when do you answer me with single words?”

“Since I decided I’m not talking to you,” she answered with a shrug, crumpling up the white paper wrapper from her sub.

Craig leaned his face in close to her neck and enjoyed the startled jerk of her shoulders. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. His breath shifted a few strands of hair at the nape of her neck as he whispered, “Why, because you want me?”

“You’re incorrigible,” she said, breathless, her cheeks flushed.

She’s enjoying this. The thought pleased him. Rach was on her back beside him now, her eyes closed. He glanced around the park to see if anyone was watching. No one was. He could swoop in for a kiss and no one would catch him. No one would care, he told himself. She won’t mind…

“I can feel you staring.”

Craig smiled down at her. “So what.”

She peeked at him with one green eye. “So stop it.”

“And if I don’t?” Maybe she’d tackle him, push him down on the blanket and…

She didn’t. She promptly closed her eye and went back to pretending indifference. “I’ll hit you, that’s what.”

“Not if I do this, you won’t.”

He’d only meant it to be a short kiss, but the pleasure of touching his lips to hers kept him there longer. Her tongue was velvet soft and warm against his and the slow mating of their mouths quickened his heartbeat even as he told himself, It’s no big deal, just a kiss.

She nipped his bottom lip and sent heat sliding through his body. The woman could kiss.

She whispered soft against his lips, “Now why don’t you admit that it’s you who wants me.”

Meow!

Moonlight Kitty here to announce the winner of the March Giveaway. Congratulations to Caroline Clemmons. Caroline was the winner of a $25 on-line gift card sponsored by Linda Carroll-Bradd. Please contact Linda at l.carrollbradd@gmail.com to claim your gift card!

Another card is up for grabs for April. Be sure and leave comments all month long to enter. The more comments, the more your chances!

And keep an eye out. Our Summer Solstice Bash will be returning in June! Sounds like the Moonlighters have all kinds of purrfectly delicious ideas on tap. You won’t want to miss out a single moment!

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.

For the end of Being and ideal Grace…”   — Elizabeth Barrett Browning

An appropriate start to a post on a romance writers’ blog, right? Not only do those lines begin one of the most famous love poems in the English language, its author lived quite a romance with her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning.

Today, however, I’m not so much interested in their romance than in their preferred form of writing. April is National Poetry Month, and while I am not a poet – not unless dirty limericks count – I believe that all writers and readers can do with a bit of poetry in their lives.

I know, I know – for most of us, poetry was that dreaded unit of English class where the teacher would throw a sonnet or two at you and talk about iambic pentameter. (Huh? I didn’t find out until I studied drama that Shakespeare customarily wrote his plays in that meter because it is the one most natural to spoken English. Writing is hard enough when you don’t have to make the lines match up!!) If you were lucky, they’d throw in some free verse by e.e. cummings or maybe Lawrence Ferlinghetti. And then you’d be done and wouldn’t have to think about boring-ass poetry till next year’s unit.

Then I went to college and studied The Iliad and The Odyssey under a wonderful professor, Gregory Carlson, S.J., who loved classic literature so much he made his students love it too. Those are two of the oldest poems in Western literature, developed orally over centuries before they were written down.  They speak of love, war, friendship, rivalry, cruelty, devotion, fear, courage, humor, fidelity and betrayal – the gamut of human behavior, good and bad. After that, I looked at poetry differently.

Consider this definition of poetry from www.merriam-webster.com: “writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience, in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound and rhythm.” A basic grasp of poetry benefits writers because it helps our awareness not only of precise word choice, but also of rhythm, metaphor, and sentence structure. As a reader, there are few things more pleasurable than finding a verse or phrase that sings through your soul.

So while I sincerely wish everyone who celebrates them a blessed Passover and blessed Easter, I also wish you a happy National Poetry Month. I ask all of you to do just one of the following things in April:

1. Read a new poem or reread one you already like.
2. Read a poem you like aloud. Remember The Iliad and The Odyssey?
3. Post a poem or excerpt of one on your blog for Facebook page. Remember to include the author’s name!

