A few more changes

The Purchasing Info page is now up-to-date. It had a few books that are currently not available (took those down) and one that  wasn't listed (I'm looking at you, New York Moment!). I've tried to change the font color of two books in the text listing but that change hasn't stuck. Will keep trying on that.

I also changed the donation link on the homepage because of a post made by one of my former students. For years now, I have encouraged my readers to donate to the Red Cross because that group does such good work when emergencies strike, but have known for a while that the monetary distribution was uneven. Not that their CEO doesn't deserve competitive pay - he/she does. It's hard to attract excellent CEO's without it. Why work for the Red Cross when I can work for a corporation for a whole lot more money? It's the same problem when hiring a new Superintendent of Schools. You have to pay competitive rates or you don't get the cream of the crop applicants.

So I get that a huge chunk of their donation money goes to staff. We live in a capitalistic society and why should they be paid less to perform humanitarian aid than those who do the same jobs in hospitals around the country? The answer? They shouldn't. They are still a deserving group who needs donations in order to do their work.

But I changed to St. Jude Research Hospital anyway. Why? Because these are kids. They got stuck with a raw deal and this is an organization that makes an attempt to help. Recently I’ve been involved in the health care system of the United States and let me tell you, it’s a rabbit warren filled with Pass the Buck, self-interest (read: greed), and more gobbledygook and misinformation than I ever thought possible. Any organization that helps families through it when their minds are filled with more important things (like the fact that their child is dying) deserves my support.

Really, though, who you choose to donate to is up to you. As long as you help those in need, there are a lot of places who need your help. Feel free to post links in the comments of groups who could use a lift.

Play safe,

Diana

New design for the website

It has been a long time since this site has seen an upgrade in design. Been bored with it for a while but apparently I needed a kick in the arse and who better to give it to me but Raelene Gorlinsky. She posted a piece on her blog about the nine must-haves for every author website. Yes, I have them all, but some of them were pretty sloppy. And the last one? Time for a re-design, for sure!

You'll notice the text space is wider, as is the sidebar. Didn't know I could change those and found the menu that let me do that this time. I use a two-monitor system with my computer (really helps when comparing drafts!) and one is smaller than the other. I made sure the widths fit on both. If you find things getting cut off on your screen, let me know!

If you've been trying to access the site today, you may have noticed the header picture changing several times. My husband thought it might look nice with my signature rose up there with my name over it. Of course, that meant creating the .jpg first. Couldn't make it look good, so several configurations and .jpgs later, I decided to go back to the original. You know, the original .jpg that apparently no longer exists on my computer. Created it anew, then had to go through several MORE configurations to make it fit right. Still a little pixelated with the text, but best one so far.

Other updates:
The Purchasing Info page was missing New York Moment - added that in. Also re-arranged some but the different sizes of the covers is a pain in the patootie. Will be resizing and fixing all those today as well to clean up the layout.

Added a Google+ badge. Now those with Google accounts can more easily follow me. And widening the sidebar made the link button for Facebook easier to see as well.

I added the About Me page a while back, but widening the text box and going with a different background allowed the tabs at the top to show up better.

Let me know what you think in the comments below. Am up for suggestions!

Play safe,
Diana

Out of my comfort zone...

Strokes in the family have a way of upsetting routine. But after the dust settles, you discover the routine returns, if in a different form than before.

Because of the dust-up in the family, writing time and energy has been in short supply recently. Not one to rest on laurels, my usual routine is to finish one book, get it published, and a day or two later, start the next one. Winter Break released just before Christmas - and until last week I hadn't done more than dabble at my writing.

What changed and got me going again? A complete, total change of genre. No, really. As in, not writing novels at all. Not even writing poetry (which I have done before!).

Nope. I'm writing a play.

You heard it here first, folks! 

Many years back I wrote a short story as a challenge to myself: tell the story using only dialogue. No descriptors of any sort, nothing other than the words the characters exchange. I had a lot of fun with it and got some good feedback. Two characters only: John Adams and Hugh White, one of the soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre of 1770.

A few years later, I thought about turning that single scene into a play. I added a few characters, wrote a bit more, then set it aside as my erotic romance novels took off. It's been sitting on my computer ever since.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago. A local community theatre group holds a reading of new plays every year. The submissions come from all over the country. It's done reader's theatre style and, although some directors of the pieces do opt for a little movement, mostly it's actors on stools reading from a script on a music stand. 

But its a great opportunity for playwrights to hear the scene(s) out loud, their lines spoken by actors who may have a very different interpretation. 

Well, this year, for whatever reason, there weren't many submissions and the group debated about cancelling the readings for this year. Instead, they extended the deadline. I pulled out that old script and said, "Why not?"

There was only one problem: it sucked. Big time. Like majorly bit the big one. It was pedantic and boring...and did I say pedantic? I gave the script to my husband and he was kind in his review. "I think this might make a good play for little kids to read in their Weekly Reader."

Ouch.

But he also said he thought I was starting the story in the wrong place. History tells us John Adams took the case of the British soldiers, defending them from the charges of murder, because he felt it important that the mob mentality not have any place in the colonies. 1770 was before any real talk of independence - most were arguing for the same rights as other British citizens, rights Parliament didn't want to extend to the colonists.

We know Adams for a Patriot - a man who would not only argue for independence, but go on to be our third President. But in 1770, he was a man with a choice. Defend the British? Or let mob rule take over.

