What I did on my summer vacation...

I am officially in love with Peggy's Cove. Steven had a painting festival there and we managed to get a room right in the village. I HIGHLY recommend staying at the Peggy's Cove B&B (we had the teal room with the chairs with the circles) - Mark was a wonderful host. He didn't mind me sitting at the breakfast bar (use that link and you can see the bar - and the views!) with the big picture window overlooking the cove while I wrote. Talk about an inspiring setting!

The view from our balcony at Peggy's Cove B & B

But truly, of all the places we visited, Peggy's Cove is a spot I could call home. The village is on one side of the cove and the touristy area is on the other. I can't afford it, but if I could - that's where I'd be living. When you want peace and quiet, you have it. When you want people, a short walk around the bottom of the cove brings you to the shops and restaurants.

Leaving was hard, but we had reservations for the Admiral Digby Inn up in Digby (probably could've figured that out), so we left the best place we'd been and ended up in the worst. The "inn" is actually a motel. Yes, it has a beautiful view of the bay, but after leaving such an incredible experience, this was a crash and burn. Visited Annapolis Royal (named by the same guy who named Annapolis, MD. He was trying to butter up to Queen Anne) and while the fort was a good exercise climbing up and down the fortifications, we enjoyed the gardens far more. The girl at the gate said it was about a 45 minute walk - we were there over two hours, so you know how much we liked it.

Also went on a whale watch with the guy who started whale watching in the Bay of Fundy. He's a lobsterman who took some scientists out who were doing whale studies in the 1970's, then got to thinking maybe others would like to see them. In the winter, they take the seats out of the boat and he still goes lobster fishing. I was a little worried about getting seasick in such a small vessel, but the bay was calm and we saw whales! Four pairs of humpbacks - one of whom kept diving and showing his tail. Incredibly graceful and beautiful creatures.

Keeping this short, but had a bunch of other adventures before heading down to Lunenburg for his final festival, the Paint Sea on Sight Art Festival. Had to contend with some rain (the first real rain we'd had), but he managed to paint several in the days allotted. I wrote some here as well, but not as much as the car was getting cramped and I was running out of steam. Three and a half weeks is a long time to be away from family and friends - and my cat.

We headed home by way of another ferry - this one might as well have been a cruise ship. The crossing took three hours - and we sat in comfortable seats and watched a movie for part of it. There were two restaurants on board, so we ate lunch, too. Fogged in most of the way over, though, so didn't get to see New Brunswick until we suddenly were pulling into the dock.

All in all, I added one more state to my list of states visited (hadn't ever been to Maine before) and added three Canadian provinces. Made friends and now want to go back and visit them. I wrote over 10,000 words on The Companion and moved the story along quite a ways. Took over 1000 pictures - of which about half will end up in my scrapbook.

And so, I was there - and back again. Love going away - and love coming home. Now to get to work re-releasing the rest of my old EC books!

Play safe - and hope you're having a great summer,

Diana

I'm baaack!

What a glorious place are the Maritimes! Twenty-four days my hubby and I spent exploring Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. He painted, I wrote, we sightseed (sightsaw?) ...went sightseeing, and lived in the moment.

We've been trying to make this trip for several years now, but family matters kept getting in the way. This time, in order to assure our actually making the trip, Steven signed up for not one, not two, but THREE plein air events. "I've put money down," he told me. "Now we have to go." Have I said lately how much I love my husband? 

Steven being more
daring than I! On
Cadillac Mtn.

The first festival was the Points East Plein Air Festival on Prince Edward Island - and since it would take two full days of car travel to get there, we decided to break it up with a stop in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I have recently made it my goal to visit all 58 National Parks, so this made sense. 

For the record, Acadia is a beautiful park, but if you're just sightseeing and not hiking? Get there early. Cadillac Mountain fills up fast! We stopped at a couple of other spots but by noon, there was no parking in ANY lot. And Bar Harbor is totally skippable - very touristy and kitschy. Good meals, but really crowded.

