Make-Believe Monday with Erin Nicholas

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Erin Nicholas.

Erin, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Erin: My current work in progress is the sexy, contemporary third book in a three-book series following a set of siblings. The first book, Just Right, will release in April. The manuscript I’m working on now is about the youngest sister who’s been in love with her brother’s best friend for years. He’s a lot older than her and her brother knows way too much about his wild past to be comfortable with letting his little sister be with him! Still he can’t leave her alone and the heroine isn’t above using every weapon in her arsenal to get what she wants!

Debra: Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Erin: Great question! Some days it’s harder than others, isn’t it? I read, read, read, for one thing! My children and husband also help. They love the stories mom makes up for them at bedtime (after writing steamy love scenes, it’s a great stretch for me to have to make the stories rated G J). I also think my “day job” keeps me constantly creatively revived. I’m a physical therapist, so can satisfy my scientific “left brain”, which seems to allow my creative “right brain” to recharge! Plus, working with people all day every day gives me lots of great chances to be inspired and rewarded!

Debra: Yes, it can be. Writing can be isolating. Reading is so important as is getting out among people.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Erin: Absolutely. Actually, until that happens I feel like I need to get to know them better! They pull me into conversation a lot in the shower and in the car… the only two places I’m ever truly alone! J

Debra: Alone time is essential to the writing life.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Erin: I write contemporaries, so I haven’t come up with a language (yet! J), but I do play with words in creating and getting to know my characters… giving them phrases they use a lot or a way they speak. Some of my favorite authors are brilliant at that! I also constantly create places. I love the small towns of the Midwest and many of my books are set in fictional towns I’ve created from bits and pieces of towns I know and love. I also have multiple characters and stories that involve the medical field (my November release is about a physical therapist!) and so I create the hospitals where they work, which is again, bits and pieces of the places I’ve worked myself!

Debra: Being a midwest gal myself, originally from Ohio, I can relate to your fictional towns. :-)

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Erin: I have dreamed scenes or a premise before and that’s like finding a winning lottery ticket without spending the money! I mean, wow, I’m sleeping rather than staring at a blank screen and suddenly this idea is just there? How great is that? More than that, though, is when my characters show up in my dreams. Not always in the context I’ve put them in on the pages, but mixed in with my real life. It’s kind-of fun and I take that to mean that I’ve gotten to know them pretty well by that time!

Debra: Yes, it is like winning the lottery! When the stories show up in your dreams you know you were meant to write them.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Erin: Oh, absolutely! My dad was an English teacher before he became a high school Principal (yes, my high school Principal! J) and he introduced me to the original Alice in Wonderland (not the Disney version), A Wrinkle in Time, The Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia… oh, wow, talk about fabulous worlds!

Debra: What an awesome dad to give the gift of stories. I'll bet he is proud of you.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Erin: I love the fact that it seems more and more the world of romantic fiction is just wide open! I think the only limitation is… me! J

Debra: So much truth in that one. "the only limitation is me" So true.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Erin: I think that dreams and the imagination allow us to do two really huge things: hold on to the “what could be” in life and connecting with others. Fiction, at least the fiction I love J, is about the good things: love, triumph over adversity, bravery, faith, truth, justice, sacrifice, loyalty… the things that we all really want and deep down have to believe in to keep going. It is absolutely amazing to me that not only can a writer create something purely from within them, but once it’s out there in the world it touches others and they learn from it and it lifts them up and entertains them. It’s such a hard thing to explain, but it’s so fantastic the way our souls can speak to and touch each other!

Debra: It is something of a miracle the way stories can touch lives, isn't it?

Erin, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Erin: Thanks for letting me share a Monday with you!

Debra: You're quite welcome! It's been a pleasure.

Readers can visit Erin at:

www.ErinNicholas.com
ninenaughtynovelists.blogspot.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/ErinNichloas

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:
I took last week off to visit relatives over the holidays and got to meet my beautiful niece Maggie who was only one week old.

This week is for catching up on things and getting back to the two manuscripts I'm working on.

I'll be out in Vegas Dec 16th to 22nd to visit my youngest son and really looking forward to seeing him again.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays with Renee Wildes

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Renee Wildes.

Renee, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

It's set in my Samhain Publishing "Guardians of Light" world. I'm tentatively calling it "Dust of Dreams" and I hope it ends up being Bk 4. The hero Benilo is an elven spirit healer (he has a teeny part in Duality and pivotal role in Hedda's Sword). The heroine Pryseis is a rebellious dream faerie. They work together to stop a goblin child's magic-influenced nightmares from spreading to everyone and starting a war.

Debra: The idea of nightmares being able to spread is intriguing. I'm wondering how they spread and how to stop them. Stories about the fae are always so fascinating.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Renee: I do a lot of reading & watching old movies. I love art, scrapbooking, horseback riding through the woods and playing with my kids. One of our favorite games is "What if?" or serial stories - one of us starts, stops at some cliffhanger point and the next person has to then pick up whatever thread got dropped. Can be a LOT of fun (as is also useful at writer's meetings/parties)!

Debra: Story games are so much fun, especially if the writers write in different genres. This subject came up just the other day at lunch. Somehow it keeps re-appearing this week.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Renee: I usually start a story with a vision of the character:

Duality was a red-haired woman kneeling in a burning room. (When I realized she STARTED the fire I had to know more!)

Hedda's Sword I was trying to figure out who to pair Cianan with (an elven version of the ultimate ladies' man) and my evil red dragon muse whispered "assassin nun." And there she was - Brigitte Nielsen, complete w/sword!

Lycan Tides I've always been facinated w/selkies, and I got a single mom living in a lighthouse!



Debra: Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Renee: I write fantasy romance, so everything I write is make believe. I base imaginary places on real places, use historical weapons, mix real creatures with mythological beasts. Medicines are part real herbs and some made-up (telgara bushes, waxroot, relag & garelbark tea, dreamwine, drenieval whiskey). I make up the names of gods and goddesses. Then I thow in things like talking horses, sentient jewelry & vemonous mermaids - I even have swear words in different languages:

DRACKEN RUE - elvish

DREK - dragon

VARDEN - selkie

LURSA - faerie

Debra: Fascinating! To learn more, we'll have to read your books. :-)

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Renee: Writing is part IMAGINATION & part RESEARCH. Take enough of the real world to make your story seem well-grounded, but add enough of a twist to make it fresh and new and exciting. Don't ever be afraid to reach, to stretch it just a bit more. And don't be afraid of the dark - the best stories are those where good/light triumph over evil/darkness! The light always shines the brightest against the dark!



Debra: Renee, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers. It's been a pleasure.

Renee: Thanks so much for having me here today, Debra! It was fun! Anyone who wants to find out more about my worlds can check out:

website: www.renee.wildes.net
Samhain Publishing author page
blogs: reneewildes1.wordpress.com
guardiansoflight.wordpress.com

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Thursday I'm headed to Eureka Springs, AR to the Ozark Creative Writers where I'll be signing books on Friday and Saturday.

I'll be sending tweets from the writers event and my Twitter feeds into my home page, so you can follow even if you don't wish to get a Twitter account.
www.debraparmley.com
You'll also find my calendar with upcoming appearances for the rest of the year. I'll be winding that down soon in order to get more writing done.

Make-Believe Mondays With AE Rought

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is AE Rought.