And that's the play I've started to write. I threw out most of what I had and started again, this time exploring the terrible crisis of conscience he faced. To defend the soldiers would put his own career in jeopardy. More than his career - his very life and the lives of his wife and children. But to not defend them was to descend into an anarchy he couldn't live with.

Yeah. Finished the first scene this morning and gave it to my husband. He came back ten minutes later and said, "Now you're talking!" Got half of the next scene done as well. Because I'm researching as I go (just ordered what I hope will be a great book on manners of the 18th and 19th century), the writing is slow...but it is progressing.

So my word count for the day was 1476 words - on a play. Wish me luck!

Play safe,

Diana

PS. I also just read Finding Fraser, a delightful book by kc dyer. A chick-lit book set in the present day about a woman who chucks it all to travel to Scotland and find her own Jamie Fraser. :)

Newsletter sign-ups

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For a look at what you're missing, click here - and then sign up! :)

Play safe,
Diana

Snow stories

Having grown up in Rochester, NY and watched the Snow Bowl between my hometown, Syracuse and Buffalo each year (which city could take the title as "Snowiest City"), it's been with some amusement that I've watched Snowstorm Jonas take over the news.

Please don't misunderstand me. This storm brought snow to places that normally don't get it. They are woefully unprepared for snow removal and the drivers in those areas have no clue that snow driving requires a different set of skills. Even an inch or two of snow can throw everything into a tizzy let alone several inches when you're not used to it. So I get that this was a serious storm. 

My husband and I, however, both are used to feet of snow dropping in a single storm, so even after all the dire predictions, we still headed to New York City on Wednesday last, knowing we'd be coming home right in the middle of the Snow-mageddon. We took the train, as is our wont (don't drive in Manhattan if you don't need to. It's not worth the aggravation of dodging taxis, trying to figure out the one-way streets, or trying to find a place to park). 

We had a great time, seeing four plays in three days. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime was my favorite. In fact, I think it might've been the best Broadway show I've ever seen, bar none. A crisp, clean production that was flawless in execution and breathtaking in its beauty. I'd read the book and found the play a wonderful interpretation of the story. And stay after the curtain call for a phenomenal extra that blew everyone's mind.

We also saw Something's Rotten -- which is a send-up of musicals over the years. References are made to nearly every Broadway Tony Award-winning musical of the last 30 years and that made it fun. I laughed out loud several times.

The reason we went was to see George Takai and Lee Salonga in Allegiance. It's closing as of February, which is unfortunate. While I found the book a little clumsy in places, overall, it was a wonderful production of a difficult time in America's history. In fact, its a history we've tried to shove under the rug and shouldn't. Especially since we have Presidential candidates who want to relive it in the most negative way possible.

The last show we saw was Finding Neverland. I was most impressed with Matthew Morrison's voice. I'd seen him on the first few episodes of Glee, but since I didn't follow the show, had never heard him sing. What incredible control he has over his instrument! The others on stage were outclassed, that was for sure. Well, except for Kelsey Grammar. He's not a singer, although he has a strong character voice, and his sense of comic timing is nothing short of impeccable. :)

The snow started falling as we left the theatre on Friday night and by morning, the city had four or five inches. But nothing had been plowed and the only sidewalks that were shoveled were those of the shop owners who were doing it themselves. We stayed at the Hotel Edison and had several blocks to walk to get to Penn Station. We made it as far as the Subway station and then headed underground to take the train. Suitcases are not made for snow and, even though they had wheels, all they did was act as little plows to build up snow as we pulled them along. That meant carrying them and, of course, we'd bought souvenirs for the kids so....

But Penn Station was warm and cozy - well, as cozy as a waiting room can be when trains south and east and west are all being cancelled. Only the trains going north were still running. What direction are we going? North, of course. Not only was our train running, it was on time, too!

So we pulled out of the station with a full car that pretty much emptied at Albany. We'd run out of snow at Poughkeepsie but could still see the edge of the snow snowstorm all the way north. Got home to sunshine and dry roads.

I've seen New York in many sorts of weather, but this was my first snowstorm. Part of me wanted to get snowed in and see it in all it's winter wonderland glory, but part of me was saying, "It's just snow, guys. And not even good packing snow." In any case, I'm glad we got out and came home to watch the rest of the events on TV. And since Broadway went dark, we might as well be home. :)

We visited a few other places in the city while we were there, but those are posts for another day.

Play safe -- in the snow or otherwise!

Diana

Happy New Year!

This post has been a long time coming. It’s taken me a while to not only figure out what to say, but to gain enough distance to say it.

On November 9th, an aneurysm burst in my brother’s brain. Sixty percent of the time, that’s instantly fatal. My brother had a headache.

It was a bad headache – so much so that he doesn’t remember much of the next twenty-four hours. But he got home from work and slept for much of that time and, once he woke up on Tuesday night, he called his workplace and they told him he’d refused to go in the ambulance (he vaguely remembered sitting on a guerney) and that, despite their best efforts, he insisted on driving himself home (my brother is a big man—I understand their reluctance to forcibly taking the keys from him).

When he emailed the family Tuesday night (the 10th), my sister and I both strongly encouraged him to go to the doctor Wednesday morning. Okay, we yelled at him to do so.

Long story short, he ended up in the emergency room of the local hospital, the staff of which knew immediately what had happened. They didn’t have the facilities to deal with an aneurysm that was now bleeding into the brain and had been for nearly thirty-six hours. By ambulance they sent him to a larger hospital where, after getting his blood pressure under control, they inserted a platinum coil into the aneurysm (going in through the groin) and plugged it.