PEI is red! First impression, coming over the Confederation Bridge - there are some cliffs you can see as you cross, and they're bright, brick red. Red limestone is the rock underneath the island and is everywhere. Even the beaches have red sand. Picked up some nice shells and spent a great deal of time writing in the car while Steven painted. We got into Charlottetown one night to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the professional theatre there - Judas stole the show. Built like a linebacker, I had my doubts, but then he started to sing...holy moly, mackeral, cow! Highly recommended.

Because of his need to have the car, I didn't go anywhere he wasn't. That was fine. Laptops travel. I had brought both my old laptop (the monster) and my smaller tablet. When the monster ran out of battery (about 2 hrs), I switched to the smaller one and hit more keys than I wanted until I got the hang of it. The battery on that one lasts almost 5 hours, and I never ran it out.

At the final show in PEI, Steven sold a painting (watch the video; his paintings start at the 5:28 mark) - Yay! We had wonderful hosts (Rose and Frank) at the Blue Jay's Nest B&B in Montague, PEI - if you go, tell them we say hey! We felt like we were leaving family when we pulled out and took the ferry to Nova Scotia.You're not allowed to stay in your car, so we headed for the top deck and sat in the sun and breeze for the hour, 10 minute trip.

The Louisbourg Inn - and the
walk-up!

Since we had a few days before we needed to be to the next festival, we went to Louisbourg and stayed at an inn there. Top floor (which meant 32 steps up every time - but the views were terrific!) in a house that looked exactly like what you expect when you think of a sea captain's home. Big Victorian with lots of nooks and crannies - and did I mention the views? :)

Cape Breton has a drive similar to the Ring of Kerry - a route you can follow and stop off at various coves and small towns. We didn't take it. If you have followed any of our other adventures, you know we prefer the less-traveled path. So we did the historical thing instead - visiting both the Fortress of Louisbourg and the Highland Village Museum. Both had one thing in common: English wasn't the only language spoken by the costumed re-enactors.

In fact, almost everywhere we went in Cape Breton greeted us in two languages. "Bonjour, Good morning!" or "Bienvenue, Welcome!" Depending on your answer, that was the language they continued the conversation in. At the Highland Village, Scots Gaelic is the language of choice, and we were often greeted with words I don't dare try to spell. Too many consonants what where they don't belong!

There's lots more to tell, but I'll save it for tomorrow. Have fun - and buy my books! I have to support this traveling habit. :)

Play safe,

Diana

edited to fix the number of National Parks. There are 58, not 48. 

50% off sale!

All my books for the month of July will be on sale at Smashwords for 50% off. 

Every. Single. One.

Use this link to find a list of books (including those by CF Duprey and Mystic Shade - if you dare!).

Sale goes until the end of the month, so start shopping!

No deaths this week

Nope, in fact, I've SAVED two people. Children, actually. Might be a knee-jerk response to the awful things my country is doing at the moment, but that's a post for a different time. I will go on record and state to the rest of the world: We're working on it. Protesting, getting out the vote, and voting. Still trying to work within the system, but wondering how long we can before holding a referendum and becoming part of Canada. You guys want New York Province, right?

My hubby and I are actually getting ready to visit the Land Up North. We leave in a little over a week for Prince Edward Island by way of Acadia National Park in Maine. I'm going to get to add another state to my list (and another National Park), as well as not one, not two, but THREE Canadian Provinces (and some Canadian National Parks, too!).

Lately my husband has taken up plein air painting. For the past several years, he's painted in several local competitions and sold a number of his paintings that way. Since I've wanted to visit Nova Scotia for years (we've actually planned it twice before and had to cancel because of illnesses/deaths in the family), he decided to check out some plein air festivals there. Making it a working vacation for him means it becomes more affordable for us, since some of the expenses are for his business.

Mine, too, for that matter. While he's busy on painting days, I plan to write. I'm bringing along several projects (The Companion, for one and some curriculum work for a new course I'm teaching in the fall), but will remain open to "painting" the beauty of the two islands in words.

So, a working vacation for both of us, with days in between to sightsee - and eat seafood. I am SO looking forward to that part!

