Storywitch's "Book of Shadows"

While I loved being at RT, this is the blog post I was most looking forward to sharing with you guys. Be warned – it includes a little info about the story I plan to write about Elisa, a secondary character from A Vampire’s Claim. However, I don’t think this info qualifies as a “ruin the story” spoiler, because you’ll find this out in the very first chapter.

At the end of Vampire’s Claim, Elisa, who is a maid in Lady Daniela’s household as well as one of her second-marked servants, is given charge of the aberrant and violent “vampire children” that came into their keeping (won’t tell you anything more about that, in case you haven’t read VC yet). Well, unfortunately something terrible happens with the children (here’s where Elisa: Chapter One kicks in). Willis, the ranch hand with whom Elisa is falling in love, is killed by one of them and Elisa survives a terrible attack. Danny faces the difficult choice of mercifully putting the children down or trying one more thing to socialize them. She knows a vampire who runs a big cat sanctuary in the United States. She hopes his understanding of how to handle damaged predators can help their situation. Unexpectedly, Elisa is the biggest champion of the idea, determined to make Willis’s sacrifice mean something. So she heads off the U.S., dedicated to seeing her charges saved, and unaware that the vampire Malachi will change her life as well.

Visiting the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa was a first step in developing the setting for my story, which of course will be an important vehicle in how the plot develops. As I share my impressions, I’ll mix my thought processes with my simple fascination with the many factoids I learned.

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Ready for more bits and pieces of RT trivia from my perspective? Okay, let’s talk the EC Jungle Party. EC parties are always such fun, and the annual RT fantasy party has the added treat of the cover models coming up with an impromptu  dance routine in the course of an afternoon. This time the boys were in khaki shorts, doing a primitive tribal dance against a jungle backdrop including volcano smoke. One of the models was from Hawaii and very gymnastic, doing somersaults and back flips.

I didn’t get a good picture of that, but think I mentioned that some of the cover models offered their time to do benefit pictures of the USO. The USO is a great organization, so I made my donation and had my picture taken, though typically I’m a little nervous about sitting down amid a bunch of gorgeous men. Just feel a bit out of place. But here we all are. They were really nice, and the one to the right is James, the one that massaged my mom’s shoulders. Franco, the one on the left, teased me about being nervous, saying they wouldn’t bite.

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Do you know the saying, sometimes you need a vacation to recuperate from your vacation? It applies to RT, too. Mainly because I can’t seem to go to one of them without finishing off my week by contracting whatever random psycho virus is bouncing off the walls containing 1000+ wildly excited romance people. Do I have swine flu? Do you know how many times have I been asked that question?! My stock answer is that I’ve grown a cute curly tail and occasionally feel the urge to go wallow in the mud, but other than that, no. Oink, oink.

So here we are. I’m on the road to recovery at last, though I can’t seem to get the hacking cough under control. A couple times I’ve had to pick up my lung and stuff it back down my throat after I expelled it like a hairball, but the malady actually came in handy Sunday night. Since I couldn’t sleep (for some reason, strangulation isn’t conducive to restful repose), I did another hour or so of Honor Bound, which put me ahead on Monday, and now the draft is with my editor. I still wish I could put about 30k more into it, but editors get touchy when you try to make an anthology contribution into a full length novel. Snort. I’m hopeful you all will like the story of my two soldiers, though. Er, that’s one male and one female soldier, hero and heroine, respectively. Yes, I saw the gleam in the eyes of those who love my male/male romances – patience! More of those coming, no worries.

Anyhow, you don’t care about all that. Just wanted you to know that I had a good reason for being AWOL one whole week after RT. But since I just ADORE being one of those people who talk ad nauseam about their physical stats (eye rolling), let’s move on. Instead, let me tell you about highlights from my unique RT experience, and I hope those of you who were there will share yours in the comments. There’ve been plenty of blogs and picture postings going on, and of course in my little transition post prior to this one, I referenced some of that. I’ll probably break this into 2-3 blogs, because I’d like to spend one specifically on my trip to Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL. I learned so many interesting things there for my research on Elisa and Malachi’s story. But tonight we’ll focus on general things, my mom, and the Faery Court.

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Well, this is it. A week away from the Romantic Times conference in Orlando! While I love going, preparations for this conference can definitely take me outside my comfort zone. I can handle coordinating the promo materials – I’ll have a plethora of excerpt booklets (complete with a piece of Dove chocolate in every plastic sleeve), postcards with the beautiful mermaid artwork, my great new vampire bookmarks, cover flats with substantial excerpts from past Ellora’s Cave books to interest new readers in those, etc. etc. etc. Btw – be sure and check my newsletter, which I hope to send out later tonight or tomorrow at the latest. I’m going to be offering one of the new bookmarks to everyone who contacts me for one. The bookmark features the Mark of the Vampire Queen cover on one side, Vampire’s Claim on the other, with some great teaser lines. They turned out wonderfully, and I’d love to share one with you.

