Homemade Cat Food
I first started researching how to make homemade cat food when my cat, Calypso, was diagnosed with diabetes. I managed to change his diet from the kibble to canned easily enough, but his sugars still weren’t going down. Checking his blood sugar and giving him insulin weren’t near as hard as I feared, but even that wasn’t giving him the quality of life he deserved.
Years ago, I made homemade ferret food, so I wasn’t too concerned about making my own cat food. I was mostly concerned my cats wouldn’t eat it, especially finicky Riley.
I used the site by Lisa A. Pierson, D.V.M. www.catinfo.org, gathered my ingredients, and changed it up a bit.
For instance, I don’t like the idea of feeding raw food, especially chicken, to my animals, but I didn’t want to boil or bake. I doubled the recipe, since I have 3 cats and didn’t want to spend every few days in the kitchen. I used 6 lbs. of chicken thighs and doubled the recipe for hearts and liver. I added them all to a crockpot to cook overnight. For one, I like how a crockpot tenderizes the meat and bone and yet still keeps the fat that she suggests you keep and for two, it’s simple and I love my crockpot!
Doesn’t look too appetizing, huh?
The next morning, it was ready to grind. I don’t have a meat grinder and didn’t go out and buy one, but I felt my Ninja blender would do the trick. And it did.
TT was my taste tester. She got to lick the blender bowl (once the blades were removed) and gave her approval.
Because I used thighs with the bones and the first batch didn’t blend too well, I added the bone to the leftover broth and boiled it in an attempt to soften them. It boiled for at least 30 minutes while I prepared everything else.
Afterward, the bone did blend pretty well. If you decide to make your own cat food, don’t be afraid to use your hands! I blended the bones separately and dug through each batch after the blender, and dug through the entire mess again to make sure there were no bones that hadn’t blended. I removed anything suspicious.
All the bones but this blended well, and some that I threw away. I used a meat cleaver to break these up, since they crumbled pretty well, and I removed anything else that seemed too rough.
I added the ingredients the vet suggests, i.e. Taurine, Vitamin E, B Complex, and fish oil and used my hands to mix it all in a big bowl (unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it all). Again, see www.catinfo.org for the ingredient list.
She says to cook the egg white lightly and use raw yolk, but I cooked the white, then added the yolk afterward to cook it a bit, too. Again, I don’t like feeding raw food to my animals.
And wallah! After two hours of blending, adding, mixing, etc, I had my first batch of homemade cat food! I separated them into four large containers to freeze some. I’m not exactly sure yet how long each will last.
TT definitely approved! And again, she got to lick the bowl. But she didn’t stop there, she licked my hands and cannot wait for tonight’s dinner! Calypso had a sample, too, and gave his approval. We’ll see how he does when he realizes it isn’t a snack but his actual dinner.
Because Riley is the finicky one, I decided to chop up her kibble in the blender to sprinkle on top. Not sure how that’s going to play out just yet. Stay tuned for the results.
Almost Married, by Roe Valentine
Today I have Roe Valentine visiting us today. Author of Almost Married. Continue reading below to find out more about her fascinating book, and I welcome her guest post where she talks about overcoming disappointments!
Thanks for visiting us today, Roe!
Blurb:
Realist, Dr. Carla Harris, believes that people create their own fate, through hard work and careful planning. She believes in playing things safe. But, while preparing for her upcoming nuptials she’s forced to confront the most reckless thing she’s ever done, her estranged husband, Jacob.
Idealist Jacob Moreau believes in soul mates, as much as he believes in saving endangered companies. When his long lost wife reenters his life seeking a divorce, he is convinced more than ever they are meant to be together. And he will do—and lose—anything to have her again.
She thought she had her life planned to perfection. He thought they made perfect sense together. Would marrying Jacob be the craziest thing she’s ever done, or divorcing him?
You can add Almost Married to your to-read list on Goodreads
Title: Almost Married
Author: Roe Valentine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 27 January 2013
About the Author:
Roe Valentine was born into the right family. Not only does the name Valentine suit her, but her grandmother, unknowingly, introduced the young Ms. Valentine to her first romance novel. She hasn’t read anything else since. She calls herself a romantic at heart and believes that love conquerors all.
The San Antonio native, who now lives in Houston, attempted to write her first contemporary romance novel when she was nineteen years old. That attempt didn’t take, but her story has a happy ending. She kept pursuing the dream until she landed her first publishing contract. Almost Married is her debut novel.
When not busy writing or reading love stories, Roe can often be found in a yoga class or chatting with friends at her favorite coffee shop. Enjoying margaritas with some girl-talk isn’t unusual for her either. For a night in, she watches reruns of her favorite TV shows and, of course, romantic comedies on her Roku, usually with a glass of wine.