AE, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

AE: Well, Debra, I have more than one manuscript going right now, so I'll give you a quick run down of the major attention getters:

Beau and Laney, the sequel to Slade and Kally, is set on the Fourth Moon ranch in Hulett, Wyoming. Beau is a driven, strong minded character who knows what he wants and how to go about getting it. Laney is under her parents' thumb, and is struggling to make a life on her own. Add a jealous almost ex-boyfriend and meddling ex-girlfriend into the mix and you've got tension, steam and more than a few laughs.

Systemic is a genre blending story, mixing sexy scenes with the ick and gore of a zombie flick. Kat, the heroine, is a survivalist who falls for a man she meets on her night out. Jared is the sexiest nerd she's ever met, an immunologist on the trail of a miracle one-time immunization shot that, once tampered with by a jealous female, causes the entire lab to fall one by one and become zombies. Kat saves the day with her trusty Sig Sauer and an arsenal of ammunition and one liners.

Vengeance Eclipsed is the continuing story in my urban fantasy series that I'm shopping to agents. The series mixes werewolves, werecats, vampires and Mixed Martial Arts in a kick ass, fast paced ongoing tale of a hybrid, her struggles to get revenge for the life she's been forced to live and the sexy werecat cage fighter who distracts her.

I'm also writing two erotic tales under my sassy southern penname.

Debra: Your projects are quite varied! The western is intriguing me. (One might guess I have a thing for westerns and for cowboys.)

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

AE: I have playlists for each manuscript that I have playing while I write. I also switch my desktop wallpapers to sustain the mood. Heck, I even have crystals and incense. And, when the old writing battery gets too low, hubby and I spend some time by one of our favorite water sources. There are some picturesque lakes, ponds and rivers here in Michigan. I always coming away feeling refreshed and recharged.

Debra: The playlist idea is a good one. Switching wallpapers, that's unique. So your entire writing environment is geared to that particular manuscript you are working on. I just might try that.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

AE: Oh, definitely! One of the characters in my urban fantasy series actually talked me out of killing him off and into setting him up with the heroine's best friend. He's a smooth talker. Most of my other characters grow their own voice and personality as I write, by the second or third chapter.

Debra: Oh my, he is a smooth talker! LOL I just love that!

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

AE: Yes, I did. In my creative writing class at Grand Valley State University, during our poetry session, I created a couple words. Big fun. My favorite created phrase was screeling, a combo of screeching and squealing.

Debra: It is great fun! And so many writers have played this way with some fascinating results.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

AE: Not really. I have images, snippets of scenes come to mind doing mundane tasks when my brain might've been kind of dozing, but I was physically awake. A lot of scenes come to me when I'm in the shower. Once I had the hubby grab a notebook and take dictation.

Debra: Now that's a good hubby!

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

AE: I loved fantasy when I was in school. Mom bought me The Hobbit in junior high and I was hooked after that, a huge, huge Tolkien fan--also a big sucker for Carole Nelson Douglas and Stephan R. Donaldson.

Debra: If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

AE: Well, Systemic is probably the craziest combination I've toyed with yet, melding horror and romance and some humor. Vengeance Moon was fun, very dark and gritty, and I loved immersing myself in that after Slade and Kally's light, sweet atmosphere.

Debra: Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

AE: Other than love, there is no greater gift than imagination, in my mind. Vast, wonderful worlds, unknown creatures and magick untapped exist in the realm of imagination, ones not yet shared by those dreaming them. If mine ever fails, I want someone to take me out behind the shed and put me out of my misery.

Debra: If imagination fails, we're all in trouble.

AE, Thanks so much for visting here on Make-Believe Mondays to share a bit of the magic of imagination, creativity and dreams.

Readers, you have a chance to win a copy of AE's ebook! Our lovely editor Beth, has donated a copy. Isn't she awesome?

Just leave a comment here on the blog and I will announce the winner on the following Monday!

Vist AE at
www.aerought

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This coming Saturday I will be at the Book Fair at Books and Beauty on Covington Pike in Memphis, TN from 10:00 till 2:00 signing and reading from my book, A Desperate Journey. I'll be reading at 12:30. If you are in the area, stop on by and say hello!

www.debraparmley.com

Here on Make-Believe Mondays we will have contests for our readers to win free books! To win all you need to do is leave a comment and I will announce the winner on the following Monday!

Next Monday my guest is Frank Tuttle.

Make-Believe Mondays With Meg Benjamin

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest it Meg Benjamin.

Meg, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Meg: Well, Wedding Bell Blues is being released by Samhain Publishing on July 21. It’s the story of a disastrous wedding—the hero and heroine are the best man and maid of honor who are trying to keep the whole thing from imploding. Here’s the blurb: Janie Dupree will do anything to make sure her best friend has the wedding of her dreams, even if it means relinquishing what every bridesmaid covets and never gets—the perfect maid-of-honor dress. Problem is, family drama as tangled as a clump of Texas prickly pear cactus threatens to send the skittish bride hopping aboard the elopement express.

Janie could use a hand, but the best man’s “help” is only making things worse.

Pete Toleffson just wants to get through his brother’s wedding and get back to his county attorney job in Des Moines. He never expected to be the engineer on a wedding train that’s derailing straight toward hell. Janie’s the kind of girl he’d like to get close to—but her self-induced role as “Miss Fix-It” is as infuriating as it is adorable.

If they can just fend off meddling parents, vindictive in-laws, spiteful ex-boyfriends, and a greyhound named Olive long enough to achieve matrimonial lift-off, maybe they can admit they’re head-over-heels in love.

Debra: Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Meg: Oh yeah. In fact, hearing the characters’ voices is really important to me. After I’ve worked on a story for a while, I can begin to tell myself, “No, so-and-so wouldn’t say that.” Which means I have to sit down and think about just what she/he would say under those conditions—hearing their voices, in other words. Seeing them is harder. I sometimes begin a book by finding pictures that look like my people. I don’t create collages, like some of my friends, but I do collect pictures to look at, at least initially. I also sometimes have actors in mind, but that can be tricky because I sometimes end up thinking of characters those actors have played who may be very far from the characters I’m trying to create.

Debra: Usually I see my story people before I hear them, so we're opposites on that. But I've tried using photos too.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Meg: I was one of those kids who loved folk tales and fairy tales. My mom read me Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and the Arabian Nights. I also loved the Alice books and Oz. And when I got older I read most of the Narnia books, too. I also loved an obscure bunch of books by an author named Edward Eager called Half Magic, about a family of children who found a magic coin that could grant wishes, but only half of what they wished for. They spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to wish for twice what they really need and then end up with weird results (duh!).

Debra: All wonderful tales. I'd love to read Half Magic. Maybe there are still copies floating about.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

I think it’s important to remember that creating ordinary, “realistic” worlds also requires imagination. Being creative isn’t limited to imagining alternative worlds—imagining the everyday world takes creativity as well. After all, we’re not really dealing with “reality” here; it’s what I think of as “reality 2.0”. We’re not actually dealing with what people “really” do or think or say; rather, we’re dealing with what they do or think or say in this neat little microcosm we’ve created for them. It’s not real life—it’s life reimagined.

Debra: So very true. Life reimagined.



www.megbenjamin.com

megbenjamin.wordpress.com

Debra: Meg, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Thursday is my new favorite day of the week because my new schedule is to go to the library and write on Thursdays from 9 to 5. This is a time when I do not answer emails or phone calls (even with the iphone) And the writing is going very well.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays With Leslie Dicken

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Leslie Dicken.

