Wild Card Weekend: Animals as Secondary Characters, Water For Elephants and Giveaway!!

Welcome back to Charlene Sands for this week's Wild Card Weekend!

I love stories that have animals as secondary characters.  If you’ve read the book by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants, you’ll see how well an animal, yes, even a giant-sized 45 year old elephant, can add depth and emotion to the story.  Rosie is an elephant you will definitely fall in love with.  She is by no means the main character of the story, but she’s there, waiting in the wings endearing herself to you at the most opportune moments and ready to steal the show.   And while I was reading the book, I had suspicions that Rosie would have something to do with how the story ends.   The author really made a statement with Rosie in a way that doesn’t overshadow the main characters.  Yet, she helped to give us a satisfying ending.  (Elephants are smarter than you would imagine and very personable). 

In Carrying the Rancher’s Heir, set on Worth Ranch in the fictional town of Red Ridge, horses play a key role in the development of the story. I used Taggart Worth’s beautiful stallions and mellow mares in a way that wasn’t intrusive but added to the flavor and theme of the book.  Even their names were picked to lend a certain tone to the story.  My hero rides Starlight, a sleek black mare that has one sole white star on her forehead.   And my heroine, Callie rides a golden palomino named Freedom.  Each in their own way signifies the owner’s traits – the dark brooding hero on a black mare and the rebellious heroine on a horse named Freedom. I was thrilled to see that the Harlequin cover artists took my suggestion to put two mares on my cover.  

Thinking back on my childhood, my favorite book was Black Beauty.  And watching television in that era, Lassie, Fury, Rin Tin Tin and Mr. Ed were the stars of their own shows.  But Roy Rogers had a horse named Trigger who was a secondary character and so did The Lone Ranger in Silver. 

Do you like stories that embrace animals in the storyline?  Do you pick up a book or see a movie, because it’s about an animal? What’s your very favorite story/movie that is centered around animals?  Do you plan to see Disney’s African Cats or Water for Elephants?    

An autographed copy of one of my backlist books and a $10 Amazon gift card goes to one commenter today.  I’d love to hear from you!

Charlene Sands is a USA Today Bestselling author of thirty romance novels, writing sexy contemporaries and stories set in Americana - Old West.   Her stories have been honored with the National Readers Choice Award, the Cataromance Reviewer’s Choice Award and she’s a double recipient of the Booksellers’ Best Award.    Visit her website for her Grand Prizes WORTH Winning Contest at www.charlenesands.com .

Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes

It is that time of year again when Brenda Novak kindly hosts an auction to raise funds for combating diabetes. Last year the auction raised over $300,000 and this year, she is hoping to get closer to $500,000. One star turn is the chance to meet Celine Dion in person during her concert in Las Vegas.  There are a ton of lots to bid on from ciritques by agents, editors and authors (some with 24 hour turn around) to opportunities to spend time with various big name authors to a wide variety of signed books. The Pink Heart Society has become involved and we have a special page all to our own full of great stuff.
The  Pink Heart Society  lots include:

Critique of a Manuscript by 4 Published Authors
The winner of this auction will receive a critique of a partial romance manuscript (unpublished) by not one, not two, but FOUR multi-published authors and Pink Heart Society editors Michelle Styles, Donna Alward, Jenna Bayley-Burke and Mira Lyn Kelly.

Talk about feedback opportunity!


Visit these authors online at:

http://www.michellestyles.co.uk/

http://www.donnaalward.com/

http://www.jennabayleyburke.com/

http://www.miralynkelly.com/

The Pink Heart Society Editors have also put together a tote bag with books!

Lot includes

Pink Heart Society Tote Bag


Proud Rancher, Precious Bundle – Donna Alward

Sold to the Highest Bidder – Donna Alward

Wild Fling or a Wedding Ring – Mira Lyn Kelly

Front Page Affair – Mira Lyn Kelly

Pride and Passion – Jenna Bayley Burke

Breaking the Governess’s Rules – Michelle Styles

To Marry A Matchmaker (Hardback) – Michelle Styles



If you’re a category romance author, the next item is for you!

The Pink Heart Society is offering you VIP treatment during your release month!



*Your upcoming Category Romance release reviewed as our Pink Heart Picks Book Club pick

*Be in the spotlight with a featured author interview

*Guest blog spot

*Pink Heart Society tote bag


You can also see all the offerings from The Pink Heart Society. There are lots of signed books, some promo opportunties and jewelry.  The Harlequin Romance authors also got together and are offering a kindle preloaded with their books.
 
It is a fantastic cause and hopefully you will be inspired by all the wonderful donations, not only from The Pink Heart Society but from everyone else.

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Barbara White Daille

American Romance Author Barbara White Daille is in the spotlight this week with an interview and giveaway...

