Meet the Exquisite Quill Authors


Saturday, December 21, 2013

EQ Welcomes Draven St. James



Exquisite Quills Blog Welcomes Draven St. James!

EQ: Welcome to EQ! Tell us a little bit about yourself?

Draven: I'm a northwest native and use that location for most of my books. I'm part of a huge and very supportive family. All of them read my books, although some of them are still shocked by the steamy scenes, which results in a great deal of embarrassing questions! Prior to diving headfirst into the amazing world of publication I worked doing psychological profiling. It's actually helped a lot in forming characters! I love to write and I have a long term relationship with coffee due to this love of writing.

EQ: What made you want to become a writer?

Draven: I've always been a bit of a people watcher. So, at a young age I would concoct stories about where people where going and where they had been. I never really considered doing it beyond having fun until high school when I gave a story to my lit teacher. He told me that not sharing my writing would be a waste. It still took a great many years for me to shore up the courage to submit my stories. A good shove from a dear friend who told me that he had faith that this was something I could excel at. It's amazing what just one person having absolute faith in you can lead you to do.

EQ: Pick out one of the best lines in your novel. What do you love about it?

Draven: "Messy Sex is great sex" a line from Grey's Hidden Fire. I love it for two reasons. The first, I think this statement holds true. A good sex scene shouldn't have both characters perfectly clean and perfect after making love. Passion isn't organized and neat. The second, I think it can be applied to life. My life is far from normal. I'd even call it a little messy, but the chaos of it all make every day a unique experience.

EQ: What are your top three guilty pleasures?

Draven: I know it may not seem like a guilty pleasure, but coffee. I drink it all day long. I look forward to that first sweet, slightly bitter, warm sip in the morning as soon as I open my eyes. Documentories about the bizarre and odd things that occur in the world. Lastly, Facebook. Yes, I spend way too much time reading up on my fellow writers and being happily scandalized by photos that are posted (I post quite a few my own).

EQ: Tell us a little bit about your most recent release.

Draven: My most recent release is Fire and Mistletoe, which is the second book in the Firehouse Six series. It is a continuation of Mica and Grey's story, from Grey's Hidden Fire. I had so many readers wanting more of the firefighters that I couldn't resist writing another book and introducing more unique characters. A brief blurb of Fire and Mistletoe: Mica is finding it difficult to plan a nice holiday with Grey. Why? Grey can't seem to be anything but naughty. Mica may have to change his tactics and he'll succeed no matter how naked he has to get!

Titles by Draven St. James:

Fire and Mistletoe (Release date: December 24th)
Scent of a Wolf
Grey's Hidden Fire

Where to find Draven St. James:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/draven.stjames
Blog: www.dravenstjames.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DravenStJames
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/dravenstjames
Email: Dravenstjames@gmail.com

Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Genesis of a Book - A Sandcastle Christmas by J.D. Faver



A SANDCASTLE CHRISTMAS is FREE on
December 19th so download it right here:

My Inspiration for A Sandcastle Christmas
 
My inspiration for this series sprang out of the very first novel, BAD MEDICINE. Readers fell in love with my hero, Rafael, which was gratifying, since I adore him too. I immediately received requests…no, demands…that I write about Zach, the very nice ‘other’ guy. So I wrote BAD KARMA, which has not one, but 2 romances and a healthy dose of suspense with a stalker and a hurricane. By then, I was totally caught up with all the characters and with this setting (a real place where I often used to sail), so I threw them into more trouble in BAD VIBES, with human traffickers and a hot new federal agent to keep Darla on her toes.

A SANDCASTLE CHRISTMAS is set on the semi-tropical south Texas coast, where you can enjoy a temperate climate. No dashing through the snow at South Padre Island. No building a snowman in Port Isabel. But there is a chill in the air when the wind blasts off the bay. The shrimpers and fishermen have pulled into port until the weather is warmer. But murder doesn’t take a holiday, so the sheriff and his gang continue to keep the peace and bring evil-doers to justice, while trying to have a joyful holiday with the ones they love. Lots of fun as all the characters sort out the holiday tension and family friction. BTW: Germaine gets a new girlfriend and Rafael and Chloe find an abandoned infant. In the spirit of the holiday, I only killed 4 people. Merry Christmas…Ho Ho Ho…

BLURB

A SANDCASTLE CHRISTMAS-Christmas Mainstream-Romantic Suspense; 110k 

Come see who’s stirring up Christmas trouble and raising the temperature on the coast. 

‘Tis the season, but mayhem doesn't stop on the Texas Gulf coast...even for Christmas. When the sheriff finds an infant abandoned in the manger scene at church, it sets off a string of events including murder, a stalker, a lot of seasonal tension and heartwarming happenings for the gang. 

Join Chloe and Rafael, Darla and Mike, Cassie and Javier and Sky and Zach for a big bundle of chaos, suspense, passion and delight as they prepare for the holidays and try to sort out the mysteries. 

THE EDGE OF TEXAS Series: 
• Book 1-BAD MEDICINE 
• Book 2-BAD KARMA 
• Book 3-BAD VIBES 
• Book 4-BAD DREAMS 
• Book 5-A SANDCASTLE CHRISTMAS 

Grab your copy and snuggle up in front of the fireplace for a good winter's read...

MY LINKS

Here is the link to the FREE download of A SANDCASTLE CHRISTMAS on December 19: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWRQ95K

A link to my website: http://www.jdfaver.com/



Please ‘like’ my Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/JDFaver

Please follow me on Twitter: @JDFaver_Author


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

First Kiss Wednesday


Kisses are the mainstay of romance writing.  No matter how sweet or spicy our stories are, they usually involve at least a kiss or two.  And the first kiss is especially lovely - that first, soft touch of lips - or perhaps the kiss is fierce and hungry.  Maybe the characters murmur words of love or words of teasing while discovering the texture and taste of each other.  Maybe the only sounds they can emit are gentle, timorous moans or deep, throaty groans.
 
Okay, now that we've set the premise, here's what you can do for First Kiss Wednesdays.  In the comment box, give us a maximum of 300 words of the first kiss of a published work or a work-in-progress and one link to your website or blog or Amazon Author Page. 
 
Read and luxuriate in the glories of the first kiss...

Oh, and lips only...  ;-)

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday






One of the finest aspects of fiction writing is the ability to set the scene.  Characters act and react, but they don't do so in a vacuum.  In their world, they meet, fall in love, solve problems, sometimes horrendous problems.  Maybe it's a small town, maybe the big city, the green, humid jungle, dust-dry desert, a mountainous region.  On the sea.  Under the sea.  In space! 

Setting the scene is also done by using character dialogue to paint a picture of loveliness, danger, evil, trepidation, excitement, awe...

Give us six sentences that set the scene.  Set the Scene in Six Sentences - Sunday is a new opportunity on the Exquisite Quills! Blog to tout your talent.  How have you set the scene in your books?  How have you put the reader into the life of your characters?

Every Sunday, the blog will be open to six-sentence scene-setting.  Just post your six sentences, your name, and one link in the comment box.  We can't wait to read you!

Pass the word!  Open to all!