Leslie, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Leslie: I’m actually going back and forth between two. One is a dark, paranormal historical and the other is an urban fantasy or, uh, contemporary paranormal? LOL! Don’t always know where these stories fit in the subgenres. I tend to write dark, scared heroes and unlikely heroines. We’ll see which one I finish first!

Debra: So it will be a surprise to you as well.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Leslie: I read - all sorts of genres and romantic subgenres. I also make jewelry, which fills me creatively in visual and visceral ways. And for the ultimate in clearing the mind, I’ll do gardening/yard work.

Debra: There's something about moving the body that does it for so many writers. So many times a writer is creative in other ways as well.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Leslie: Yes, two of my books had their premise based on dreams. Both futuristic books I wrote for Samhain as Jordanna Kay originated as dreams. THE PRICE OF DISCOVERY was conceived after I had a dream about a beautiful Victorian-style house in the middle of nowhere. Who would live there? Why would it be out there? For my novella, TABOO, I never forgot a dream I had many years ago of two types of people who had evolved to suit their particular niches on a distant planet. I kept mulling it over, wondering how they got to that planet and what would happen if those two separate peoples interacted....and what if they fell in love?

Debra: Ah, that "what if" that is the source of every story....

Leslie, thank you for visiting with us here on Make-Believe Mondays to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Readers please visit Leslie at

www.lesliedicken.com
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

Well I am moving a little slow today after the big camping weekend. The heat index was 111 and this was a primitive camp site so there was no electric or water. I survived it, managed to have fun and now have even more to write about when the situation calls for it. Nothing like wearing a medieval gown in the heat of the day and feeling the sweat roll down your back.

I'm enjoying the a/c once again and will be back to the writing once the laundry is caught up tonight and everything is shaken out for spiders.

www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays with Judi Fennell

Today on Make-Believe Mondays I'm pleased to introduce Judi Fennel.

Judi, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you're working on now.

Judi: Currently, I'm finishing up the third book in my Mer series, Catch of a Lifetime.

In Over Her Head, which comes out in June, is the first book in the series. It's the story of a merman named Reel, and a woman who's afraid of the ocean. Having seen JAWS at a young age, I can totally relate to Erica's fear. When she accidentally gets shot and wakes up under the water, she thinks she's died and gone to hell, so talking fish and a merman are to be expected. It's when she realizes that she's not dead that she really starts to freak out. Then The Oceanic Council sends her and Reel off on a search for missing diamonds and all her fears of the sea start to come true. Sea monsters, deadly sharks, barracuda... Erica can't wait to get back on land. Toss in a couple of nights with Reel on a deserted island, however, and she might just change her mind.

Debra: I can't wait to read this series, Judi. I confess to being a bit phobic of water myself. Though I did learn to swim in college and can swim anywhere with a life jacket (and now love to snorkle), the phobia is still there.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Judi: My characters usually start talking to me before I start the story. They are the ones who dictate to me and if I try to write something in a way they don't want, they let me know.

Debra: Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Judi: I always play with words: puns, plays-on-words, double entendre, clichés... you name it, I use it. But I like to put twists on it. Since I'm creating an undersea world with its own set of rules and hierarchy and mythology, plus the fact that I pull on several known mythologies, I did take several words and join them to create a new word for the world. Selinos means "years," based on thirteen moon cycles (since they live under the sea, their lives are governed by the moon) in my Mer language and it's a combination of:

(σεληνη) pronounced sel-ay-nay selanay (moon)

ετος) pronounced eh-tos atos (year)

I also take common expressions and make them "Mer friendly." S-O-B, for example, becomes S-O-M (Son-of-a-Mer) or, Son-of-a-Sandpiper, depending on who's saying it. Task at hand becomes task-at-fin, etc. That, to me, was also part of the fun of creating this world.

Debra: These are not only fascinating, but playful and fun! Thanks for sharing them.

Judi: As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world? I was a voracious reader (and still am, deadlines notwithstanding). I loved the worlds of L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz series), Hugh Lofting (Dr. Doolittle), as well as all the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys/Bobbsey Twins books. I loved Dodie Smith's 101 Dalmatians and the sequel, Twilight Barking, the hilarity of Freaky Friday, and Dorothy Wisbieski's The True Story of Okee The Otter. I always wanted to have a pet otter, but since that's not exactly a viable thing, my husband did sponsor the river otters in my local zoo a few years for me as a Christmas present. Talking animals, magic and adventure were my focus; toss in a love of romance starting in eighth grade, and I really had no choice but to write what I write.

Debra: Great stories! And what a sweet thing for your husband to do!

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Judi: Exactly the ones I'm writing. I wrote this story for me; the fact that others have loved it has been a blessing. I let my imagination run (swim?) wild with this one and the fact that I am writing more in the series just means I can live in that world and explore all the possibilities. That's the beauty of the romance world - you can go anywhere with it.

Debra: This is what I love to hear an author say when I ask this question. I really believe it's how the Harry Potter stories are born. Letting the imagination go and running with it.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Judi: Okay, here's one for you. Rocky Horror Picture Show (ah, the 80s...) "Don't dream it, be it." Who would have ever thought that my "little talking fish story" would spark a whole world--and a writing career? No one was writing it because no one had thought of it. Don't not try something because it hasn't been done. Don't not read something because it sounds a little off the beaten path. Who knows where your imagination can take you if you don't give it a chance?

Debra: Exactly! (I have to admit this answer gave me goose bumps.) And I love that quote.

Judi, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Judi: It's been my pleasure, Debra. Thank you so much for having me.

Debra: You're quite welcome, Judi. It's been fun!

Judi: I'd like to let your readers know that they can register to win one of three romantic beach getaway packages to celebrate the release of each of my books. Because In Over Her Head and Wild Blue Under take place off the coast of Ocean City, NJ, the Atlantis Inn Bed & Breakfast (www.AtlantisInn.com, talk about the perfect name!) is offering two weekends. The Hibiscus House (www.HibiscusHouse.com) in West Palm Beach, FL, is the third package since Catch of a Lifetime takes place off the eastern coast of Florida. Please stop by my website www.JudiFennell.com to register to win.

Debra: What awesome prizes. It doesn't get much better than that! Be sure to visit Judi and register to win!
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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This week I'm making plans/getting ready for my birthday party which is next Saturday. (Birthday is actually Sunday.)

Continuing to work on the manuscript and plan to have it ready to send out by the end of June, if not before.

Also planning for a book signing at my beauty salon, A Clientage, on Thursday June 11th from 3:00 to 9:00 pm. You can find the invitation on my home page:

www.debraparmley.com

My website will be updated soon with pictures from the book launch party, from the RT convention in Orlando and a few other things. So stay tuned...

Make-Believe Mondays with Shiela Stewart

Today my guest on Make-Believe Mondays is Shiela Stewart.

Shiela, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Shiela: Right now I’ve just finished writing the last book in my Darkness series, Surviving the Darkness. It’s the eighth book in the series and for now, the Darkness series is done. For now. I may very well revisit Jacob’s Cove in the future and tell more vampire tales. What is the Darkness series, you may ask. Let me tell you. The Darkness series is a tale of a group of humans and vampires who are fighting to keep the city of Jacob’s Cove safe from vampires after the sun is blotted out during a ritual to bring forth the vampire king. With each book, the story continues, bringing love to the heroes and heroines amongst the darkest of times while they try to bring the sun back.

