Welcome Constance O'Banyon

I am so very pleased and honored to have Historical author Constance O'Banyon with us today.

After you've had a chance to chat with Constance, please visit...

http://brendagaylesreviews.webs.com/ for a great review of Wolf Runner.

Thanks for being here, Constance. :-)

Hello to everyone,

It is really hot here in Houston today. Luckily I am stuck at the computer writing the third book in an Indian series. Several people wanted me to write Firethorn's story. Firethorn is Wolf Runner's best friend, and came alive in Wolf Runner's book.

At this time, I am selling my house here in Houston and moving back to San Antonio. For those of you who do not know, my husband, Jim, passed a month and a half ago--we had been married for 54 years. If any of you have ever tried to write while a realtor is showing the house, you will know what I have to look forward to. Thank goodness for my career. It has helped me through a difficult and heartbreaking time.

Wolf Runner is one of my favorite characters. I love a tortured hero, and he was confused because he had to walk with one foot in the white world and the other in the Indian world.

My favorite part of writing is the research. Sometimes I become so submerged in research I find myself pulling stacks of books out of my bookshelf and curling up for a whole afternoon. I am interested in so many subjects, which is probably the reason I have written everything from mysteries, suspense, westerns, England, Scotland and Egypt, etc. Of course, my second favorite part of putting a book together is visiting the site I am writing about.

Last summer I poked around in Santa Fe, NM a part of Wolf Runner takes place there. I would love to set down with each of you, for nothing inspires me as much as talking to kindred spirits--those who love to read as much as I do.

By the way, how many of you have the Sony or Kindle readers? Although my books are sold to that market, I still like to have a book in my hand, dog-ear the pages, lay it face down. No doubt I will acquire one before long. I am always late catching up with electronics.

Thank you Angela for inviting me to your blog.

Holding Pattern

We are still having Constance O'Banyon as a Guest Blogger today. Constance and I are experiencing some technical difficulties but we're almost there. Make yourself comfortable, help yourself to refreshments and she'll be here soon.

Thank you for your patience :-)

Guest Blogger Coming Soon!

Make sure you stop by Monday August 2nd for a chat with Constance O'Banyon. Constance has had a turbulent couple of months and I'm honored she has chosen to keep her date with us. Let's show her our support!

See ya here!

Getting Back in a Big Way!

Good morning everyone!
It has been awhile since I've been here. I just felt the need to focus all of my attention on my granddaughter the last few days she would be living with me. She is now with her mom in Nashville. It's not that far away and I'll be seeing her in a few weeks, but man is the house QUIET!

It's been a good thing though. I've been back to writing solidly for over a week. I'm enjoying being back in touch with characters. For now I've been focusing on writing the recipe for an awesome burger recipe I developed for the Sutter Home Wine Build A Better Burger competition. Cross your fingers the preliminary judges think a Baja Burrito Burger with Sweet Red Wine and Chipotle Butter is worth being one of the 10 entries chosen. I'll know by August 21st (4 days before my anniversary) if I'm spending my 49th birthday (September 26th) in California... at the expense of Sutter Home Wine. Now wouldn't that be a nice way to spend a weekend!

I've also been working on contest entries for the www.ozarkcreativewriters.org conference. There are 21 different categories. I may choose to enter any number of the categories. The entries are due to be postmarked by August 25th. You still have time to jump in and participate with this great, intimate, multi-genre conference. I've been attending for 15 years. It's my mini business/vacation every October. I'd love to see more of you join us.

One of the entries has been polishing the first two chapters of my first Western Historical for the Oxbow Award sponsored by multi-award winning western author, Dusty Richards. Dusty just released his 100th book! Check out his site at... http://www.dustyrichards.com/ Author friend, Mike Blakely... www.mikeblakely.com encouraged me to write a western romance several years ago. Well, Mike, I'm finally giving it a shot. Thank you for the push.

Amongst all of this, I find out I have a shot of getting the first installment of my medical romance series in front of Harl. Mills and Boon Medical Romance Editor, Sheila Hodgson.... NEXT WEEK!

Nothing like jumping into the rapids after a long dry spell, is there?

The Long and Dusty Road to Publication - By Amanda Berry

Thank you, Angela, for having me on your blog. I’ve talked on other blogs about entering contests and the call, but I haven’t discussed what happens after the call.

