Saturday, February 28, 2015

Sunday's Book and Reviews - The Doctor's Dilemma by Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove





Take one doctor who’s made a career of temporary positions and avoiding commitment. Add a nurse who dreams of security and a settled life. Stir in infant twins bequeathed to him by his dead foster sister. Pour them into a small Texas town that wants the doctor to stay. To Dr. Neal McKay, it’s a prescription for a dilemma.

By Liispet
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I loved this book! The storyline was well thought out, characters were believable. The book is very well written, easy to understand even if English is not your first language.
4.0 out of 5 stars I REALLY LIKED THE STORY January 31, 2015
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I REALLY LIKED THE STORY. I HELD MY INTEREST ALL THE WAY THROUGH. PLAN TO READ MORE BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This was a really fun read. The main characters wear believable, endearing, vulnerable & loving. The supporting characters were funny, nosy, busy bodies & totally in your face but in a loving way. Once again this is fiction if an author were to research every single thing that they said/wrote in passing no book would ever be published they would all be in school learning the correct procedures. Holy cow people. FICTION! Remember creative licensing. Enough said. All in all a cute storyline with solid characters. 

Saturday's Blurbs featuring books by Margo Bond Collins #MFRWauthor

Margo Bond Collins is the author of urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mysteries. She has published a number of novels, including Sanguinary, Taming the Country Star, Legally Undead, Waking Up Dead, and Fairy, Texas. She lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, and several spoiled pets. Although writing fiction is her first love, she also teaches college-level English courses online. She enjoys reading romance and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, monsters, cowboys, and villains, and the strong women who love them—and sometimes fight them.




Day 2
For this day, send me the blurbs of books you have available. Not them all since there are some of us who have many books, but if you write in several genres or subgenres, send one. Include the buy links so people can find your books. Limit this to five or six blurbs.
           
Sanguinary Blurb:

Only fifty years left before vampires rule the world.

When Dallas police detective Cami Davis joined the city's vampire unit, she planned to use the job as a stepping-stone to a better position in the department.

But she didn't know then what she knows now: there's a silent war raging between humans and vampires, and the vampires are winning.

So with the help of a disaffected vampire and an ex-cop addict, Cami is going undercover, determined to solve a series of recent murders, discover a way to overthrow the local Sanguinary government, and, in the process, help win the war for the human race.

But can she maintain her own humanity in the process? Or will Cami find herself, along with the rest of the world, pulled under a darkness she cannot oppose?





Paperback:



Bound by Blood Blurb:

Sometimes the monsters in the dark are real...

As a child, Lili Banta ignored her grandmother's cryptic warnings to avoid children outside their Filipino community in Houston. When many of those other children fell ill, Lili ignored the whispers in her community that a vampiric aswang walked among them.

Years later, Lili returns to Houston to work for the Quarantine Station of the Center for Disease Control—but she is plagued by dark, bloody dreams that consume her nights and haunt her days. When a strange illness attacks the city's children, Lili is called in to find its source, and maybe even a cure.

But in order to save the city, she must first acknowledge the sinister truth: A monster stalks the night—closer than she ever expected....

Buy Links





Waking Up Dead Blurb:

She expected heaven or hell. She got Alabama.

When Dallas resident Callie Taylor died young, she expected to go to heaven, or maybe hell. Instead, when she met her fate early thanks to a creep with a knife and a mommy complex, she went to Alabama. Now she's witnessed another murder, and she's not about to let this one go. She's determined to help solve it before an innocent man goes to prison. And to answer the biggest question of all: why the hell did she wake up dead in Alabama?


Buy Links:
Paperback from these booksellers:


Legally Undead Blurb:
A reluctant vampire hunter, stalking New York City as only a scorned bride can.

Elle Dupree has her life all figured out: first a wedding, then her Ph.D., then swank faculty parties where she’ll serve wine and cheese and introduce people to her husband the lawyer.

But those plans disintegrate when she walks in on a vampire draining the blood from her fiancé Greg. Horrified, she screams and runs--not away from the vampire, but toward it, brandishing a wooden letter opener.

As she slams the improvised stake into the vampire’s heart, a team of black-clad men bursts into the apartment. Turning around to face them, Elle discovers that Greg’s body is gone—and her perfect life falls apart.