Roe Valentine also LOVES talking to readers. You can contact her in the following ways:
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Goodreads
– Website
– Email – info@roevalentine.com
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Almost Married. Here is what you can win: 2 e-copies of Almost Married by Roe Valentine
What I learned from a big disappointment, by Roe Valentine
Let’s face it, disappointments are inevitable. As a writer, I’ve learned to take my disappointments in stride, because there are a lot of them. Whether it’s disappointment in myself or disappointment that a publisher I want to write for has rejected me (again for the umpteenth time), there is always a silver lining. That’s right, disappointments—in my opinion—are the bumps in the road that actually force you to grow.
This reminds me of when I wrote my first novel when I was 19. I was a sophomore in college and spent the better of the summer sitting in my dorm typing away into the wee hours of the morning, sometimes missing class. When I was finished, I sent it off to all the lines of Harlequin and Silhoutette—of course without proofreading/revising. Back then you sent everything via snail mail, and for months I checked the mail waiting for a response. For some reason I was so sure I would get a contract. And when I didn’t, I was devastated. I don’t remember how many rejection letters I got, all I knew was I decided to give up on writing. But the thing was, I really wanted to be a romance writer. I thought it was a calling. I was so disappointed that all my hard work ended in failure, I put that dream aside for many years. When I was mature enough, I realized, those rejections were the best thing that could have happened. Once I got over the bruised ego, I was able to see that disappointments are a gift.
I say this because, in terms of my rejected novel, I was finally able to see where I was going wrong. I was finally able to see what I needed to work on to get to where I wanted to be, which is published. It was inevitable that I would be rejected that first time, because the novel was quite awful; it makes me cringe when I at a look at it. But, because I was able to learn from the experience, I am now living my dream.
Great post, Roe Valentine! It reminds me a lot of what I went through. Thanks for being my guest today!
And don’t forget to enter to win!
Fatal Snag, by Angela Smith
Hollywood fashion consultant Naomi Fisher is happy to use her obsessive-compulsive planning to assist with her cousin’s wedding, but her history with the sexy and sullen Chayton Chambers, the groom’s brother, terrifies her. When the groom is kidnapped at his own wedding, Chayton and Naomi rush to find an important relic to satisfy the ransom before her cousin becomes a widow before a bride. Naomi trades garters for guns as survival, and love becomes a deadly game impossible to resist.
Coming Soon from Crimson Romance!
The Latecomer’s Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan
A few weeks ago, I promised a review of The Latecomer’s Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan. I had a few problems getting the book and unfortunately when I did get it, I was so stuck in getting my edits sent to my publisher that I didn’t have time for a review. I did, however, take some time in the evening (during a long and luxurious bath that I desperately needed after my edits) to start reading the book, and I had a hard time putting it down!
The author reeled me in with her complex characters. The issues they went through are what many people experience in life, and she wrote it in an interesting, conflicted, and genuine way. Her writing wasn’t overcrowded with too much writing junk, but a quick and easy read with realistic characters and great prose. As an author myself, I know how important it is to engage readers so they forget they’re reading and feel they’re experiencing the moment. This author did a great job of doing that!
Here is more information about The Latecomer’s Fan Club. Also, you can find it on Amazon for a steal at 99 cents!
Blurb:
What is it about guys with guitars in their hands that makes them so irresistible, even when they are obviously self-centered jerks? If Abby and Maggie could answer that question, maybe they could finally get over Nathaniel. There’s just something about him when he picks up his guitar and gets behind the microphone, something that makes sensible women act like teeny-boppers instead of rational, self-respecting adults.
Abby was first sucked in by Nathaniel’s rock ’n roll swagger four years ago when a drunken fling turned into a series of drunken hook-ups that became something like a relationship. Now, as New Year’s Eve promises a fresh start, she wants to believe he’s finally going to grow up and take their relationship seriously.
What does Nathaniel hope the new year will bring? An escape from the disappointing realities of his life. He’s thirty-four years old and he’s barely making ends meet as an adjunct philosophy professor, which was always only a back up plan anyway. Nathaniel’s real goal was always to make his living as a musician, but his band, The Latecomers, broke up a couple of years ago, and he hasn’t picked up his guitar in months. When he decides to spend the holiday with some high school friends instead of hanging out at the bar where Abby works, he gets the happy surprise of reuniting with his long-lost friend Maggie. Newly divorced, Maggie has just moved back to her mother’s house to regroup.
