The Dog Days…

Am I the only one who finds it hard to write in summer?

I’m not really sure why it’s so. The kids are out of school, admittedly, and vacation time does break up the days and weeks. Vacation traveling is wonderful, and I love it, but tends to leave me wasted for a while.

But it’s not really those things. And it’s certainly not the lure of the garden calling me to dig my fingers into the earth and get beautiful things to grow. Not in August in North Carolina. In fact, very few activities are appealing enough to lure me out of my air-conditioned office in the month of August.

Nonetheless, it seems as if the oppressive heat and humidity somehow slip into my spirit and suck at my energy even with air conditioning running and doors closed. And when I do force myself to scratch out a few sentences, they don’t satisfy me. I’m pretty sure that everything I write in August is total crap.

Fortunately I know September is coming. Oddly, the cooler air of fall brings a sense of renewal for me. My energy returns even as the world prepares for activity to slow down, trees to go dormant and animals to hibernate.

The leaves explode in a blaze of color, new terms start at school, and I’m ready to get moving again. That includes writing. After a few weeks of producing little, I know it will start flowing again with the coming of Autumn.

Katherine Kingston

The In-Between Place ....

I finished the second book in my paranormal series for Wild Rose -- finished it on Thursday. So I'm at that in-between place again: not quite done with the last book, not ready to start the next one.

I did decide what I'll start next: Book 3 in this series. The characters are firmly in my head, so I want to continue on. The In-Between Place (IBP) is somewhat relaxing, but I find that I always have a lot of catching up to do. I tend to put a lot of things on hold when I'm deep into writing, and now I have to deal with those things: promotion, scheduling, balancing the checkbook .... just daily Stuff.

I'm pleased with how the last book turned out and I'm anxious to start the next one, but I'm trying to restrain myself a bit ... I think the book is better (and the writing goes faster) if I take some time to think about it because I launch into it.

So I'm in Think Mode now ...

Killer Nashville

Isn’t that a great title for a conference for mystery writers?

It’s a terrific conference, too, and I’ll be heading there this weekend. It’s a chance to mingle and network with other authors, both published and unpublished, agents, editors, and others interested in mystery writing.

A terrific slate of panel discussions and talks is available, too, along with signings, critiques, breakout groups and social events. You can find out more about it here: http://www.killernashville.com/

The Guest of Honor is forensic anthropologist and author Dr. Bill Bass, and a plethora of other well-known mystery writers will be there.

There’s still time to sign up. If you write mysteries of any variety, romantic suspense or related genres, and you live near Nashville, I urge you to come. It’ll be a great time and I guarantee you’ll learn a lot.

-- Karen McCullough

Undercover FBI agent meets small town mom ...

Mom wins.

My romantic suspense, Brilliant Disguise, is available now at Resplendence Publishing (right here in fact: http://tinyurl.com/6o2kf3. Here's the blurb, which kinda tells the story:

Nick Baxter, an undercover FBI agent, thinks his BRILLIANT DISGUISE will fool the hicks in New Providence, Iowa. They won't suspect he's there investigating widow Shannon Delgardie, under suspicion of treason. What Nick doesn't know is that everybody in town is conspiring to protect her and investigate him in return.

Shannon needs help. The men her late husband blackmailed are closing in and the FBI might be involved. When Nick approaches her, can she trust him? With the aid of computer hackers and hair stylists, she uncovers the truth, finding a love she never expected in a tiny Iowa town.

{modesty mode} This one is a lot of fun -- a lot of fun, as Nick fumbles around town, trying to investigate Shannon, only to find that Shannon knows as much (if not more) about him as he does about her. Along the way sparks fly, blackmail is solved, and hot sex occurs (at least once in a barn).

It's fun.

{modesty mode off}

Lily Blossoms Available Today from Ellora's Cave

Lily Blossoms, Book 3 in the Summersville Secrets series is available today from Ellora’s Cave Publishing.

Blurb:

“What do you say?” Carson, the man she’s lusted over for the past five years, is standing in her kitchen, offering himself up for research.

Lily isn’t convinced she hasn’t fallen asleep at her keyboard and is now having the most amazing dream. No one in the town of Summersville knows she writes erotic romance under a pseudonym. Everyone knows her as the quiet, conservative woman who owns and operates the local flower shop, Lily’s Blossoms. She’s rarely dated and certainly not a man eight years younger.

But Carson is resolute. He’s wanted Lily for years and when he stumbles onto her secret, he seizes the opportunity to get closer to her. Lily has a list of erotic fantasies she wants to research including sex in public, roses, whipped cream and a striptease. Carson has a few ideas of his own and he’s determined to be the man she experiences each and every item with. What she doesn’t know is that he has an agenda of his own—one that ends with them together forever.

Voice Check

A unique voice. Every writer wants one. We all hear about distinctive voices in writing. Last week, I got a lesson in voice.

I was already reading Tempted by Megan Hart (finally!) and got the Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen from the library.

The words Gerritsen uses come together in short sentences and paragraphs. It makes for a quick, fast paced voice. All words are used to ratchet up the suspense. To make you keep reading at a frenetic pace. It draws you into the world with its suddenness. With the complexity.

Hart's prose is...the only way I have to describe it is lush. Each word choice flings the senses into abandon. Hart's writing is beautiful and elegant, yet not overly wordy. I'm also drawn into Hart's world but it's a more laid back, sensual affair than Gerritsen's.

Reading them both definitely gave me a lesson in what voice is. Two very distinct voices that do different things for me, yet I love them both.

Now if I could only figure out what exactly my voice is...

Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com

Jackson's Jewel--Now Available

The last thing Jackson Connors wants is a housekeeper. He likes his life just as it is — solitary and uncomplicated.

Emerald Jewel is a New York designer with a stalker on her trail. She needs a place to hide out and Jackson's farm is the perfect solution to her problem.

Neither of them is prepared for the explosion of passion that flares between them.

Jackson’s Jewel is now available from Ellora’s Cave Publishing.