Valentine's Day and Author Tess MacKall

The Valentine’s Day Shuffle

Mary is a nice gal. Cute, sassy, sexy. But a little too trusting it seems.

Welcome to my UNValentine’s Day Blog Tour. And thank you so much to Melissa for hosting my inaugural post. So what’s this tour all about? Well, I have a new release on February 11th from Ellora’s Cave entitled Twelve Days of Love While the book is a fun and highly romantic read any time of year, it has a Valentine’s Day theme, and therefore talking about the big day is very appropriate.

I write happily ever after, but I’m also a realist. So in considering what I wanted my blog tour to focus on, I decided I’d like to take a look at the reality of Valentine’s Day and all the media hype surrounding it. Is it really all it’s cracked up to be? Everything the media tells us it is? I put out an all call for some Valentine’s Day fiasco stories and received several.

Listen in on Mary’s story.

I met John two weeks before Christmas and we were seeing each other three times a week. We spent two whole weekends together. One was the weekend before Valentine’s Day. He said and did all the right things. I thought I did too. I was in love. That last weekend he told me he loved me and the following week we talked on the phone daily several times. Each time we talked he went on and on about how much he loved me. I was floating. We had plans for Valentine’s Day weekend to have dinner out and then champagne and snuggling together all weekend. But on Thursday he called to tell me he had to go out of town with his boss. I understood. Sure I was disappointed but I did understand. I ended up going out on Valentine’s Day with a group of girlfriends. I’d told John I’d be staying home but my friends talked me into it. We stopped for drinks and then headed over to the restaurant for dinner. We had been there about an hour when one of my friends excused herself to go to the ladies room. She came back about half a minute later with the most horrible look on her face. She was pale. She sat down and took my hand. After she finished telling me that John was in a booth at the back of the restaurant snuggled up to another woman, I was probably pale too. But it didn’t take me long to recover. I grabbed the carafe of wine from the table and went looking for John. When I found him I just stood there for a few seconds watching his mouth drop open. Then I poured that almost full carafe of wine over his head. I don’t care how stupid I looked. It felt good. A year later I met the right man and we now have two beautiful children and Valentine’s Day is every day for us. We don’t have a lot of money but we know how to show our love and don’t use gimmicks to do it either. Last year for Valentine’s Day my sweetie bought some chocolate chip cookie dough and shaped each spoonful into a heart and baked them. He put them in a basket lined with red tissue paper and bought them to me in bed that night along with some milk and we ate every single one together as we talked about how happy we are.

Awww…nice happily ever after for Mary. But the first part? Where is John? I’d like to take a patch out of his head. Cupid’s aim was sure off with that dude. It’s a shame we women can’t put out some sort of alert on men like him.

So what is the point of all of this? The media hype has us all running around like crazy and spending a bunch of money in an effort to prove or find love. Mary found hers in a three-dollar-tube of Pillsbury cookie dough. Don’t worry about spending money on expensive flowers, chocolates, champagne and fancy dinners or lingerie. When you do something that comes straight from the heart—like baking heart-shaped cookies—you show that special someone just how loved they are.

Celebrate love all year long, not just on one day. And if you’re looking for a feel-good read, pick up a copy of Twelve Days of Love on February 11th. Just in time for Valentine’s Day reading. Hey…why not read it to your lover? It’s one I guarantee you’ll want to read again and again.

Thanks for stopping by. And thanks again to Melissa for having me as her guest here at The Imaginarium Blog.
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Wicked Writers Tess MacKall and Natalie Dae

I am very happy because two of erotica's most sizzling authors, Tess MacKall and Natalie Dae are here at The Imaginarium. Whoo Hoo! Take it away, Ladies...

Writing For Ourselves Or The Masses?

As an editor—one who is trying not to be an editor these days—I’ve had a lot of authors disagree with me when I tried steering them in the right direction. I keep saying over and over again that there are rules for writing in general and that the romance genre is very specific and not as forgiving as most. The response I always get is something along the lines of “that’s my author voice” or “I think outside of the box”.

