Vivienne Westlake Romance

I saw a tweet by Angela James this morning that made me think of the idea for today’s blog. What makes readers put down a book–particularly when they are in the book store and considering making a purchase?

On Monday, I went with Rachel Jameson to see two documentary screenings hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The first was a film about the writer-historian David McCullough. This one really inspired me.

One of the most important things David said during the documentary was that art is something that can only be learned by doing. You can only get so much from books and watching. The real knowledge comes from doing it: writing it, sculpting it, painting it, acting it, performing it. That is the only way to truly master a creative art form.

I loved the way David McCullough delved deeply into historical figures he wrote about by going where they went and doing things they did and learning what they learned. Though it sounds so simple, not all writers do this. In some cases, the residence of said historical figure is either far away or no longer exists, but in other cases, we just study as much as we can from books and go from there. But, there is something to be said for breathing the air in the same place as a character and seeing what they see (or saw).

The film made me think differently of myself as a creative artist/writer and about the kind of writer I want to be.

The second documentary featured Phillip Glass. It was about two and a half times as long as the first one and delved into Phil Glass’ family life, composition, friends, and a bit of history surrounding his career. On the whole, this one wasn’t as engaging as the David McCullough documentary, but there was something that I did learn while watching.

Early on in the film, Phil Glass says that sometimes he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He doesn’t always have a plan for what the whole thing will be, he just writes it until it all comes together and sometimes, when the conductor and the musicians play it, he will make adjustments because the notes he writes down are not always the sound he heard in his head when the song first came to him. He talked about having to listen and that there are times when the music is faint in his mind and he has to concentrate to hear the music.

I think this is the experience of most creatives. You hear or see something and you attempt to write it down or paint it but what you heard or saw in your mind is fuller, deeper in context than what you can convey with your translation of it. I find that as I write I don’t always know what the story will be. There are times when I stop and start, when I have to re-group and figure it all out. And, there are times when I start writing, not fully knowing the direction, and yet it all comes together so brilliantly that I can amaze yourself (those are the moments artists all treasure).

So, I leave you with the thought that we must all learn our art by doing, by practicing, by writing, composing, painting, crafting. And, that sometimes, you don’t know when you begin where you are going or where it will end up, but that doesn’t make the effort less valid.

Write on!

I have some good news to share this week. I found out that I have been nominated for the position of Vice President of ESPAN (the RWA chapter specifically devoted to epublishing). This was a nice surprise as I had not declared for a position. Not too long ago, I did volunteer to be part of a committee.

ESPAN elections will be at the beginning of November.

This past year, I have served on the Board of Los Angeles Romance Authors in the PR position. It has been a hectic year, but I’ve been very blessed to have made wonderful friends. Just this weekend, LARA had its annual Book Fair, featuring fourteen of our published authors. While I won’t be staying on as Director of PR, I will stay an active part of the LARA membership.

I am very excited to see what 2010 will bring and hope I will be given the opportunity to serve on the Board of ESPAN. Wish me luck!

And, if you are an RWA member interested in learning about digital publishing, please consider joining ESPAN at: http://espan-rwa.com or follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/espanrwa.

Once a month, a bunch of authors get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just an writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site! or click on the banner above.

Here is an early draft from my paranormal work-in-progress, The Wicked on the Run.

“What’s your problem, Keeley?” Honora toyed with her fingernails. She painted them red and then stared at each finger until it turned gold again. She was bored.

Keeley turned to look at Styx. The punk pixie was intently playing a video game. Bodies were flying and buildings blew up as her fingers flew over the controller. Keeley shook her head. At least Styx wasn’t bored. When Styx got bored, real things blew up.

“No problem, Hon.”

Her friend shook her golden curls. “Somethin’s up with you, babe. You’re never this moody. Well, not most of the time. Did somebody young die today?”

Yeah. Of course Honora wouldn’t ask her if somebody died today. It was always who died today.

“Not exactly.”

“So what’s up?” Honora put her hand over Keeley’s. It was a warm, sunlit caress, heating her icy fingers.