That procedure was a success. Unfortunately, he had a hemorrhagic stroke a half an hour after he came out of recovery. Those types of strokes are also usually fatal—immediately. The brain swelled, they rushed him into surgery again and, the upshot was, they removed a large (nearly a third) of his skull in order to 1) drain the blood and 2) allow the brain room.

Yes, he survived the stroke as well. He’s batting two for two. I didn’t need to look far for a Christmas Miracle this year.

In those early days, traveling down to see him, to consult with nurses and doctors, I didn’t have much time to think. My brother isn’t married and has no children. He lives alone and his circle of friends are mostly his co-workers. He lives two and a half hours away from me, three and a half hours from my parents. Close enough to make the round trip in a single day. I drove it once a week (sometimes twice) and made decisions as his health care proxy—decisions that often needed to be made in moments with little time to think.

Some decisions I made with my parents’ input, but many I made on my own. I signed the paper that let them take his skull off. I signed the paper that let them put it back once the swelling went down. I signed the paper that put a tracheostomy in his throat and the paper that moved him from the hospital to an acute rehab facility. I signed them all.

I hold my brother’s life in my hands. I have avoided thinking about the responsibility, but responsibility has a way of lurking in the background, waiting for a crack, a small vulnerability it can exploit. Once that crack forms, all the guilt, second-guessing, and endless replaying of events pours into one’s soul and burdens one’s shoulders.

For me, that crack formed a week and a half before Christmas. There was no bed for him in any facility anywhere in New York State. He had to be transferred to a facility in Scranton, Pennsylvania – a full hour further away. I hung up the phone after giving permission and cried for over an hour. I told my husband I thought I needed therapy because I was losing my grip. His solution? He called a friend of mine who didn’t even think twice. She took the next day off from work and came over to help me bake Christmas cookies. We had a great day talking things out and she helped me gain perspective again, reordering some of my priorities and helping me to see I wasn’t a bad sister for making the decisions I had.

Is it any wonder I love the man? He’s been my rock, in more ways than I can count.

Now here I stand, on the first day of the New Year, with many more decisions to be made. My brother never made out a will, never appointed anyone to act as Power of Attorney should he need one. If you’re reading this and you haven’t? MAKE THAT YOUR PRIMARY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. Because his cognitive functions are impaired, his neurologist has declared him unable to sign such documents now. That means we have to get a court-appointed guardian for him so we can do simple things, like pay his bills.

And yes, my husband and I worked with an attorney last year and filed our wills. The lawyer also strongly suggested designating POA’s and Health Care Proxies at the same time. We took his advice. If both of us are incapacitated, there are those with the power to take over our financials. I also made up a “Where Things Are” list and gave copies to all the parties involved. Our bank accounts, our credit cards, our debts and our savings are all listed so they don’t have to dig and do too much in the way of financial forensics. MAKE A LIST LIKE THAT AS YOUR SECOND NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION. The peace of mind is worth it.

My brother had neither of those. The stress and amount of work we’re doing to handle this is overwhelming at times. DETERMINING A SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR YOURSELF SHOULD BE YOUR THIRD RESOLUTION. I’m still finding mine. My husband is first, my girlfriend and her husband are my backups. I’m working on expanding that circle this year (sharing breakdowns isn’t easy for me. I’m the one everyone vents to – I don’t do the venting).

The snow has finally arrived this winter. Right now we’re getting that big, fluffy Christmas snow that turns the world into a beautiful wonderland of white. I am grateful it held off as long as it did – it made the traveling I had to do in December that much safer by its absence. Today I will enjoy it – for that’s my biggest New Year’s Resolution: Enjoy the moments, big or small, because you never know when an aneurysm is going to burst in your brother’s brain and change your life completely.

Play safe,

Diana

WINTER BREAK Releases!

Now that my newsletter readers know, I can announce it to the world, WINTER BREAK, my newest novella, is now on sale!

That's right. Followers of this blog know this story's story. After a second round of edits, Lynn and Tony's story is finally finished, formatted, and ready for you to read.

It was fun writing a story with (somewhat) older characters. These two are in their early forties and have a romantic, sexy, fun-filled past that now comes back to haunt them. Love rediscovered, though, can conquer the mistakes of their youth, right?

Buy links are here, as is an excerpt from the story.

Of course, if you've signed up for my newsletter, you already know there's a sale going on. Click here to get a 20% discount not only on WINTER BREAK, but on several other of my Christmas stories as well. And if you're not signed up for my newsletter (which goes out 4-6 times a year - no inbox spamming!), you can use the form below to subscribe and get these deals faster.

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Play safe, 

Diana

Just some news...

Deciding not to do NaNoWriMo this year turned out to be a good decision. Life has a way of taking unexpected turns, doesn't it? And sometimes decisions you make for one reason end up being the right one for very different ones.

WINTER BREAK was in edits at the beginning of the month and my second Sweet Spot book was half-written. The initial reasoning for not participating had to do with those two stories. A few days in, it had become obvious that the editing time and the writing time would conflict, so I bowed out of the annual, wonderful write-in that is NaNoWriMo.

And then an aneurysm burst in my brother's head and everything else took a backseat.

Editing is easier to do than writing when a crisis occurs. So WINTER BREAK will release before the end of the month, as promised. But the Sweet Spot story? I haven't written a word on it since November 9th, when the world turned sideways.

Mike's not doing as well as we'd hoped. The initial surgery to repair the aneurysm went well - he woke afterward and spoke with the nurses and the doctor in ICU. But a short time later, his brain swelled and they had to take him back into surgery. He hasn't been awake since.