Debra: For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Shiela: It’s funny you should mention this. A lot of my books have come from my dreams. Though, very rarely are they romantic. Most of my dreams are scary such as the dream that that helped spawn my Demon series (yet unpublished).I usually take the dream, add some key points, fill in the plot and add a romantic aspect to it. Sometimes all I’ll have is a short dream scene but it’s enough to get my mind rolling to create a story.

Kidnapped, my first novel published came from a dream I had where a woman was held captive and thought it was a joke so she didn’t really take it seriously. I took the idea and rolled with it. Secrets of the Dead came from a dream I had of a vicious ghost holding a guy hostage in a house, tormenting him. When I woke, I took the idea and changed it around to have the hero possess the ability to communicate with the dead investigating a supposed haunted house with near dire consequences.
I have a vivid imagination.

Debra: It sounds like your imagination is quite busy when you are dreaming. All it takes is a short dream scene to spark a story. Our dream lives can be so rich and vivid with detail.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Shiela: Actually, I have created something like this. The story is called Mind over Madness and it’s about a young man, sixteen, desperate for his father’s attention ends up murdering a family. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t account for the fact that he might be seen and ends up going on the run. While trying to stay one step ahead of the police he meets various people, including a talking cat. He’s having the time of his life, getting into bars without ID, sleeping with several women and coming out the victor in several fights against men twice his size. Yet all the while a little voice inside his mind keeps reminding him of the family he killed. When he wakes up in his own bed, he laughs it off as having been a wild dream only to find the cops waiting for him outside his house. It’s one of those stories a reader would think had been created by a stoned author. LOL
It has yet to be published.

Debra: I won't ask if you were when you wrote it. LOL

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Shiela: If there is a story swirling inside your mind, write it down. It may never be published, or it very well might be the next New York Times best seller. If you want to write about a talking bunny who falls in love with a woman then finds out he is actually human and needs the woman to break the spell, then go for it. You never know who will want to read it. J
Write what interests you and don’t let anyone tell you it’s not right.

Debra: Good advice, Shiela. Thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Shiela: Thank you for the wonderful interview!

Debra: You're quite welcome. It's been fun.

To find out more about Shiela and her books, go to
www.shielasbooks.ca

Here is the list of Darkness books already released.
Seducing the Darkness. Desiring the Darkness. Embracing the Darkness. Charming the Darkness. Tempting the Darkness. Soon to be released, Penetrating the Darkness. For more information on the Darkness series go to
www.shielasbooks.ca/TheDarknessSeries.htm

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This week I am working hard on revisions to my contemporary romance.
Planning a book signing in Bartlett TN for June as well.

Watch my website for photos from the RT convention and other updates.
www.debraparmley.com

Authors who wish to be interviewed on Make-Believe Mondays, please use the registration form on my website. Thanks!

Make-Believe Mondays with Patricia Snodgrass

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Patricia Snodgrass.

Patricia, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Patricia: The story I’m currently working on is entitled “Love Fiercely.” It is set in the distant future aboard a spaceport and focuses on the lives of the medical examiners and their families who reside on the port. Not only is there a medical mystery to solve, there’s a mystery of the heart to solve too. Jerrod’s humanoid finacee Kitra is undergoing changes that he cannot begin to understand. That’s all I’ll say for now.

Debra: I like the title. That's something we all should do, when we find that special someone. Love fiercely and with the whole heart.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Patricia: I love Ray Bradbury and he has been an influence in my writing since I was young. How I keep my creative cup filled is not difficult. I love to learn new things, which I think is vital in a craft such as writing. I am always seeking new venues for my writing, trying new genres, experimenting with grammar (as much as the editors will allow, ha!) and language. When I find those times when my creative cup seems empty, I find other things to do, such as paint, crochet, do beadwork and gardening. Taking long walks with the dog and enjoying fresh air and sunshine. And of course there’s the need for the odd road trip, which I’m currently craving.

Debra: Oh, I'm craving a road trip too, but it's soon to be satisfied by flying to Orlando on Wed. :-)
There is something about travel, or simply moving along when seems to feed the writing.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Patricia: Yes, that’s when I know I’m really in the zone when it comes to my writing. When I feel as if I’m sitting back and simply dictating what the characters are doing, seeing, feeling, etc, that’s when I know the story is going to be good. I love it when this happens. I’m never sure if a story is coming together well if I have to drag it along myself. It’s so much easier when the characters come forward and tell their own stories. My niece who has a degree in psychology told me once that I wasn’t normal. I laughed and said, define normal.

Debra: Oh, who wants to be normal anyway? I think all writers have a touch of eccentricity and I think we ought to embrace that part of ourselves and just be. My writer friends are eccentric, fascinating people, and I love them just the way they are. Besides, it's our differences that make people interesting. And I know just what you mean about trying to drag a story along by yourself. It never goes well for me when I do that.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Patricia: Yes, I love playing with language. I sometimes collect languages the way some people collect butterflies or rocks. And sometimes I make up my own words. For example, I sometimes use the nonsense word ‘hucked’ to describe someone sobbing so hard they start hiccupping. Sometimes, my characters come from different cultures and have different languages. One character I wrote about was Cherokee, and she spoke the language. Today, when I was writing about an Afghani war veteran, she spoke in the Afghani language of Pashto. I didn’t even know Afghan had so many languages.

Debra: Hucked is a good word. Playing with language can be so much fun. Now you've made me curious about Pashto.

Patricia, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Visit Patricia at
patriciasnodgrass.bravehost.com
bluedelirium.blogspot.com
redroom/member/bayougoddess

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This Wed. I'm flying to Orlando to spend some time with my dear friend Marie before the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention begins.

Here are the panels and other events I am scheduled for at the convention. If you're attending, be sure to come up and say hello! I love meeting new people.

Sun. April 19th: 5:00 meet & greet dinner
Mon. April 20th: 2:00 - 3:00 Characterization with Diana Groe and Pat Simmons
Tue. April 21st: 11:00 - 12:00 Submitting with Jade Lee
2:15 - 3:00 Query & Synopsis
3:15 - 4:00 Rejection with Aleka Nakis, Susan Yarina, Kathy Love
Wed. April 22nd: 10:30 - 11:30 Resurrecting the Muse with Gerri Russell
3:30 - 4:30 Samhain Soireee Bookseller party
Sat. April 25th: 11:00 - 2:00 Book Fair (where I'll be signing my first novel, A Desperate Journey)

There are plenty of other events I'm planning to attend, but these are the places you're certain to find me.

I'll be out of town April 15th through April 27th, but Make-Believe Mondays will continue.

Keep watching my website www.debraparmley.com for photos and video from the book launch and for pictures from the RT convention in Orlando.

Make-Believe Mondays With Donica Covey

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Donica Covey.

Donica, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Donica: I have two projects in the works right now. The first one is Hunting Mickey, the next book in my romantic suspense series Gateway Guardians. This series centers on a team of DEA agents based in St. Louis and chronicles their battle in the war on drugs, specifically targeting the evil drug lord Ramiro Gonzalo Sancho Rivera.

