Ugly Truth or Beautiful Lies?
Talking about abuse and physical violence is such a complex and painful subject for many women that one should approach it very carefully. In my new medical romance, Rx FOR TRUST, I kept the physical violence in the back story and mentioned it sparingly.
My heroine doesn’t want to remember the past, doesn’t want to talk about it and carefully hide it from her daughter and from the man she loves. As a successful psychiatrist, she treats abused patients and projects the appearance of a strong woman and dedicated doctor. Yet, because of her inner fears, she refuses to face her past experience and deal with her problem. Olivia is so terrified about the past catching up to destroy her daughter’s peace of mind, that one little lie leads to another, and another,… until the past catches up with her.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott.
Rx For Trust is the first book in the Doctor’s Order series and will be released in three days, on December 4, 2009, by The Wild Rose Press.
Contest Awards: First Place in Central Ohio Ignite the Flame; Second Place in Heart of Denver, The Molly; Third Place in FTHRW Golden Gateway.
Short Synopsis: Olivia Crane is a psychiatrist at Cincinnati University Hospital and a woman with a troubled past and secrets by the bucket-load. Dr. Luc George, the French psychiatrist, she loved ten years ago, detests secrets. All hell breaks loose when Luc strolls into her office, with a confident smile and a perceptive eye, determined to rekindle their relationship and threatening to unravel the secrets of her thorny past. Can Luc win Olivia’s trust and love before her inner fears destroy their second chance at happiness?
By the way, I should mention that far from being a dark novel, Rx FOR TRUST is a sweet and spicy story that will make you smile, laugh and cry—the story of two psychiatrists with conflicting theories on how to treat their patients and tame their own emotions.
Here is a fun excerpt from Rx FOR TRUST.
Excerpt:
Olivia loved her mother to death, but at the moment she wanted to scream her frustration at her beaming Mama. It was obvious Marianna Crane had fallen in love with Luc the moment she’d seen him, or more precisely at the very minute he bent over and kissed the back of her hand with an “Enchanté, madame.”
“I’m delighted to meet you, Luc. Please have a seat. Where have I put my glasses? Melissa, bring the tray of hors d’oeuvres from the kitchen. Olivia, can you serve the drinks? Luc, what can I get you?”
Mama bustled with energy, the way she always did before starting a new project. Seeing her fussing around Luc, Olivia was afraid to guess the name of the new project—her mother’s ongoing goal.
But Olivia was too tired to protest or interfere. Two hours ago, when she’d voiced her panic at the possibility of losing Melissa’s love, Luc had cut short their session. He’d told her she needed to relax now that she’d exteriorized her real fear. They’d continue next week. Olivia had been so exhausted, she’d let Luc drive them in her van.
“May I help with the drinks?” Luc offered.
“Of course. Make yourself at home,” Mama purred.
Dropping onto one of the overstuffed chairs of the old-fashioned living room, Olivia rested a moment. She liked coming home to her mother’s. The warm aroma of potpourri soothed her rattled nerves. Tonight, the garlic and nutmeg smell of Mama’s masterpiece roast emanated from the kitchen. Her mother had sharpened her tools to conquer their guest.
Olivia recognized the symptoms. Good dinner, good drinks, good stories. Luc wasn’t going to leave unscathed tonight, not when her mother wanted Luc’s heart for her daughter.
Mama turned toward her. Eyes narrowed, she signaled to Olivia to follow her into the office. “I need you for a second,” Marianna ordered with a you-failed-big-time look.
Olivia braced herself for the worst.
As soon as they stepped into the office, Mama closed the glass double doors behind her, spun around to face Olivia and pointed to the door. “This Luc, is he the French boy you dated when you were in med school?”
Mama’s scowl promised her lecture was going to be worse than Olivia had expected.
“The one you never wanted to bring home to meet your mama and dad?” Marianna propped her fists on her hips.
Olivia took a deep breath and exhaled. “Yes.” It would be a long discussion, all right.
“And you sent him packing? And you let us believe he was no good? Olivia, are you crazy or what?” Marianna snatched a chocolate from a crystal bowl and popped it into her mouth.
“Mom!” Olivia scowled and took a step toward the door.
