First Kiss Wednesday!

Sorry for the late start to today's First Kiss Wednesday, folks. I admit to too much reveling last night. The First Kiss Wednesday is up and running now. ~ Rose
 
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...  ;-)

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!

Author Interview: W.M. Kirkland

Exquisite Quills Welcomes W.M. Kirkland

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

W.M.: I currently live in the Midwest with my partner. I love to combine my interests in science fiction, fantasy, and research with writing erotic romance featuring gay male characters.

EQ: What are your top three guilty pleasures?
W.M.: Ice cream, Bad science fiction movies, Cheesy sports films like Bring It On.

EQ: Describe how you create characters.

W.M.: I usually have characters come to me and say “write my story.” Generally there’s something about them. For example, in Reenacting, Micah’s character came fully formed and I knew the challenges he’d face with Dixon. While writing the novel, Jaime, a supporting character, started telling me about his past relationship, and Country Fried Love came to life.

EQ: Describe how you came up with the plot of your novel.

W.M.: The characters pretty much tell me where to go and what to do. One of the joys of having fully realized characters is that they are pretty independent. I quit using outlines a long time ago because the characters usually blew them up anyway.

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

W.M.: Country Fried Love is the sequel to Reenacting, though each novel stands alone. In it, Jaime goes to Iowa for his best friend Micah’s wedding (since Missouri, where Reenacting is set, doesn’t recognize gay marriage). He finds that his past lover, who he left for being too closeted, is now a drag star at a local club. This has Jaime reexamining his life and goals, and when he’s offered an opportunity he’s always wanted, he needs to choose between the bright lights and big city of his work in Denver or deciding on the country life.

Find out more about W.M. Kirkland:

Website: http://www.wmkirkland.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wmkirkland

Country Fried Love: http://www.loose-id.com/country-fried-love.html

Reenacting: http://www.loose-id.com/reenacting.html

Enjoy these titles by W.M. Kirkland:

Reenacting

Country Fried Love (Loose Id)

Super Hero Surprise (MLR)

A Man’s Sword (Dreamspinner)

The Genesis of a Book - Matrix Crystal Hunters and Matrix Crystal Christmas by Janice Seagraves

The Artist in Me

By Janice Seagraves

I’ve been an artist since I could hold a crayon. I majored in art in HS and in college. It’s only been within the last twelve years that I’ve turned to painting with words. My favorite media is pen and ink. I can spend literally hours creating my drawings, or writing, and not realize how much time has passed. I can’t say for sure which one I love the most, drawing or writing, and it’s very rare when I can combine both of my creative sides.

I’m delighted to report that in both Matrix Crystal Hunters and Matrix Crystal Christmas, I did just that.

 

In Matrix Crystal Hunters on the title pages is a collection of crystals, one of which represents the matrix crystal that Maya and Vach are hunting for. I was lucky to find exactly what I wanted in a photo I bought from fotolia.  I took my time with the drawing and still made the release date.

 

 

Matrix Crystal Christmas has two of my pen and inks drawings, which I combined into one drawing on the inside title page and then separated them on the title page of both stories. One was of a crystal flower, which in reality was from a photo I took of a glass flower my husband gave me.

The second drawing is of a clear crystal necklace that I had given my daughter, which represents the purity of a mother’s love.  Both stories are about a husband and wife’s love for each other and for their children.

 

I spend hours on the flower, but the crystal pendent was easiest to draw with it simple lines. While I wrote, revised, then edited the stories with an editor, I had envisioned how the drawings would look. I’m very pleased with how both the stories and the pen and ink artwork turned out.

Blurb

Matrix Crystal Hunter blurb: Team Alpha Three’s spaceship is out of power after fighting a wormhole, and parking on the primitive world of Zenevieva. With half the team sick from radiation poisoning, the team commander entrusts geologist, Maya Gladstone, to find enough matrix crystals to power up their spacecraft, so they can go home to Earth.

Vach Namaste of the powerful Clan Namaste, a native of the planet, has desired the lovely Maya since she stepped off the spaceship on that astonishing day a year ago. He’s hounded her every step since. As Hymeneal Night approaches, he makes plans to take her as his bride… willing or not.

Janice Seagraves bio

 

Janice Seagraves grew up with a deep love of science fiction and adventure stories. Always the consummate artist, she traded in her paint brush for a laptop to write breathless life-affirming novels that celebrate enduring love.

US, Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJ10W26

UK, Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matrix-Crystal-Hunters-ebook/dp/B00FJ10W26/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1380662336&sr=1-3

US, Trade paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Hunters-Janice-Seagraves/dp/1492709751/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

UK, Trade paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Matrix-Crystal-Hunters-Janice-Seagraves/dp/1492709751/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_1_KKW6

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Matrix Crystal Christmas is made up of two short stories (one erotic and one sweet). I wrote this collection for the fans of my novel, Matrix Crystal Hunters, who wanted to know what happened next.

In Crystal Flower Christmas: Vach and Maya are on a mission to undam the Laonooco River for the drought stricken region. As heartache fractures their marriage, will the gift of a crystal flower mend their relationship or break it beyond repair?

In Crystal Clear Christmas: Plague has struck the village of Zama and the citizens blame the only human left on Zenevieva, Maya. Will Vach make the ultimate sacrifice to save his wife?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

US Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Christmas-Janice-Seagraves-ebook/dp/B00GJCNBAY

UK Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Matrix-Crystal-Christmas-Janice-Seagraves-ebook/dp/B00GJCNBAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387445601&sr=8-1&keywords=matrix+crystal+christmas

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

You can find more of Janice Seagraves’s books and free reads on her website: http://janiceseagraves.org/



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...  ;-)

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!

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