“Nothing. I just need a friggin’ vacation.”

Yeah, a vacation from her life. From Death. Dying. Remorse. More death. Why couldn’t she have been a nymph or a brownie or something? This banshee gig bit a like big shark with its teeth in her ass.

“Do banshees get vacations?” Styx asked, barely looking up from the 45 inch flat screen TV.

“I sure as hell have never heard of it.” Keeley’s job was to guard over a particular unit of the O’Neill clan. But, most of the time, guarding consisted of preventing death, warning about death, or helping the dead cross over. Only once in a while did she get to have any fun with it. Like last week, when she snapped a guy’s wrist who had gotten his knife a little too close to Katie Kilpatrick O’Neill’s heart.

Keeley generally didn’t kill, but she could maim. A smile crossed her face. But, even her revenge against stupid, strung-out theives and domestic violence abusers wasn’t fun anymore.

“Talk to Council.” This from Honora, the Golden One.

“No,” Keeley replied.

Unlike her best friend, Keeley didn’t have shimmery skin made of honey dipped in gold, didn’t have matching gold eyes that could turn a serial killer into a cherub, and she couldn’t even enthrall a gnome. Council listened to her about as much as Republicans listened to Democrats. Or, about as much as soldiers listened to ants.

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get, sugar,” Honora said.

She grimaced. “If I ask, I’d get a longer sentence.”

Styx yelled. “Alright! Wicked!!” She jumped up with her arms in the air. Then, as if she’d been talking to them all along, she said, “I thought yours was a life sentence.”

“Yeah, one thousand years and counting…”

She was going insane. Day by day.

“Geez, Keel.” Styx stood over the bed. At five feet and three inches, this was the only possible way she could tower over her. “You need to get laid.”

“What?”

“When was the last time you got a little some some?” Honora looked up from painting her toe nails. She looked closely at Keeley. “Wait. Don’t answer that.”

Styx looked over at Honora. “No.” She looked back at Keeley. “Seriously. You can’t have only been with Aramar.” Before Keeley could even try to lie, Styx continued. “Oh, my god. The last lay you had was Mr. Unseelie-Stick-Up-His-Ass?”

Keeley didn’t reply.

“Cocksucker.”

“Styx, you have the foulest mouth I’ve heard outside of Hades,” Honora reproached. “Can you even try to speak like a lady?”

“Can you like…try like…to not talk like you’re a valley girl?”

Honora threw a pillow at her. It turned gold and heavy in her hand. Styx held up her palm and flames shot from it.

“Stop!” Keeley called out. “Can you two cool it? I’d like to keep my house in one piece. The last time you two got going, I had to spend $5,000 on new furniture!”

“Well, little miss pants on fire has a point.” Honora stood up. “You’ve got to get a little release honey. All that death and disaster has got to take a toll.”

Great. Just great. The last thing she needed was for them to start fishing for blind dates. The last time Styx had tried to fix her up, she’d walked into the bar to find a tatted, snake-haired gorgon. No thanks.

“I just need a little excitement. You know, a challenge. Lately, the most danger my O’Neills get into is drunken bar fights. Other than that one stupid kid with the knife, I haven’t had any action in months.”

Thunder sounded.

They looked around. Lightening flashed in the center of the room. Two missives flew out of the brilliant white light. They were sealed with gold ribbon and red wax.

As if this night couldn’t get any friggin’ better. A summons.

Looks like she’d have to confront Council tonight, after all.

“Well, you two kiddies have fun!” Styx turned away. And plopped down on the floor in her little black mini skirt.

Honora smiled. “Well, Keeley. You said you wanted a challenge.”

Links to other Excerpt Monday writers
Note: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.

Only 54 days to go until Halloween! So, this weekend, I browsed online for costume ideas. Some of my friends wanted to be gory nurses, but I’m not sure that one suits me. The other option might be high class call girls. Me, I’m leaning toward the dark side this year. Blame it on Eden Bradley.