Modern medicine is a true marvel. What they were able to do (and are doing) is nothing short of amazing. But hard decisions are coming on us and it's very difficult to be creative when they loom in one's thoughts.

The upshot? WINTER BREAK will be released in less than a week (Yay! A bright spot!!!), but the still-unnamed Sweet Spot story will be delayed until after the New Year. You'll like it, though. Remember Emily, Wiste's best friend who is her safety when Wiste does her self-bondage? She got short shrift in TIED TO HOME, so I decided she needed her own story. Good thing she meets a hunky psychiatrist who has only recently hung up his shingle in Port Clef...:)

Keep my brother in your thoughts and prayers, if'n you would. Thank you.

Play safe,
Diana

PS. A special treat for those of you who read this far. Click on any of the links above for a sneak peek at WINTER BREAK. :)

Okay, so maybe not so much NaNoWriMo...

November starts with such good intentions. Write a novel, start to finish, in thirty days. It can be done. Did it last year. Can do it again this year, right?

Yeah. About that.

Last year's NaNoWriMo novel was an historical romance set in 1777 British-occupied New York City, entitled THE REVOLUTION OF CLARA SIMPSON*. I'd spent several weeks in October doing the research and, at the start of the month, already had the first chapter (more or less) written. While more research was necessary during November, the bulk of the time was devoted to writing.

Eliza Floyd is the best friend of Clara Simpson in last year's novel. I've wanted to tell her story, too, and thought this year's NaNoWriMo would be the perfect time to sit down and do it.

So, starting on November 1st, I pulled out the two paragraphs I'd written last year and set aside and let my fingers start creating, drawing a clear picture of Miss Floyd and her mother in a carriage as they left the city for safer environs.

Fifteen minutes later (after writing one hundred and fifty words), I needed to look up a detail about the family. Which, of course, led to delving deeper into the New York City culture of the time. And where, exactly, was their destination? I know I bookmarked a map that was very helpful last year...

Two hours passed and the story wasn't any further, the questions in my head that needed further research had quadrupled and it became quite clear that, if I wanted to complete a novel for NaNoWriMo, Eliza's story wasn't the one to tell.

I have another novel I'd been working on that I set aside when WINTER BREAK (a novella that will be released at the end of this month) came along. It's already 22,000 words long. Another 30K should finish it off. But then I couldn't count it as a NaNoWriMo novel. The goal is one novel, one month, 50,000 words.

What to do? What to do?

It's already the third day in and so far, I have nothing to show for it. With edits soon to be returned for WINTER BREAK, and a half-written novel started, it really makes more sense to abandon the noble NaNo goals and concentrate on those works-in-progress. This way, I'll have one new piece released just after Thanksgiving and another new novel ready for release just after Christmas.

All that means, no NaNoWriMo for me this year. The timing just doesn't work out.

Play safe!
Diana

*THE REVOLUTION OF CLARA SIMPSON is currently "in the queue" at two publishers. Thought going the traditional route might bring in a wider audience for my other books. Am losing patience, however. One company has had it since April and the other hasn't returned/acknowledged my query. If I hear nothing from either by Christmas, I'm going to self-publish it and not keep readers waiting any longer.

Hmmm...three books released in three months? I'd better get writing!
D.H.

NaNoWriMo is coming!

So here I am, on the cusp of NaNoWriMo, trying to finish WINTER BREAK before November 1st so I can start fresh with something else on Sunday.

Why isn't WINTER BREAK finished yet, Hunter? You've had two full weeks to write one more scene. What's up?

The biggest reason is my daughter. I have two children; my son moved out over a year ago and married last May. My daughter, having graduated with a degree in theatre and loving Stage Management, hasn't been able to get anything full time and so has been living at home to save money. That's changed. She's now the full time Business Manager for two businesses - Water Gallery and Cafe and the West Main Kitchen in Waterloo, NY. The first is an art gallery, the second is a recently-renovated diner that will be opening VERY soon (menu tasting is tomorrow by invitation only and my husband and I snagged invites. Can't wait!).

The upshot of all this is that she's taken the apartment over the diner (and two doors down from the gallery) and has been moving out. We've painted her new kitchen, her new living room and her new bedroom (the bathroom was still in good shape), moved furniture - I have a garage back! (she's been collecting for quite some time) - and bought groceries. There is still a closet full of clothes to go through and a lot of childhood "stuff" to sort out, but we're almost done.

And that's what I've been doing instead of writing. It's both a fun and exciting time for her (and us) and a scary one as well. She's been on her own before, but I think this is it. Her last move out of our house, starting her own life. She's launched and I'm thrilled and saddened at the same time.

But NaNoWriMo is just around the corner. So today, I'm going to finish WINTER BREAK so I can send it out for another round of edits. Remember the no-conflict problem? Fixed!

I know, I know. Stop writing this post and get back to that story, Hunter!

Play safe!
Diana

edited to correct the name of the new restaurant and to add in the link

No conflict? What???

What do you do when your story has no conflict?

This happened to me lately. I started the story WINTER BREAK as a Christmas Quickie for Ellora’s Cave. But I’m a pantser and the story, while set at Christmas, doesn’t contain the holiday as an integral part of the story (EC’s requirement). It also doesn’t have a lot of sex in it, which makes it more a traditional romance than an erotic one.