The second project is Ember’s Flame, book three in my Elemental Desires series. This series spotlights each of the four Duile sisters. Amazing, talented ladies who just happen to be witches. Out of sheer boredom, they come up with a challenge: A contest to win the love of a mortal man. Being they are witches of the elements, their mortal must deal with their specific element. The first two sisters Maryna and Storm (water and air element respectively) have already been released. Now I just have to complete Ember and Tara’s tales.

Debra: St. Louis is an interesting city to visit and has a rich history. I'm surprised there aren't more books set there. And your witches sound intriguing.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Donica: I have to sometimes force myself to ignore logical boundaries and let my imagination take flight or else the characters get constipated and no amount of muse-lax breaks up the flow.

Debra: Yes, sometimes imagination needs to carry a Nerf baseball bat to whack logic on the side of the head a little so we can write. ;-)

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Donica: From the moment of conception. For me the characters are alive. They sit beside me, talk to me, annoy me, and cajole me. It’s when they stop talking and disappear that I have a huge problem.

Debra: Oh...yes. It's never good when they go quiet.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Donica: I love to play with words. In my fantasy novel Dragon’s Angel I took words from Old English and used them to name different tribes of the inhabitants from the world of Grogan. For example…I chose to name one of my tribes the Brimborions. I just love the word Brimborion—kind of catchy, yes? The word Brimborion means a thing without value or use. But my tribe is far from the definition. They are hardworking, loyal and honest.

Debra: Oh, I like that word too. It's so much fun to play with words.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you?

Donica: Definitely.

Debra: Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Donica: Almost every book has one or more such scenes.

Debra: As a child, did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Donica: Of course! L. Frank Baum. J.R.R Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, Edgar Allen Poe. All are my favorites.

Debra: If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Donica: I do have one work that is in sort of a limbo because of the graphic content. It’s suspenseful, horrifying, nerve-wrenching and heartrending. But because of the graphic content due to the evil nature of one of the characters it’s been rejected. So…this book would be the one to shoot the moon with.

Debra: Sounds like it's way outside the usual parameters.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Donica: Just my thanks for spending their time with me today and I hope they’ll pop into my website, www.donicacovey.com or my blog, donicacovey.blogspot.com and say hello. Or they can friend me on Face Book, Donica-Covey on Facebook I also have a YouTube channel for my book trailers: Donica Covey on UTube

Debra: Donica, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Donica: Thank you for having me!

Debra: You're quite welcome. It's been a pleasure.

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

The book launch last Thursday was wonderful! One of the greatest days of my life and one I will always remember.

Today is the day I promised to announce the winner of my book launch celebration contest - the prize, a candle in the shape of a wing, which you can see on the previous blog post.

I've been waiting for my husband to come home to draw from the names. So we now have a winner!

The winner goes by the screen name: lastnerve. Congratulations and may your dreams take flight as mine has!

Please email me at debra@debraparmley.com with your address so I can send it out this week before I head to Orlando for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention.

I will be in Orlando from April 15th to the 27th. If you are attending, come up and say hello! I love meeting new friends.

www.debraparmley.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And here is a message from my AT2 sister, Theresa Myers.

Hi,

Can you please let your blog readers know?

I promised that I wasn’t fooling around! Today I’d like to announce the two winners for my month long blog tour contest. If you commented on one of the blogs I was at, like Vampire Wire, Patricia’s Vampire Notes, the Harlequin Paranormal Romance Blog, or Make Believe Mondays, you were entered to win.

The two winners are: Kim Giardna who’ll be getting both a $20 gift certificate to Wicked Wines Online (where she can indulge in either red Vampire Vodka or other Vampire Winery offerings) and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

MelJPrincess, you’ve won those snazzy customizable chrome fangs and a copy of Salvation of the Damned.

Congratulations to you both!

Theresa Meyers
President, Blue Moon Communications
bluemooncomm@aol.com

Make-Believe Mondays Announces Debra's First Book Launch!

Make-Believe Mondays is taking time out from interviews this week to announce the print release of Debra's first novel. A Desperate Journey is now available in print and the book launch party is set for Thursday April 2nd.

If you are in Memphis, TN on that date, I would love for you to join me.



Wed, April 1st, I will be over at the Samhain Cafe, posting excerpts and chatting from 12:00 pm to 12:00 am. Stop by and say hello!
Samhain Cafe

And, I have a contest going this week. Everyone who leaves a comment here on the Make-Believe Monday blog from Tue. April 1st to Sunday April 5th will be entered into a drawing for this beautiful candle. For the longest time I have dreamed of seeing my book in bookstores and now that this dream is taking flight, this candle symbolizes that for me. Thank you for celebrating with me and may all your dreams take flight too.



debraparmley.com

Regular author interviews will resume next week and I will announce the winner of the contest on Monday.

Make-Believe Mondays with Jerri Drennon

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Jerri Drennon.

Jerri, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Jerri: Actually, I’m working on three. Two, I’m revising. The third story I’m about half done with. The one’s I’m working on revision for are action-adventure romance, the heroes are jungle guides, the heroine’s, botanists. The book I’m writing is a romantic suspense called “Going Once, Going Twice, Dead” It’s about a sculptress, who is the only suspect in a homicide case my hero is investigating.

Debra: I don't believe I've ever read a story about jungle guides and botanists. That one greatly intrigues me.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Jerri: Lately, it has been by reading. It inspires me to write, especially when the book I’d just finished has that special magic about it.

Debra: There's nothing like that special magic sweeping you away into another world.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Jerri: Yes, it’s before I even start the book—before I write one word. I get a visual image of both characters, the hero is usually clearer to me.

Debra: Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Jerri: I haven’t tried my hands at this yet, but never say never.

Debra: For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Jerri: I’ve dreamed three story ideas that are now books. “Going Once, Going Twice, Dead” came from a dream I’d had.

Debra: As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Jerri: So many, it’s hard to name just a few. The first books that really transported me were the Nancy Drew Mysteries. They began my love of suspense. In the fifth grade, my tastes matured. I fell in love with “The Great Gatsby” (It might have had something to do with Robert Redford playing him in the movie.) I went on to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s books. What an amazing writer he was.

Debra: I still have a dog eared copy of The Great Gatsby and re-read it last summer. He was an amazing writer.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Jerri: I’m not sure. But it’d be filled with action and adventure. I love writing heart-pounding, suspenseful scenes.

Debra: Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Jerri: I’ve had a vivid imagination since I was a young child growing up on a farm in Minnesota. You had to, to stay sane through those long, cold Winter’s. But it took me years to realize those voices in my head were characters trying to get me to write their stories.

Debra: I think for many of us, the imaginings were stories that we just hadn't learned to write down yet.

Jerri, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Website: jerridrennen.com
Blog: jerridrennen.wordpress.com

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

I'm blogging over on titlewave.blogspot.com tonight and if you haven't visited us there lately come by and check out the new look and format!

Also getting ready for my book launch party Thursday April 2nd at Burkes Bookstore in Memphis, TN.
www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays with Leah Braemel

Today on Make-Believe Mondays, my guest is Leah Braemel.

Leah, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Leah: I’m working on the second novel in my Hauberk Protection series which are very hot contemporary erotic romances. The first book in the series is Personal Protection, which follows the owner of the Hauberk Protection Agency, Sam Watson. In his story, Sam’s being stalked, and he’s pretty ticked off when his second-in-command forces him to accept his own bodyguards which he feels will really crimp his style. However, the head of his team, is a spitfire of a woman, Rosalinda Ramos. While trying to guard him, Rosie discovers she has to guard herself from him, especially when she discovers that Sam’s a founding member of a very exclusive sex club. (Personal Protection is being released on May 12th by Samhain.)