Buy Links





Universal Kindle Link: http://bookShow.me/B00KKV44BK



Taming the Country Star Blurb:

He'll do anything to win her heart. She'll do anything to keep him away.

Country star Cole Grayson is in town, and Kylie Andrews is less than thrilled. As if months of changing the radio station and tearing down his posters weren’t bad enough, now she has to deal with a town of fans swarming toward the man who deceived her the year before. But when Kylie’s eyes meet Cole’s again, she can’t deny the electric chemistry that drew her to him the first time around.

Cole Grayson is on a mission. Ever since Kylie left him, he hasn’t been able to forget her sweet country smile. After writing a song just for her, he sets off for her hometown to prove he’s not the player she thinks he is. But as much as Cole can’t forget her, Kylie wonders if she can forgive him…

Buy Links




Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday with Margo Bond Collins talking about Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?

I write in several genres: urban fantasy, contemporary romance, and paranormal mystery are some of my favorites. I write the kinds of things I love to read—and since I read almost everything, I'm willing to write in whatever genre the story requires.


2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? Does one of these come easy and why?

As a general rule, whichever character I'm writing at the moment is my very favorite ever! I think it's probably a little easier to get inside my heroines' heads, but I love the practice of getting inside my heroes' minds, as well. And the villains? They're so lovely and twisted!

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

I tend to start with characters, and then move out from there, so my heroes start out pretty well formed. I rarely use pictures before I find a hero, though I love casting him afterwards, even if it's sometimes difficult to find a man who lives up to my imagination.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Like my heroes, my heroines are generally the motivator for the plot—their experiences help move the story along—and I start out with a pretty good idea of who they are before the story ever begins.

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

The easiest way to create a villain is to get inside his or her head—what does the villain want? need? What's his motivation? It's easy to create the "Scooby Doo" villain, the kind who does evil because the plot needs it. But the best villains are the ones who truly believe that they are doing what is best for everyone. The most compelling villains act out of their convictions, so I try to capture that.

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is Bound by Blood, a companion novella to Sanguinary. In this book, the heroine is Dr. Lili Banta, a CDC doctor who has been called in by her ex-boyfriend Will Manning to help diagnose a recent outbreak of a strange disease among some children in Houston, Texas. In some ways, the villain is the disease itself—but as it turns out, there's more than one villain in this tale . . .


7. What are you working on now?

I'm currently working on several projects, but the next definitely scheduled release is Siren's Kiss, due out Summer 2015 as part of the Falling In Deep Collection. You can learn more about it here: http://blogspot.us3.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=8ae431fce81ae0c6e413479e2&id=deb5f94a25

I'm also working on a number of sequels this year, including sequels to Waking Up Dead, Legally Undead, and the Hometown Heroes series.


8. How can people find you?
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MargoBondCollin  @MargoBondCollin
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/vampirarchy

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Thursday's Heroine - Egeria from Moon Summoned by Janet Lane Walters #BooksWeLove #MFRWauthor

The harsh rasp of a strange man’s voice woke her. Where was she? Dried scallas and peppers hung from the rafters of the -- loft? She put her feet on the rough wood floor. Memories surfaced slowly. She was Egeria and this was her home. She turned her head and stared at the huge empty bed. Where was Malara? Egeria had no memories of ever sleeping alone in the loft. Always her sister had been with her.

“Where is she?” the stranger bellowed. “Malara ails.”

“Don’t shout. Egeria’s moon-touched and slow, but she obeys.”

The sound of her father’s voice drew her to the opening where a ladder led to the lower floor of the farmhouse. She stared at the stranger. Who was he?

“She should be here to tend the fire and fetch the eggs for my breakfast.”

Egeria frowned. Why did this man give orders? The farm was Malara’s legacy from their mother. She smoothed the skirt of the dress she’d slept in and pulled on the fleece-lined ankle boots. As she climbed the ladder, a wave of dizziness nearly made her fall.

She glanced around the large main room. Fireplaces stood at either end. Around one was a circle of chairs. Near the second, a more massive one, stood a long table flanked by benches and chairs at the ends. On the wall near a door, an open cupboard held dishes. Pans and kettles hung from hooks on the stone wall of the hearth.

“What kept you?” A muscular man with red hair grabbed her arm. “See to your chores.”

“Who are you?” Only garbled sounds emerged. Where were her sister and her brother?