Unfortunately, we're just passing through New Brunswick this time around. He's there right now at a festival in King's Landing but I'll just see what I can from the highway as we drive through. Montague, Prince Edward Island is our first festival, Peggy's Cove is the second, and Lunenburg is the third. We'll be gone nearly the entire month of July.

So, my Canadian readers....what places are must-see in the Maritimes?

Play safe,
Diana

Another one bites the dust!

My apologies to Queen... but I just killed another character.

This is getting to be a habit. Either that or my protagonists are going to get a complex.

Funny thing is, it was easier this time.

Granted, I didn't know this character as well as I knew the other, although this character is equally pivotal. Without his/her death, the plot stalls and the protagonists remain comfortably where they are. So not a gratuitous death but a necessary one.

Spending time away from my "normal" life has helped to jump-start this story again. The Companion (AKA The Work of My Heart) requires me to go in-world -- and stay there. When I wrote my erotic romances, I could write anywhere - and did. Mostly in the privacy of my car while my kids were at dance classes and basketball practices, but in winter that car got cold so I'd head across the street to the local pizza parlor and blissfully write while sipping Pepsi and enjoying a slice.

Because The Companion is a fantasy, however, it requires more concentration to "live" in the world. I have a binder (purple, of course) filled with notes. There are tabs for "Characters", "World Details," the "Timeline" - which is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT TAB! - and "Maps" - which are crudely-drawn approximations where the various towns are so I don't forget where I put them.

So why is "Timeline" the MOST IMPORTANT? Because without it, I'd lose track of who is doing what. There are two direct plot lines and at least two that are referenced but we only see when the direct plots intersect with them. Not only is it important to keep the two main plots on track, but I have to make sure I don't have Event D in one of the referenced plots happening AFTER I referenced it in one of the main plots.

I also have a file box with tabs for the two different countries (Splithome and Renthome). Because color-coding always worked for me in school, the people are on white cards, the named animals on white with pink borders, the places are on orange cards and the greetings on green ones (the divider cards are purple :) ).

These two, the binder and the file box, work together as my Story Bible (SB) and enable me to pick up the threads and continue my weaving after I've been away for a while. It is far easier, however, to simply stay in the world and update the SB as I go. I get far more words written that way.

To wit: I've spent ten days at my cabin in two five-day stints in the last few weeks and have written over 12,000 new words on The Companion.

12K words? That's as much as some of my novellas (This one and this one and these)!

I moved the plot forward by leaps and bounds - and I killed two characters along the way. I've added description and figured out What Happens Next (because I'm a pantser, I don't always know this. I have a big, general synopsis that I wrote years ago, so I know the BIG pieces, but how these guys get from piece to piece? Yeah, they're telling me that as I go). Did I know both these characters were going to "bite the dust?" The first one, yes, the second, no. But it happened and now the protagonists have to deal with it.

BTW, if you want to read two brief excerpts, you can go here. The painting on that page is one I have hanging next to my desk and believe me, I look at it often in my descriptions of the Stone Mountains.

I'll leave you with this earworm... Play safe!

She's dead. I killed her.

Apologies to The Wizard of Oz, but yes, I have killed today.

Damn, that was hard.

In my current fantasy work-in-progress, I have set up a system of rules for how nature behaves. It isn't tremendously complicated, but the rules are strict and the turning point will depend on those rules being immutable. Much later in the book, the characters (and hence, the readers) will find out why those rules were put in place and may find themselves in agreement with the need for such rigidity. Or they might not. I don't know, I haven't written that far yet. I'm sure my protagonists will have decided opinions - when we get to that point.

Unfortunately, one of the rules in place meant a character that I'd had a lot of fun developing, a character who will quickly become a favorite among readers (because that character has become a favorite of mine) - well, that character had to die. Please note, I am not using gender pronouns here so as to not give who it is away.

I so much wanted this person to live that, months ago, I wrote a chapter ending that allowed him/her to live. Because of the nature of this particular book structure, I didn't get back to that part until today when I wrote an entire scene rejoicing in the fact that this person had done something and not died! Hooray! Happy ending to that part of the adventure!!!