Nathaniel and Maggie were supposed to be the ones who left Worcester forever to conquer the world. He was going to be a rock star. She was going to take the world of art by storm. He’s never gotten farther than Boston, and her best effots only left her broke and heartbroken. As they ring in the New Year together, Nathaniel decides it’s time to take control of his life and to start making his dreams come true. He thinks the first step will be easy. All he needs to do is break up with Abby and finally admit his feelings for Maggie. But the new year has more surprises in store, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Excerpt:
People seem to believe—and Maggie herself once thought—that divorce was the result of some cataclysmic event, that a marriage in trouble reached its end like a pot boiling over. But her experience taught her otherwise. It was more like a pot set on a burner to simmer and then forgotten until the contents evaporated and all that was left was a blackened pot. No one ever told you that an argument over how to load the dishwasher could be the end of your marriage. And, Maggie wondered, in cases like hers—the slow simmer and burn of her six years of marriage—how do two reasonable, responsible adults who are clearly incompatible in fundamental ways make the decision to get married in the first place? How in the world had she and Andrew ever thought marriage was a good idea? One night shortly after she filed for divorce, Maggie had called her mother and asked her that very question.
“You married him because you were in love,” her mother had said, but that wasn’t it at all and Maggie knew it. She had never been in love with Andrew. She had been attracted to him. She had been attracted to the lifestyle he could provide for her. But she hadn’t been in love. No, she believed that romantic love was a myth, a fairytale, a childish notion, and she had told herself to be practical. What everyone wants is companionship and financial security, and Andrew could provide those things. She thought Andrew was similarly pragmatic. They were not the sort of couple who said “I love you” a dozen times a day.
And even now, even though it hadn’t worked out, Maggie didn’t think the failure of their marriage was due to a lack of love. She thought she could survive that if other parts of it were okay, but Andrew hadn’t been the companion Maggie needed, nor had she been what he needed. How do you explain any of that at a New Year’s party to someone you haven’t spoken to in fifteen years? How do you explain that you wept in front of the TV during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton because you couldn’t warn her that she was making a terrible mistake, that she wasn’t going to have a fairytale life as a princess, that the only life she was going to have was the one he said she could have from now on?
When pressed by someone to give a more specific answer, Maggie always chose the shortest version of the story: he wanted children, she didn’t.
Diane Vanaskie Mulligan began writing her first novel, Watch Me Disappear, during an after-school writing club she moderates for high school students. She published it in August 2012. It was a 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Award Finalist in the YA category. Her second novel, The Latecomers Fan Club, will be released in November 2013.
Diane holds a BA in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she’s the managing editor at The Worcester Review and the director of The Betty Curtis Worcester County Young Writers’ Conference You can also find her occasionally strumming her guitar and singing at various bars in central Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband.
LINKS:
http://www.dvmulligan.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Latecomers-Club-Diane-Mulligan/dp/1492221996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383078097&sr=8-1&keywords=the+latecomers+fan+club
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-latecomers-fan-club-diane-v-mulligan/1116995396?ean=2940045290449
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360992
https://twitter.com/Mulligan_writes
Merging Genres, Guest Post by Andrea R. Cooper
Today, I am featuring Andrea R. Cooper as a guest, who talks about merging genres. But first, a little about Andrea:
Growing up in Houston, Texas, Andrea has always created characters and stories. But it wasn’t until she was in her late twenties that she started writing novels.
What happened that ignited the writing flame in her fingers? Divorced, and disillusioned by love songs and stories. They exaggerate. She thought. Love and Romance are not like that in the real world. Then she met her husband and realized, yes love and romance are exactly like the songs and stories say. She is now a happy wife, and a mom to three kids (two boys and a girl).
Andrea writes paranormal and historical romance. When not writing or reading, one may find Andrea dancing in Zumba.
She believes in the power of change and counting each moment as a blessing. But most importantly, she believes in love.
Merging Genres, called hybrid genres or cross-genre, is not a new phenomenon. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy. Star Wars is a blending of Science Fiction (space, spaceships, etc.) with Fantasy elements (The Force, Princess rescuing, etc.).
Romance writers have been merging genres for years. Romance with suspense and/or crime becomes a romantic suspense novel. Paranormal romance is, typically, has one main character is a nonhuman and the other is human. Historical romance subdivided into eras or even time-travel.
There are many mixed genres some are: dark fantasy (fantasy and horror), comic science fiction or fantasy (comedy with science fiction or fantasy), tragicomedy (tragedy and comedy). I know tragedy and comedy sound like opposites, the 1956 movie The Visit incorporates both of these.
Newer hybrids are science fiction horror or crime and horror. So how would a crime and horror novel work? One example would be a crime with a villain who is a monster or demon.
Another example of a hybrid genre is a fantasy and paranormal like mine, The Garnet Dagger. The world, magic, and quest are all fantasy. The hero, though Elvin (fantasy character), is bitten by a vampire (paranormal character) and becomes an amalgam: the Vaer. Instead of craving blood, it is the life-essence or soul he devours by touch.
Now that you know a little about what merging genres, how do you write one?
• Think/Imagine the story you want to tell. The characters, setting, etc.
Or outline. Whatever you do for your writing now, try that. Alternatively, do the opposite if you feel stuck. Brainstorm about the different genres. It would be best in my opinion to start with two you love.
• Write the story. Don’t try and force a hybrid. Let the story flow.