Finished, I sent the manuscript off to several of my Sizzling Scribes sisters for proofing/editing. I always ask them to be brutal, because I want the best story I can put out there. Many thanks to both TaraNina and Lynn LaFleur for their comments (and expertise at finding my typos!).

It was Tielle St. Clare, however, who pointed out (rightfully) that I had no real conflict in the story. It was a slice of life piece – which is fine if that’s what I meant, but she rather thought it wasn’t. You see, as a pantser, I discover the characters like to drop little clues, hints about their problems that they divulge rather early in the story. As the plot progresses, I take these clues and follow them, determining as I go which are important and which are not. In the re-write, I take out the false clues (unless I’m writing a mystery like SHOOTING STAR – those red herrings are there specifically to mislead you!).

Except in WINTER BREAK, I hadn’t done anything with the hints at something in the female protagonist’s past that might hinder a current relationship.

Now mind you, I knew what it was in my head. I knew the hero and heroine would have trouble because of it. It was all right there – the characters had told me fairly early on and then trusted me to deal with it later.

Except I hadn’t. And Tielle called me on it. This is why writers need editors!

So I’ve been rewriting the story. It’s gone from just over 10K to 14K in the past week as the conflict has come home to roost. Tara and Lynn think it needs another sex scene (grin) and it might get that as well. Haven’t decided yet. Will let the characters make their choices (although I have a sneaking suspicion what they’ll want!). If they do, it will probably end up closer to 18K by the time I’m done.

Writers need editors. Writers know the story too well to have an objective eye—we miss the obvious. Thank you to Tara, Lynn and Tielle for their editing help. I couldn’t do this without you sisters!

Play safe,

Diana

Happy World Teacher Day!

Celebrating a profession I believe in with all my heart!

NaNoWriMo in less than a month -- already?

Hard to believe NaNoWriMo will so soon be upon us. Seems like just yesterday we were furiously writing novels, grabbing every spare minute to write another section, another paragraph, another sentence. Anything to advance our word counts and get to the finish line: 50,000 words in a month.

NaNoWriMo is good because it forces one to take time and do what writer's do: write. As a retiree, it's all too easy to slip into lazy practices - I'll do one more load of laundry...dust the dining room...read this book - any excuse to avoid the BIC step (Butt In Chair). An event such as NaNoWriMo reminds us, if you want to write a book? You have to sit down and write a book.

Last year I worked on THE REVOLUTION OF CLARA SIMPSON, an historical romance. I'd started the research earlier and had some of it written before November. During NaNoWriMo, however, I added 52K to the story. When I finished it a few weeks later, the story ended up around 75K total. But for the November push, it would've taken a whole lot longer for me to get that puppy finished.

What happened to that manuscript, you ask? Let me tell you...

The book sprang from a conversation I'd had with C. J. Hollenbach, one of EC's original cover models. He's a sweetheart and, at the Romanticon convention, I remarked that he'd never graced the cover of any of my books. I told him I'd write one specifically for him, a book that would cry out for him as the cover model.

At one point, he was the model for Karen Hawkins' Her Master and Commander and I loved that picture of him. Dashing, handsome, romantic...yeah. I wanted to write that C.J., so I did. The Revolution of Clara Simpson.

But it didn't turn out to be an erotic romance. Historical romance, yes. Sweet romance, yes. Erotic romance? No so much.

That meant Ellora's Cave wasn't the right place for it. I could self-pub it (and still might!), but thought this might be the book to bring in a wider audience. So I sent it off to Carina Press.

Who promptly rejected it.

I sent it to Harlequin next. But, three months later, I contacted them again (since I hadn't heard from them aside from the initial auto-response) and asked if they were still interested. I got a very nice note in reply from Dieidra McCluskey, an Editorial Assistant, stating that their response time of 12 weeks is approximate and that my manuscript was being reviewed by their Historical Romance response team.

I haven't heard from them since. I suppose I'll send another email at the six-month period to see if I can goose it along, one way or the other. It's hard, having written a book that I know is good, to wait on others for a yay or nay, especially in this time of self-publishing when I could've had it out there already (let's face it, Mystic Shade wrote, edited and published two more books and I've written a Christmas story that's currently in edits in the time Harlequin has taken to decide!).

So I'll give them a courtesy email in another week, upon the six-month anniversary of my submitting it. I would very much like them to publish it, even though it means a smaller royalty for me (compared to self-publishing) because it means a wider distribution. More eyes on the book - and that's worth the trade-off. Why? Because that book will lead new readers to say, "I liked this. What else has she written?" And my entire backlist will get a boost.

So what's up for this year's NaNoWriMo? What book will I work on? Not sure yet. I have that fantasy I keep talking about and would love to get a chunk more written. But there is also a follow-up story to Clara Simpson's and I'm thinking I might like to give that a run. I have a few weeks yet to make my decision, thank goodness!

NaNoWriMo in less than a month - already. Have any ideas about what project you're going to work on?

Play safe,
Diana

Website updates and additions -- and a re-release!

Sometimes tweaks are needed to keep a website looking good. To that end, several changes have been made to the website.

First of all, you'll note the sidebar now contains only one book cover. The newest release will always be the "Featured Book" so you can find it easily. While it made sense to list the other covers when there were only a few, the longer the list became, the more ungainly it looked, making the front page way longer than people wanted to scroll through (but isn't that a wonderful problem to have? Too many books for a scroll list?!?).

The second change is to the "Published Works" page. You'll note the covers are there but (mostly) only the covers. Each picture links to a dedicated book page with purchasing info, an excerpt and reviews of the book. This allowed me to put up ALL my books, both those I've self-published and those published by Ellora's Cave, in a layout that is clean and easy to use.