Except, letting that character live, broke the immutable rules of the world. Letting him/her live would ruin the whole climax of the turning point. He/she had to go.

And so, for the second time in a week's time, I've had to kill my darlings. First was a section that took the story in the wrong direction and today, it was a character I truly loved writing.

Sometimes being a writer sucks.

Play safe,
Diana

Killing your darlings

Since retiring from teaching full-time, I've been an adjunct instructor at our local community college. I love teaching there - especially at the satellite campuses where the students are (usually) non-traditional in their ages. What's especially exciting is that the college is instituting the Freshman Year Seminar - a class students take either their first or second semester that will help them transition to the more rigorous requirements of higher education. I am honored that I was asked to design and teach one of those seminars.

Each seminar has a different focus. The science seminars, for example, might be based on some of the more controversial aspects of science research or centered on science in today's media. I'm in the Humanities, so our topics/issues can be quite broad. I've chosen "The Memoir as Self-discovery" as the title to mine.

What does that mean? It means I've been reading a lot of memoirs lately! While the students will spend a great deal of time writing their own (topics such as "How I learn best" and "How I got that scar"), they will also read others' memoirs so we can discuss style, form, and content.

To that end, I finally read Stephen King's On Writing. I know, I know - it's taken me long enough. I've only read a few of his books because I don't do well with horror or suspense. Gives me oggeta (I have no idea how to spell that Italian word and neither does the spellchecker). I've enjoyed the few pieces I have read (The Green Mile, Eyes of the Dragon) and now I can add On Writing to the list. He's blunt, concise, and pretty much right on track.

I particularly enjoyed the section on killing your darlings.

In fact, that's twice in two weeks that phrase has popped up - once in class discussion of literature and then again in King's book. In class, I spoke of how hard it can be - and how necessary. It isn't easy, they are, after all, your darlings. You created that character, that scene, that sentence. It is a part of you. It may be the most beautiful piece of writing you've ever created. If it doesn't serve the story, however, it must die.

In class I spoke of a description I'd included in the first few pages of a VERY long fantasy novel (that will probably never leave my computer. This was an early novel that holds just about every mistake a beginning novelist can make). At a workshop, I had the opportunity to read the first three pages to a group where a well-known author of fantasy would give a quick critique of our work. When I finished reading, she really honed in on the description of the flower, praising the imagery and phrasing. She then said, "I know that this flower will be very important later in the story because you spent so much time creating that beautiful image."

I thanked her for her critique, all the while cringing inside because I knew what she did not: that flower? Was just a flower. Nothing more. It never came back. It wasn't important. The protagonist bent down to smell it just because I needed to give him an action to do. Period.

But it had led at least one reader down an erroneous path. And if it could lead one...

I cut it.

Hard as it was to kill something praised as "beautiful imagery" with "excellent phrasing" - I cut it.

And I just did it again.

A different fantasy - the One of My Heart that is the Work of My Life - and I just cut an entire scene that I loved. Why? Because it didn't work. Oh, it was well-written and moved the plot forward, but I can move it forward more quickly and with better character development if I go a different route. The path has moved, in other words, and that scene is on a different branch. Sigh.

I do have to offer a disclaimer, though. Killing my darlings is never easy for me. To counteract the pain, I have a file I label "Extras" for each and every one of my stories. Not kidding. Every novel I have published? Has a file on my computer that contains writing that didn't make it into the final edit.

Why? Because every time I kill a darling, I think, "Well, I might go back and need it" or "I'll just use this later."

Want to know how many times I've put something back in after it's in the "Extras" file?

Zero.

Zilch.

Nada, not happening, never.

And yet, I keep doing it. Did it today when I put that entire chapter into the file in case I change my mind.

I wonder if Stephen King keeps all his dead darlings?

Oooh...I think there might be a story there - about a writer haunted by his dead darlings...

Play safe!
Diana

(edited to fix some typos)

Shh....its a Secret - in fact, it's TWO Secrets!