“Oh no. I have to tell you what I think. Madonna mia, you are a great doctor, but as a smart woman…phht.” Her mother cut the air with her hand. “Any uneducated Italian girl would know that when she meets such a handsome, nice, good-mannered…” Her mother paused for a second to catch her breath and launched again. “Intelligent, famous, wealthy…” She stopped, at a loss for adjectives, and glanced toward the living room for more inspiration.
“Mom, I get your point.”
“I’m not finished. He came back. Now you have a second chance. Don’t lose it, girl. For once, listen to your mother and keep him. You understand, Olivia?” Mama threw another chocolate into her mouth and chewed on it and then clucked her tongue.
“I understand, Mama. But you have it wrong. I don’t think Luc wants to get married, and I’m not ready. I need to see Melissa settled first.“
Her mother flung her hands in the air. “Santa Maria, help me. Not ready? At thirty-five? You want to wait until you’re fifty? And sixty pounds overweight like me? Since when does the daughter marry before her mother?”
“I didn’t say Melissa should marry. Just be out of college with a good degree and settled in her career.” She smiled gently at her mother, trying to pacify her. “Besides, you know my case is special.”
“Special. Why?” Mama shook her head and slapped her thigh. “Olivia Maria Crane, do you think you’re the only girl who went through a lousy experience? It happens to many girls, but they move on. My father beat my mother every time he drank. During those days in Napoli, a woman couldn’t survive without a husband. My mama stayed with him, but I left home, came to America and met your dad. He certainly didn’t want to get married after the sad accident. I was pretty at the time. I made him change his mind.” Mama reached for another chocolate.
Olivia chuckled. “You’re still pretty, Mama. If you can only stop gorging on chocolate, you’ll be healthy too. I’m afraid about Melissa learning—”
“So what if she learns her father’s a rotten ass? She’ll hate him. Big deal. She’ll love you more for protecting her.” Her mother stood on tiptoe to pat her cheek. “Bambina, it’s a great time you think about yourself for a change. Grab him without hesitation.” She tugged at Olivia’s hand and walked toward the door. “I’ll be watching you tonight. I’ll keep Melissa out of the way, and I want to see some action.”
The book is based on the true story of a friend paralyzed by fear for most of her life. To protect her child, the abused woman distorted the truth and buried it as deep as possible. With great effort, she managed to build a successful career for herself and sacrificed love and marriage to create a happy family atmosphere for her child. Life is good in spite—or maybe because—of the few lies that embellish the painful past and ugly truth.
Here is a contest.
1- Was Olivia wrong to hide the truth from the man she loved?
2- Should Olivia tell her daughter the truth about her father?
3- Do you think the abusive father has the right to be informed of his daughter’s existence?
Answer as many questions as you want in your comments for the chance to win an autographed copy of Rx FOR TRUST.
Thank you, RJ, for inviting me to present my new book Rx FOR TRUST and to expose the emotional problems created by domestic violence and their lingering effects years after the actual abuse has stopped.
Mona Risk writes romantic suspense for Cerridwen Press: 
And medical romance in the genre of ER and Grey’s Anatomy for The Wild Rose Press: 
BABIES IN THE BARGAIN that received a 5-ribbon review at Romance Junkies
and Rx FOR TRUST
All books are available at Amazon.com
Really Different People*
My mother passed away earlier this summer, and over the last couple of months, as my brothers and I sorted through her collection of photographs, old letters and the like, we cried and laughed as we remembered why she’d chosen to keep one item or another close to her. Clearing out her small bookcase was one of the latter times, sparsely filled as it was with a neat stack of coffee table books on travel, gardens, and dogs, a dozen well-read women’s fiction paperbacks, plus one nearly untouched copy of Undercover Alien by me, her daughter.
Her favorite book of all time was The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher. I know this not merely because it was on her “keeper” shelf, but because I, personally, have bought three copies for her over the last twenty years, to replace those which had been borrowed and not returned, or simply fallen apart. I mention this only because I know, though she never, ever, told me, that she secretly hoped her writer-daughter would one day be the author of something akin to Ms. Pilcher’s work.