• Re-read the story to see if it flows, or to sprinkle in more elements from another genre. For example, on my historical romance, Viking Fire, one of the villains is a spy in the clan. I didn’t plan this, but I let it come naturally as I wrote. When I did the edits, I added in a little more detail to amplify this aspect.
• Don’t overdo it. Unless the story logically takes both genres equally, it would be best to start with one main one and add more of the secondary genre as needed.
• Read other hybrid genres. See what other authors have done. Write down what you like and don’t like about their mixing.
You might not have to start from scratch if the task of merging genres is too daunting. Dig up an old manuscript you have in a drawer or an unfinished one. Read it over with the thought of adding another element to it. Recently, I did this with a Native American historical romance I wrote years ago, and adding in a paranormal aspect slipped in easily.
I cannot stress the value of another opinion or more. If you are thinking of creating blended genres, ask a source you trust or several. A critique group, beta readers, etc. are excellent resources when trying something different.
If the idea of hybrid genres appeals to you, do research, practice, read. Perhaps you’ll discover a new merging of genres that is as unique as you are.
Viking Fire Blurb:
Chapter One Ireland 856 CEIn 856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage.
Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart?
Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along with the Liannons against any foe—Irish or Viking. However, the Laird’s feisty daughter only holds animosity for him and his kind. Is marriage worth the battle scars of such a relentless opponent?
With the blame for a rival laird’s death treacherously set against the Liannons, Kaireen and Bram must find a way to lay aside their differences as an unforeseen darkness sends death snapping at their heels.
Viking Fire Excerpt:
Chapter One Ireland 856 CE
“I renounce Father for this.” Kaireen threw the elderberry gown. Dressed only in her
leine, she glared at the new gown on the stone floor.
“Shame on you and your children for speaking such.” Her handmaid, Elva, gathered the damask and then dusted off the rushes. “It’s a wonder one of the clim has not scolded you from your hearth for such talk.” She wore her white hair twisted in a chignon, underneath a linen head cloth. Strands of white hair poked out the sides of her covering.
“No, curse Father for a fool.” She plopped on her bed and a goose feather floated away. With a huff, she leaned against the oak headboard. Red curtains puffed like a robin’s chest around oak poles supporting her wooden canopy.
Her bare feet brushed against the stone floor. Why was she not born plain like her two older sisters? Already they had married and expected their second bairns by spring. Well, at least so far she had enjoyed twenty years of freedom. Neither of her sisters had had matrimonial dreams of love matches. Both were arranged marriages.
“You know your da arranged a marriage within a season.” Elva smirked.
Kaireen shook her head. “To another land holder,” and waved a hand in disgust, “not t-this heathen. Twice they raided our land in the last month alone. Many a raid has come from them. Now father wants me as wife to one of them?” She clenched her fists. “No, I will not marry this Viking.”
Elva smiled, reminding Kaireen of the rumors of her handmaid’s uncanny foresight.
Whispers of Elva making strange things happen and often blamed as the cause of
Kaireen’s stubborn refusal to behave as a laird’s daughter should.
“You’ve not seen him yet.” Elva wiggled her brows.
“So?” Kaireen shrugged. “I would like to never see him.”
“Well then, would you not like to know if you have a handsome husband or not?” She waited for her response, but Kaireen scowled at her. Elva chuckled. “I would rather get a good look at him now than the morning after.”
Kaireen’s ears heated. “I am not marrying.” She shook her head for emphasis. “So there will be no morning, nor night, nor wedding.”
“If he is handsome, I may fight you for him.” Elva smiled, deepening the wrinkles around her eyes.
“Welcome to him either way.” Kaireen laughed.
Viking Fire Buy Links:
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The Garnet Dagger Blurb: Everyone knows what happens when a vampire bites a human…but what if the victim is Elvin?
Forbidden to cross the Elvin barrier into human lands, Brock cannot sate his curiosity. Cursed by a vampyre bite that forces him to feed on the life-essence of others, he is unable to touch another without taking their life. Chained by prophesy, he must find a witch, pierce her heart, and draw her blood for his cure.
Celeste must escape the monks who have held her prisoner for years. Her magic has been kept dormant by her captors. An ancient powerful Warloc craves her powers. If he succeeds in devouring her magic, she and his world will die.
When Brock falls in love with Celeste before realizing her demise is his cure, will love triumph over his desire to be healed? Will he risk everything to save her from a Warloc, an oath breaker, who also wants her dead?
The Garnet Dagger Excerpt:I’ve known death. For over half a millennia, I escorted many to death at the end of my sword. In the eyes of the dying, I watched it shroud them. Foolishly, I thought many more eras would pass before death came for me. It came so swiftly that I could not run; I could not escape. At a village, dressed in human clothes, I took in everything. By observing for eons, I understood and spoke their language. The world of mankind fascinated me. Their hobbled homes burrowed into the ground.