“Idiot.” The man pushed her toward the hearth. “The fire. The eggs. Can’t you remember anything from one day to the next?”

Egeria raked ashes from the banked fire. She added kindling to the glowing coals. When the flames leaped high, she reached for several logs. This return to a routine stirred memories. She donned her cloak and lifted the egg basket.

Outside she opened the door of the pullet house. Straw spilled from the waist-high shelves on three sides of the narrow shed. She collected eggs from beneath the squawking layers. Then she spread grain in the feeding trough. Her thoughts churned with bits of knowledge.

As she returned to the house, her brother hailed her. “You are late. Has he been at you again?”

She turned. “Who?” Her tongue felt less tight.

He stepped back and shook his head. “He wouldn’t dare take you the way he has Malara. No man would harm one touched by the Mistress.” He frowned. “’Tis foolish to tell you these things for you don’t understand.” He opened the kitchen door.

His words set off an avalanche of thoughts. Tave was her father’s name. Trag, her brother’s. There’d been trouble and many soldiers. Then the stranger had come.

She put the egg basket on the table. Malara stood at the hearth. Strips of shoat sizzled on the flat stone griddle that jutted from the side of the huge fireplace. Steam rose from a kettle hanging on a hook.

The stranger put his arms around Malara and stroked her abdomen. “Are you sure you nest my son?”
Daughter, Egeria thought. How did she know that?

Malara bowed her head. “The Mistress has withdrawn her blessings from me these past two lunars. What else can it be?”

He touched her pale gold hair. Tenderness showed in his light brown eyes. He released Malara and turned to the table where Egeria placed dishes. “One place only. The rest of you eat when I’m done.” He raised his fist.

“Radon, don’t strike her,” Malara cried. “She follows a routine and your coming has made a change. She’ll learn the new pattern in time.”

He rested his elbows on the table. “Should the coming child be a girl, will it be like her?”

“If the Mistress gives me one of her daughters, I’ll rejoice. Egeria sees things we don’t. Wait ‘til you see how her garden grows and the amount of honey from her hives.” She placed a full plate in front of him.

He caught her hand. “Be glad I’m only a former soldier and not a follower of the gray priests. You’d be beaten for speaking of the whore you worship.” He shook his head. “When I took this farm as payment for my time of service, I thought I’d have an inner court of two women. After my brother arrives I’ll visit Angara and choose a handmaiden from the pens.”

Tears filled Malara’s eyes. “Radan, you can’t bring a strange woman to upset the harmony of the house.”

“Fool. I’m allowed as many women as I have coins to pay the taxes. This farm is rich. In the spring, a women’s court will be built. Then none but my eyes can feast on my women.”


Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Wednesday's Writer's Tips from From First Draft To Finished Novel - Karen Wiesner #MFRWauthor


Last week we looked at three ways to bring sexual tension into stories. Today we'll look at at least three more.

4.Start the tension at once. From their first meeting, no matter what the sub-genre you're dealing with. This doesn't have to be too up front but you need to show the interest.  This is called setting the stage for the future love scene whether it takes place in the open or behind closed doors, the reader needs to believe these people really want each other and have from the start. By seting the attraction up early you avoid those awkward moments. You don't make the reader think this scene was inserted for no reason at all.

Use your characters senses of sight in particular here. Other senses can also be used. The rasp of a voice, the allure of a perfume. Just show the attraction.

5. Now we come to exaggerated prose. This can destroy the mood, particularly when words are used grandly and bring not sighs of excitement from the reader but giggles. I've read these kind of things in books and I can't help grinning. I'm sure you have too. It's sometimes easy to get caught in using gaudy language to describe something that is nearly undescrible. So if you've found yourself sprinkling these sort of words into your love scenes, back up a bit and tone down the words.

Let the characters try to describe what they're feeling and maybe all they can do is stumble around thinking wow and not being able to describe.

6.  Set the scene. Now this can be easy or hard. Remember the senses. Think of touches, aromas, visions, spoken words or sighs. Use the senses to set the scene for yourself and the reader.  Let yourself as the writer enter the scene and be the characters.

Tuesday's Inspiration - Ideas The Spark Starting Fictional Fires- Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove


All stories begin with an idea. True or false? For me this is true. There is that spark that lights in my thoughts and suddenly I know there will be a book.  There are some writers who say the characters are where they begin their stories. Others say it's the plot. Is this really thepoint?