Okay, back to comfort zone breaches. I will be on three workshop panels, one focusing on online promotion, one talking about a career track through e-publishing, and the third about making the transition from small press to NY publishing. While I’ll be on the panel with other authors, not standing up under a spotlight all alone, those “Oh My God Public Speaking” alarms are already going off in my head. Of course, I will engage the rationalization machine and convince myself this is no different from sitting around in a comfortable discussion group with other readers and authors, talking about these topics. That will work until about thirty minutes before the panels, at which time I will get a tremendous urge to run. Aaahhh!

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Recently, I was taking a class. The instructor was a balanced person, one of those people who emanates tranquility and kindness, who relaxes everyone in her presence. So I was surprised when, in discussing romance books after one of her classes, her expression changed to one of resignation, and a wistful note entered her voice, suggesting that this lovely, nurturing person had an important part of herself not being nurtured. She said she’d like to read a romance to get some romance into her life, since the last time her husband had done anything romantic for her had been quite some time ago. I didn’t doubt her love for her husband as she made this comment, but it did make me think about this aspect of our relationship with our significant other.

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Hope everyone’s Monday was kind to them, and your weekend was pleasurable enough to inspire more than the usual reluctance to respond to the alarm clock. I honestly believe that scientists are looking at the wrong animals to try and find our closest relative. It’s not the chimp. It’s the sloth. You know it must be. Who can’t look at a picture of those creatures and feel a great yearning to go slump in a tree with them for blissful hours of lethargy? Okay, yeah, I’m sleepy and I’m feeling it, so I’m relating to hairy, indolent creatures. For some hilarious facts about them (like the fact they sleep 20 hours a day and are so immovable algae grows in their fur!), the natgeo site has great pics.

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Hey, everyone! Just a short one tonight because I’m about three days away from turning in final proofs on Beloved Vampire and I’m a little bit behind (grin). Wanted to announce that the monthly newsletter contest prize went to Lisa A.! Since the prize was any one of my signed titles, she wanted a copy of Mistress of Redemption. Since Jonathan’s story is the only one I have left that’s not yet available in print, she and I have agreed I’ll send her the e-copy for the new reader her husband got her (good husband!) and shoot her the print copy when it’s released – which will hopefully be later this year.

We had a fun chat on the Fans of Joey W Hill yahoo group last night, if you’d like to go check the posts and see what all we chattered about. This was a lively and delightful group, and I look forward to visiting again. With respect to other appearances, if you’re interested, I’ve just been invited to blog at Selena Illyria’s blogsite on April 1 about the delightful subject of menage a trois in my current and upcoming books. Since I’m also reading Maya Banks’ Colters’ Woman right now (which is a menage a quatre), my mind should be in the right mode for a great discussion on this. So come on by. And of course, I think I have a blog posting happening at Deidre Durance’s site tomorrow about the topic of "behind the scenes" preparation for the Romantic Times conference.

All right, another good blog topic soon. For now, back to galley edits. Hope you all are having a great week, and thanks for all the wonderful responses to this contest.

Sorry I’m running a little late this week. Several different things are coming together at once – a print galley deadline, a first draft that needs to be done and cleaned up enough to send to a fact-checker next week, and a multitude of Romantic Times’ Conference promo materials coordinated with the printer. Can’t wait to relax with you all on the Fans of Joey Hill group this Sunday night (3/22, 8-10pm EST). I really do plan to treat it as a girls’ night out, so come with that spirit in mind. I will bring enough chocolate to give us all sugar rushes, so if someone else wants to coordinate the beverages – I’m partial to blackberry Mojitos, heavy on the blackberry…

Anyhow, I was absolutely thrilled with a book I recently read for research, The Story of My Life, by Helen Keller. It’s a short little journal of her thoughts, astounding in its eloquence and insights. First, to explain. As many of you know, I’m working on Peter’s story (Peter of the Knights of the Board Room series). Peter’s an active Army reservist when he’s not working for K&A, so it’s not surprising that the girl who wins his heart is also a soldier. Unfortunately, Dana gets severely injured in Iraq. She loses her sight and much of her hearing, and so Peter has to convince her, in the way that only a Master can, that she can trust him to love and care for her, as well as help her embrace a new way of living her life. So obviously reading about Helen Keller – from Ms. Keller’s direct point of view – was of great interest to me.

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