To follow that story up, I’m writing the second in the series. Hauberk agent Andy Walters is dating Charlene (Charley) Larsen, literally ‘the girl next door’ who, of course, comes with a complication – Andy’s brother Daniel has had a crush on Charley since they were in high school. Their affair gets more complicated when someone tries to kill her. So Andy has to protect Charley while deciding whether to step back from the relationship for his brother’s sake.

Debra: Even the closest of brothers could find their relationship ripped apart if they both fall for the same woman. There are so many different ways that one could go.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Leah: Dreams definitely play a roll in my writing. My dreams get so vivid, I have to get up in the middle of the night to write them down. My critique partner, Marley, sent me an old voice recorder she had because I was losing so much sleep getting up to write my scenes down. I’ve solved story problems,(and even real life problems) and created entire scenes or plot lines, thanks to dreaming. I think my subconscious doesn’t turn off when I go to sleep, that it churns over problems that are bugging me about my manuscript and solve them for me. So if I don’t sleep and therefore don’t dream, I notice the quality and quantity of my writing suffer.

Debra: I don't think our subconscious ever turns off really, we just don't always listen to it. A voice recorder is a great idea. Probably helps with getting it down faster before it slips away too. Things never seem to go as well for me if I am not dreaming. Dreams can tell us so much. I'm trying to listen to mine more.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Leah: Absolutely. Unless I feel like I’ve sat down and talked with my characters, that they’re real, I don’t feel I’ve created them properly. I do all sorts of preparation before I start writing a manuscript. I’ll “interview” my characters; I’ll sit down and write out big lists of their likes or dislikes, try and figure out their background – who they were as children, what their placement within their family was, their hopes, their fears–especially that because that gives me a good base of their internal conflicts. Once I get to around the 25,000 mark in my manuscript, if I’ve developed my characters properly, that’s when I started dreaming of them. Once I start dreaming of them, then I know I’ve written them properly. It’s to a point where if I’m not dreaming about them, then I know the story isn’t working for me. That’s when I go back and redevelop them until I do feel like they’re real. It’s very important to me to get to that point. (A psychiatrist would probably have a field day with that answer.)

Debra: It's such a good thing that you know your process for writing, what path it takes and I suspect a psychiatrist might say that is a healthy thing. But then I tend to think that when we are creating it is a very healthy thing. So whatever gets us there gets my thumbs up. lol

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Leah: For me it was CS Lewis’s Chronicle of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I was around seven at the time. I loved the idea that there could be a secret world hidden in the back of the closet. What kid wouldn’t dream of stepping from a mundane world into one where they can become a princess with flasks that can heal people, or talking lions or fauns. Around the same time, my sister introduced me to the idea that you could write your own stories, you didn’t have to rely on other people to make them up for you. That’s when I really let my imagination loose and started writing my own stories, not that I showed them to anyone else until about five years ago though.

Debra: Oh, I love that story (well both actually, Narnia and the story of you and your sister and your first writings) How beautiful when those worlds open to us.

Leah, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Leah: Thanks for having me, I really enjoyed these questions. If readers want to read any excerpts from the first book in the Hauberk series, Personal Protection, they can find excerpts at my website:
www.LeahBraemel.com
and I often talk about my writing process on my upcoming works over on my blog as well:
leahbraemel.blogspot.com

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

This week I will be attending Gulf Wars in Lumberton, MS Tue. through Sun. This is an SCA event and I am looking forward to wearing medieval dresses, watching the knights battle, dancing, camping and campfires. Like stepping back into the middle ages for a while. And who knows what story might be born there?

www.debraparmley.com

I have also been planning for the book launch of A Desperate Journey which will take place Thursday April 2nd at Burkes Books in Memphis, TN 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Devon Matthews.

Devon, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Devon: Hi Debra! The manuscript I’m currently working on is a Western Historical Romance, which is the genre of my heart. I originally wrote it more than 20 years ago, before I learned “how to write.” (Don’t we all have a few of those?) It’s been stuck away all these years, until a couple of months ago when I finally made up my mind to rewrite it. It’s been in the back of my mind to do this for the longest time because the characters are the most memorable I’ve written, despite the plot holes and weak motivations they had to work with. So, I’m setting it to rights and I hope to send it out and see how it flies before long.

Debra: As you might guess, I have a soft spot for western romances. ;-) So glad you're back to work on it and fingers crossed it flies just where you want it.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Devon: The seed of an idea for “Angel in the Rain,” my debut novel, began as a single snippet of imagery that kept replaying in my head. I didn’t dream it, but it would pop in at the oddest times through the day. The image was of a woman with long blond hair standing in the middle of the desert. She wore clothing appropriate to the 1800’s, of course. Then, a dark, mysterious man rides up amid a swirl of dust and sweeps her off her feet and onto the back of his black horse. That was it. From that, I built the entire story.

Debra: Dreaming in the daytime perhaps. Fascinating and mysterious. I can see why you were draw to write about it.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Devon: Gosh, as a child, I read many of the classics: Robin Hood, Black Beauty, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, to name a few. ALL of them fired my imagination. I began writing my own little stories when I was very young, and I remember one particular epic poem that I was very proud of at the time. I suspect my mother still has that tucked away somewhere.

Debra: You've listed many of my favorites, though I used to find Grimm rather frightening.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Devon: I’ve come to believe being a writer is a calling, otherwise, why would we have all those voices constantly clamoring in our heads, trying to tell us their stories. Writing and reading have been the two constants of my life. My dream is to give back as much pleasure with my stories as I’ve been given while reading others through the years.

Debra: I agree, those stories call to us, as readers and as writers. I think of it sometimes as... this story wants to be told.

Devon, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Devon: Thank you so much for having me!

Debra: It's been a pleasure.

www.devonmatthews.ent

devonmatthews.blogspot.com

myspace.com/devonwritesromance

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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

This week I'm working on finishing my tax stuff. Fun fun but it must be done.

www.debraparmley.com

Wednesday update!!!!!! A very special box arrived from my publisher today!!!! I have been bouncing all day!!! There is nothing like the feeling of holding your first novel in your hands, as a real and tangible thing you can touch. There is no feeling in the world exactly like this one. It is absolutely awesome.

I will be celebrating all day and evening.

Love and Light,

Debra

Today my guest on Make-Believe Mondays is Delle Jacobs.

Delle, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Delle: Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Debra. What a fun subject you have!

Delle: My current works in progress would fit right in with that because they’re both fantasies, and both historical, which combines two types of fantasy in one.

SIDHE is a very sensual medieval paranormal story set in Norman England. The Sidhe (pronounced Shee, are the Celtic faeriekind, not your ordinary wee creature casting about fairy dust, but tall, slim and elegant descendants of the legendary Tuatha de Danaan, with powers beyond those humans can comprehend. Leonie of Bosewood, daughter of a Norman lord, hides her true Sidhe heritage, lest odinary humans think her a witch. But a forced marriage to a Norman she believes means to kill her thrusts her into the middle of a furious struggle for power over Northern England, pitting Normans against Scots. She is forced to ally with her mysterious and frightening husband against even more dangerous, unknown powers that threaten to destroy them, the world of man and the hidden world of the Sidhe.