And I tell you what! Anyone who leaves a comment on today’s post that includes at least two lines of a published poem, along with the poet’s name, will be entered into a drawing for a copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese, (ebook or hard copy, winner’s choice) which includes the entire poem excerpted above. I’ll announce the winner on April 1^st.

I’m closing with a more modern take on love, from Gregory Corso’s ‘Marriage’. I have to love any poem that includes the phrase ‘penguin dust’.

“God what a husband I’d make! Yes, I should get married!
So much to do! like sneaking into Mr Jones’ house late at night
and cover his golf clubs with 1920 Norwegian books
Like hanging a picture of Rimbaud on the lawnmower
like pasting Tannu Tuva postage stamps all over the picket fence
like when Mrs Kindhead comes to collect for the Community Chest
grab her and tell her There are unfavorable omens in the sky!
And when the mayor comes to get my vote tell him
When are you going to stop people killing whales!
And when the milkman comes leave him a note in the bottle
Penguin dust, bring me penguin dust, I want penguin dust—”

Who are some of your favorite poets? Here’s a great link to explore: www.famouspoetsandpoems.com

Till next month,

Ann

~~~ Fender Bender Blues eBook is FREE March 5 through March 9~~~

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway right now, too!!! For anyone who shares Fender Bender Blues limited FREE days on Amazon via Facebook and/or Twitter, I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a signed paperback copy of Fender Bender Blues. Unfortunately, I can only ship to the U.S.

Did I mention Fender Bender Blues is also available in print through Amazon and The Wild Rose Press??? Squee!!!)

All you need to do is comment below that you’ve shared on Facebook  and/or tweeted the freebie, OR tag me in your posts so I don’t forget to put your name in the drawing!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

Share on Facebook:

Fender Bender Blues, a romantic comedy novel, is FREE for limited time on Amazon!!! If you haven’t snagged the eBook, you might want to do so now! FREE March 5 through March 9. Please, share with your friends

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

Share on Twitter:

RT #FenderBenderBlues They didn’t count on crashing into love… #RomCom for a limited time #free #ebook #Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

I absolutely loved writing this book. I knew after I wrote THE END that it would be my first published book (it’s certainly not the first book I’ve written). Just something about it… I just KNEW. I think maybe because I had fallen so completely in love with the characters I had written, and their story, I didn’t want to give up on finding a home for Fender Bender Blues with a publishing company. It only took me a couple of months to write, but the editing and the shopping it around really, really took a long time. I shed a lot of tears of frustration with every rejection letter I received. After awhile, it got to be too much. I took about a year off from submitting to agents. I was so burned out. I engrossed my time in work (I’m a legal assistant who also does corporate transcription). But the story called to me. I owed it to my characters to make sure they found their place in print. I decided to bypass submission to agents, and went directly to publishers. Within a week I had my first contract in hand. Within a month, I had another contract “maybe.”  Within two months, I signed with The Wild Rose Press and am still walking on clouds

Please take a moment to read the blurb and,  if you enjoy it, grab a copy for yourself

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

FENDER BENDER BLUES

“Classic cars, garden gnomes, and steamy romance? My kind of book!”

~Bestselling Author Kate Perry

Her life took a wrong turn. He’s driven by success. They didn’t count on crashing into love…

Rachel Bennett loved her job until the day she finds herself doubting her choices.  Now she’s hunting for a new career, but starting over isn’t easy.  Her plan is simple—no distractions until she finds her dream job.  She didn’t plan on fate throwing her a curveball in the form of a fender bender with a sexy guy in an expensive suit.

Craig Larsen is a wealthy, successful business owner with a plan of his own: survive his current PR nightmare and stay away from his overly determined ex-girlfriend.  His need for control and personal success is turned upside down when he meets Rach, a sassy redhead who can’t drive.