Last year, when she and some friends went out for Halloween in the craziness that is West Hollywood, some of them dressed as dominatrices. She said to me later, “You know, you’d look really good as a dominatrix.” So, the little naughty seed was planted in my head.

I started looking at corsets. Leather. Vinyl. Satin. Always Black. Buying a black leather corset seems to be an experience. They are not cheap, but then again, these things look like they will last forever. I had trouble finding the right price and style for me. And, for the life of me, I couldn’t find an easy sizing guide for corsets the first day I looked.

Then, I thought of dressing up as a saloon girl and looked up all kinds of costumes. I ended up being directed to Amazon for one of them and remembered that Amazon does sell lingerie and other apparel. I looked up corsets and found an array of leather, Victorian style corsets. Jackpot! They even had sizing instructions.

I will probably opt for one of the plain ones rather than the fetish beauties as I’d like to be able to use the corset for other costumes later, but here are some of the gems I found. Let me know if you have a favorite.

These are my top two right now:

This leather corset has buckles and would definitely work for the hard core dominatrix costume:

I love the studs on this one:

One tip I did learn from the main corset supplier on Amazon. To figure out your corset size, measure the smallest part of your waist and then add ten inches. This is your size.

A lingerie website I went to mistakenly compared corset size to bra size, so I was looking at 38′s thinking that it was supposed to match the bra size, not the waist size! Thank God I waited.

Feel free to cast your vote for the best corset.

So, I have a friend. A fellow historical fiction writer who mainly writes Georgian and Regency romance. She’s having a little trouble with picking out names for a few of the female characters in the book. Most especially, the heroine.

I figured I’d help her out by making a long list of names. We brainstormed for a couple of hours, but we did not find the name. Here’s a sampling of what I came up with yesterday. It is not quite alphabetical. Please help us and add to this list!

Anne, Annette, Angeline, Alexandra, Babette, Bernice, Beatrice, Charlotte, Cora, Coraline, Caroline, Cassandra, Claire

Delphina, Daphne, Druscilla, Eugenia, Edith, Esmeralda, Emerald, Elspeth, Elaine, Elizabeth/Eliza/Liza, etc Evelyn, Frances, Francesca, Florence, Georgette, Georgina, Georgiana, Genevieve

Hannah, Harriet, Hermione, Honora, Iphegenia, Imogen, Josephine, Jaqueline, Lily, Madeleine, Margaret, Maude, Marion, Millicent, Muriel, Ophelia, Octavia, Olympia, Prudence, Phillipa, Pamela

Regina, Rebecc,a Rowena, (my friend’s name is Rachel, so that’s a no), Sabine, Sophia, Seraphina, Theodora, Zenia, Zora

This list is by no means exhaustive. I actually had a lot more names, but they were all French and we laughed hysterically over them because the only names I could think of were French names rather than English names.

If you have a list of names appropriate for the Georgian or Regency historical era, please share!

I’ve had the ebookwise ebook reader for probably around a year now and decided I needed to upgrade because I can only fit 10 books or so into that machine. I like having access to favorite stories and not having to keep changing out the books.

At first, I couldn’t decide between the Kindle 2 and the Sony Reader 505. I saw a few negative reviews of the Sony Reader 700, so I quickly eliminated that one. I liked the fact that you could fit 1,500 books in the Kindle 2, but I’d seen a lot of positive feedback about the ease of using the Sony Reader and the intuitive buttons. I also sympathized with some of the Amazon reviewers who expressed discontent that their ebooks could suddenly disappear from their Kindle because the title was no longer offered on Amazon. Once you download something into your Sony, it’s in there until you choose to remove it (whether or not the book is discontinued on their website).

So, after a few hours of researching online, I opted for the Sony Reader and bought a 2 GB memory stick to expand the number of ebooks it would hold. Sony has the Reader on sale for $279 on their website, but since I am a bargain shopper, I hunted on ebay and other outlets. I did find two viable options on ebay–one preloaded with the Charlene Harris books and another pre-loaded with “100 romance and love related ebooks”. I opted for the latter because it was cheaper and I figured 100 books wasn’t bad to start with.