Rocks crunched on top one another with thatched roofs woven from straw. Never had I seen a home or inn that was higher than three levels, as if they were afraid of the sky. I delayed my return to my people as I watched human jugglers bounce torches and knifes. It was autumn equinox and the festivities would continue well into the night. Children laughed as they chased each other. A trail of leaves from their costumes twirled after them. It was dark when I reached the forest. Since I was already late, I hiked uphill to a shortcut rather than take the long path back home. I didn’t need to alert any of my kind near the barrier at this hour. Liana would wonder why I was late.
Tonight was the two month anniversary of our hand twining ceremony. One more month as was custom, and then we’d be wed. A gasp rustled through the trees. The roots shot a warning through to me with stifled caution. Adjusting my pack, I continued on instead of changing back into my Elvin clothes. After I passed the border which kept humans from entering our land, then I’d change. In the distance, I heard a groan. Curious, I spun in the direction of the sound. The autumn wind breezed through my worn human clothes, chilling me. But someone needed help. I turned in the direction of the sounds. Whatever made the noise should be a few yards ahead.
I hiked slower than my normal speed, so as not to startle whatever human called out. My leather boots crunched upon dried, diseased leaves and bark. Horrified, I glanced up. Branches twisted around each other to suffocating. Lifeless limbs cracked in the wind. Flesh of the trees sloughed off in layers, exposing its bones. Gashes hollowed out chunks of warmth. Fragments of leaves clung to finger tips, marking sepulchers of the dying trees. Trees mourned with wails like splitting wood, and I brought my hands over my ears. I must flee before I became infected, they told me. Flee before the stain of this defilement creeps into you, they warned. Trees spoke to my kind, always had. Yet these trees were in such agony of death that I could not breathe. Felt as though my lungs had folded in on themselves, like a moth unable to break loose from its cocoon.
Nothing I could do for them, and if I lingered too long, whatever disease gnawed upon them may choke me. Where would I go if I carried something so foul as to devour trees from the inside out? I’d never return to Tamlon if I brought this infection with me. I drew away, but a movement at the base of a decaying tree to my right caught me. My night vision picked up the sight of a human. His sallow face seemed to glow in the moonlight. Poking out from rags lay his arms and legs, which resembled skin stretched over sticks. So cadaverous was his face, I’d have thought him dead if he hadn’t moved.
“Please,” he said and his voice sounded like cicada’s vibrations, “help me.”
“What ails you in this troubled place?” I wondered if my voice, foreign to my ears in speaking the human’s language, revealed my nature.
“I am lost.” His dark eyes crinkled around the corners. “Without strength to rise. If you would but assist me up, I’ll be on my way.”
I’d never touched a human on purpose before. Was it that that gave me pause, or dread that stilled my heart? My feet itched to flee. As soon as I helped him, then I’d leave. I gritted my teeth and reached a hand down.
His gnarled fingers snapped on my arm, making me wince. Jerking me forward, his face contorted. Surprised by his strength, I fell beside him. Blackness curled around me. Teeth, fangs, broke through the skin on my neck. Then I knew him for what he was, a vampyre.
The Garnet Dagger Buy Links:
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Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaRCooper.author
Twitter: @AndreaRCooper
Author Website: www.AndreaRCooper.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6934877.Andrea_R_Cooper
Blog: http://andrearcooperauthorblog.wordpress.com/
The dreaded sex scene
?
Sex. It’s a part of love or at least it should be, in my opinion. So why is it so hard to write about?
My biggest concern when writing sex scenes is my thoughts on who is going to read it. I know it’s crazy, but once I do get out of my character’s head and back to reality, I think about my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, and friends who will read what I wrote. To me, it’s my character’s POV but I know in reality, my family will realize I wrote that because they don’t understand how it to be inside a character’s head. Hopefully, they’ll be in the POV and won’t even think about me writing this, LOL. But it’s still a thought, a dread, a fear of writing that particular scene that keeps me doubting on how to (or even if I should) write it.
Sex, even creative sex, is a magical part of a relationship, which is why I like to include it in my stories. Some books have a lot of sex, some books have a little sex, and some are spicier than others. Most of the time, we don’t talk about it with others. But when you’re writing about it, it feels like others are going to think these terrible thoughts about what kind of person you must be. Writers, am I right?
In talking with several writers, I realize there are many different approaches to writing a sex scene, and many different opinions regarding the writing and reading of sex scenes. One writer even said she didn’t think they were as necessary today, and the popularity of sex scenes was fading.
I disagree. Personally, I like them when they aren’t long, arduous, or graphic. I like a little shock, but I prefer to read about the emotive part of the sexual experience. With the build-up of tension between two characters that are falling in love, closing the door on a sex scene doesn’t feel right to me. Of course, there are some novels where a sex scene wouldn’t move the story forward, and that’s perfectly okay.