There is also a complete list of books, as well as a downloadable PDF of the list.

The third change? The addition of an "About Me" page. This was fun to write! Spread out over many posts over many years, it seemed time to pull everything together in one spot. Be forewarned: it's long!

And finally - the newest re-release is Diamonds in the Snow. Originally written for the Diamond Studs anthology (containing stories by Ruby Storm and Ruth Kerce), this novella now stands on its own. It's available in all formats from Smashwords and in the Kindle-only format from Amazon. Click the link for an excerpt of this winter story!

Off to write a new story...

Play safe!

Diana

PS. If you find any missing links, please let me know. Amazon JUST went live, so those links on the Diamonds in the Snow page now work.

Reading notes

Like many New Year's resolutions, my intent to keep track of all the books I read this year has fallen to the wayside. In the past several months, I've read:

several of Diana Gabaldon's short stories that take place in the Outlander universe,
about a dozen romance novels in the Regency era, including Julia Quinn's Smyth-Smith series in its entirety,
and, most recently, a book called What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman. It's this book that has moved me to write this post.

My Book Club is reading this as their first selection of the year (we're teachers and retired teachers, so we go by the school calendar), otherwise it may never have come up on my radar. Not knowing anything about it, I bought it (Kindle version) and read the first chapter. Imagine my surprise to discover its set at Willard Psychiatric Center in Willard, NY - a place barely thirty miles from me! It takes, as its inspiration, the discovery of over 400 suitcases left behind by the inmates of the asylum. These suitcases were found after the Center closed and staff were going through old rooms and attics. Museums were contacted and the suitcases were saved. They're now housed at the Museum of DisABILITY in Buffalo, NY. There is also an online story of them.

So a wonderful premise with dual storylines: a high-school girl gets roped into helping to itemize these suitcases and the story of one of the inmates told in her point of view as to how she got sent there and what happened to her. I was excited to read this book.

(Warning: I'm stepping up onto my soapbox here!)

But the author's scholarship was sloppy and that pisses me off. In the modern-day story, she references real places (her description of Willard Psychiatric is spot-on), making mention of Geneva, NY and Romulus High School as well as making several references to Seneca Lake (the buildings overlook the longest and deepest of the Finger Lakes). HOWEVER, she makes up a fictional high school for the protagonist instead of using South Seneca, the actual school anyone in that area would've attended.

Her depictions of modern teenagers is also at fault, peppering the senior class of her fictitious school with stereotypes (the Queen Bee and her minions, primarily). The obligatory party on the beach, the kids who run the classrooms (none of the teachers seem to have any control over the students in the classroom - really? For one, hasn't this been done to death and for another -- really? Teachers don't take enough bashing but you need to make every single teacher ineffective and weak???).

So I had issues with the modern day story, but the story of the young woman who is sent to Willard in the 1920's also rang false. Willard was founded in the late 1860's as a humanist way of dealing with mental illness. People were taken from almshouses and poor houses and jails where they were treated abominably and brought to Willard, where the emphasis was on sunshine, fresh air, and healthy food. Yes, new techniques were tried, most of which we now know were ineffective at best, cruel at worst. But the emphasis was on curing the mental disease, not incarceration for no good reason, as the author implies.

Were there abuses? Probably. But the author used as one of her primary sources, the story of Nelly Bly and the reporting she'd done on the insane asylums near New York City in the late 1800's. Except Clara's story was set in the 1920's and 30's and considerable efforts had been spent making asylums a better place. And Willard was already a better place than most.

So yes, some Willard patients underwent insulin therapy and electroshock therapy. But I have a VERY hard time believing the character of Dr. Roach, who was guided only by his own self-interest. He might've worked as a character at a different asylum, but not at Willard.

What I think I'd rather read is one of her other source books: The Lives they Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny. But I want the hardcover of that one. The photographs by Lisa Rinzler look amazing.

Long story, short: I found the book filled with stereotypes in both storylines, with poor scholoarship on the part of the author and over-done plot points. Maybe if I hadn't had such high hopes for the book when I started I wouldn't have been so disappointed. Maybe if it didn't hit one of my major pet peeves about books that deal with real-life issues or places, I would be able to recommend this book, but I can't. It just ticked me off too much.

(stepping off my soapbox)

Play safe!
Diana

A milestone reached - and passed

One million published words, baby! One million words!

Actually, 1,269,800. That's published in books and stories words. It does not include any blog posts either here or as a guest author on anyone else's blog. It does not include any of my academic writing or letters to friends or posts to Facebook. Nor does it include the dozens upon dozens of stories I've started but not finished.

Nope. That's 1269.8K-- PUBLISHED -- in stories and books since September 2003. That was the month Secret Submission came out as an ebook and launched my career.

And I owe it all to my husband's comment years before that.

I'd been working on a fantasy novel for nearly two decades. I had scraps of it written on all sorts of paper (the back of bank notes, backs of receipts, pieces of cardboard from the paper pads that had run out of paper--whatever was at hand); these all were shoved into a folder in no particular order. In 1991, my daughter was not quite a year old and he looked at our finances (and my mental health) and said, "I don't think you need to get a summer job this year. Why don't you write that book instead?"

I kissed him. Hard. And a lot.

