Writing – Page 6

04.28.2009 Books, My Books, Writing

Hostile Takeover 1 Year Anniversary

One year ago today, Liquid Silver Books released my novella, Hostile Takeover. This was the first story I ever finished. When I wrote it, I never imagined making any money from it, but to my great surprise, it’s sold the most copies out of all my books. I think it’s because this is a no-holds-barred dubious-consent-leads-to-love story and many publishers shy away from this politically incorrect theme.

So, to commemorate this “momentous” occasion, I’m holding a month long contest. For every ten entries, I’ll give away one copy of Hostile Takeover.

All you have to do to enter is send me an email (kate_willoughby at yahoo dot com) if you’d like to be included in the drawing so I can contact you on May 28 if you win. Too often I’ve held contests where the winner never came back to the blog to collect the prize.

04.20.2009 Books, Grammar, Writing

A Half Century of Bunk?

A fellow Liquid Silver Books author, Jeanne Barrack, recommended this fantastic and eye-opening article to me about the famous staple for grammar shown on the right. The article is 50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice by Geoffrey K. Pullum.

I wanted to share it with any writers who come here because the article has prompted me to donate my copy of Strunk and White to the library. I won’t be referring to it anymore.

Oh, and it’s Monday, so there’s a new story analysis/review at my Writing for Woman’s World Magazine blog.

04.13.2009 Be-Wished, Books, Ellora's Cave, Interactive, Romance Divas, Writing

Romance Divas’ Excerpt Monday

A bunch of Romance Divas participate in Excerpt Monday and I decided to join in. The deal is we all post a little snippet of something we’ve written and read everyone else’s. It sounded like fun, so here I go.

This is from my work in progress, Asking For It. It’s the third book in my Be-Wished series about three friends who get their wishes granted by Davina, a wish fairy.

Set up: It’s raining. It’s nighttime. This excerpt is PG.

***Begin Excerpt***

A glass coffin appeared not six feet away on Livvy’s front lawn.

Holy shit!

Livvy stared at it for a moment or two, disbelieving, because the person sleeping inside of it was not Snow White. It was her sexy neighbor.

At least, she thought he was sleeping.

She waited for the prickly feeling of a Flash in the Pan enchantment. She prayed for it. Please let it be an FIP. Unfortunately, she felt nothing. Maybe she had to be closer.

Warily, she went outside. Through the wet glass of the coffin she saw that he was breathing, thank goodness. She also saw that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Just some gym shorts. And man, he was ripped. Like Rambo ripped. He had a buzz cut, he needed a shave and he had a wicked awesome tat of butterflies on his bicep.

Keeping one eye on him, she dialed Davina.

“Livvy,” the fairy said. “I’m in the middle of something.”

“Well, so am I! A glass coffin just showed up in my yard with my new neighbor sleeping inside it.”

“Pfft! And you’re calling me because…?”

“I need you to tell me what to do!”

“Give me a break, Livvy. Bet he moved in after you made your wish…”

“Yes, he did, but—“

“Well, it’s obvious what you should do.”

Livvy gasped. “You mean…” She glanced again at the man who’d inspired her armored tank fantasy and swallowed hard. “You mean kiss him?”

“It is a guy, isn’t it?”

“Yes…definitely.”

Livvy could almost hear the fairy smile. “Bet he’s cute.”

“Well, yes. Actually, really cute.”

“Then of course you’re supposed to kiss him! He must be the one. The magic is working just like I told you it would. Now, stop lollygagging and go kiss him. He’ll wake up. And after that, well, do what comes naturally.” A snorting laugh came over the line, then dead air.

“Davina? Davina?” But the fairy had hung up.

Kiss him. Livvy stared at the man in the coffin and frowned. Easy for her to say.
Just the thought of kissing this man awake got her heart beating triple time for a couple of different reasons, and this was what she’d been waiting for, damn it. The goal had been to find her true love, a wonderful man to share her life with, and according to Davina, here he was.

And he did have nice lips.

*** End Excerpt***

Here are links to the other people participating. Check out their snips, too.

Maureen McCarrie
Vivienne Westlake
Jeannie Lin
Kinsey Holley
Becca Sheridan-Furrow
Kirsten Saell
M. Berthier
Ella Drake
Evie Byrne
Eden Bradley
Gina Ardito
R.F. Long
Bria Quinlan
Stephanie Adkins
Rose London
Lynn Chandler
B.E. Sanderson
Babette James
Amber Gilchrist
T. Sue VerSteeg

Thanks for stopping by!

03.23.2009 Blurbs, Books, My Books, Samhain, Writing

Nail Biting Time

I finally finished my novella, Fit To Be Tied, and submitted it to Samhain. The deadline wasn’t until April 1, but believe it or not, I finished early. The good news is that they will notify all the authors by April 15th. So I don’t really have that long to wait. Here’s a blurby thing:

Ten years ago, Sadie thought Max was a scrawny, hopeless nerd. She even said so to his face in front of the student body.

Today, Max is still a little nerdy but in a “My, Clark Kent, what broad shoulders you have!” way. And when she ends up as his temporary house guest, she discovers a lot more about the new him. He’s amusingly fastidious, independently wealthy, and most importantly, able to make her wet with little more than a commanding stare.

There’s just one thing she still needs to find out…what the heck is behind that black door—his bedroom door—the one he asked her not to open?

Oh, and I have a new analysis/review of this week’s Woman’s World story up on my WW blog. 🙂