Barbara, thank you for joining us today.

Can you tell us a little about your latest story, A RANCHER'S PRIDE? What inspired it?
Thanks for asking! A RANCHER’S PRIDE was released this week from Harlequin American Romance. This is the story of Sam Robertson, who has just learned he’s the father of a four-year-old daughter he’d never known existed. When he meets his ex’s sister for the first time, Sam is in a double bind. Not only is he highly attracted to the woman, he finds she has a skill that threatens his bid for custody of his child: the woman knows how to communicate in sign language. And Sam’s little daughter is deaf.
The inspiration for the story came from my idea of wanting to take a popular storyline—the hero who unexpectedly “inherits” a child—and giving it an added twist. Having the child speak another language seemed a great way of adding conflict to the story. As I’m a certified American Sign Language Interpreter, I also liked the challenge of weaving in the second language as an integral part of the book.

When the writing is done, how do you kick back to relax?
With a good book!

What are your favorite genres? Least favorites?
I’ll tackle the least favorite genres first: I don’t think I have any. There might be types of books I don’t read on a regular basis, but a talented author with a well-written story in any genre has the power to reel me in. On my keeper shelf are some fantastic books I’d never have fallen in love with if I’d looked only at the label on the spine.
As for favorite genres, contemporary romance tops the list. :)
I also enjoy traditional romances, romantic suspense and mysteries, paranormals, young adult novels of all kinds... And the list goes on. This results in a very large TBR pile!
It also gives me the double satisfaction of knowing that I’ll never run out of material and that there’s something on hand no matter what I’m in the mood to read.

Describe your perfect romantic evening?
A long, relaxing dinner with my husband at a favorite Italian or seafood restaurant, our secluded corner booth lit by candlelight or, in cooler weather, the glow of a fire. Afterward, holding hands during a moonlit stroll beside a lake or on a beach. Before heading home, a stop at a café for a cup of tea and something rich and gooey and chocolatey. Finally, cuddling on the couch with a movie, a PBS mystery, or the latest episode of one of the CSI shows.

What’s next on your writing agenda?
I’m currently working on my next two books for Harlequin American Romance, both set in the same small town as A RANCHER’S PRIDE.
In the first book, an injured rodeo cowboy returns to his hometown to try to make amends to the people he walked away from years ago. Unfortunately, the person he most needs to make things right with is the one who most wants to avoid him.
In the second book, a young widow who is determined to take care of her three kids on her own runs up against a hero who is as bullheaded as she is and who is bound to fulfill a promise that threatens to destroy her world.

How long have you been writing and what prompted you to begin?
I’ve been writing since the age of nine.
Long before that, though, I’d noticed that my mother often sat at night with a book in her hands. Since my experience up till then was with picture books, I couldn’t imagine how a book without a single illustration could fascinate her for hours on end. But there was no denying it held her attention.
One day, my mother took me to the local library branch, just a few blocks away from our house. I was six and barely able to meet the requirement of being able to sign my own name to receive a library card. But from the time I walked into that room, filled wall-to-wall with books, I was hooked on reading, which later turned into the determination to see my name on the cover of a novel.

Was there a defining moment when you decided to pursue writing as a career?
Yes. When I first dreamed about seeing my name on a book, I had no idea writing could even be a career. The defining moment came for me when, at nine years old, I wrote my first short story. The teacher read it to the class, and I learned the thrill of having someone other than a family member enjoy my work.
I like to joke that many years later—when I was in eighth grade—I wrote my first book and became an overnight success. Unfortunately, fame didn’t last long!
But that didn’t matter, because by the time I’d written that first short story, I had already passed the point of no return. I knew I would become an author.

Plot or Pants?
A hybrid of the two, plotting enough of a course to help me stay on the road, yet allowing me to travel by the seat of my pants often enough to keep things interesting.

How has your process changed through your career?
My process changed as I learned to become a hybrid writer. When I was that nine-year-old storyteller, I had to wing everything because I didn’t know there were such things as outlines. Or plots, for that matter. LOL Once I learned about them, I swung in the other direction. With a little help from my perfectionist nature (ahem!), I began to outline everything down to the last detail.
Just to throw in a few more writing analogies:
Eventually, I caught on to the fact that I liked having a solid foundation (an outline) but also wanted the freedom to venture into shakier territory. Sort of like being thrilled to walk a tightrope but feeling very happy to have the net below.

