Writer's Wednesday - To Read or Not To Read, Annie West

Writing is a consuming business. It's not just time and energy consuming, but it can take over a writer's life in a ways a non writer might not immediately identify with. Like when you look up to find a family member talking to you and it takes a while to drag yourself out of the world where your mind was and back to the 'real' one. Like when you go shopping and see the perfect outfit...for your heroine. Like when your mind is full of school reports and medical appointments and your 'must do' list and cooking dinner and suddenly it fades to nothing when you realise why it was one of your characters acted in that inexplicable way.

The story in your head can take over your life. So what happens when writers, who as far as I can see are mainly addicted to reading, need to concentrate on the story brewing in their head? Should they concentrate on that and not dilute their mental energies by reading other books at the same time? But what if reading is how they relax? Shouldn't they delve into other stories to give themselves a break?

I ask this as it's something I wonder about. Since becoming published I've much less time to read. I love sending my book in and diving into my pile of reading. It's an enormous treat and I feel better for it, but when I'm writing I wonder whether to read or not. I do read, but I often avoid books in my line (though I break that rule from time to time). I especially avoid reading any book that may have similar themes to mine. I'd hate to find my story unfolding in a certain way and then wonder if I'd been influenced by someone else's marvellous plot. On the other hand, reading sets my creative juices flowing.

Since it's Writers' Wednesday I thought it a perfect time to see what a few other category authors think about this.

"I prefer not to read while I'm immersed in writing, because I'm a bit all-or-nothing and have zero willpower. If I start a good book, I can't bear to put it down until I'm finished. One would think that this would make category romance an ideal read but, alas, my reading of a fab book doesn't end with the last page. The characters can stay with me, overpowering my own. If the writing's especially wonderful, it sows doubt about what I'm doing. So I prefer to read and read and read and read when I'm between writing projects."
Bronwyn Jameson (Silhouette Desire), Princes of the Outback, M&B Spotlight May 2010.

"My reading time has sunk to very low levels during term time. I find I read in the holidays and then I binge reading all sorts of things. During the year I am in a book group so I read whatever is set and sadly that is often the only books I get to. However, if I am struggling for stories I find movies and reading the paper and magazines very very useful."

Fiona Lowe (Mills and Boon Medical)

"I definitely don't read as much as I did before I was published. I just don't have the time. Once upon a time I'd finish every book I started, even if it killed me. Not these days. I read everything from category romance through to academic texts and anything in between. An interesting development in the last couple of years, has been watching TV serials/soaps instead of reading. I started it as a sort of study of character development and plot lines. So far I've watched the entire series of McLeod's Daughters, Sea Change, and now I'm onto an oldie but a goodie -- The Good Life. Watching TV is kinder to my eyes than the printed page after I've spent 5-6 hours at a computer. I've learned oodles about story too.

I'm not suspicious about reading romance when I'm crafting one of my own. I don't feel that I will inadvertently steal or plagiarise another author's work. Sometimes it's refreshing to read another category author's work -- it can be inspiring and act as a spur. It can also a comfort that there are others out there who love the genre as much as me."

Michelle Douglas (Harlequin Romance)

"I always read out of my genre when I’m writing – at the moment it’s urban fantasy and paranormal, with a few biographies in between. If I read too many romances I feel as if I’m too influenced by the author’s style, which then clouds my own writing. I always learn something from whatever book I’m reading – be it characterization, the way a plot escalates, the turning points, how characters deal with their black moment, etc. Like writing, I’m never NOT reading ."

Paula Roe (Silhouette Desire)

What about you? Do you indulge in your love of books when you write? If so, do you read within the genre you write? And for non writers, do you find a break from your usual reading invigorating or can't you wait to get back to what you love?

Annie is enjoying April. She's sneaking some great reading into her packed schedule. Plus, her latest Presents Extra: FORGOTTEN MISTRESS, SECRET LOVE CHILD has been getting wonderful reviews and reader feedback. You can check it out at eHarlequin or Amazon. You can find out more about the story or enter Annie's latest contest on her website.

Destination Life: Snorkeling in the Red Sea

PHS Editor Michelle Styles discovers the joys of snorkeling.


One of the best places to see tropical fish, coral and marine life is the Red Sea. The currents are relatively stable and the salt content high. This means the colours are exceptionally bright. The water itself is an aquamarine blue. All the guidebooks rave about it, but I will admit to being a sceptic. I enjoy going to aquariums like the Monterrey Bay Aquarium or the Aquarium in Baltimore and how much different could it be? Also as a girl growing up in California, I had snorkeled in the neighbor's pool. Fun, but there were a lot more things of interest on land.