I have written some sweet stories with absolutely no sex (none yet completed or published at this time but maybe hopefully in the future). However, my romantic suspense stories always have some sex scenes as long as it moves the story (and the relationship) forward. There’s no point in having a sex scene just to have a sex scene.
Also, I believe writers are afraid of writing sex scenes. Partly because of what I just admitted to you about family, and partly because they have no idea where to start. That’s when, as a writer, you have to get out of your head and get into your character’s head. Don’t overthink it. And remember, there’s always a rewrite and plenty more rewrites.
What about you? How do you feel about sex scenes in a romance novel?
to be or not to be grammatically correct.
A writer’s worst nightmare: to be or not to be grammatically correct.
Yeah, those little green squiggly lines in Microsoft Word can be annoying. But how many bestselling books have you ever read are grammatically correct? Sometimes being the smartest person in the room is an annoyance to the average reader.
Will it make me look stupid if I’m not grammatically correct?
In my opinion, sometimes it’s worse, on the page, to be grammatically correct. Yet there are so many people, especially nowadays because they’re afraid grammar is falling by the wayside, who become the “grammar police” and fix every single grammatically wrong sentence structure in a story that it doesn’t even feel like a story anymore.
Now, is the above sentence grammatically correct?
A normal person doesn’t think, read, or write grammatically correct. Whether they should or shouldn’t is beyond the point. If we follow all the grammar rules, there are many things writers shouldn’t do. Obviously, there are rules that will MAKE US LOOK STUPID if we don’t follow them, but following certain rules make us appear stuffy.
For instance, commas vs. semicolons.
I cringe when I see a semicolon, even when I know it’s correct. When I’m in a person’s head, their POV, that person is going to think in clipped sentences and sometimes way too long in the eye of an erudite. Characters don’t think in terms of semicolons or what is right and wrong in grammar. Characters have their own way of speaking, of thinking, and a good author will follow that way despite what the grammar police say. Look at the bestselling authors of this century, even the last century. Semicolons are rarely, if ever, used.
I once had an editor who corrected my sentences to semicolons on almost every single page. I had to ignore them. Sometimes, I changed them, depending on the sentence or the way it was said. Sometimes it challenged me to think of a different way of saying the sentences altogether. And I finally had to write a “letter to the editor” and let them know why I chose to ignore the changes.
I read a lot. And I read a lot of bestsellers. Most authors are bestsellers for a reason, whether you like them or agree with the fad or not. So my suggestion to would-be authors is to read those best sellers, figure out what it is that makes them work, and don’t always listen to the rules! Sometimes that means disagreeing with your editor! After all, a good editor will know the grammar rules, and will try to follow them despite how you feel it makes or disrupts the story! But a good author will know when it’s time to ignore those rules.
That being said, I have to say that authors who chose to be grammatically correct, if you’re doing well, then by all means you should keep doing what you are doing! Maybe times are changing, but I haven’t seen it and I refuse to follow in those footsteps. The grammar rules of yesteryear don’t always apply to the way we read today, and neither does it mean we are stupid or disrespectful for not following them. And if I’m going to lose a reader because they don’t like my grammar, then I’ll probably gain five more because they weren’t annoyed with my grammar. And yes, I have been annoyed by reading too many semicolons. I would rather read the wrong word than too many semicolons.
If in doubt, do what the bestsellers do. Not what the grammar police tell you to do.
Happy Birthday and New Year!
It’s a new year, and my new year has started with getting my first round of edits sent to my editor so that we can stay on target with my March 17 release date. What better way to start the New Year than with a new publishing contract, right?
Because my birthday is twenty days after the New Year, I rarely start contemplating my new goals (forget resolutions!) until after my birthday. That gives me a few weeks to ease into the new year without feeling guilty. And right now, my goals are pretty much what they’ve always been: write, exercise, eat healthy, spend more quality time with family, travel more, laugh more, and continually learn something new. I’m always open to learning.
But because I am touting my author tagline as “Solving the mystery of love with romance novels”, my goal for this blog is to feature more posts about love and relationships. I believe in love, but I also believe love is work, just like anything else. Being single is work, so why not work just as hard at being married as you would if you were single? My plan is to offer my love and relationship advice on the last Tuesday of the month.
This year I will celebrate my twenty-year anniversary to the love of my life. Doesn’t mean we don’t irritate each other (at least once a week) but we do continue to enjoy each other more than we irritate each other. There’s a lot of love advice out there, and I don’t always agree with some of it, but I have plenty of my own advice I could share about love and relationships. So this year, I hope to do just that.
I have no idea what we’re going to do for our 20th year anniversary. Any ideas? I have six months to plan it, so I better start now!
I will also continue to post guest posts of authors because it’s a treat for me to help others as they bring their dreams to fruition.
My husband thinks I should share more about my writing experiences. Lord knows I have enough that could potentially help others as they trod along a path of writing and publication. So my plan is to share more of my writing and publication experiences.
