We're chatting in one week!

Hey Everyone!

Here's Grayson Reyes-Cole reminding you that we will be having our very first chat in one week.

Where: The Haunt

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_haunt_at_pnr

When: September 5, 2008 All day

Who: Your very own Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors

We're chatting in one week!

What would I do if I became a really really really famous author?

On youtube Kaleb Nation and Jackson Pearce have answered the question listed above. The top five things.... hmmm. Well, there are definitely a few more, but these are the first that come to mind:

1) Pay off all our debts, buy the house of my dreams, the cars we want, and put money away for the future. Ok, whew, got the reasonable one out of the way first.

2) For this house of my dreams - hire staff: landscaper, maid, and a cook. I'm just not good at it and I want to eat well and look good for all my public appearances. Better hire a massueur and a personal trainer as well.

3) Have a TOTALLY awesome writing space with lots of desk top room, a great computer and printer, all my favorite pens and regular shopping at Staples for more supplies (yes, I completely adore Staples - could shop in there forever). There would be lots of light, a small library of books (reference and favorite fiction). I would be excited to be there every day. Except when I'm traveling

4) Travel and shop to my hearts content - first class all the way. To NYC, to London, Paris, a month in Italy. I'm a self trained retail therapist and I adore the whole process of shopping... and buying! Vacations to Disney, California. Cruises. Yeah, let's face it -- I want it all.

5) Create places for writers to write! First, I'd buy a bed and breakfast on the Jersey Shore and turn it into a low cost writers' retreat where writers could come to relax and commune with their muse and be inspired by one another. I'd get to be there whenever I could, meeting and encouraging folks.

I'd also buy a brownstone like place, have a bookstore cafe on the first floor, a daycare place in the basement, and rooms upstairs that can be reserved for writing. Hey - if your gym can provide child care while you work out, I should be able to find a way to do this for writers. We all deserve a place to become the writers we want to be.

I have to add one more
6) Invest in projects I believe in. I have friends who are working hard to achieve their artistic dreams and I would love to be able to give them funding, no strings attached so they could go full force towards what they want.

So... what would you do? Oh, and if your curious Jackson's video response, which I really like, is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB1G7xtk-B8

Have a great week,
Rowan

What would I do if I became a really really really famous author?

Getting Reviewed

Being published carries with it some surprising responsibilities.

To that end some of us sign up for Google Alerts, so we are notified when someone mentions our titles or our names. It's not vanity, honestly. Sometimes it's the only notice we get that a review has been posted, or that a new vendor is selling our books... or that a pirate is giving it away.

I've also learned a great many really nifty chess tactics, and not a few quite good chess jokes from my Google Alerts. (If you didn't know, all my titles are taken from chess positions or moves.)

Today, I discovered a potential goldmine of bloggers who review because I saw the King Rat's notice about my giveaway on LASR, and clicked his link. King Rat has a page full of links to other bloggers who love books.


Free Books - 19 August 2008
By King Rat
An ARC of Rowena Cherry’s Knight’s Fork from Long and Short Reviews, deadline not stated....
Rat's Reading - http://reading.kingrat.biz/


Clicking through from King Rat, to giveaway on LASR, to interview on LASR, I came to a new review of Knight's Fork, which I did know would be there, but I wanted to check on the comments.

Blurb

The Queen Consort of the Volnoth needs a sperm donor, and only one green-eyed god has the right stuff. Little does she know she has pinned all her hopes on the crown jewels of the fabled Royal Saurian Djinn. Not only is he the son of her greatest enemy, but he has taken a vow of chastity.


Snip from the LongAndShortReviews review

"Knight’s Fork has substance, intelligence, characters I really cared for and is a romantic tale with a satisfying HEA. I may not know much about chess but I know a good book when I read one and Knight’s Fork delivers the goods."

~LASR
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/0808/KnightsFork-RC.htm

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

Getting Reviewed

THE KEY wins Dream Realm Award

I'm thrilled to announce the The Key won the Dream Realm Award for its category!

It was exciting to be able to enter the contest, let alone win it!

About the book:

When Sara Donovan joins Project Enterprise she finds out that what doesn’t kill her makes her stronger…

An Air Force pilot – the best of the best to be assigned to this mission – Sara isn’t afraid to travel far beyond the Milky Way on an assignment that takes her into a galaxy torn apart by a long and bitter warfare between the Dusan and the Gadi.

After she’s shot down and manages to land safely on an inhospitable planet, Sara encounters Kiernan Fyn – a seriously hot alien with a few secrets of his own – he’s a member of a resistance group called the Ojemba, lead by the mysterious and ruthless Kalian. Together they must avoid capture, but can they avoid their growing attraction to each other?