We booked the holiday to Sharm El Sheikh, and I thought -- yeah, right, I will be the one giving it a miss. I was far more interested in seeing the Monastery of St Catherine's.


Because it was the thing to do and my husband and son wanted to see sea birds, we booked an excursion on a wooden yacht -- snorkeling gear was included in the cost. The boat was travelling to the Egyptian National park -- Ras Mohammed. I planned my day of lazing about but I had not counted on the hotel having its own coral reef. My youngest purchased a snorkel and mask and we all gave it a go. Now above the water, walking out on the pontoon, I had seen some fish -- a pair of Picasso, several Parrot fish and others. I had even spotted the iridescent mouths of several giant clams. I jumped in and duly adjusted the mask. The world took on a new hue. The corals were a combination of pale green, dark chocolate brown and purple. Fish crowded the reef. Moving a little ways from the pontoon, I saw banner fish, butterfly fish -- raccoon and masked. But it was only a taster as my daughter was uncomfortable about the water's depth.


When it came time to go on the boat Sinem One, I was ready to snorkel. Just. As the boat went towards the national park, Ras Mohammed, and we had to sign all sorts of papers and had a lecture on various poisonous fish and what to do if we saw a school of barracuda or came too close to a Moray eel, I realised that this was a large undertaking and had second thoughts. But if my children and husband were going, so was I. After all I used to have my Advanced Life Saving certificate.


Luckily for my daughter, they had life jackets. My son asked if he needed one. The comment came back -- if you can swim, you won't need it. It boosted his confidence no end. I mentally reviewed my life saving techniques.


We were told to remember the name of our group Habibi which means my beloved in Arabic in case we became separated.



The guides jumped in the water from the side of the boat. I climbed down the ladder about halfway and then figured to go for it. I held on to my mask and managed to retain control of my flippers. I envied my daughter's life jacket because she did not have to work at staying afloat. My son had a great time and kept up with the guide as did my daughter and husband. I tagged along behind, entranced by the world underneath the waves. The fish were even brighter and of all sorts of different shades. A great shout went up and a barracuda slid by underneath us and then joy of joys a green sea turtle and then a Napoleon wrasse. The final fish of that snorkel was a pair of giant banner fish.


The boat then sailed to a sandbank where we boarded a zodiac and were able to wander about on the white sands. Some of the party did not understand that there is no gathering of shells or coral and people who try to export do face a hefty fine. One result of the policy is that the sandbank was littered with interesting shells as well as large pieces of coral. Photos and memories, not objects! You did have to be careful where you stepped as coral is very sharp.


Back on board, we had a well cooked meal as we sailed to the final snorkeling destination. That snorkel was far harder. I kept swallowing sea water as the waves were rougher and my cold was definitely coming on. We saw Moray eels and jelly fish as well as fantastic formations of coral, and brightly coloured fish. But I was very ready to go back to the boat, particularly as the jelly fish appeared to be getting more numerous.


Would I go snorkeling again? Yes definitely, particularly if it was in a place like Ras Mohammed. Although I have decided that scuba diving is not for me -- far too technical.


Trying things like opens up your horizons. So if you ever get the chance, grab it and you might surprise yourself.

Oh, and on the way back to the hotel, the bus's radio blared out a song whose main words were Habibi. I felt quite proud knowing finally what the word meant.




Michelle Styles writes historical romance. Her latest US release is A Noble Captive. Her UK release Compromising Miss Milton, and her Australian release a three in one which includes The Vikings Captive Princess, Compromising Miss Milton and A Question of Impropriety. You can read more about Michelle's adventures in the Sinai on her blog.

Male on Monday :: Bradley Cooper

When starting to write her 21st book, Harlequin Presents and Harlequin Romance author Ally Blake went in search of a new hero.

After writing 20 books, casting the right hero can be downright tricky. Falling back on old favourites can work a treat, but sometimes you just know you need someone new. Someone who'll surprise you. Someone you find attractive, charming, masculine and refreshing with just th right je ne sais quoi for a hero you'd fall head over heels for. It's a mammoth task. One I'm always happy to undertake ;).

Along the way, I found Bradley Cooper.

His first ever pro gig was in SEX AND THE CITY. Apparently he did 5 years on ALIAS. I can't believe I never noticed him on the ads!

You couldn't help noticing him after the impact he made as the heroine's revolting fiance, the preppy bully "Sack" Lodge, in THE WEDDING CRASHERS. He made my skin crawl every time he was on screen. Shiver... Though surely it takes a special kind of guy, one who is very confident in himself to throw himself into such an unsympathetic part.