Lastly, I have a full-time job that takes away from my writing career, and it’s not something I can do anything about at the moment. It’s not that I don’t love my job, but I love my writing better. Unfortunately, right now I don’t get a choice in the matter. So my job sometimes makes it difficult to write and post as often as I would like. My biggest goal this year is to make time to blog, but the writing must always come first! And, because life is too short to worry, I have to make time for myself and my family. I’m working on a schedule and hope to be better about blogging.
We’re already over two weeks into the New Year, and it’s been great so far! It’s going to be a big year in a lot of ways:
• My sister turns forty. She has recently moved and is not close by, so I need to come up with something bit (and fast) to make her day special.
• I celebrate my 20 year anniversary.
• My 2nd book is being released in March.
• I will attend RWA Nationals this year, since it’s in Texas.
• I will attend the XGames this year, since it’s in Texas (and hubby and I are huge fans).
• We wanted to start building a house, but not sure that’s going to work out. Might just do some remodeling and definitely must replace our roof!
Cheers to 2014, and Happy Birthday to Me!
In five days, I’ll be celebrating my birthday. It’s not a huge, decade birthday but it’s getting closer to that big hump that I don’t feel like I dread anymore.
Why?
Because I was diagnosed with T1 Diabetes so long ago, I am grateful every morning for waking up with my health still intact. And yes, a lot of my health is because I mostly eat right, exercise regularly, and practice positive thinking.
I don’t think I’d get near as far as I have in life without my positive thinking.
I don’t dwell on what could have or should have happened. I look forward and don’t think about what might go wrong. I do what I can to take care of myself and get so mad when others who haven’t been diagnosed with a horrible disease take life for such granted.
My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and I’ve been researching ways to help him overcome without having to resort to insulin shots. So much good information out there! Who would have thought it would be that easy to check a cat’s blood sugar? Of course, he loves whatever attention he can get, so he doesn’t mind a little bit more. But it’s been a challenge for sure!
I’ve been working on some goals for the upcoming year, and some goals for this blog that I plan to share very soon, as soon as I get my first round of edits complete and submitted to my editor! Lots going on with that, and many early mornings and late nights before work to get that round complete. Two nights left, so we’re down to the end of the wire! I have lots of things I can discuss and entertain blog readers with, but just don’t have time to do it with my busy lifestyle! I hope to make the time very soon.
It’s Hump Day, and I get to enjoy a holiday and a day off for my birthday in 5 days. I will also have my first round of edits sent off and will be able to relax and enjoy a (hopefully) sunny birthday. So how should I celebrate? Comment to win a digital copy of my first book, Burn on the Western Slope! And if you’ve already read it, I have more surprises in store soon!
Kayelle Allen, Science Fiction Romance Author
Fate of Hearts, Fate of Worlds
In Tales of the Chosen, the new gay SciFi romance trilogy by Kayelle Allen, when the fate of hearts rivals the fate of worlds, victory costs everything. Exiled for their bloodthirsty ways, the Sempervians have set out to overthrow humanity’s rule. Unknown to them, one spy is among them to keep watch, and protect mankind. In the Tales of the Chosen trilogy, we meet him.
What are the Chosen? The CHOSEN protect the immortal Sempervians and are:
Called to serve
Honored to protect
Obedient to the vow
Safeguards of the truth
Enablers of life
Neutralizers of threats
Wulf
Wulf http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HRKLUP0
Superstar Wulf Gabriel must depend on the one man he swore he would never trust again. The most powerful and feared man in the empire – the Harbinger. Lust. Power. Forgiveness. A Chosen loves forever.
Excerpt http://www.kayelleallen.com/exc-wulf.html
Alitus
Alitus http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSO0BA0
The empress asks her trusted spymaster, Alitus, to discover if a friend’s lover is having an affair. The truth could alter age-old alliances and rock the empire to its core. Passion. Submission. Loyalty. A Chosen bares his heart forever.
Excerpt http://www.kayelleallen.com/exc-alitus.html
Jawk
Jawk http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSO0DIU
When immortal Luc Saint-Cyr arranges a ménage with Wulf and Jawk, he gets far more than he bargained for. Pleasure. Trust. Possession. A Chosen’s betrayal is forever.
Excerpt http://www.kayelleallen.com/exc-jawk.html
Want to know more about the immortals? Download this free illustrated pdf handout with info on their background, and the symbols that represent them. http://is.gd/secretsocieties
Invite the Chosen onto your Facebook timeline. View the image and learn more about them here. http://is.gd/fbchosen
Sign up for the Romance Lives Forever newsletter. You can download free chapters and other goodies. http://eepurl.com/G3YND
Kayelle Allen, Science Fiction Romance Author
Homeworld http://kayelleallen.com
Unstoppable Heroes Blog http://kayelleallen.com/blog
Newsletter http://www.kayelleallen.com/contact.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/kayelleallen
Facebook http://facebook.com/kayelleallen.author
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kayelleallen/
Newsletter http://kayelleallen.com/contact.html
The Latecomers Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan
Welcome to today’s guest tour, featuring The Latecomer’s Fan Club, by Diane V. Mulligan!