After two years of being out of print and unavailable, both SECRET SUBMISSION  and SUBMISSION REVEALED are both re-released into the great, wide world!

Secret Submission began life as a series of short pieces I wrote when I couldn't find any BDSM stories online that showed a loving relationship. All I could find back then (the early 2000's) was porn. Now, don't get me wrong - porn has its place. But it wasn't what I was looking for. When I complained to a friend, he suggested I write my own - and Secret Submission was born.

A few months later, I was looking for a home for an historical I'd written (Hardship and Hardtack) and came across a back page for Ellora's Cave. On it, was the email addy of their new Senior Editor. It got me thinking about that sequential series of stories I'd written that explored a woman's struggles to understand the BDSM lifestyle and why she was so attracted to it.

I sent off an email (which sounds so cavalier - in reality, it took me over an hour to write it as I agonized over every phrase!) - to my surprise, I got an answer about three hours later - on a Sunday night, no less. Response? She wanted to see my manuscript!

Not only was the quick reply unexpected, but I was so used to rejections for my historical, I didn't really expect anyone to want to see anything I'd written. Problem was, the manuscript wasn't organized into chapters, it wasn't even formatted well and it could use a good spellcheck - and it was nearly 10:00 on a Sunday night. What to do?

Call in sick to work on Monday, of course! I took the morning, whipped the first three chapters into shape and wrote a synopsis, and then stared at my responding email for a good twenty minutes before I summoned enough courage to hit "Send." I knew better than to get my hopes up - and the website said there was a 4-6 week period before getting responses, so I promptly attempted to put the whole thing out of my mind. The next day I went off to school, taught all day, came home and opened my email without expectation.

So you can imagine my surprise when there was an email from Ellora's Cave, offering to buy my book. I had pitched it as a two-book series and admitted the second book wasn't written yet, although the outline was. Because it was going to be two books, the first book didn't actually have much of an ending. The editor told me I had to change the end of the first book to a Happily Ever After. And they were only buying the first book. When I wrote the second, they'd consider it.

I was ecstatic! No problem in changing the ending to the first book, since I hadn't written it anyway. Oh, I'd made up an ending for they synopsis, but hadn't actually written it. My husband and I discussed a pen name since he is quite well-known in the community and I was teaching high school English at the time. Neither of us was in a position to let it be widely known I was about to be published as an erotic romance author.

I spent every evening and the weekend finishing the book and putting the rest of the short episodes into chapter form. By the following Sunday night (a week after that first email), it was ready to send to the woman assigned to be my regular editor - Pam Campbell. Pam was wonderful and we worked together on almost every book I wrote for Ellora's Cave. I miss her guidance.

Submission Revealed, which was always planned to be the second book, and for which I'd written the synopsis back in that quick week of May, 2004, didn't actually end up getting written until four years later and was released for the first time in May, 2009. Too many other stories crowded in between, demanding they be told. EC's art department was in transition at the time and I never liked the cover they provided. Secret Submission's cover was striking - and I never could figure out why they didn't do a visual tie-in with the covers so readers would know the two were related.

Hence the new covers for both books. While the design of Secret Submission is much the same as the original, the photo is different (I could've used the original, but the photo quality wasn't sharp anymore, so I replaced it). Submission Revealed's cover now aligns with the first book in the series, so you can tell they're partners.

So here they are, re-covered and re-released - all bright and shiny and new again. Both are available in all ebook formats. Happy reading and, as always -

Play safe!
Diana

PS. Submission Revealed is also available in print. Secret Submission is coming soon in print format.

So, what are you working on now?

I have some friends I don't see very often (maybe once a year) and every time I see them they ask, "So what are you working on now?" The question makes me realize two things: 1) they're not following my posts AND 2) I'm not posting often enough. So here goes:

What am I working on now?

I'm working on staying sane in an insane world. My country is so divided right now I worry about a civil war - and whose finger is on the nuclear button.