I'm sitting in my study and there are four of my series, past or present that need another story to bring this to an end. At the moment I'm not sure which one I will begin to plan. There has to be that spark to start the story. There has to be the idea.

Two of the stories are true fantasies. Both deal with fire in some way but I haven't been zapped yet by that spark to make the story suddenly come alive and allow me to follow the spart to the end of the story.

One is a contemporary romance there's a semi spart. This story has to happen outside the hospital. I even know the character's name. She has been in the other stories. Maybe the spark or the idea will come today.

The last is fantasy, maybe. But the world and the people are rather like those of our world except for the talents they possess and the name of their world.

So think back to every story you've written has there been that little or big idea that started you off on the quest to see the characters you've created or the plot you've devised start the journey to the end of the book.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

 Meander 1 - I now have a new Kindle. The operating system seems easy. There's a but. There are more little icons than I need. So I sat down the start the instructions. My first Kindle came with a page that made life with it easy and took me little time to learn to use. Of course there was little I needed to do with it, just turn it on, pull up a book and push a button when I finished the page. This is a touch screen. And yes, It's easy to use. To get back to the instruction manual. There is too much information. I haven't finished the first chapter and my head swims with information. I will master this machine. At 78, I have mastered other machines. All but the new toaster but that's another issue.

Meander 2 - Tomorrow DH heads to start the procedure for surgery on Friday. He has to have a cardiac cath first, Not a big deal except for the contrast dye. I'll worry about that. Then he spends three days in the hospital building him up to have his aortic valve and a bit more of the aorta replaced. For him this means opening the chest. I will be nervous but try not to show it. I have pledged this.

Meander 3 - Writing. Finished The first Goddesses of Solunda. Busted myself silly on this one. In 2 months did 70,000 thousand words and realized I needed to stop  it there when there were a number of ends to be explored. That means another book or maybe 2. Am back to Divided Dreams and tore up a chapter I wrote because I went totally off on a tangent to nowhere. Happens but I'm back on track now. Am also readying 2 rights back books for re-pub hopefully get them to Books We Love in March. They are both part of a series. Different series and I've discovered there needs to be another book in each of the series. It's being called a glutton. I will attempt all these books and hopefully finish them and the long running Dream series before I age out.

A Look at Healwoman by Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove




Born under a dark moon, Norna has to battle rumors that she is tainted by evil and unworthy of being anything more than a servant. Discarded by her mother, she runs away from her aunt, a priestess who wants her to enter the temple. Instead,...
amazon.com


5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars August 1, 2014
By Emily K
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
Very well written and the story was good 





HEALWOMAN: DARK MOON

Author(s): 
This fantasy story featuring four
main characters has an intriguing
plot. Spanning many years, the novel's
references to ancient scrolls, gods
and goddesses adds to its dark
theme. 
Born under a dark moon, Norna has to battle rumors that she is tainted by evil and unworthy of being anything more than a servant. Discarded by her mother, she runs away from her aunt, a priestess who wants her to enter the temple.

Instead, Norna chooses to be a Healwoman, and a chance encounter with a novice hoping to be a priest helps her discover she has talents of water, air and fire at her disposal. With these gifts she is called on to battle treachery and attempts to prevent the promised prophecy of the god and goddess. As she battles evil powers, she loses her heart to Shandor, the man she met when her journey first began. 

Reviewed by: 
Faith V. Smith



Brilliant read 27 Feb. 2014
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
At the beginning I wasn't sure why I had downloaded this book to be honest. I found it hard going but once I got into it....found it hard to put down! in fact I was late for work this morning as I wanted to finish it lol. Will download the others in the series :-

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
I agree takes a little getting into but once you have got into the characters and got your head round the story its well worth it. I found it an enthralling different type of story that I thoroughly enjoyed - well worth sticking with it, would have loved more.

her heart to Shandor, the man she met when her journey first began. 
Reviewed by: 
Faith V. Smith



Saturday, February 21, 2015

Saturday's Blurbs Featuring Books by Ginger Simpson #BooksWeLove #MFRWauthor

1. First Degree Innocence:   (Prison Suspense inspired by my time as a Correctional Officer) 

 Carrie Lang’s sheltered life ends with a prison sentence for involvement in a bank robbery. Her arrest comes on the day she’s called in sick and stayed inside, so she can’t explain how an eye-witness describes her in great detail, down to the make and model of her car. 