About six months after I presented her with one of the first copies of Undercover Alien, she finally confessed that she hadn’t read very much of it. Now my mother rarely read romance and never read science-fiction, so I reassured her that I’d never expected her to read it at all and had only given it to her for the anticipated (and demanded) maternal bragging rights. But nevertheless, she felt she needed to justify her position by asking me why, instead of writing about real people like Ms. Pilcher, had I decided to write about aliens? Now my automatic response of “why not?” was out of the question – this was my mother, after all, and that dodge didn’t work forty years ago, either. I admit I’m not sure what I said at the time – but her question came back to me as I held her copy of my first published book and decided what to do with it.
Why do some of us choose aliens as our protagonists? When I was small, I dreamed of having super powers – the Good Witch Glinda variety rather than Superwoman, because, I confess, I was only five and liked the dress. I also had the traditional pre-teen fantasy that I had been left with my current family by fantastically intelligent extraterrestrials who were my real parents and would be coming back for me soon, because I couldn’t possibly be descended from these people. (I made the mistake of telling my mother about that one and she offered to help me pack for the trip – she really could call a bluff). The movie Starman came out in my romantic and impressionable twenties and I fell in love all over again with the idea of a being who understands more than we humans, and yet can see the wonders of our world we’ve stopped seeing ourselves. Then later, when the hero’s mentor in my very first finished book, a historical-time travel-western-Native American-psychic romance with way too many plot twists, turned out not to be human in the final chapter, I threw the nine-hundred plus pages into a box under the bed and decided extraterrestrials were the way to go. Looking through the eyes of an alien character frees me from the constraints of human behavior and expectations, while still allowing me to write about the things I think any intelligent species would want – acceptance, respect, friendship, and love.
There are scores of articles about the current fascination with aliens and UFOs, from those who think we’re simply the victims of mass hysteria to those who truly believe we’re not alone. Me, I don’t know – I’ve never met an alien or seen a UFO, but I’m keeping an open mind. When, or if, I do, maybe they’ll be unrecognizable and scary, or maybe they’ll be like me in some fundamental way – just another really different person.
Thanks, Romance Junkies, for letting me ramble, and if anyone has an answer to why we write, or read, alien romances, I’d love to hear from you. I’m sure my mom now knows why better than I do, but I may be asked the question again in a less forgiving setting and I probably should have an answer that doesn’t include references to the Good Witch Glinda.
~Barbara Romo
For more stuff on me, I can be found at www.barbararomo.com. Gideon, my alien from Undercover Alien, rambles on his own subjects whenever I get a chance to type them at www.acuriousalien.blogspot.com. And Undercover Alien can be found with the wonderful people at www.CrescentMoonPress.com.
*Quote borrowed from Orson Scott Card, author of a fabulous craft of writing book called Characters & Viewpoint, as well as lots and lots of SF and other stories.
Tracey O’Hara – Authors On Air
NIGHT’S COLD KISS on Blog Talk Radio
Tracey O’Hara’s debut urban fantasy introduces Antoinette Petrescu, a vampire hunter who seeks vengeance after witnessing the murder of her mother. Vampire fans are sure to love this dark, sexy debut, the first in a series.
Nalini Singh, NYT bestselling author, raves “NIGHT’S COLD KISS is a superb debut. Tracey O’Hara writes in a voice full of passion and power–I’m already waiting impatiently for the next book from this talented author.”
Tune into Romance Radio this Thursday (tomorrow!), 5 pm ET to listen live and ask Tracy questions via chat or call in (347) 826-9686.
How I Became a Romance Junkie by Hannah Murray
My best friend Christine Warren and I have an ongoing feud. Well, it’s not really a feud so much as an incredible amount of bitterness on her part. She’s absurdly jealous because the first romance novel I ever read was Diamond Bay by Linda Howard. The reason this makes her so angry is that she wishes she’d begun her lifelong affair with romance novels in a similar fashion – see, we both love The Howard. That’s what we call her – The Howard. Like, The President or The Beatles – she’s that important.
Why am I talking about my long and very embarrassing fan crush on Linda Howard? Because it all started with her.