I got the call right before Labor Day weekend last year. I spent the weekend in a daze and by Wednesday had an agent, Becca Stumpf, and by Thursday an editor, Patience Smith.

By the end of September I had an e-mail listing the revisions Patience thought the story needed. The first revision letter is scary. I talked to my mentor, Megan Kelly, about it. I talked to my agent about it. I reread the whole thing and finally called and talked to my editor about it.

What she called minor changes looked huge to me. Of course, now that I have the revision notes from my second book, I know they weren’t as extensive. But at the time, I worried. After the grief cycle took its course, I got busy with writing up my revisions. I sent them in mid-October and at the same time got a request to fill out the Art Department form online.

I got to choose three different scenes that I thought would make good covers (none of which were chosen). I went through menus of what the hero looked like, what the heroine looked like, where the story took place, what style of story it was. It was a neat process, but took some time.
I also had to rename the story, which I was desperate to do. I slapped on the title of Catch a Star just so it would have a title. I sent over a long list of choices. Two of the twelve stood out Lights, Camera, Love and L.A. Cinderella. I sent eleven more, but ultimately they went with L.A. Cinderella.

I remember Patience calling me to tell me they decided to release L.A. Cinderella in June 2010 as part of a bridal-themed month. In March I got my gorgeous cover. I received my author copies at the beginning of May, and the copies hit the bookshelves the last week of May.

It’s been a whirlwind of a year. If you’d like to read an excerpt of L.A. Cinderella, you can visit my website www.amanda-berry.com and it’s on the books page. Thanks again for having me.

L.A. Cinderella
Career-driven accountant Natalie Collins wasn't the type to wish for a Hollywood hero to rescue her. She preferred life away from celebrity glitz. Too bad the man who drove her wild was an A-list actor.

With her understated beauty and brains, Natalie was the one person Chase Booker could trust. He could see the strong, sexy woman beneath her shy exterior, and she stirred a blinding passion in him that made it easy to forget that they were from different worlds. But when she was in his arms, their worlds were dangerously close to colliding.

About Amanda Berry
After an exciting life as a CPA, Amanda Berry returned to writing when her husband swept the family off to England to live for a year. Now she’s hooked, and since returning to the states spends her writing days concocting spicy contemporary romances while her cats try in vain to pry her hands off the keyboard. Her Marlene Award–winning contemporary romance, L.A. Cinderella, debuts from Silhouette Special Edition in June 2010. One thing she requires of all her books is a happily ever after. Amanda lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children. For more information, please visit her Web site.

Guest Blogger - Amanda Berry

I am honored to have Amanda Berry as my first guest. She's been a great friend and awesome critique partner of mine for a couple of years. Amanda is a talented writer, so it came as no surprise to me when her NanoNovel became her debut romance with Silhouette Special Edition.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving comments today.

Writerly Blessings

Sean Martin

Sean Martin makes Amy itch in all the right places. Is it because he's the best looking thing she's seen cross her path? Is it his sensual smile or those dark eyes - eyes some refer to as 'Eyes of the Devil'? Or maybe it's because he's off-limits in her book of professional ground rules... Don't Mix Business with Pleasure. She has no doubt any time spent in the arms of Sean Martin would be all pleasure but he's an important business associate.

Aside from owning the hottest club in New Haven, Midnight Blues, he is also a good Samaritan. Sean has been working with several other business in conjunction with Quiet Haven, a shelter for abused women. His brainchild is to help get these women back on their feet. His vast wealth of community resources helps them find jobs and begin to build their lives and self-worth. The last part is where Amy comes in. Prototypes of her practical garment pieces are donated to the shelter so the women have the right clothes when they go on job interviews. Amy is so enamoured with his idea, she has gotten designers all across the country to reach out to shelters in their own cities. It's a worthy business connection she doesn't want to jeopardize with a night between the sheets.

Sean sees women come through the doors of his club all the time. Some are happily attached to a partner, others are content to sit at the bar and drown their sorrows in drink or look for something better than what they have at home. He feels sorry for the latter group, knowing somewhere down the road they might be one of the newest members of Quiet Haven... or maybe a late client of New Haven's finest homicide detective.

Is he the soul mate Amy searches for?
Is he the good Samaritan he appears to be?
Or does someone more sinister lurk behind those devilish dark eyes and sensual smile?