A terrible mistake has been made, and her insistence of innocence falls on deaf ears. Even her fellow inmates don’t believe her as it’s a claim they all make. Alone in the world, she has no one to turn to for help, and not a single soul to campaign for her freedom…at least until she makes a valuable friend.

In the meantime, a plan for retribution is brewing, and naïve Carrie finds herself smack dab in the middle of an evil scheme concocted by the prison bully. A ten year sentence seems mild when she’s threatened with death for refusing to participate. Can Carrie find a way out of this horrible nightmare, or is she destined to spend her days locked in terror, isolation, and the cold gray interior of prison walls?

2:  Yellow Moon:  (Western Historical inspired by my love of the genre)

Yellow Moon, a Lakota maiden, accompanies her family to the Sun Dance and becomes promised to a Santee warrior who’ll soon be chief. While accompanying Thunder Eyes’ clan back to his tribe, she and the other women are stolen by the Crow, and while in Plenty Coup’s camp is told she’ll become his second wife rather than be a slave. She finds friendship and help at the hands of his first wife, a Cherokee captive called Pretty Shield.
When Thunder Eye’s comes to rescue his betrothed, she begs him to take her newfound friend along, and the two women eventually become sisters-in-law. When the Crow come to extract their revenge, fate changes their destiny in a big way. 

3:  Time Tantrums:  (A pioneer wife and a modern day attorney involved in a time-travel experience.)

Mariah Cassidy awakens in the twentieth century. Confined in a pristine environment, hooked to tubes and beeping machines, she’s scared, confused and wondering why everyone keeps calling her Mrs. Morgan. Who is the strange man who keeps massaging her forehead and telling her everything is going to be all right?

Taylor Morgan tries to focus on her surroundings through a blinding headache. The patchwork quilt, the water basin, and the archaic room don’t strike a familiar chord. Her mouth gapes when a handsome man waltzes into the room, calls her darling, and expresses his delight that she’s on the road to recovery.

Clearly something is amiss.

4: Shortcomings:  (a Young-Adult)

High School is hard enough without the cold stares from classmates that remind you every day how different you are.

Our shortcomings don't define who we are, unless we let them. Cindy Johnson needs to learn that. Born with one leg shorter than the other, she has no self-esteem because of the cruel comments and cold stares she receives from her classmates. When Cory Neil, the football quarterback asks her to Homecoming, she's quite sure he's asked her on a dare and refuses. It takes more than just her mother's assurances that Cindy's beautiful before she realizes she may have made a mistake in turning him down.


5:  Betrayed: (The first of what I propose as a relationship series.  This book is based on a true happenstance.)

The advertisement claimed: “Find your true love; we’ll match you with the person of your dreams.” Their irritating spam clogged her computer inbox. "Free tonight? Let’s chat." Cassie Fremont thought of hitting the ‘trash’ button, but the promises were alluring. Divorced and so lonely, Cassie signs up for the on-line dating service. What she doesn’t know is the cost of the ticket for her ride on the romantic roller coaster from hell. You aren’t the first woman he’s lied to. When Cassie’s siblings present her with evidence, insisting this proves her new beau is a con-man, her world is shattered. Her happiness wanes. How can she possibly believe that this wonderful man who gave up a thriving business in Texas and moved to California to be with her isn’t all he professes to be? The love she sees shining in Evan’s eyes can’t be false. Surely, her siblings are mistaken. Still, the warnings of her sister’s haunt Cassie’s thoughts: There have been others who have lost everything because of him. Faced with an ultimatum, Cassie must choose between her family and Evan. 

6: Sarah's Heart and Passion:  (Mixing my favorite western genre with a contemporary romance.)

Sarah Collins set her sights for California and a new beginning, but never imagines a war party's attack on the wagon train she joins. A sole survivor, Sarah must find her way back to civilization, and a man of half-blood happens along at just the right time and becomes her hero...or is the whole scenario only a dream driven by all the romance novels she reads as an editor?