He next appeared as a blip on my radar in the fabulous FAILURE TO LAUNCH. He plays Demo, Matthew McConaughey's handsome slacker friend. And he plays handsome well. Did I mention he was a slacker to boot? Mmm, pattern forming???

Next I found him in HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU. I found his the most difficult of all the intertwining stories in that film. He played the cheating husband who'd only married the girl in the first place because it was either that or break up. Ouch.

Since then he's and he starred in last year's big hit THE HANGOVER, as Phil, a guy who was clearly happy to let what happend in Vegas stay in Vegas while his wife and kids stayed home.

Wow. How does he keep doing this? Playing majorly flawed guys. Unlikable guys. And growing a beloved audience as he goes? Someone somewhere said he had an "unexpected knack for playing the confident jerk you can’t resist." So true. It's a skill. And don't we like a man with a skill?

More about the man behind the parts:

He's a Georgetown grad with an English major. Man after my own heart!

He was married to Jennifer Esposito for a few months but is now single once more. Since then he's dated Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston and is now squiring Renee Zellweger. I'm quite happy with his choices on that score.

In real life he has just the kind of deep husky voice I go nuts over. He's gorgeous. And he's very good at playing an irresistible bad boy. For that, and his gutsy professional choices he's on my radar for good.

Ally's latest novel is Mills and Boon Romance MILLIONAIRE DAD'S SOS out world right now! Grab a copy from the Book Depository and get free delivery anywhere in the world!

Missed any of Ally's most recent releases? Check out eHarlequin's eBooks!

Find out more on Ally's website and blog.

Wild Card Weekend : Spring Fever

Inspy author Margaret Daley joins us for Wild Card Weekend - and a taste of spring!

You probably want to know what spring has to do with writing. Well, nothing directly except I find myself wanting to skip writing and spend more time outside after a long winter. It does become harder to plant my butt in the chair and write. So first, I’m asking what do you do to keep yourself on track when the great outdoors (with lots of sunshine and flowers) is calling you? Right now the gorgeous day is shouting my name.

What I really want to write about is what spring means and how it applies to a writer. When I think of spring, I think of renewing and refreshing. Nature does it and it is so welcomed by me. Nothing beats seeing the trees putting leaves on, flowers coming up, bushes leafing out and blooming. Nature’s colors change from dull, drab ones to vibrant colors that just looking at them helps me feel renewed and ready for whatever is next. That’s what I want to be able to do as a writer whenever I need it.

As much as I wish I could have spring more than a few months a year (Can you tell spring is my favorite season?), I can’t, at least not in Oklahoma where it will get extremely hot in the summer. So what do I do to renew myself as a writer throughout the year?

When I finish a book, I treat myself to a double dip ice cream cone (cookie dough) guilt free and a few days off from writing before I start my next project. I try to build in some rewards for accomplishing certain things, but is that enough? What do you do to refresh yourself? Give yourself a boost to accomplish what you need to do? Do you have favorite music you listen to? Read a special book? Go out with friends or family somewhere you enjoy? Any suggestions are appreciated.



Bio: Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Holt Medallion, Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines. She has sold sixty-six books to date. You can visit her web site and read excerpts from her books at http://www.margaretdaley.com.

Cowboy Protector, Love Inspired Suspense, March 2010

Two years ago, Hannah Williams left the Witness Protection Program—and she's been running ever since. To stay ahead of the mob, she changes her name and location constantly. So when she takes a job caring for a Montana rancher's sick daughter, she expects to leave soon. But little Misty Taylor tugs at Hannah's heartstrings—and so does her handsome father. Hannah knows Austin Taylor suspects she's keeping secrets. But how can she tell him the truth without endangering the pair she's come to love?

Love Lessons, Love Inspired, April 2010

Home schooling his daughter is new to devoted single father Ian Ferguson. To ensure his child gets a good education, the busy CPA hires a temporary tutor. Twenty-three-year-old college student Alexa Michaels is too young--and too pretty--to be right for the job. Yet his daughter is coming out of her shell and learning. Still, Ian is traditional, and sweet Alexa--who graduated from the school of hard knocks--is challenging some of his old-school ways. Can this dad learn some valuable lessons about love, family and faith from the least likely teacher?

Must Watch Friday - 30 Rock

Modern/Presents author Kate Hewitt joins us this Good Friday with a fave show - 30 Rock!