I'm working on writing new curriculum for a course that will be brand-new to me come fall semester. The college has asked me to teach a Freshman Year Seminar (FYS) and I said yes. It'll keep my mind young (at this point I'm fleshing out my topic: The Memior as Self-Discovery).

I'm editing and doing some major rewriting to The Revolution of Clara Simpson. It's an historical I wrote a few years back and it was denied by several publishers, one of whom gave me excellent feedback. Takes time to get back into that world - and then time to stay there, which has been in short supply lately.

I WANT to work on a fantasy I started nearly 20 years ago. It gets more timely every day - not something I expected when I first started chasing down the story. Like the historical, however, it requires my entering a world of my own creation - and staying there for a while. Hard when life pulls you out every other day - or oftener (is that a word? The spellchecker isn't marking it wrong!).

And I will work on my communication skills. Posting more often and getting back to that blog...Watch for some new re-releases coming soon - I've been working on those, too.

Play safe!

Diana

New titles, a sale and reading!

It may have seemed as if I stopped writing, but I really haven't. I've just taken on a bit more than I wanted this semester and am teaching three classes. Doesn't sound like much, does it? Except they're timed so that I'm out of the house Every Single Day. Grrr. Won't make that mistake again. I retired for a reason - I want to write full time!

It has come to my attention, however, that the purchasing page was woefully out of date. That has been rectified. You can now find the page links to Stress Relief, Love Unleashed (which you can also get in print!), and This Journey We Call Life as well as all my other currently-released titles.

Cyber Monday sale!

Of course, Cyber Monday is coming and we're going to start a day early. Those three titles are all on sale for 50% off from today until Sunday, December 3rd. Just go to Smashwords and use the coupons below to get your discount. Remember, you can download any format you need for any device you use.

Click on the title to go to its Smashwords page.

Stress Relief - coupon code   FS68Z

Love Unleashed - coupon code  YC24K

This Journey We Call Life - coupon code   HJ94B  
BTW, did you know the cover for TJWCL was painted by my husband? The painting hangs in my work room at the cabin. :)

But wait! There's more!

And if you're looking for Christmas stories, don't forget the 12 Days of Christmas (Bondage) and A Devil in Winter, also 50% off!

12 Days of Christmas (Bondage) - coupon code   HG45W

A Devil in Winter - coupon code FN46E

And finally, what I've been reading...

The Summerhouse by Jude Devereaux (a good afternoon's read)

The Black Tulip by Laura Willig (a re-read, which should tell you something!)

three other romances I forgot to write down!

Currently I'm finishing up The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (good, but a bit indulgent)

To sum up - I'm still writing, although a bit slower, so those new titles will be coming soon; there's a great Cyber Monday sale that starts today and goes all week (50% off!), and I'm reading a bunch of stories. Oh! And my kids got me into Skyrim, so I'm all about killing dragons lately. Hey, someone's got to do it!

Play safe and buy books! (and leave reviews)

Diana

Relief for your Stress is coming!

And it's called Stress Relief!

Yep, this VERY strong, VERY sexual story of Meg, a woman who enjoys a good flogging, and Rand, a strong Dom who enjoys giving Meg what she needs, is soon to be available again. This is the book that won me the "Best Dinner Scene" award at Ellora's Cave Romanticon - for the creative use of Meg as platter. :)

What you don't know, however, is that Ellora's Cave censored that scene.

You read that right. That dinner scene was too hot for EC and I had to remove entire sections of it before they would publish it. Can you imagine? Something too sexy for the editors of Ellora's Cave???

So now that I'm self-publishing - all those sections are back in place. Every juicy slurp, every teasing touch, every dastardly deed - all there for your reading pleasure.

Stress Relief is available for ebook pre-order now - at both Amazon and Smashwords - and goes live on October 8th. Pre-order your copy now and then settle in on Sunday for a hot, hot, hot time!

NOTE: The print versions that are available on Amazon are of the OLD version. The new, hotter version will be released in print before the end of the month. It's in final checks before going live.