There were some mishaps related to the post office, but I finally got the reader on Friday and I really enjoy it. It’s slimmer than I expected and while it’s slightly longer than my ebookwise, the Sony Reader is actually lighter.

I was even able to re-download books I bought from Samhain (MBam) and Fictionwise, so I was thrilled that I didn’t have to buy everything all over again. I did have to repurchase Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld Bundle, but since that was 4 books in one, I didn’t mind.

Between the Sony ebook store and Fictionwise, there are a lot of books available and since Harlequin is also having their 60th anniversary, I picked up a few free ebooks on their website. So, my first weekend with the Sony has been great. It’s so light I can carry it easily in a purse and it has multiple buttons for page turning, so if my right hand gets tired, I can page turn with my left. It also allows me to bookmark the page I’m on or I can just open the book to wherever I left off.

My “100 romance & love ebooks” turned out to be primarily public domain books, so I wasn’t terribly excited over those, but there was some Shakespeare and Jane Austen in there, which was great. And, since Google books and Sony have a deal going on right now, you can easily download public domain books into your Sony Reader for free.

If you are thinking about getting an ebook reader, I highly recommend it. While you’ll shell out $300 for a new one, if you are willing to be a little adventurous, you can find used ones or refurbished ones for cheaper. And, I heard a rumor today that Sony is coming out with a new model which will be $200.

It is really worth the investment if you read a lot of books and have limited storage capacity. Even without the memory stick I bought, the Sony Reader will hold 160 ebooks. Most readers are not as obsessive in their book buying as I am, so 160 ebooks is plenty and you can certainly store more in your ebook Library and change books out when you need to.

I just returned home from Washington, D.C. where I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Conference. It was a surreal experience. I hardly got any sleep the entire five days or so that I was there (though I can blame Jax Cassidy for that).

Even on the first official day (Wednesday) I was overwhelmed. Put 2,000-3,000 women in one hotel all obsessed with the same things and craziness is bound to happen.

I figured I’d give out a couple of conference highlights:

1. Spending every day with about 30 or 40 Romance Divas. These are some awesome ladies and it was great to match names and faces. I even got to pitch Romance Divas to several authors, including Susan Krinard, who was very nice! (Btw, she was writing vampires and werewolves long before they came back into fashion).

2. My friend, Jeannie Lin, won the Golden Heart for Historical Romance!!!!!!! We cheered very loudly for her. She made us all cry with her acceptance speech. I cannot think of anyone who deserved it more. PLUS, she got her first sale to Harlequin Mills & Boon during the middle of our impromptu pilates class two days before the win. Jeannie is all kinds of awesome. And, you can get free excerpts on her blog.

3. Meeting Kresley Cole. She’s my favorite paranormal romance author and cute as can be. She’s very warm and friendly and I just loved her. One of the divas is as obsessed as I am and went to all of the Kresley signings and generally just found her around the hotel. She said, “I’m stalking Kresley Cole.” We were talking about this as we both waited to have Kresley sign books for us and Kresley said, “She’s not stalking me. I’m stalking her.”

4. Kresley told me that my favorite character in the Immortals After Dark series is getting her own book!!!!!!!! I’d spill the beans, but I don’t know if the information is out yet.

5. Seeing Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole together!! I’d stalked–I mean talked–to both of them at the signings, but Jax and I happened to catch them together in the hallway. She knows both of them–lucky Jax. I got so excited and said, “I wish I had a camera to take a picture!” I hope they weren’t scared of me. LOL. Though, honestly, I can’t see much phazing Kresley.

6. I feel I must say that Gena Showalter is beautiful. I mean gorgeous. Really.

7. Attending the Rogue Digital Conference with Angela James, from Samhain Publishing, Jane from Dear Author, and Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I am not entirely sure of the spellings as there are many Ja(y)nes at Dear Author.