How would you describe what writing is to you?
Writing is something I’m meant to do. There have been times when life got in the way and I couldn’t write, but I always went back to it. I’m glad I did, because now that writing has become a career for me, I have never been happier or more certain that this is something I’m supposed to do.
It’s not the idea of fame that drives me, because as I said above, I learned very early on that fame is fleeting. That wasn’t—and isn’t—my goal. What I want is to be able to bring as much enjoyment to my readers as I receive when I read other authors’ books.
I have a feeling that goal will last a lifetime!

~~~
Barbara will be stopping by to chat, so please feel free to leave comments or questions for her! And to celebrate her new release, she will be giving away a copy of one of her backlist titles. The winner’s name will be drawn from comments left at the blog today (*US only).

Originally from the East Coast, award-winning author Barbara White Daille now lives with her husband in the warm, sunny Southwest, where they love the dry heat and have taken up square dancing.
From the time she was a toddler, Barbara found herself fascinated by those things her mom called "books." Once she learned the words between the covers held the magic of storytelling, she wanted to see her words in print so she could weave that spell for others.
Barbara hopes you will enjoy reading her stories and will find your own storytelling magic in them!

Her newest title from Harlequin American Romance, A RANCHER’S PRIDE, was released just this week and has received a 4-1/2 star Top Pick review rating from RT Book Reviews.

You can find Barbara online at her web site and blog: http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/ where you can check out her Virtual Book Tour schedule for A RANCHER’S PRIDE!

You can also reach her via Facebook and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille and https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

Writers' Wednesday - Subtext

Today Fiona Harper talks about one of the most useful things in a writers' toolbox for creating emotion-laden scenes. It's not what you're characters say, but what they're not saying that counts!

"Fine."

That one four-letter word can strike fear into the heart of any man, especially when it is uttered by a seemingly calm woman doing housework, but doing it loudly.

If the woman in question turns and smiles whilst washing up, the man could possibly take her at her word. If, however, she mutters it through clenched teeth, while scrubbing hard enough to take the pattern off the china, he'd better run for cover. What she may actually saying is: "I'm really upset with you, but you're going to have to work out on your own what you've done and how to fix it."


What lies beneath
In other words, subtext is what is flowing beneath the words, and it can make dialogue seem realistic and emotionally rich because this is the way we often speak - especially when emotion is involved, because it's a form of protection.

How could we imagine this scene progressing? Maybe the man realises what's wrong. Maybe he asks if he can take over doing the washing up ("I’m sorry. Will you talk about this with me?"). She might say yes ("Okay, I’ll give you a chance"), and hand over the brush, or she might say no and keep on scrubbing ("If you think a lousy bit of washing up is going to get you out of the doghouse, you're very much mistaken!").

While this couple are talking about washing up, they are communicating about hurt and forgiveness.


Come on in...

Subtext is more challenging than direct dialogue for readers. We are not just telling readers what is going on (reader is passive), they are having to engage themselves in the scene to work out what’s happening (reader is active). Because they end up collaborating with the author, they will invest themselves in the story more.

When the time is right

A good time to use subtext is when emotional stakes are high. People often hide behind their words at times like these, leaving clues to what the problem is rather than coming out and saying what's on their mind. They'll test the water, hedge around the issue or ignore it altoghether. However, you don't want to use subtext all the time - too much can be exhausting for readers. When the emotional stakes are not high, when your characters aren't under pressure, or if they are with someone they trust and are intimate with, subtext often won’t be needed.

But just to turn things on their head - sometimes at moments of high emotion, your characters may well want to tell each other exactly what's on their mind. They might finally have had enough of all the game-playing. Or it might be the time when hard truths need to be heard. Both the use of subtext and the complete absence of it can lead to an emotional scene, and it's up to us to decide when it's needed.

Tips for using subtext this is the way we talk when the emotional stakes are high, know exactly what's at stake for your characters in the scene! Know what they want.

• Think about why your characters aren't they saying what they want to say - what's stopping them? In other words know where the conflict is coming from in your scene.
• Think about what your characters aren't saying, full stop: If a woman rings her husband to let him know she's crashed the car because she swerved to miss a dog, and he says, "Oh, no! Did you hurt the dog?" it says a lot about the state of their relationship.
• Once you know what’s really being communicated under the words, you can use thought (for the POV character), tone of voice, facial expression and body language to show readers what’s happening.

Fiona's upcoming release is Swept Off Her Stilettos - out in August as a Mills & boon RIVA in the UK and in September as a Harlequin Romance in North America.

A little finger isn't properly dressed without a man wrapped round it…

Clothing connoisseur Coreen Fraser's film-star style never leaves her wanting for male attention! But sourcing outfits for a 1930s murder-mystery weekend stops being fun when she discovers she has to wear a tweed suit and sensible shoes!

Meanwhile Coreen's best friend Adam Conrad has his own plans for the weekend… And one moonlit kiss later Coreen's blinkers fall from her eyes. Adam is the only man who knows the girl underneath the skyscraper heels and scarlet lipstick. But is she brave enough to invite him to kiss it off any time he likes…?