My Reading List

On another, more mundane note - I realized I haven't updated my list of books read since mid-July. I'm missing a few I forgot to record in August, but here they are:

The Mistress of Normandy by Susan Wiggs (good romance)
The Handbook to Handling His Lordship by Suzanne Enoch (disappointing. I really wanted it to be in handbook format -and it was Just Another Romance Novel)
The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Laura Willig (a re-read. That tells you something!)
The Garden Intrigue by Laura Willig (another re-read. I'm telling you - these are worth it!)
Seven Stories to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon (Two words: Jamie. Lord John. Ok, that was three words. Sue me.)
The Lies of Lock Lamora by Scott Lynch (a fantasy that looked interesting. It was. I look forward to reading the others of his I put on my Christmas list)
The Taming of the Duke by Eloisa James (romance, entertaining)
Shadowmarch, Shadowplay, Shadowrise and Shadowheart, all by Tad Williams (I read the 1st book in this series years ago, then got the second but hadn't had time to re-read the first to bring myself up to speed. Found the 4th book at a book sale, so naturally I had to order the 3rd. Now having all, I read them in a row).

It's ALIVE!

Well, live anyway. :)

This Journey We Call Life is now available on both Amazon and Smashwords. Ten short stories - one of which has never before been published - for some very enjoyable (although not erotic) reading pleasure. Use the links to get your copy today!

Once you've read it, please return to the site where you purchased it and leave a review. Remember, we authors live and die by the number of reviews a book gets. Be honest and tell the world what you thought!

And while you're at it, pre-order Stress Relief - which will be available on October 8th - on both Amazon and Smashwords.. This is a full-length erotic romance that couldn't be further away in genre from the short stories. In fact, this might be the most extreme BDSM story Diana Hunter put her name to (the even more extreme belong to Mystic Shade. Woof!).

Happy reading and Play Safe!

Diana

Cover reveal - and some traveling

Cover reveal

I really like the cover for this collection of ten short stories. It's an early painting my husband did and there's just something about the way the colors move from a dense, gray fog into the yellows and oranges of autumn that appeals to me. The green at the bottom reminds us summer is still here even as fall approaches.

This collection has nine stories that have appeared here on the blog, most of them for only a day (the First Friday Fiction series) and one story that's never been published. None of them are erotic romance, so this is a G-rated collection. All of the stories were fun to write, even those that are in genre that stretched my abilities (action-adventure? Really?).

It will be available for pre-order in a few days and will deliver at the end of September. I'll post again with links when everything goes live. :)

And some traveling...

It's always fun when you get to visit friends who live at a distance. My husband and I live in the Finger Lakes area of New York State and we have friends who, separately and independent of each other, all decided to move to Indiana many years back. We went out to visit five years ago and thought it was time to visit the Hoosier State again.

Remembering Benjamin Franklin's adage ("Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days"), we kept our visits short, staying two nights on a farm just south of Fort Wayne and two nights in the suburbs of Indianapolis. We had a great time both places, reconnecting, solving the world's problems, and just plain ol' having fun.

From there, we headed south and I crossed another off of my list of "States Visited." I'd never been to Kentucky before - and now I'm in love with it. Not only is it beautiful, the people are friendly and food delicious. I'm only sorry we didn't take time for any of the bourbon tours.

We did, however, visit Mammoth Cave, an aptly named cave if ever there was one. Over 406 continuous miles discovered - so far! We took two tours and my only complaint was that they moved too quickly. Would've loved a bit more time to look around as we walked. I took no pictures underground (being too busy trying to stay with the group) but my husband snapped a few. Will share once I get them off his phone and onto my computer.

From there we headed to Shaker Village - originally called "Pleasant Hill." This is a museum that houses the US's largest collection of historical buildings still on their original foundations. AND it has transformed the upper stories of the buildings into rooms you can stay in. We enjoyed our stay there, especially walking around the 19th century grounds after all the tourists had gone home (we stayed in the building on the right).


So watch for This Journey We Call Life - and play safe!

Diana

A sale! New stories! A re-release and yes, I'm still reading...

A sale!