I am a romance junkie, and have been ever since I picked up that dog eared copy of Diamond Bay from my neighbor’s stack of to-be-returned library books. I spent my weekly allowance on them, went through the meager collection at my local library within months, and scoured garage sales. Since I was all of twelve when this (minor) obsession began, my mother was less than thrilled. To her credit, she did not outright forbid me to read them, but rather asked me to reach for something slightly more age appropriate. When I asked her what she had in mind, she said, “What about Judy Blume? How about those kinds of books?” Sure, no problem. So I brought home Forever and Wifey, and she threw up her hands and told me to read whatever I liked.
I read everything I could get my hands on, but the books I liked best, the ones I remember years after reading them, are the ones that made me feel…something. Whether it made me laugh or cry, made me happy or made me sad, I just wanted to feel. There was a Silhouette Special Edition called One Lavender Evening by Karen Keast that is so achingly beautiful that even today, twenty years and countless re-reads later, it makes my chest tight and my eyes well up. Julie Garwood’s The Secret still make me laugh, and my heart pounds like mad even though I know what’s going to happen. And Diamond Bay by Linda Howard..that book made me feel everything, and to this day holds a place of honor on my bookshelf.
I didn’t become a romance junkie just because I love romance – I became one because these women, and scores more, are good writers. They tell stories of passion and betrayal, family ties and deep friendships, relationships that are real and bold and keep me on the edge of my seat.
Which brings me full circle, because all those things are also why I became a romance writer. Women like Linda and Judy and Karen, they inspire me every day to tell good stories. I only hope I can live up to their example.
~Hannah
Hannah Murray writes contemporary and erotic romance, often with a kinky edge and always with humor. Check out website for excerpts, “Behind the Book” tidbits, and a July contest! www.hannahmurray.net. Her latest story, The Boy Next Door, can be found in Secrets 27 Untamed Pleasures, available now from Red Sage Publishing.
The Boy Next Door – Isabella Carelli isn’t just looking for Mr. Right, she’s looking for Mr. Tie Me Up And Do Me Right. In all the wrong places. Fortunately, the right place is right next door. And the boy next door is just about ready to make his move…
Excerpt
“I really love my life,” Jacob drawled.
“Mine’s starting to look pretty good,” Isa said, her voice muffled by the comforter.
“Darlin’, you should see it from this angle,” he drawled, and sat back to admire his handiwork.
The tableau before him was straight out of his fantasies, the ones that had started the day Isa moved in next door to him. She was on her knees, her ankles tied to the bottom corners of the bed. He’d lashed her wrists together and then pulled them under her body and between her spread feet, tying the rope off on the footboard. The position held her shoulders pressed to the mattress and her ass in the air, and he couldn’t resist running a hand over the curve of her hip.
“Um… it’s not that I don’t appreciate the ingenuity,” Isa said, turning her face to the side and peering up at him from behind a curtain of hair. “But I’m feeling kind of exposed here.”
“I know.” He slid his hand around to her other hip. “I like looking at you like this, all spread out and helpless.”
She made a soft, purring sound at that. “Well, when you put it that way, I like it too. But it does beg the question.”
He was busy testing the firmness of her ass by gently squeezing and releasing the rounded cheeks. They were very firm. “What question is that?”
“Are you going to look all day, or fuck me?”
The question startled a laugh out of him. “Why Isabella, such language! What would your mother say?”
He saw her wince behind her hair. “Dude, are you trying to kill the mood? Don’t mention my mother.”
He was still chuckling. “Right. Good idea. But I can’t let that kind of language slide. It’s rude.”
She snorted. “Rude. Right. I’ve got my ass so high in the air it’s getting altitude sickness, and the word ‘fuck’ is just too crude.”
“That’s a dirty mouth you’ve got, darlin’. Maybe we should do something about that.”
She snorted again. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Like this,” he said, and brought his hand down on the curve of her ass with a crack.
Isa yelped. “Hey! Who said you could do that?”
“You did.” He ran his hand over the bloom of red his hand had left on her cheek. “Don’t you remember? A little bondage, may be a slap on the ass here or there.”
Isa’s voice was thick with suppressed laughter. “I don’t think that qualifies as a negotiation, pal. I was drunk!”
“That’s true,” he allowed. “Strictly speaking, you didn’t give your consent to a spanking. But since you’re here…” he slapped the other cheek.