Soon they find themselves battling with Rach’s grumpy old neighbor, toilet-papering the trees of a high school nemesis, and fighting over the last slice of pizza.  Can two very different people plus one fender bender equal a chance at forever?

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

Thanks for sharing and entering in the drawing May the odds be forever in your favor!!!

EXCERPT

“Now what?”

“Nothing.” Rach sniffed.

Craig shifted to eye her warily. “Since when do you answer me with single words?”

“Since I decided I’m not talking to you,” she answered with a shrug, crumpling up the white paper wrapper from her sub.

Craig leaned his face in close to her neck and enjoyed the startled jerk of her shoulders. Her eyes opened wide in surprise. His breath shifted a few strands of hair at the nape of her neck as he whispered, “Why, because you want me?”

“You’re incorrigible,” she said, breathless, her cheeks flushed.

She’s enjoying this. The thought pleased him. Rach was on her back beside him now, her eyes closed. He glanced around the park to see if anyone was watching. No one was. He could swoop in for a kiss and no one would catch him. No one would care, he told himself. She won’t mind…

“I can feel you staring.”

Craig smiled down at her. “So what.”

She peeked at him with one green eye. “So stop it.”

“And if I don’t?” Maybe she’d tackle him, push him down on the blanket and…

She didn’t. She promptly closed her eye and went back to pretending indifference. “I’ll hit you, that’s what.”

“Not if I do this, you won’t.”

He’d only meant it to be a short kiss, but the pleasure of touching his lips to hers kept him there longer. Her tongue was velvet soft and warm against his and the slow mating of their mouths quickened his heartbeat even as he told himself, It’s no big deal, just a kiss.

She nipped his bottom lip and sent heat sliding through his body. The woman could kiss.

She whispered soft against his lips, “Now why don’t you admit that it’s you who wants me.”

http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Bender-Blues-ebook/dp/B00B5L71YQ

Niecey Roy

Fender Bender Blues, a romantic comedy

Print & E-book available NOW at Amazon
Print available NOW at The Wild Rose Press

Available everywhere May 3, 2013
nieceyroy@gmail.com

http://www.nieceyroy.com/

http://www.facebook.com/NieceyRoyRomanceAuthor

https://twitter.com/#!/NieceyRoy

I’m sure this comparison has been made before, but as I was shuffling through my recipe box looking for an idea for dinner, it made me realize that writing a book is a lot like following a recipe.

First you need the ingredients: setting, characters, goal, conflict, motivation. Then there are the seasonings: sometimes you add a little bit of spice, sometimes you add a lot. The most basic direction would be to combine all of the above. Whether you blend, whisk, or beat everything together depends on what type of story you’re writing. Sometimes you follow the recipe (synopsis, outline) exactly. Sometimes you wing it as you go, giving into instict and if it ‘feels’ right.

Sometimes the story turns out just as you imagined it, like when the finished dish looks just like the picture on the recipe card. Sometimes, some serious tweaking needs to happen. Shuffle the ingredients, a little more of this, a little less of this; “taste” as you go, maybe even offering a few samples to a critique partner for some feedback. Sometimes, the story turns out completely different than you thought, but it’s fabulous just the same. Sometimes it’s not quite done when you take it out of the oven and you need to put it back in: rewrites and revisions and editing.

For the writer, part of the enjoyment is in the process. Creating something from a few seemingly unrelated ingredients. Sometimes we use the microwave and wind up with a finished product quickly. Sometimes we use the slow cooker or let things simmer for a while. When our story is finished, a contract is the icing on the cake. From there the end result varies. Sometimes we get a five-star dinner or a best seller. Sometimes we get diner fare…which can be just as good. It’s all a matter of taste.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

A warm and wonderful Valentine’s Day to all our readers!

The winner for the January e-gift card giveaway is Mary Preston! Please contact Linda LaRoque at Linda@LindaLaRoque.com so that she can send out your e-gift card.

By a happy coincidence, Linda’s book A Marshall of her Own is up for 2012 Book of the Year at Long and Short Reviews! Today is the final day for voting, so if you’ve read it and loved it, head on over and click!