A mysterious, hidden city on the planet brings Sara closer to the answers she seeks – about her baffling abilities and her mother’s past. She has no idea she’s being pulled into the same danger her mother fled – the key to a secret left behind by a lost civilization, the Garradians.

The Dusan and the Gadi want the key. So do the Ojemba. They think Sara has it. They are willing to do anything to get it.

Sara will have to do anything to stop them…

Reviews:

"This thrilling adventure and love story is the stuff of dreams for a perfect romantic space adventure. Stories like this are why I love to read, and I definitely understand why this novel has been nominated for awards. Forget sleeping, plan on take out, and invest your time relishing this magnificent tale." Five Stars, Featured review from Manic Readers

"The Key was good in every way a novel can be. It's an engrossing story with full character development and growth. There is an ultimate battle between good and evil and Ms. Baird Jones even makes the villain likable on some levels. For me, The Key is one of those rare books that strengthened my love of reading. Thanks for the story Pauline." Night Owl Romances Top Pick and Reviewer's Choice.

"Love Linnea Sinclair? Get a kick out of Susan Grant? Then you'll want to glom up on releases by Pauline Baird Jones. The Key isn't so much a sci-fi release as it is a dang good read, and this reviewer is anxious to read more of Baird Jones. Fun and fantastic at the same time, The Key is an intergalactic space adventure that will thrill readers to the very tips of their toes." Heartstrings Reviews

"Clearly this author knows how to tell a story no matter what the genre. Her character development, pacing and humor satisfy across genre boundaries." Mostly Fiction Reviews.

"For the SFR buff this is a must read. Don’t bother if you are looking for futuristic erotica. The characterization is good and the romance is compelling. There is plenty of sexual tension but little actual sex. There is adventure and suspense. Also, something I personally require, there is an HEA. If you like a few nanites and ray guns in your romance you should pick this one up." The Good, The Bad, The Unread reviews

Available from online bookstores and fictionwise.com!
Perilously yours,
Pauline

Pauline Baird Jones
www.paulinebjones.com
2007 Dream Realm Awards Winner
The Key; Men in Jeans: Death in Texas Anthology
Made-up Mayhem, Available now!
Adapting Your Novel for Film, Available now!

“Why are you really here?”
He studied her for what seemed like a long time. “You appear to have…come into possession of classified material.”
“What? What classified material?”
“I can’t tell you that. It’s classified.”
“You can’t tell me what classified material you think I already have?”
“That’s right.”
(from Men in Jeans in the Death in Texas Anthology, 10/08)

THE KEY wins Dream Realm Award

Your Invitation to the IWOFA Inagural Chat

Where: The Haunt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_haunt_at_pnr
When: September 5, 2008 All day
Who: Your very own Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors

Your Invitation to the IWOFA Inagural Chat

Just how scared are you?

Many of us Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors confess to writing some “dark" fiction. A fewer number cops to out and out horror. I am one such author, but I’m not so certain anymore. I’ve been wrestling with this question: What makes a work “dark” as opposed to outright horror?

This question was inspired by a call for submission I saw somewhere that alluded to a desire for horror, dark fiction was insufficient. “Hmm.” I thought when I saw it. So I went to the boards and loops in search of an answer.

Some defined it as witches, goblins, and ghouls, sometimes werewolves and vampires, always a supernatural evil that looms and adds conflict and suspense to the story. But some of these things have been romanticized, brought firmly into the center, and don’t frighten us as much anymore. And what about Stephen King’s harrowed stories of domestic abuse, his characters that are completely psychotic but frightening because you can imagine them, they’re real, they make you take a second look at your neighbors when you go out to check the mail?

Another definition I got and enjoyed was that horror happens when a story makes you look over your shoulder as you read it. Horror happens when you hesitate to turn off the lights after you’ve read it. Horror makes you avoid mirrors when it’s dark them at night. In essence, stories that feel you with adrenaline and enact a change in your behavior. But I’ve read a dark story, definitely not found in the horror section, with an intense description of budding flowers that ensures I will never have houseplants.

At the end of the day, I think we can all agree that great fiction is great fiction regardless of the name. We would probably all agree, also, that it’s next to impossible to write a great tale that doesn’t cross a genre or two. But we’d love your opinion anyway! Where do you draw the line?

Next week: Urban Fantasy!

Grayson Reyes-Cole
http://www.graysonreyescole.com/
Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Author
Experience Bright Star

Picture by Kat Haeske

Just how scared are you?

Dancing With Fate available now.

I am thrilled to announce that 'Dancing With Fate, the sixth book in the anthology 'Song Of The Muses' is now available. The next three stories will be released during August and they will be available as three paperbacks of three stories each in October.