8. Anne Stuart’s workshop on Writing Dark Love Stories. It was really good. Detailed, informative, funny, and useful.

9. Diva Karaoke, swimming with Divas, Diva pajama party after the Ritas

10. Riding the Elevator with the famous Nora Roberts twice.

11. The Harlequin Party. I now understand why it is the place to be. Even Nora got down. Fun, fun, fun! My friend Amanda Brice even got up and sang Summer Lovin’ with the DJ. Much better than when I sang it at karaoke.

12. Rooming with Jax Cassidy & Eden Bradley. Though we missed our good friend Lilli Feisty who had to stay home due to illness. I already miss them and I’ve only been home for 14 hours.

I made so many good friends and deepened other friendships. It was awesome.

RWA National has been a wonderful surprise. There were a few bumps here and there, but overall it was an incredible experience. I’ll never forget meeting the wonderful friends at Divas. I have officially adopted Christina, Sandy, MG (Michelle), Emily R-D, Jax, and I’m already joined at the hip with Eden Bradley. And, of course, I’ll never forget my little odd moments with Kresley and meeting Gena.

This post has already gone on long enough, so I’ll end it by saying I had a very good time!

It is that time again. Excerpt Monday. This is when a group of authors get together once a month and post something from a work in progress or a soon-to-be released book. You will find all kinds of goodies here. Historical, Paranormal, YA…and a few naughty bits as well. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog on MONDAY and you will see a set of links to other participants.

Here is an excerpt from A Hint of Scandal, a novella I wrote 11 years ago and have considered revising. I made minor edits to the intro a year ago. It’s an erotic romance.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” she said.

“Would you prefer a bed?” he teased. “I think that can certainly be arranged.”

“No.” she told him as she brushed her hands over the front of her dress. “I think we have been severely lucky that no one has ever happened upon us before now. Perhaps, we should reconsider this arrangement.”

“You want to end this?” He tilted his head and stared at her.

What was she doing? She had wanted this. Jeffrey was charming, handsome. Willing.

If only she was willing.

“I feel I must.”

“You all but opened your legs for me, Miranda. Thrice. What makes you so hesitant now? Are you a timid virgin? Afraid to finally couple with a man?”

Yes, that was it. Little did he know he would not have been her first. But, a man’s pride was a tender thing. She wouldn’t reveal it to him.

“Do you have another lover?”

“No.” Her heart skipped a beat.

“Well, I should think not. You could not do any better than me, anyway.” He smiled to himself as he shook out his jacket.

“Do not look so relieved you bastard.”

“My blood line runs cleaner than yours and you know it.”

“You arrogant, pompous rake!”

Shaking his head, he looked down at her. Then he patted her behind. “Run along now, Miss Howard. We would not want Mummy and Daddy finding out what a naughty girl you have been.”

Miranda glared at him and stormed off. What had she been thinking when she let Jeffrey kiss her? The man had the manners of a dog, for all his good breeding.

She was so angry and distracted that she didn’t see where she was walking. She rounded a hedge and ran straight into a solid body.

“Oh,” she exclaimed. “I am dreadfully sorry.” She looked up into the face of Lord Sheffield.
He was taller than Jeffrey and she had to angle her head up to look into his eyes. For a moment, she was tempted to run her fingers through his blond locks.

“Mi-Miss Howard.” He bowed slightly. “It was I who was not paying careful attention as to where I was going. Please forgive me if I have caused you any injury.”

They were still standing close together. If only she dared to reach out and touch him. Had she not been so startled a moment ago, she might have enjoyed bumping into the earl.

Under his gaze, her breast swelled and she could feel her nipples straining against the fabric. Hopefully her gown was still perfectly in place. The bodice was so low that she feared a nipple could poke out above the fabric.

For a moment, neither spoke. What was wrong with her? It was not as if she’d never spoken to Sheffield before. How many times had she teased and berated him as a child? But, things were different now. He was different.

And, lord help her, just being in close proximity to him sent a jolt of lightening through her thighs. This was not the man of her childhood. It was the man of her fantasies.