Several people recommended the TV show 30 Rock to me, and since it is set in my hometown of New York City and my husband has even seen it filmed from his office window, I thought I’d give it a shot. And wow, am I so glad I did! I think it is one of the funniest, cleverest shows I’ve seen in a long time. For those of you who haven’t seen it before, 30 Rock is a sitcom written and produced by Tina Fey, the former Saturday Night Live head writer and more famously, Sarah Palin imitator. The show centers around her quirky character Liz Lemon, head writer of a comedy sketch show (hmm...art imitates life!) and her slick corporate-minded boss, Jack Donaghy, played by the incomparable Alec Baldwin.


There are so many reasons to like this show, from the offbeat plots to the host of unique secondary characters, but the biggest reason I love it is the amazing rapport between Liz and Jack. I can’t call it a romance, because it isn’t one... yet. Even so, over the course of nearly four seasons, Liz and Jack have grown from adversaries to reluctant colleagues to best friends--even if they don’t admit it! They complement each other so perfectly; Liz is a slightly wacky, politically liberal, heart-on-her-sleeve dreamer, while Jack is a straight-and-narrow conservative who is eminently practical yet naive in surprising ways. They wise each other up wonderfully! Since I can’t do justice to their relationship myself, I thought I’d give you a sample of some of their dialogue:

Liz: Why are you wearing a tux?

Jack: It’s after six. What am I, a farmer?

or

Jack: Lemon, I want to thank you. For showing me that I could have a pleasant evening with a woman my age.

Liz: I'm twelve years younger than you.

Jack: A woman your age then.

or

Jack: You've been avoiding me, Lemon.

Liz: How do you do that without turning around?

Jack: To be perfectly honest, the first couple of people I did that to were not you, but... here we are.

It’s the middle of season four now, and Jack and Liz are closer than ever. When Liz arranged her root canal on Valentine’s Day so she didn’t have to deal with the holiday, Jack was the one who picked her up and took her home, even though she was embarrassingly woozy and talkative from the anesthetic. If that doesn’t point to true love, I’m not sure what does... and yet while I watch the show on the edge of my seat hoping desperately that Jack and Liz will finally get together, another part of me is reluctant to see all the romantic tension leak out of the relationship--and the show. It seems like whenever the two romantic leads on a TV show get together--think of Ross and Rachel--the show loses its sparkle, or jumps the shark as the saying goes, and I would hate that to happen to 30 Rock, or Jack and Liz. Yet I can’t stand the thought of them not getting their happily-ever-after either... I guess I just need to keep watching!

So if you haven’t yet seen 30 Rock, I encourage you to rent the DVDs from Netflix and see the magic! What TV couples have kept you on the edge of your seat? And if or when they finally got together, was it as good as you hoped? Let me know in the comments and I’ll pick a random winner to receive a copy of my April release, Her Mediterranean Playboy!

Thursday Talk Time : : Let's talk about research

A couple of weeks ago Anne McAllister asked for suggestions so that she could make the best use of her time in New York where she was attending a wedding. Life is not all attending weddings. Serious research also went on. She's here to tell you about it.

I had a fabulous time in New York. The wedding I went for was certainly research-worthy. It took place in a renovated loft in a warehouse in Queens.

Giving us directions, the groom said, "If you get to a place where you think you're definitely in the wrong neighborhood and seriously worry that you're going to be jumped, you've come to the right place."

Er, yes.

And nine of us arriving in a white stretch limo simply added to the incongruity. And the fun. Once we were inside the venue was lovely.

Up a flight of crumbling stairs we found a gorgeous set of high-ceilings rooms with a sort of French country house feel where the wedding and the reception and dinner and dance all took place. There is enough ambiguity to the space that it could be used hundreds of ways. That is, doubtless, much of its appeal.

And this time was no different. The wedding itself was as memorable as the setting -- very much like the couple getting married: warm, fun, happy, reverent and irreverent both.

It was unlike any wedding I've ever been to before. It perfectly suited the couple marrying. And in research terms, I have no doubt that I will be stealing bits and pieces of it for book weddings for years to come.

It was the highlight of my trip. But besides the wedding, I did lots of other things as well.

I went to the Brooklyn Museum to check out the Dutch houses. They were amazing -- they are whole houses, not just rooms. And as such, they really made family history come alive.

If I wrote historicals, I'd be right there trying to think of a way to work those houses into my book. I may try to figure it out anyway as I'm doing a book on an historic preservationist now.

After the museum we checked out the botanical gardens. I could get lost in there. I wish we'd had more time. It's really a destination by itself without involving the museum. I'm planning to go back.

We weren't quite done with museums because the next day we went to the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum where I was told that NO PHOTOS were allowed. Not even of my friend Nancy the Cat Slayer (so called because I have a potentially incriminating, but totally harmless, picture of her in Ireland with Archie the local cat and an African knife artifact that, in retrospect, looked a lot more lethal than it seemed at the time) in the cafe eating her soup!