I am also running a contest to win a waterdrop shaped pendent on a silvery chain. The details are in Terpsichore's My Space blog and also on the contest page of my website at http://www.hywelalyn.com/

'Dancing With Fate' is available from http://www.thewildrosepress.com

The next release in this series is 'A Love Beyond Time' by Alisha Paige

Dancing With Fate available now.

awards for my book videos

A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing - my book video for my upcoming release for Dorchester book (2009) won the Best Contemporary Romance category and also won the Best Overall Video at The Romance Room.

The beautiful son is "Oceans of Time" by Mike Duncan - http://mike-duncan.org/

My video for In Her Bed, my award-winning historical romance, second the the Dragons of Challon series, won the Best Historical Romance category as well.

thank everyone who voted and left comments!

Deborah

awards for my book videos

Race to Io

I, Grayson Reyes-Cole wrote Mr. and Mrs. Smith before Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were born. OK, so maybe not. Technically speaking, I wasn’t actually born before they were born.

I wrote the series Heroes, and the movies Donnie Darko, 12 Monkeys, and Unbreakable. Again—emphatically—I did not.

In truth, I am just a person filled with ideas, vague and specific, intellectual and sophomoric. Filled.

Stories similar to those mentioned were trapped in my head at one time, waiting patiently in line behind other ideas, itching to go from potential to actual. But… alas… they didn’t happen quickly enough and then, I watched someone else’s manifestation play out in the public forum. At times I likened it to the US and the USSR race to the moon: Two parties, same idea, rushing to plant a flag, only I was one entity and the artistic community in its entirety was the other.

Not so long ago, I decided that it was time I planted my own flag. I’ve always written. Always. But I haven’t published or shared much. My stories are sometimes bizarre, sometimes sexy, sometimes funny, sometimes dark, sometimes—and I promise this isn’t hubris—amazing and intelligent. Want proof? I’d love to take you with me on my way to Io (the Earth moon has been done!) so stop by and meet me at http://www.graysonreyescole.com/!

Thank you,
Grayson Reyes-Cole

Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Author
Bright Star
Available at Lyrical Press in October 2008

Race to Io

Alpha Bitches and Little Dragons

Sometimes a person enters your life who is so powerful they continue to shape your future long after they've gone. My friend Mo was like that. In the decade or so that she was my mentor she was clearly and undoubtedly my alpha bitch. I rarely rolled over for her, but that's only because my mellow exterior hides the heart of a majorly subborn woman. We laughed, we fought, and in her last hours, she gave me the opportunity to ease the pain of her body and the concerns of her mind.

A few months back, I was talking about action and fight scenes with another author, and suddenly, I remembered something Mo had once told me; a story from her own past. I sat down, wrote the opening scene and suddenly, the story came to life; a tough detective willing to do anything to salvage her career, an alien with a shattering secret. A kidnapping that is anything but what it seems...

Rose Lee from Little Dragon was based off Mo. She was tiny, tough and absurdly feminine. For a time, Mo was a police officer in Oakland, CA. Her career came to a tragic end when she responded to a domestic violence call; the suspect took her by surprise. He picked her up and threw her into a wall. Mo sustained nerve damage to her arm and was unable to continue with the force. Years later, when cancer took hold of her body, it woke up that injured shoulder and caused excruciating pain. So Mo, Little Dragon is for you. If you were around today, I still wouldn't let you roll me, but you'd know who was really was the alpha bitch, wouldn't you?

Little Dragon will be available for sale August 7, 2008 at http://www.changelingpress.com/

Belinda

http://www.belindamcbride.com/

http://www.belindam.blogspot.com/

Alpha Bitches and Little Dragons

Personal Mission Statement

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I've made a commitment to write a mission statement for the group, but I thought I ought to start by taking the proverbial plank out of my own eye, and doing a market test on my own behalf.

With luck, I'll receive some suggestions that will help me formulate something useful and representative for this fantastic group.

Here's mine (and this one is personal, as applies to what I write).


My goal as a Romance author is to give good value. I expect to provide my readers with six to eight hours of amusement, at least a couple of really good laughs, a romantic frisson or two from the sensual scenes, and something to think about when the book is finished.

Tags:
Romance, value, hours, laughs, frisson, sensual, think.


What do you think? Pretentious? Pompous? Off-putting? Helpful?

If you are an author, do you have one? What's yours?

If you are a reader, what do you want and expect for the $7.00 to $14.99 that you pay for a novel?


Best wishes,
Rowena Cherry

Personal Mission Statement

Riding the Thunder a winner in The Beacon Award

I just received word that Riding the Thunder was the first place winner of The Beacon Award in the Single Title category with the First Coast Romance Writers RWA chapter.

This is so exciting since this book won the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence for Best Long Contemporary Romance this year.

Riding the Thunder a winner in The Beacon Award

Many hearts!

Quick note:

My YA fantasy novel from Samhain Publishing, The Crown of Zeus, has been given 4.5 hearts out of 5 by The Romance Studio!

Christine Norris

Many hearts!