Ever since Sheffield had returned a month ago, things had not been the same. She could barely breathe when they were talking, which was not often enough as he seemed to find any excuse not to be alone in conversation with her.

“No, my lord. I am well. Forgive me for running into you.”

“There is nothing to forgive.”

His eyes bored into hers. That blue-green color appeared darker under the moonlight. Miranda felt paralyzed to the spot.

“Goodnight, Miss Howard,” he said kissing her hand. It was bare. Shivering, she realized that she must have left her glove in the grass. Damnation. She’d have to go back and retrieve it before her mother saw her without it.

“Goodnight, Lord Sheffield.”

Miranda turned and ran toward toward the spot where she had abandoned Jeffrey.

Unfortunately, she didn’t see the stone near her foot until it was too late. Her foot caught and she fell flat on her face.

To her utter mortification, Lord Sheffield called out to her. Unable to reveal her reddened face, she waited until he caught up with her. With gentle care, he lifted her up and helped her brush off the leaves and dirt that now adorned her dress.

Strong arms. Though Sheffield was somewhat slender, his arms were firm and muscled. If only she could run her hands over them and squeeze. It had been many years since she’d been held by him. And, back then, she was too daft to attach any importance to it.

Sighing, she looked into his face. The hard planes softened a bit as his eyes roamed over her, making sure she was well.

“Miss Howard. Lord Sheffield.”

She looked up to see Lady Stanley, their hostess. Warmth crept up Miranda’s cheeks. Almost choking on her words, she responded, “Lady Stanley.”

Isabella, Lady Stanley, nodded, though Miranda saw her eyes narrow. “Taking a walk in the gardens?”

Lord Sheffield murmered something and Miranda tried to cover up for them. “I wanted to get some fresh air. ‘Tis so stuffy inside.”

Their hostess nodded, though it was obvious that she didn’t believe a word of it. Miranda looked longingly at the house, praying for the moment when she could get back inside.

“Why, Miss Howard, are we starting a new fashion trend? It is really quite becoming.” Jeffrey. He appeared suddenly, carrying a stained white glove. She was about to grab it from him when she realized another couple was headed toward them.

All eyes were on her. She wondered why until she realized they were all looking at her chest. Miranda lowered her eyes and realized that her gown was not only ruined with grass stains and tiny tears, but two undeniably male hand prints were on the front of her gown. If Miranda had the stomach for it, she would have swooned. As it was, a heat was spreading over her cheeks and she knew that she resembled a tomato.

Everyone’s eyes continued to watch her, but she could not come up with a quick response.

Sheffield came to her rescue, putting his jacket over her shoulders and saying, “Miranda took a fall just now and I found her. Though she seems not to be injured, I am taking her to her father so that she can get home and lie down.”

Miranda was greatful when he put his arm around her and escorted her back into the house.

*****
The next day, Miranda awoke with a headache. She’d had more than one glass of brandy before making it into bed. A pounding throbbed in her hears.

“Miranda! Miranda!”

Oh, could she just lower her voice. Why did she have to yell like a banshee?

“Yes, Mother. What is it?”

“I have been knocking for ten minutes,” her mother said, entering the room. “As I told you last night, we must have a talk.”

She’d been in no mood to talk to her parents last night and she certainly wasn’t in the mood now. God, she needed coffee. Though her mother kept very little in the house, Miranda knew there was a small stash for guests. Maybe she could convince the housekeeper or the butler to let her have it.

“I need to get to the privy.”

“Oh, no you do not. Young lady, you will not avoid me.”

Miranda looked into her mothers eyes. The same shade of green as her own. She sighed.

Taking hold of her arms, Lady Wentworth continued, “Last night, you came in from the garden with stains on your clothes, a dazed expression, and Lord Sheffield’s jacket about your shoulders. Honestly, darling, have you any sense? The whole town is talking and you are in bed sleeping away. Lord Sheffield’s father is due within the hour and your father is raving. Well,” she said, taking a breath, “just what do you have to say for yourself?”