I found this prohibition odd because the Brooklyn Museum would let me take pictures of anything as long as I didn't use flash. But it's an interesting detail to know. I can see right now a scene in which my heroine runs afoul of the Powers That Be at the Morgan! I'd show you a photo (theirs, not mine), but since their no photo policy exists, who am I to fly in the face of their authority? (grrrrr.)

We tried to see the Guggenheim the day before we left, even slogged through lots of rain and puddles to get there. But the line was around the block.

Crowded museums are not my favorite thing. I like space and quiet when I'm contemplating art. So does Nancy. So we left and went across town and down to Columbus Circle to the Time Warner AOL building where there is an inside multi-story mall and instead of watching art, we watched people. It was a different sort of museum -- one of commerce, I guess -- and still active, not simply there to be observed.

We pounded a lot of pavement over the past week. I relearned the Upper West Side neighborhood I knew very well a few years ago. Made it my own again. Got lots of details I can use next time I have a book set here.

I watched two plays that between them reinforced my notion that there is a huge range of material on Broadway. The Arthur Miller tragedy, A View from the Bridge, was intimate and intense and compelling.

It grabbed me, immersing me in relationships, making me think about love and desire and the pain that can come from those that go wrong. The issues tackled in this play aren't ones that I write about -- but every part of the human condition can inform the background of stories. All are worth thinking about, especially ones as well written and as well acted as that one.

The second play was the bright, sassy musical, Mamma Mia -- about as far from A View from the Bridge thematically and tonally as it is possible to get. The sheer energy of the production was uplifting. I emerged practically dancing my way up the street to catch a bus to get home.

How those two plays will figure into my books isn't clear to me yet. But I have no doubt that they will both find their way into the emotional landscape I write from. Writing is partly about physical details. But it's also about emotion. It's about the hopes and dreams and goals we have, about the families that shape us, about what we do with the opportunities we're given.

One of my other opp0rtunities was to take a walking tour. I mentioned last time that there were lots to pick from. Several readers of this blog -- not to mention my most recent heroine, Natalie, lobbied for the chocolate tour. Imagine that.

So on a bright sunny very crisp (actually pretty cold) day last week, Nancy the Cat Slayer and I set out to join a chocolate walking tour in Soho. What fun! First, possibly because of the rather crisp (no, it really wasn't frigid, honest) weather, we were the only two people who signed up for the tour. And the young man who gave it -- a part time chef and middle school teacher -- was doing his first stint with this particular tour.

We had a blast. We saw Easter chocolates being made and packaged. We studied chocolate-covered matzos. We saw hand-dipped chocolate of so many varieties and infusions that it made my head spin in shops that were barely big enough for the three of us to fit in.

We tasted tea-infused chocolate. We savored saffron-flavored chocolate. We had a chocolate-covered creme brulee that, we learned, was the toast of the cooking channel. We tried bits of bacon in chocolate and we sipped hot chocolate (60-70%) made with milk and made with water.

We finally finished a couple of hours later at a cheesecake shop where we each were given an individual cheesecake (I took the key lime and white chocolate). Most of the chocolate came home with us and we've been tasting it periodically, refusing to indulge ourselves. I can see that making it into a book -- a scene all about the heroine's self-control!

There were amazing varieties of chocolate. But my favorites (perhaps because I'm a philistine) were the tuxedo-clad, bow-tie wearing Peeps from Jacques Torres, appropriately called Chirp N Dales!

That was a detail I never expected to find. It was the highlight of the tour for me. It's things like the Chirp N Dales that make research so much fun.

Suffice to say, I had a great time in New York. I learned a lot. Refilled my well. Have masses of notes. Not to mention a bag of delicious chocolate (including Chirps).

I'll be happy to share my Chirps with you.

Tell me your favorite chocolate -- or tell me what I should see next time I come to New York -- and I'll let my golden retrievers, Mitch and Micah, pick a winner from among the comments. The winner will get a packet of Chirp N Dales.

While Anne was in New York, she got a slew of emails saying, "Congratulations." She thought that was a little weird since she wasn't the one who got married.

Then she learned that while she was dancing at the wedding and pounding the pavements of the Big Apple, this year's RITA finalists were announced -- and that her most recent book, One Night Mistress . . . Convenient Wife, was among them!

She's thrilled, honored and very grateful to the judges for their choice. So are Christo and Natalie whose book it is. In fact, Natalie has been eating chocolate to celebrate ever since. Christo, of course, is more self-disciplined (ha).