What happened between 1991 and 2003? I learned a lot about writing books. That first novel? The fantasy one (working title: Discoveries)? It's still on my computer at 95K and counting (and no, that number isn't in my one million + figure!). I made a lot of mistakes and to rewrite it would take a great deal of time. Time I'll get too one of these days. :)

I also had another child (who just got married!) and wrote Hardship and Hardtack, a Civil War historical fiction based on the real Lieutenant Richard Bassett and his brother, Erasmus (Rass). That book collected several rejection letters before I self-pubbed it when that option became available (that 68.6K is included in my grand total).

All-in-all, I have written and published 36 titles (short stories, novellas, novels and poems). There are at least 55 stories in my "story starts" file - ranging in length from a few hundred words, to ninety-five thousand. I've written writing workshops and hundreds of blog posts over the years. Maybe someday I'll count all those up, too. Today, however, I'm celebrating!

I broke the one million mark. Here's to the next million!

Play safe,

Diana

What's next?

"What's next?"

I love that line from The West Wing. President Barlett's phrase to signal it was time to move onto the next item on the agenda.

And what's next on my agenda? I'm so glad you asked! 

A lot of projects got shoved to the side over the past two months as I wrote, edited and published the two HER MASTER’S VOICE books. Now that they’ve been released, those other projects now get their time in the limelight.

First up is the re-release of two books: Diamonds in the Snow and New York Moment. Both of these were published by Ellora’s Cave first, but their contracts ran out. Rather than have them sit on my computer, I’m re-releasing them with new covers.

Diamonds in the Snow has special meaning to me because that’s how I met Ruby Storm and Ruth Kerce, EC was looking to do a 2005 Valentine’s anthology and I applied to be one of the authors. The three of us were chosen and a lifetime friendship was born. Diamond Studs was fun to work on with these two wonderful ladies. We had so much fun, we went on to publish a Christmas anthology - Winter Studs - as well.

At one point we considered a Fourth of July offering, Service Studs, but EC was moving away from anthologies by that point. Both Ruth and I turned those novellas into full-length books. Ruth’s became  Hot on Her Trail and mine is Services Rendered. Ruby! We know you started yours – we’re waiting!!!

Look for Diamonds in the Snow and New York Moment in the next few months.

Next, I plan to get back to a new Port Clef story started before Her Master’s Voice barged in and took over. It doesn’t have a title yet, but is sitting on my computer with 20K+ words in it. In other words, over a third of the way finished. My goal is to have it done and published before Thanksgiving.

Of course, that puts it smack-dab in the middle of NaNoWriMo, and participating in that is a ton of fun. Last year’s story, The Revolution of Clara Simpson is still under consideration by Harlequin (I emailed at the 90-day period to ask about it and was told it is still in consideration. Keeping my fingers crossed that they pick it up). Who knows what this year’s writing challenge will bring?

So that’s where I am right now. Lots of stories in the hopper. Although, to be honest, there’s a scrapbooking table calling my name right now....

Play safe!

Diana

New release, as promised!

I told you this book would be out before the end of the week and I made my self-imposed deadline right on target.  HER MASTER'S VOICE (Book2) is now available on Amazon, Smashwords, and at A1AdultEbooks in all formats (well, except at Amazon where you can still buy only in the Kindle format -- silly Amazon!).

I started these two books on June 30th. Well, I started a book on June 30th. But it got towards the end of July and I realized these two had more story in them than just the one volume. They kept talking, so I kept writing. The result? 99,000+ words between the two volumes of hot sex, intriguing characters and some controversial topics.

Don't forget to leave a review on whatever site you buy the book from. Good, bad, indifferent, reviews drive the numbers, so the more, the merrier!


Play safe!
Diana

PS. If you want to check out Mystic's other books, she has her own page right here.

Sneak Peek

As you know, I wrote both of the HER MASTER'S VOICE books one right after the other. Originally intended to be a single book of about 55,000 words, the characters had far more to say (and do!) and just kept going. They wanted not one, but two books all to themselves. And, if Emma has her way, she's going to demand another in a couple of months, you watch!

Book 1 of HER MASTER'S VOICE is available in all formats from Smashwords and A1Adultebooks (where it is climbing the bestseller list. A few more sales and it'll reach silver status!!!). It is also available at Amazon, although we'll see how long that lasts. OVER MY ENSLAVED BODY is still banned, although some people seem to find it now and again. I think the page still exists, but you might have to go to Canada to buy it. :)

Book 2 of HMV is also complete as of last night. I'll wait a few days, read it through again for typos and wordsmithing, then publish it at the end of this week. Thought, however, you might enjoy seeing the cover. Obviously Mystic has a style to her covers, making them unmistakably hers. Diana's looking at redoing all her covers so they can be distinguished (branded) as hers as well. One of these days... :)

By the way, Book 2 can be read independent of Book 1, but if you're like me, you'll want to read them in order. It's my OCD coming to the fore. Gotta read from the start of a series straight through to the end. No jumping around for me!

Watch for HER MASTER'S VOICE, Book 2 -- Coming soon!

Play safe,
Diana

New release!

HER MASTER'S VOICE (Book1) is now available at Smashwords and Amazon. This is a Mystic Shade title and please, be warned! It is not for the faint of heart. While there are elements of romance in it, it is primarily an erotica book, so there is lots and lots of sex. Lots of sex. Did I say it has sex in it? :)

HER MASTER'S VOICE introduces a new Dom into the world of slave traders. Malachi Montgomery works differently his best friend, Jake Kariola, but his goal is the same: to allow women the opportunity to shuck their worldly cares and enter a life of sexual slavery. His current slave-in-progress is Emma, a web designer who's looking for a way to serve her fellow man.