Sarah wakes, her cheeks damp with tears. Like a dust devil in a dying windstorm, all traces of her handsome rescuer vanish with a farewell kiss and the annoying blast of an alarm clock...until he appears at her door as a new neighbor. Will Sarah find a way to win the love she tried so hard to capture in her dream without being declared insane, or will the sexy woman living an apartment away beat Sarah at her own game? 

All of these and more are available via my amazon page (http://www.amazon.com/author/gingersimpson) and published by Books We Love (http://www.bookswelove.com)

Friday, February 20, 2015

Friday with Ginger Simpson Talking about Heroes, Heroines and Villains #BooksWeLove #MFRWauthor

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms? Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt?  

I'm a pantser, so what I write depends on the character who steps forward with a story.  Most are usually from the old west, with an historical romance to share, but I have written in other genres.  I don't think I'm suited for Erotica because of my humour, and a couple of reviews I received on my mystery said the story was predictable. I think I'll stick with westerns...they're what I do best.
2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? Does one of these come easy and why?

I like writing heroines because I have always believed there is a lot of me in each story.  I identify best with someone of my own gender, and I never like being the bad guy.
3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Believe it or not, my  heroine always comes with a hero.  I'm lucky that they usually have names and a title for their story. Ironically, the heroes usually have traits of someone in my family of the male persuasion.
4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Did I mention that I hear voices?  Really, I have a chorus of characters in my head, usually clammering for my attention. Their personalities follow the story lines they share...such as in Ellie's Legacy.  Ellie is the spoiled and tomboyish only child of a rancher.  She knows one day the place will be hers and is threatened by the handsome foreman her father hires.  She wants to prove to her Pa that she can do anything Tyler Bishop can do, but her heart and big mouth keep getting in her way.  
5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

Sometimes circumstances keep your hero and heroine from achieving a goal, but I prefer to create a person with an agenda.   If the situation is believable and you use characteristics that readers may be experienced in their own lives, then they better identify with whomever the bad guy/girl is.  In Culture Shock, the villain is a serial killer who tries to come between the main characters, in my young adult, Shortcomings, besides the mean girls who taunts my heroine, she allows her "shortcoming" to define her.  In Sarah's Heart and Passion...of course it's another woman who has her sites locked on Wolf.  Haven't many of us been in the situation of dealing with competition?  :)
6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release is Yellow Moon.  My heroine is Yellow Moon, a Lakota maiden, my hero is Thunder Eye of another Sioux tribe who meets Yellow Moon at a summer Sun Dance and earns her father's permission to wed he.r The Villian is Plenty Coup, a Crow warrior who kidnaps the bride-to-be in an attempt to make her his own wife.
7. What are you working on now?  My current WIP is titled, The Well.  My heroine is Harlee, my hero is Logan, and the antagonists are Logan's mother and Harlee's missing family.
8. How can people find you?
            Website:  http://www.gingersimpson.com
            Blog:  http://mizging.blogspot.com
            Twitter:  http://twitter.com/mizging

            Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mizging

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Thursday's Heroine - Dian from Moon Summoned #BooksWeLove #MFRWauthor

Shadows gathered in the corners of the room. Dian rolled to her side and tried to sit.

“Good. You are awake. I must prepare you for the Prince’s visit, but first you can eat.” The woman’s pale eyes shone with sympathy and concern.

“Who are you?”

“Binet, once of a house of healing. Now I am but a slave. ‘Twas an evil day when the gray priests followed the invaders to this nome.”

Her words touched a flood of memories. Dian recalled the day the enemy had swept into the village where she lived with her mother, a skilled weaver. The soldiers had taken the cloth and one of the under-officers had moved into her mother’s house and claimed her as his woman.

A year ago, he’d refused to pay Dian’s tax for she had no skills at the loom. She’d been slated for the pens, but her mother had sent her into the forest. For weeks, she’d wandered until she encountered a band of those who honored the Mistress as warriors.

Tears trickled from her eyes. “Why did this happen?” she cried.

Binet walked to the door. “’Tis bad to remember what was. You must learn to endure.”

How, Dian wondered. I must escape.

Seek the Place of Choosing.

She looked around to see who had spoken. Binet had left and there was no other in the room. What and where was this choosing place?

A short time later Binet returned with a tray. Dian ate the stew, bread and fruit. The food filled the hollow in her stomach, but added nothing to her confused thoughts.