SIREN is completely different, a short novella that is a very hot, sensual re-telling of the Siren myth. For thousands of years, sirens have lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful song. Clipper ship Captain John Wall has heard and felt the lure, and it took everything he had in him to resist its power. But he will let nothing and no one stand between him and his dreams of success and wealth. Then, just as he is about to achieve his goal, he meets the King of Storms, and his beloved ship, with the cargo that cost him his last shilling, goes down off the Coast of Africa. Clinging to debris and nearly dead, he succumbs to the Siren’s kiss, and in her embrace, slips beneath the waves. He believes he must be dead, for what happens to him is beyond his wildest imagination.

Debra: It's my pleasure, Delle, and thank you. I love stories about faeries and sirens.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Delle: I think this is both an enormous challenge, and an easy fix. The power is always in our own minds, and how we open ourselves to new ideas comes not just from our natural creativity but how we challenge it and shove it around. I don’t buy the Muse theory. I’m not willing to let anything so arbitrary control my mind. It’s my own responsibility to get my imagination in gear. I do lots of things, like read or go through my large collection of books with photos of settings I love. I try to avoid surfing the net because it’s too easy to waylay myself with something that’s fun but mindless. I try to look beyond the narrow scope of what I’m currently writing, to different times or places, or people who wouldn’t normally be in my story. These can often lend a piece that fits into my puzzle and gives it unique qualities.

I’ve discovered that when I encounter a mind block or stuck place in my story, the problem is not that my brain just won’t cooperate. I’m actually at a point of opportunity. This is my chance to take my story out of the ordinary into something special. I use the technique I learned from Jolie Kramer: “List ten things that could happen. Throw away the first six because they’re trite.” The reality is, I rarely get to six before I find the perfect solution- the one thing I know in my heart is what would really happen.

And the funny part of this is, the more I write, the better my imaginations does its job.

Debra: Yes, and when it becomes the day job, we can't be sitting around staring at the blank page and hoping the muse will arrive. We have to do things to make it happen.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Delle: Yes, the ornery devils. They never let me write my own stories. I may think I know the best way to go, but they don’t care.

Debra: They can be stubborn that way. :-)

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Delle: My most creative writing time comes to me in the reverie right before I fall asleep. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to wake up enough to jot down a few notes in the notebook beside my bed. If not, sometimes I manage to persuade myself to memorize the dream to write it in the morning. True dreams, when I’m really asleep, also influence my writing. The basic concept for SIREN came to me in a dream. The mindset (that’s the only way I can describe it) for SIDHE was part of a dream, which I developed into the concept the next morning. A number of scenes and secrets (it’s full of secrets) of SIDHE have come in dreams through the year I’ve been writing it. They’ve given the story a completely different cast from what it would have been.

Debra: Those bedside notebooks are sometimes the only way to capture what might otherwise drift back into the world of dreams, making us forget.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?*

Delle: Even as a child, I was always one to go off into the world of Make Believe for adventure. So I think it’s wonderful that as an adult I still get to visit that world daily, simply because I write fiction.

We read and write fiction because there is something in us that must have a world beyond ourselves. Fiction helps us to reach beyond our own limitations to grasp for the stars. It reminds us of a bigger universe and takes us out of the isolation of our inner being. Those who learn to reach beyond themselves, through fiction or other means, find they have more to give to the world than their simple day-to-day existence. They have the sort of far-reaching vision that can make the world a better place.

Debra: Yes, indeed. Well stated.

Readers please visit Delle at:

Website: http://dellejacobs.com

Delle: I’m excited by it because I’ve just got the new one up. Completely re-decorated! I still have some pages and links I want to add, and still spotting bloopers. Feel free to tell me if you see anything wrong.

My blog is new, and is generating lots of excitement. That’s because it’s about something that interests all romance readers and writers: IN SEARCH OF HEROES

We’re exploring heroes and all aspects of them, real or fictional.
Check it out at
www.dellejacobs.blogspot.com

I have some great book videos (and a holiday greeting you’ll like) on YouTube: Delle on Utube

My latest book release, APHRODITE’S BREW, will come out in print at the end of this month, January 27^th . It’s available now as an ebook, as is SINS OF THE HEART.

Delle-Jacobs at Samhain
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Debra's News/Debra is Watching:

www.debraparmley.com

This week I'm a day late posting the interview and seem to be behind on everything. I've been down with something for the last six days but have antibiotic for it now and hope to catch up and be feeling better by the end of the week.

We all have weeks like that, don't we?

One happy little plus is, my flight for the RT convention has been purchased this week. I am looking forward to sunny Orlando, visiting with friends, teaching, and signing books. Something to think about on a cold January day when I'm feeling rather icky. Now that I have my schedule set I'll be posting it in the calendar section on my website this week.

Stay warm, be well, and do something today that makes you smile!

Debra

Make-Believe Mondays With Erastes

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Erastes.

Erastes, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you're working on now.

Erastes: I've just finished editing "Transgressions" which is an English Civil war (gay) romance and will be out in April--and I've just started something new. It's very new, and I'm not really sure where it's going yet. I'm not a plotter, in general--sending an outline to a publisher terrifies the life out of me--and so far I've got "character character character in a coach on their way to X"

It's going to be set in the Norfolk Broads, because I live here - and I suddenly realised that I'd be barmy not to use such an enigmatic, Gothic landscape for a Gothic novel. I can't say much about the plot as yet, as it's a mystery as well as a romance, but if I were to say "gay Victorian Vertigo" that might give people a flavour of what I'm aiming for.

Debra: Yes, that is a perfect setting for a Gothic novel. You'd be surprised how many authors have done just that, written books set outside of their surroundings and then suddenly realized the place they call home is the perfect setting for what they want to write. :-)

Ray Bradbury said, "We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Erastes: I'm not really sure. I'm constantly being touched with small brushes of inspiration. I see something on the TV, or I read something, or overhear a conversation, or have an email from someone and something sparks--and I think. "Hmmm. Now what if I were to drop that sort of thing back to the 18th century, make it homosexual, change this and that...." - that's the wonderful thing about gay historical fiction - there are so very many ideas that have not yet been explored, the genre is still very finite.

Debra: Small brushes of inspiration is a lovely way to describe it. Everything which we come into contact with becomes fodder for the page, even the slightest thing we brush up against.

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Erastes: Definitely. In fact I find it hard to write until that process has happened. I may not know my plot in advance but I HAVE to know my characters before I can get involved with them. I find the best way to avoid writer's block is to write my own fanfic - put the character into a situation and see how he deals with it. I must know not only how they look, but how they dress, what their mannerisms are, their speech patterns, whether they are stubborn, or carelessly cruel. I think this deep immersion technique helps to bring the characters to the reader, quickly and seemingly effortlessly. It gets to a stage when the characters start nagging me to get on with it, or I'll be yelling at them to stop bloody TALKING and kiss already!

Debra: That inevitable question - Are you a plotter or a pantser (writing by the seat of your pants for those who don't write) has always seemed to me to be a question which leaves out the vast middle, as if there were only two ways to write. Many authors begin with character studies and go about the process in just the way you described. There is more than one or two ways to write story.

Some very famous authors have played with language, creating words for people or places that no one has ever heard of. Have you ever played with words in that way and if so how?