Dumbfounded, Miranda could only stare as her mother went about the room, opening curtains and setting out clothes for her to wear. She selected a coral colored gown and set it on the bed.
No words came out of her mouth. What could she say? Last night had been a disaster.

“You had better get up and wash yourself. Agnes will be in to help you dress. Hurry up, as we will not want to keep the Duke waiting.”

An instant later, Agnes came in. She pulled back the covers and started removing Miranda’s gown. Obediently, Miranda lifted her arms.

Biting her lip, she asked. “How bad is it? Mother looks fit to skin a bear. Is father raving as well?”
Agnes shook her head. “Real quiet like. Dinno if he’s that mad or in shock.”

Great. Miranda counted on her father’s support. Not that she deserved his help after the drama she’d caused last night.

Her voice dropped to a whisper as she took the wet towel that Agnes gave her. Wiping her face and underarms, she continued, “Did they say anything about the Duke and Duchess?”

“Not that I heard, Miss.”

Miranda finished washing up and let Agnes dress her. When Agnes smiled, she looked in the mirror. The coral was the perfect color on her. It matched her deep auburn hair.

“Did they say if Alistair is coming?”

Agnes didn’t respond as she dressed Miranda’s hair.

“Is Sheffield coming?” she repeated.

“I think so.”

Miranda bit her lip as her heart thumped in her chest. He was coming. It had been a while since Sheffield had been in their home. Too long. Why did it always have to been in awful circumstances?

*****

He was angry. She could see it in his eyes. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes bored into hers.
“Well?” he demanded, once she’d been seated.

“Well, what, Father?”

“In a quarter of an hour, His Grace will be here to discuss the incident between you and his son. I think, perhaps, that it would be better if I heard all of the details first hand instead of through town gossip!”

“There is nothing to be said.” She tried to keep her voice level.

“Do not play the ninny with me, young lady, though now I doubt whether to address you as such.”

She turned away from him as she spoke. “I went into the garden. When I came back, I tripped and fell. Lord Sheffield aided me, then Lady Stanley arrived. That is all I have to tell.”

“And your dress?” He poured a glass of liquor. She was in real trouble.

“As I said, I tripped and fell. Then, Lord Sheffield helped me up.”

“Then, it was he who left the marks on your dress?”

Miranda had hoped that he didn’t know about that. “An accident.”

“An accident. Do you believe me foolish enough to accept that answer?”

“You will have to, Father, for it is the only one I have to give.”

*******************************

The Full List of Excerpt Monday Participants:

(Links will be active on Monday. The list is organized by rating, so the saucy stuff is at the bottom, and the family friendly excerpts are at the top.)

For the last week or so, I’ve been reading Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. It was recommended to me by a fellow romance author, Emily Ryan Davis. Since I’ve been planning to revise Secrets Uncovered into a full length novel, I have been trying to find ways to turn 30K into 80K. Sometimes, I have way too many ideas for things I could do and it’s not always clear as to what I should do.

But reading this book is great. It’s primarily a revision/editing book for writers who have no idea where to begin the process. Manuscript Makeover is also a craft manual. There are useful tidbits for expanding bare bones scenes through “riff writing” and processes for taking paragraphs or lines from your favorite books and learning how to emulate the technique. And, of course, there is the basic stuff on sentence structure, unnecessary words, and reading your manuscript aloud to catch awkward phrasing.

Though I’m only on chapter five, I’m already in love with this book. Manuscript Makeover is just what I needed. And, I haven’t even gotten to part three on characterization.

What I love about this book is that it covers all the major aspects of revision/self-editing. It’s not just a manual for how to clean up your sentences and eliminate “that”, “was”, “had”, etc. It is not just a book about cutting word count for clarity. It teaches you techniques for writing and shows you how to emulate your favorite writers to learn from their description or their dialogue or characterization techniques. It has simple methods for you to re-read your own writing and listen as a reader would listen.

I highly recommend Manuscript Makeover. It is pure genius!