The cold tail of December is upon us. That’s what I call that last week of the year between Christmas and the New Year. Christmas 2012 is a memory, 2013 is a future fraught with fiscal cliffs and the aftermath of two major snowstorms and some of the most horrendous news stories of the year. A lot of us feel like we’re digging out or hunkering down, physically and mentally.

Although shutting down emotionally may be a successful short-term coping mechanism, in the long run it doesn’t do us or our loved ones any good. One of the reasons I write romance is because I believe in the power of love. It may not pay the bills, but love gives us hope and strength, comforts us and keeps our hearts warm in an often cold and scary world.

Honest love doesn’t blind us to another person’s faults. We do ourselves a disservice when we lie to ourselves in the name of romance. Love enables us to see another person’s faults clearly, but helps us cherish them anyway — just as we hope to be cared for despite our own flaws.

Each of us has our own set of strengths and weaknesses. The things we love are a key to why we are here. Our passions can direct us to do a lot of collective good in the world. For me, writing is a gift, but it requires me to honor it by committing to improve it and work with it for hours each day. Writing is a way for me to help myself, my family and readers. It’s my way of throwing a little warmth into the world.

In 2013, I’d like to make my little part of the world a bit better, and I’d like to challenge ABM readers to do the same. It can be anything. If you love the environment, can you plan to run your errands on one route to use less gas? If you’re an animal lover, can you donate old clean towels or blankets to a shelter? Even something as simple as offering to pick up groceries for a relative or neighbor, when you go for yourself, will make their lives a little easier. I love to get good deals with newspaper coupons, so in 2013, I want to do that for the benefit of my local food pantry.

In the spirit of keeping our hears warm (and looking great while doing so), I’d like to give away a black, beige and silver shawl to one commenter on this post. Leave your comment  below, up to midnight Saturday, December 29th. I’ll announce the winner Sunday night between 11 p.m. & midnight, using Random.org.

Till next time,

Ann

The winner of November’s gift card is Ceri Hebert!

Ceri, you can contact Beth Caudill at beth@bethcaudill.net to claim your gift card. Enjoy!

All of our readers should keep an eye on Authors by Moonlight during December — we’re giving several individual gifts away this month!

It’s that time of year again.  Glowing Jack-O-Lanterns spicing the air, tiny pirates, princesses, and devils demanding “trick or treat” in off-tune squeals, dancing ghosts and flying witches decorating the neighborhood.  Even Hubby wants to know when “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” special will be aired.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  Candy apples, popcorn balls, and candy corn.  (Is it just me, or does anyone else wonder why we can’t get candy corn all year long?)

I also love all the spooky stories and books.  My favorite is “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving.

Here’s a great excerpt:

An opening in the trees now cheered him with the hopes that the church bridge was at hand. The wavering reflection of a silver star in the bosom of the brook told him that he was not mistaken. He saw the walls of the church dimly glaring under the trees beyond. He recollected the place where Brom Bones’s ghostly competitor had disappeared. “If I can but reach that bridge,” thought Ichabod, “I am safe.” Just then he heard the black steed panting and blowing close behind him; he even fancied that he felt his hot breath. Another convulsive kick in the ribs, and old Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he thundered over the resounding planks; he gained the opposite side; and now Ichabod cast a look behind to see if his pursuer should vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him. Ichabod endeavored to dodge the horrible missile, but too late. It encountered his cranium with a tremendous crash—he was tumbled headlong into the dust, and Gunpowder, the black steed, and the goblin rider, passed by like a whirlwind. (Irving, The Harvard Classics, 1917, para. 68)

What about you?  Do you have a favorite “spooky” book you’d like to share?

**Remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.**

~Tiffany

www.tiffanygreen.net

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Reference

The Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. (1917). The legend of sleepy hollow. Irving, Washington: Author. Retrieved from http://www.bartleby.com/310/2/2.html