Erastes: I don't think I've ever created words, per se, not in the way that Lewis Carroll did for example--but I will play with word structure, creating double barrelled words that illustrate something more succinctly. I haven't tried this technique in my novels yet, I think that 100,000 words of Erastes doing slipstream would be a bit wearing, (laughs) but I have done it in some short published stories, such as Drug Colours which appeared in Where the Boys Are by Cleis. Or I'll warp the imagery - the piece is about drugs and punks in London in 1978.

Debra: For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

No, I'm afraid not. I'm hopeless! I often do dream what seem to me to be the most brilliant scenes ever (I doubt they are) and I wake up and think, I must remember that in the morning, and I never do. One of these days I'll get a voice recorder and put it next to the bed and see just how brilliant my ideas in the night really are!

Debra: Now that is an excellent idea. I'd get a voice recorder too except that my spouse would probably not appreciate me waking him up by talking into it. With a dream journal I can quietly use a book light.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Erastes: Far too many to count, really. I was reading long before I went to school and my mother was actually told off for putting me so far ahead of most of the class. I think the one that has stayed with me forever has to be The Narnian Chronicles because I beleived in that world completely. Still do, in a way, still looking hopefully into wardrobes.

Debra: Oh, yes, I had a teacher like that. Brought my mother in for a conference because "Debar always has her head in a book" and she was "concerned" Well and I still peer into and under things. Who knows, perhaps one of us will find Narnia after all.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Erastes: I think I'll probably disappoint people here, because what I'd like to do more than anything is to write gay historical fiction in more of the way that I'd like to write it--without the category, without the genre, without the expectation of a happy ending, without being trammelled with "your hero must be 18" - because all that is nonsense when you start writing historical fiction. I don't necessarily WANT to write sad endings, but I want to be able to have the freedom to do so without my publisher automatically turning them down because everyone wants a HEA. It's a tricky thing to manage, especially in the Regency!

Debra: Yes, romance of any sort must have that happy ending. I admit if a romantic movie doesn't end with the two of them together, say one is killed off, I am a bit upset and want to rewrite the end. But that is just me. There is a reader out there for every story, I believe.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Erastes: I suppose the most important thing I could say at the moment is don't be too influenced by what people say. Listen to advice, certainly, but don't take it if it's not right for you. Let the story and the characters guide you, and if it goes in a different way to the way that other books go, don't stress about it. When I first started out, I didn't realise that there were "rules" - like POVs and HEAs and the like. I just wrote. The more I learned, the more I found it difficult to write. I just now trying to break myself of those bonds of reader and publisher expectations and am struggling to find my voice again.

Debra: Voice can be so hard to find and can be difficult to hold onto. I hope you find it soon and can hold onto it.

Thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Readers can visit Erastes at
www.erastes.com
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www.debraparmley.com

Make-Believe Mondays With Rae Lori

Today on Make-Believe Mondays my guest is Rae Lori.

Rae, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you’re working on now.

Rae: Hi Debra, thanks for having me as a guest! I’m currently working on a few. Two are sequels to the first books in my two series, Within the Shadows of Mortals and Mind’s Awakening. Both are paranormals, one focuses on an underground group of vampires, werewolves and shifters that are being hunted once humans find out about them. Two people, a fairy and a vampire couple are at the center of all the controversy. The latter book focuses on a tribe of Skinwalkers and one girl apart of the tribe comes upon a amnesiac member who may be the heir to the throne of a local tribe. I love writing paranormals but I also have some other genres I’ll be working on probably after I finish these in the series.

Debra: It's a pleasure having you here! There's just something about a paranormal, isn't there? I'm being drawn there myself lately. They are such fun to write.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Rae: Ooh good quote. Bradbury is one of my favorite authors. I usually take a break from writing and do something completely unrelated. Diving into my artwork really helps me to switch focus and get on that right side of my brain. So does working on something other than my WIPs, maybe a short story prompt for a market I may be eyeing. Or just the usual watching a movie, climbing on the elliptical, kickboxing or playing Tomb Raider and/or Silent Hill. ;-)

Debra: Bradbury is wonderful and that's one of my favorite quotes. I think you are the first author in all this time to mention kickboxing. That's awesome. ;-)

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Rae: Yes definitely! I love it when that happens because I have a feeling I’m doing something right and I’ve given them enough background to jump off the page. I find it takes a bit to get to that point, especially when I’m starting a new story. Usually when events pop up that sync into some thing that happened near the beginning really makes it feel like they have a history.

Debra: There's nothing like that feeling when you can finally hear them and see them and everything starts to fall into place.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or an image that later wound up in one of your books?

Rae: That actually happened with my first book Cimmerian City. I think I had just seen Blade II and I had a dream about being in a deserted train or bus station at night. I walked across some tracks that were supposed to be empty but then I heard the blare a train’s horn alerting its arrival despite it being deserted. There was an overall ominous feeling about the whole thing and it stayed with me once I woke up. I knew I had to add it to my book.

Debra: Oh, I love these stories of dreams guiding us to write. Some very good stories come out of that and it's just fascinating.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Rae: That actually sounds like fun. I’d probably write a historical fantasy romance about a woman coming of age and eventually coming to terms with finding love. It’s sort of like an idea I have in mind for a side character in a classic favorite book I read in high school, only without the fantasy ingredient.

Debra: Hmmm then at some point you must write that one. ;-)

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Rae: Writing to me is like another form of dreaming, especially when you just let it all flow out like Bradbury said. The subconscious is at work while watching the characters interact and grow in your mind’s eye. It’s the same experience for the reader when they lose themselves in the world you’ve created. It takes them away from their world and life for a little bit and I guess that’s why reading is so addicting. There’s a certain magical quality to it that really touches something personal inside. For your readers, I’d say never stop reading and if you feel compelled and inspired by something you’ve read to create your own work, do so. You may never know what worlds may come from your own imagination.

Debra: This is so true. To be in the zone of writing is like nothing else. The same is true of reading and being swept into that world. We should always trust in our imaginations wherever they choose to lead us.

Rae, thank you for joining us here on this Make-believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Rae: Thanks for having me, Debra! Feel free to drop by my sites and add me on any networks you may be apart of. I love to hear from readers anytime: Rachel@Raelori.com

Website – www.raelori.com
Blog - raelori.blogspot.com
Myspace – www.myspace.com/Rachelbeachgirl
www.myspace.com/Cimmerian_City
Twitter - www.twitter.com/RaeLori

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Debra's News/Debra is watching:

I've been nominated for a CAPA award and I'm just thrilled about it! Here's a little bit about it:

Nominees for the Sixth Annual Cupid and Psyche Awards (CAPA)

For more details on the CAPA's, see theromancestudio.com/capa.php

Here are the nominees in each category nominated only by the reviewers of
TRS. Congratulations everyone!

Historical romance category:
A Desperate Journey by Debra Parmley (Samhain Publishing)
Moon Of The falling Leaves by Diane davis White (Highland Press)
Annabel's Courtship by Lucy Monroe (Samhain Publishing)
Brief Gaudy Hour by Margaret Campbell Barnes (Sourcebooks)
Where the Heart Is by Sheridon Smythe (The Wild Rose Press)
The Captive Heart by Bertrice Small (Berkley)
The Pearl at the Gate by Anya Delvay (samhain Publishing)
Dido's Prize by Eugenia O'Neal (Parker Publishing)

Planning my calendar this week and will have events posted on my website
www.debraparmley.com by next Monday. The book launch party, book signings, writers events, all those new and exciting things!