She was giggling openly now, her body shaking with it. He hid his own grin and put on his best big bad man voice. “You’re laughing? This is funny?”
“Well, it does kind of tickle.”
“Tickle?”
She laughed again, the sound bursting out of her at the outrage in his voice.
“Tickle?” he said again. “I’ll show you tickle, woman!” He dug his fingers into her ribs, moving with her as she squealed and wriggled to get away. “Ah ha! Not so funny now, is it?”
She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, her entire body moving and flexing against the ropes as she tried to evade his dancing fingers. “You asshole!” she managed to get out between gasps for air.
“Asshole? There’s that mouth again,” he rumbled and smacked her upturned ass, a little harder this time.
“Ah!” she gasped, her head coming up off the bed in shock. He rubbed his palm over her cheek, the sting from the initial blow fading into a spreading warmth. He repeated the action with the other cheek, and Isa moaned and dropped her head back to the mattress.
Character Development: On Being Human by Belinda McBride
Character Development: On Being Human by Belinda McBride
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
That’s been running around in my brain for awhile, not so much the concept of forgiveness, but the nature of being human. It’s had me a little puzzled, because frankly, the bulk of my writing revolves around people who aren’t human. I write about fallen angels and Fae, werewolves and aliens, and the few humans that make it onto my pages tend to be extraordinary in some way. Why worry about their humanity?
Years ago, I had the opportunity to meet Majel Roddenberry, the widow of Star Trek pioneer Gene Roddenberry. She was an extraordinarily sweet woman, and in a talk she gave, she shared something with us that Gene insisted on during the creation of Star Trek. It was a little piece of trivia that stuck with me and guides much of what I write even now.
Star Trek is full of people of various races, creeds, and even species. Some of the aliens are extraordinary in appearance, but Gene insisted on something in particular. No matter how outrageous the alien, it must have human eyes in order for the viewer to relate to the character.
As a writer, I paint pictures with words. My task is to draw a character that the reader can connect with. Whether the character is an alien or an angel, it’s my goal to bring out human elements such as jealousy and lust, compassion, charity and love. I strive to bring out the humanity in every character.
In reading Soul Keeper, you might not like the centaur shifter Kendra, but she’ll make you angry and frustrated at her bad behavior, just like that cheerleader you knew in high school. You might also get a peek at Kendra’s inner fears and desires. She’s not human, but oddly enough, she is. In Belle Starr, alpha were Armand de le Croix is outwardly confident and in control, but has doubts and fears that no one but the reader will share. And Annie Tanaka in Dragon’s Blood is a cop, strong and competent, but every day she rides a boat to work, fighting her phobia of the water as she does so.
Developing a character for a story is a process of taking a flat, undeveloped name and physical description, and bringing them off the page, complete with strengths, fears and quirks. There are countless methods of doing character development using charts, index cards and storyboarding. I have to confess, I’m not that organized. I just jot out notes as I write.
On occasion, I will skim photos online, looking for a physical inspiration. Other times I sit at the computer, staring at a blank page and letting the character take shape in reaction to the situation, or to their hero/heroine. As a general rule, I start a separate page and list their names, physical description, and then a list of questions about the character: What do they like to eat? What is their secret shame, their kinks, their greatest joy and their greatest fear? Their addictions? What is the worst thing you can do to that character? Those details are where you draw your conflicts from.
So in Belle Starr, the worst thing that could happen to Belle and Armand happened. She became pregnant, uncertain what sort of child her hybrid genes would produce. And Armand regained his memories, pulling him away from his lover and into the demands of his pack. Her conflict was internal, his was external.
You want your characters to have depth, to be complete, rounded humans. And like your friends and family, you will anticipate their reactions to a given situation, and on occasion, they will take you by surprise. Whether you are a plotter or a pantster, intimate knowledge of your characters will keep the story moving. You will be less likely to get stranded in the middle of the story, because even if the story stalls, the characters will want to continue forward.
Belinda McBride is a multi-published author of erotic romance. To find out more about Belinda and her books, visit www.belindamcbride.com
Now available at Loose Id: Belle Starr!