As she drank a cup of tea, Quanta arrived. She motioned to Binet. “Remove the tray. Genrai comes.”

Sammi entered and crossed to the cot. “Did you eat?”

Before Dian could answer, a tall man with the broad shoulders of a swordsman strode into the room. Russet hair framed his face and touched his shoulders. He pulled the sheet away.

Dian tried to grab the covering. Quanta grasped Dian’s arm. “Do not fight. He is your owner.”

Dian closed her eyes to hide her anger. She wasn’t a slave. She was a warrior in training. If she had a sword, she would challenge this man. She flinched away from his touch.

“He won’t hurt you,” Sammi said. “Father, are you pleased?”

“Very much so. You’ve accomplished what your uncle, the great physician, deemed impossible. 

You’ll be rewarded. I’ve plans for this one.”

Dian opened her eyes. “I can’t stay here.”

He laughed. “A slave does as she’s bid.”

“Can I have her as my attendant?” Sammi asked.

“No.”

Quanta glared. “Will you take her to your bed?”

He chuckled. “She’s for Kobe. My son returns home with the thought of becoming a champion. Sargon lures Kobe with tales of a talent. One such as this slave could make him wish to break the vows he unwisely took.”

Quanta bowed her head. “You are wise, my prince.”

Sammi clapped her hands. “Dian, how wonderful is your lot. You will be my brother’s first woman. Though you can never be first woman in his inner court, you’ll have a special place with him.”

Dian shook her head. “You cannot keep me here.”

Prince Genrai snorted. “Do you expect that ragtag band of women to invade and extract you from my stronghold. Very unlikely. You will do as I order and be thankful.”

Once they left, Dian pulled the sheet around her. “I must escape.”

Binet bowed her head. “There is no way.”

“I need to be away from here. There is a place I must reach.”

“Did the blow to your head and the wound fever destroy your memories of what has happened? The Three are dead. The Mistress was defeated.”

“As long as we believe in Her, the Mistress lives.”

Binet stared at the floor. “I am shamed. Blessed be.”

Dian lay back. “What do you know about this Kobe?”

The older woman frowned. “Since I was brought from the pens, he hasn’t been home. He’s been with the priests studying their ways of war.”

“I pray he refuses me.”

Binet shuddered. “If he won’t take you, the prince will give you to his soldiers or send you to the pens of the Gladius. ‘Tis not a good place to be.”

Dian slid to the edge of the cot. “Hear me. I must escape.” She traced the symbol and watched 

Binet’s eyes widen at the red glow. “Where is the Place of Choosing?”

“North and west in the Shanara Mountains. You do not have the strength to leave this room let alone travel that far.”

“Then help me exercise.”

Binet helped Dian from the cot. For a moment, she felt dizzy. The furniture seemed to tilt. She sucked in a breath and waited for her vision to clear. Then holding Binet’s arm, she took a step. “Tell me how I can leave this place.”

“There is no way. ‘Tis a prison,” Binet said. “The door into the hall leads past the bathing room and into the common room of the inner court. The only way to escape is to be summoned to a man’s bed.”

There must be a way, Dian thought. I won’t remain a prisoner. I won’t fail the Mistress.

For the rest of the day and at regular intervals during the night, she walked about the room and performed exercises to strengthen the muscles grown flaccid from inactivity. Soon after sunrise she wrapped a sheet around herself and ventured from the room. The dimly lit corridor led in but one direction. She passed the arched doorway into the bathing room. As she strode across the stone floor, she heard children’s laughter. The aromas of food made her stomach rumble.

She entered the large room at the end of the hall. Low tables were scattered around the area. Heaps of pillows in many colors brightened the dull brown walls. The stones of the floor were warm and she wondered how they were heated. Children pelted each other with pillows. Their laughter made her smile. Quanta appeared from behind a beaded curtain and clapped her hands. The children dropped to the pillows and bowed their heads. Other women arrived with platters of food and pitchers of fragrant liquid.

The early morning sunlight streamed through narrow windows on one of the side walls. On the other, glass blocks formed a wall and a door opened into a small garden. Though she wore no shoes and the hand of winter chilled the air, Dian stepped outside.

High stone walls enclosed the area. She ran her fingers over the rough surface. If she found no other way, she could climb the wall and creep across the room. First, she’d have to find clothes and boots.


* * * *