Diane will be awarding a $25 Gift Card to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or iTunes, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour! Be sure to click on the banner to follow the tour, and comment on each tour stop. The more you comment, the better your chance of winning!
Blurb:
What is it about guys with guitars in their hands that makes them so irresistible, even when they are obviously self-centered jerks? If Abby and Maggie could answer that question, maybe they could finally get over Nathaniel. There’s just something about him when he picks up his guitar and gets behind the microphone, something that makes sensible women act like teeny-boppers instead of rational, self-respecting adults.
Abby was first sucked in by Nathaniel’s rock ’n roll swagger four years ago when a drunken fling turned into a series of drunken hook-ups that became something like a relationship. Now, as New Year’s Eve promises a fresh start, she wants to believe he’s finally going to grow up and take their relationship seriously.
What does Nathaniel hope the new year will bring? An escape from the disappointing realities of his life. He’s thirty-four years old and he’s barely making ends meet as an adjunct philosophy professor, which was always only a back up plan anyway. Nathaniel’s real goal was always to make his living as a musician, but his band, The Latecomers, broke up a couple of years ago, and he hasn’t picked up his guitar in months. When he decides to spend the holiday with some high school friends instead of hanging out at the bar where Abby works, he gets the happy surprise of reuniting with his long-lost friend Maggie. Newly divorced, Maggie has just moved back to her mother’s house to regroup.
Nathaniel and Maggie were supposed to be the ones who left Worcester forever to conquer the world. He was going to be a rock star. She was going to take the world of art by storm. He’s never gotten farther than Boston, and her best effots only left her broke and heartbroken. As they ring in the New Year together, Nathaniel decides it’s time to take control of his life and to start making his dreams come true. He thinks the first step will be easy. All he needs to do is break up with Abby and finally admit his feelings for Maggie. But the new year has more surprises in store, and nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
Excerpt:
People seem to believe—and Maggie herself once thought—that divorce was the result of some cataclysmic event, that a marriage in trouble reached its end like a pot boiling over. But her experience taught her otherwise. It was more like a pot set on a burner to simmer and then forgotten until the contents evaporated and all that was left was a blackened pot. No one ever told you that an argument over how to load the dishwasher could be the end of your marriage. And, Maggie wondered, in cases like hers—the slow simmer and burn of her six years of marriage—how do two reasonable, responsible adults who are clearly incompatible in fundamental ways make the decision to get married in the first place? How in the world had she and Andrew ever thought marriage was a good idea? One night shortly after she filed for divorce, Maggie had called her mother and asked her that very question.
“You married him because you were in love,” her mother had said, but that wasn’t it at all and Maggie knew it. She had never been in love with Andrew. She had been attracted to him. She had been attracted to the lifestyle he could provide for her. But she hadn’t been in love. No, she believed that romantic love was a myth, a fairytale, a childish notion, and she had told herself to be practical. What everyone wants is companionship and financial security, and Andrew could provide those things. She thought Andrew was similarly pragmatic. They were not the sort of couple who said “I love you” a dozen times a day.
And even now, even though it hadn’t worked out, Maggie didn’t think the failure of their marriage was due to a lack of love. She thought she could survive that if other parts of it were okay, but Andrew hadn’t been the companion Maggie needed, nor had she been what he needed. How do you explain any of that at a New Year’s party to someone you haven’t spoken to in fifteen years? How do you explain that you wept in front of the TV during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton because you couldn’t warn her that she was making a terrible mistake, that she wasn’t going to have a fairytale life as a princess, that the only life she was going to have was the one he said she could have from now on?
When pressed by someone to give a more specific answer, Maggie always chose the shortest version of the story: he wanted children, she didn’t.
Diane Vanaskie Mulligan began writing her first novel, Watch Me Disappear, during an after-school writing club she moderates for high school students. She published it in August 2012. It was a 2013 Kindle Book Review Best Indie Book Award Finalist in the YA category. Her second novel, The Latecomers Fan Club, will be released in November 2013.
Diane holds a BA in American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and a Master’s degree in teaching from Simmons College. When she isn’t teaching or writing, she’s the managing editor at The Worcester Review and the director of The Betty Curtis Worcester County Young Writers’ Conference You can also find her occasionally strumming her guitar and singing at various bars in central Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband.
LINKS:
http://www.dvmulligan.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Latecomers-Club-Diane-Mulligan/dp/1492221996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383078097&sr=8-1&keywords=the+latecomers+fan+club
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-latecomers-fan-club-diane-v-mulligan/1116995396?ean=2940045290449
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360992
https://twitter.com/Mulligan_writes