This was a fun story to write. I started writing this book on June 30th and completed it before the end of July. But these two characters had a lot (a LOT) more story to tell, so we kept going. Book 1 of this new series clocks in at 47,000 words and Book 2 currently stands at 49,000 before editing. FOr those of you following me on Facebook, the word counts I've been posting? Were for these two books.

What??? You're not following me on Facebook? Click the link in the top right corner and join the fun!

So, a whole new series of books that are very naughty, very sexy, very erotic. Just remember that Mystic likes to push the envelope and her stories contain BDSM activities taken about as far as they can go. You've been warned!

(NOTE: Jake Kariola, Malachi's best friend, has his own series. Over My Enslaved Body, Traitor Slave, Fully Owned and Training Two are all his.)

Excerpt? You want an excerpt? Oh, okay...What follows is a tame one, since Blogger would blow up if I posted a truly hot part of the book.

HER MASTER'S VOICE (Book 1 excerpt from Chapter 1)
by Mystic Shade
All Rights Reserved

Wearing nothing under her long coat but a latex bra and panties accompanied by a set of garters with stockings, and having remembered to put the panties outside the garters this time, Emma knocked on the door to the hotel room, desperately hoping she’d written the number right. She checked the paper in her palm once more. Room 311. Yes. Still, when Master Malachi opened the door, she gave a huge sigh of relief. She’d made it.

Her relief was short-lived, however, as he slid a blindfold over her eyes as she stood in the doorway, but not before she caught a glimpse of movement in the room. He pulled her inside, her high heels making her totter a bit, but she was sure she’d seen another person here with him. That couldn’t be right…he hadn’t said anything about bringing in other partners, although she’d confessed to a guilty fantasy involving multiple partners a few weeks ago…many partners and all of them men who wanted to use her for their own sexual gratification. He’d promised he’d make that dream come true. Someday.

Before Emma could get her bearings, he tugged the coat from her shoulders, effectively trapping her arms. The slip of paper floated to the floor as he spoke softly into her ear and she strained to listen.

“It is eleven o’clock, Saturday morning. Per our agreement, you are mine for the next twenty-four hours. Mine to play with, mine to command, mine to use and abuse.”

She nodded her assent, though nothing he said was phrased as a question. His hand groped her pussy, rubbing the latex into her slit. She moaned, her lips parting…and a ball gag pushed against her lips. Without thinking, she opened her mouth for it before realizing his hands were busy…who was gagging her so tightly? She tried to speak, but only garbled sounds came out around the rubber ball.

“Mine to use, mine to abuse.”

The mind-fuck already worked on her. “Abuse” – she loved that word. It implied so many naughty things he could do to her. They’d negotiated this, talked about it at length. Was it abuse if the action was consensual? She wanted her boundaries pushed—and pushed hard. At his hands she already knew she liked sensory play; a good flogging started her descent into subspace like nothing else. And being bound and helpless. Vulnerable. Open and unable to prevent him from doing whatever he wanted.

She leaned against his strong chest and a soft moan came from the back of her throat as he palmed her covered mound. Two weeks ago he’d asked if she’d ever thought about shaving her pussy and she had admitted to a higher than needed bikini cut, but hadn’t had the courage to go further. As a result, short brown hairs curled under the red latex. He pressed his hand against her mound, the pressure establishing his possession of her body as her mind wheeled. He assailed her senses before she was even four feet into the room. Her breath quickened around the gag when she realized again that another set of hands other than his touched her. She tried counting as fingers caressed her skin, ran over her breasts, her neck, then gathered her hair off her shoulders to twist into a rough ponytail. With her arms still tangled in the coat, she couldn’t stop them. But then again, with such wonderful twinges going off in her pussy, why would she want them to?

Her nipple rose to meet the finger that slipped under the latex to fondle the nub. Another moan, one she couldn’t suppress, filled her throat and her head tipped back. But her mouth was full of saliva she couldn’t swallow—the gag effectively trapped her tongue—and she tipped her head forward again, widening her lips in an effort to release the liquid.

“My slave.” Her Master’s palm on her cheek. She’d recognize that touch anywhere. His thumb ran over her cheekbone, claiming her face as his own. Pressing against his palm, she tried to let him know every part of her belonged to him. He pinched her lip, pulling it away from the gag and letting her drool.

“I own your mouth. You swallow—or don’t—at my whim.”

Emma’s knees felt weak and she gave him her mouth. It no longer belonged to her. It was his to play with, to use in any way he wanted.

Letting go of the self wasn’t something she could easily do. It took practice. A discipline of both mind and body. But over the past six months, she’d gotten better at it, more able to allow that letting go and, therefore, faster at letting it happen. And Master Malachi helped. She loved going into trance as he hypnotized her so he could speak to her subconscious. His words helped her strip away her inhibitions, her shyness, and society’s strictures regarding sexuality.

Still, losing the sense of self and moving into a state where she was no longer the center of her own being, took some time. His words, his actions, everything he did to her and for her, were steps to help her go deep inside, find the self, and release it.

Her face, her mouth—they were gone to her already today. They belonged to her Master and he would use them as he wanted. Two bodies shifted around her. Hands that were not his pressed against her breasts and she felt the rock-hard chest of someone behind her. Someone tall and muscular, similar to her Master, yet not him. Someone who smelled of soap and leather with strong, powerful hands that now slid down along her arms, holding them as her coat fell away and revealed her body to their eyes.

HER MASTER'S VOICE, now available at Amazon and Smashwords!