Blurb: Marshal Annabelle “Cowgirl” Oakley is the best law enforcement officer in Interstellar Coalition Enforcement. With her wolf Tucker at her side, Belle is clearly the best man for the job. Unfortunately, the job comes with hazards, and one of those hazards comes in the shape of tall, mysterious Armand.Armand de le Croix is a werewolf with amnesia. He has no idea how he came to be living in Coalition space, he doesn’t know where his people are, or why his inky black hair is now snowy white. He just knows that the tall dangerous redhead is all that he wants, and he means to have her regardless of what he must do to win.When they meet, it’s magic. When they part, it’s mayhem.http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Belle_Starr-934.aspxNow available at Changeling Press: Bad Angels: Falling
Blurb:Just what exactly happens when an angel goes bad?Stripped of his voice, his memories, and his divinity, Rion Hunter falls to Earth in a fiery blaze. After crashing into a muddy sheep pasture in
Scotland, the disgraced angel finds himself face-to-face with an unlikely rescuer: a sidhe-born farmer named Rex.
Rex finds himself rapidly falling for the beautiful angel, which can be risky when the object of your affection just might be psychotic. And if that isn’t enough, the men find that they’ve come to the attention of a ravenous succubus, who has developed an appetite for Scottish farmers.
Falling isn’t so bad… it’s the landing that hurts.
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1135
Bad Angels: Burn is a Recommended Read at Joyfully Reviewed!
Parenting or Romance? Author Angela Lam Turpin Discusses Blood Moon Rising
Blood Moon Rising is about a vampire mother who must save her dhampir son from death by finding the blood of his human father before the next full moon.
Although Blood Moon Rising is a paranormal romance, the romantic elements of the plot interest me less than the mother/son dynamic. In this age of divorce, blended families, and single-parents, the relationship between a parent and child often comes before or between a romantic interest, whether that romantic interest is a one-night stand or a marriage.
Valkyrie’s abandoned by her lover before the novel opens, but she has her son, Anthony, whom she’s had since birth. That bond between them is strong, probably a lot stronger than it would be if Valkyrie had a mate. But parenthood is not designed to hold the same tension as a romance, and eventually the friction between Anthony’s desire for independence and Valkyrie’s desire for connection threaten to tear them apart. Anthony’s illness and his need for his mother to locate his father only complicate matters, as does Valkyrie’s growing love for Bill, a human, who may or may not be Anthony’s father.
If you’ve ever struggled with maintaining a love relationship amidst parenting obligations and enjoy the paranormal, this book is for you!
Blood Moon Rising can be purchased directly from my website: www.angelalamturpin.com
or directly from the publisher, Eternal Press: www.eternalpress.ca
Leave a message below about a challenge you’ve experienced trying to combine parenting and romance. One lucky commentator will win a FREE PDF copy of Blood Moon Rising! Don’t have children and/or a love interest? Don’t worry. Leave a comment about what you love or hate most about vampires for your chance to win!
How to Say ‘No’
Continuing the topic about being assertive in a relationship here are 7 tips to disagree if you don’t like something. To become a good no-man the following advices are for you:
1. Tell your opinion even in small things!
Most relationship problems are about small stuff. Those who does not nod to everything prevent small differences grow into to big problems. In addition, it creates an atmosphere of openness if you are not hiding for yourself your small stuff. Finally, even small problems can only be solved if they are discussed.
2. Do not insist on a simple ‘no’!
If you reject something it always requires an explanation.
3. Send We and I messages!
If you won’t like to go to visit his mother because you do not understand each other well, you say it in this way: “We have a problem: your mother has done that and that what hurts me.”
4. Say definite ‘no’ if you mean it!
Use positive statements. Say what you would prefer and avoid negative sentences with “not”.
5. Keep to the truth!
And avoid excuses because if you don’t want to go to cinemas at the evening then don’t pretend that you have migraine.
6. Be objective!
The core point of a constructive dispute should be the behavior of your partner that course you problems – not the type a person he is in your opinion. General accusations as “you’re a totally dominant man and always want to define my life” lead to nothing. The more precise your statements are the better.
7. Do not get out off the topic!
If you have different opinion by money matters than your partner, do not leave it till later to discuss. If your partner dodges the topic bring him back to the essence.