Nothing wrong with author voice or thinking outside of the box. But those two things must work within your storyline in order to get away with it. Unfortunately, most of the time, that thinking outside of the box the author is doing just isn’t working. I often hear authors say if they never sold a single story they’d still write. Okay. That’s just dandy. If you can live with not selling a single story and can handle that, why not? Whatever makes you happy.

But if you want to sell? You need to get with the program. Only through serious study of the craft can you succeed. There are plenty of small presses—both print, digital, and vanity—out there that will contract a novice writer’s work. And in all honesty I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with that (well, my advice is to stay away from vanity pubs). Starting out with a small publisher and learning the ropes of publishing in general is a good way to get your feet wet. However, if you see yourself at the top of your game at that point, you are sadly mistaken.

Learning how to write isn’t something that stops with the first published story. It’s an ongoing process. Personally, I learn something every single time I work on a new book. I learn something new every time I go through an edit. Yes, I do. There is always a better way of doing things than the way you’re doing it. Trust me. I know. And it is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. How dare someone else think of a better way? How dare someone else know more than me? Well…it happens.

In this business you need to wear a suit of armor. I hear thick skin all the time—but in reality you’d best break out the chain mail. Lol You’re going to shed tears during your first REAL edit. And I said REAL for a reason. Some small pubs don’t do a lot of editing as they don’t attract the most experienced editors. And some small pubs simply don’t care and do a “clean up” job of your work and release it. So there is a good chance you WON’T cry over your first edit. But wait till your first REAL edit comes along. The tears will flow like booze at spring break. And if you think that sounds bad? Wait until you get one of those gremlin-styled reviews. You’ll be shouting pistols at dawn faster than a Nascar drive with the pedal to the metal.

But if you take these issues in stride, focus on the end goal, accept that you’re still learning, you’ll be fine. Just remember: When someone gives you advice, they aren’t always out to bring you down. Sometimes they are out to lift you higher. Talent is a blessing. If you’ve got it, nurture it. Don’t throw it away by keeping your blinders on. Study, open your eyes and mind. When all is said and done—if you’re one of those writers who wants to sell books…

It isn’t about thinking outside the box or your beautiful author voice. It’s about catering to the needs and desires of the masses. Your target audience. They are in charge. They are the boss—not your muse.

Hopefully, my philosophy on writing has worked—somewhat—and anyone who picks up a copy of one of my books will be pleased with the results of all my careful study of the writing craft. Black Cougar Curse, a very steamy novel co-authored with the fabulous Natalie Dae released from Ellora’s Cave on January 26. It’s about a sexy Cherokee Indian guide by the name of Sam Starr and the city gal he meets in the Great Smoky Mountains. Take a look at the blurb.

Deep in the mountain wilderness, Lucia Chavez searches for closure to her father’s death, and the mythical black cougar he sought. Drop-dead sexy Cherokee Indian guide Sam Starr knows more than he’s telling. After he saves Lucia from being swept away in a mudslide, the bath they both need turns steamy indeed. Sam and Lucia are living proof that near-death experiences can bring two people closer together—they can’t keep their hands off each other.

Amidst danger and mystery, Sam and Lucia explore the lust that burns between them. If their desire gets any stronger it could bring down the mountains. Ancient secrets hold the key to their unbridled sexual need. Was their passion written in the stars?

One man. One woman. A curse that binds them—and could tear them apart.

To read an excerpt visit: http://www.jasminejade.com/productspecs/9781419931062.htm
and to purchase your copy click HERE

Natalie and I hope you enjoy the blurb and excerpt enough that you’ll pick up a copy. Let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you. Contact information is on our sites. http://tessmackall.com and
http://nataliedae.blogspot.com


February 1, the new, once-a-month newsletter--Risqué--from Natalie
Dae, Regina Carlysle http://reginacarlysle.com and little ol' me will make its debut. So if you'd like to receive our newsletter, you can subscribe here by joining our newsletter group--this is a no chatting group--newsletter only. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/risquenewsletter

Many thanks to Melissa for hosting us on the amazing Imaginarium today. Happy reading to all!