Don't forget, all titles except Love Unleashed are on sale at Smashwords through the end of July. This includes 20% off all Mystic Shade titles as well as CF Duprey and Diana Hunter titles.

New stories!

My as-yet-untitled collection of short stories will release within the next few weeks. This is the collection of First Friday Fiction that was posted here on the first Friday of the month for the past year. The collection will include not only the stories that were part of that endeavor, but will include another story never before published! I'm very excited to release this collection, even though the pieces inside are not erotic romance. :)

And if anyone has a good idea for a title, post it to my Facebook account. If I choose your title, you'll get a free copy!

A re-release!

Watch this space for the re-release of STRESS RELIEF, a very strong BDSM story that truly isn't for the faint of heart. It was actually too strong for Ellora's Cave, if you can believe it! I had to remove one scene entirely and several bits of action in order for it to pass muster with them.

Naturally, all those parts have been put back for the re-release. If you read it before, you may want to read The Author's Cut! :)

Still reading!

So I had to go to my Goodreads page and change the goal for the reading challenge. Back in January, I chose 50 books to read in 2017 as my stretch goal, thinking I might have trouble reading a book a week. Little did I expect to hit that goal this month - which means I've read, on average, TWO books a week since January. Result? I've upped my goal at Goodreads to 100 books for the year.

July isn't over yet, but here are the books I've read so far this month:

www.wake by Robert J. Sawyer (YA fantasy; part 1 of 3 - sort of ends, but lots of loose bits waving around that will be taken up in the next book. I hope.)
Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons (read the 1st volume back in Feb. and finally got the 2nd. Good!)
The Sandkings - George R.R. Martin (one of my son's favorites. It's gonna give me nightmares!)
Most Dangerous Duke in London - Madeline Hunter (romance, typical, easy read)
Pride and Petticoats - Shana Galen (romance, typical, some nice twists)
Loving Lord Ash - Sally MacKenzie (romance, typical, okay)

Once I have firm availability dates for the short story collection and for Stress Relief, I'll let everyone know.

Until then, Play safe!
Diana

OH, MY GLORY, I FORGOT TO MENTION!!!!

ALL my books are on sale this month at Smashwords, with the exception of Love Unleashed.

Yes, ALL books - Diana's, Mystic's and CF Duprey's - they're ALL on sale. Go to my profile at Smashwords to see the list of books and get 25% off!

Diana, the absent-minded

Newsletter

If you aren't already signed up for my newsletter, you should be. I don't send out one on a regular basis, but I pack it full of info and links when I do!

Use the sign up box in the upper right corner of the website to sign up, or click here to read the latest edition - and then sign up to get them delivered directly to you!

Play safe,
Diana

Of reading and re-releases

One might think, from my recent blog posts, that I do nothing with my days except read. To be fair, I accepted Goodreads Book Challenge this year and chose 50 books as my challenge, since I've read only about thirty books each year for the past several. Needed a stretch goal - yeah?

So I started reading my first book the day before January 1st (figured I needed a head start) and then...didn't stop. Until I got started, I don't think I realized how much I've missed taking the time to sit and read.

SIDENOTE: I almost wrote, "sit, do nothing, and read," but that middle phrase is such a misunderstanding of what reading is. People who are not readers think that, if you're sitting still with a book in your hands, you're doing nothing. Except that's so far from the truth. When I'm reading, I'm no longer sitting (in my chair, on the porch, or, when I was a kid, in a tree) - I'm in my head wherever the book has taken me. I'm falling in love with Jamie Fraser, I'm at the Night Circus or with Lord John, trying to solve a mystery, I'm in a brand-new world learning new languages, new customs, new people. So, "do nothing" is such a misnomer!

Anyway, I've been reading. Partly because my writing career is at loose ends and I'm not sure what I want to do about it (keep writing for sure, but changing genre - also for sure. Writing erotic romance is fun, but I think I've explored that arena about as much as I can and there isn't much new there for me to find. Time for a different challenge). I am working to get many of my past-published novels out again, reformatting and republishing them with new covers.

To that end, look for LOVE UNLEASHED by June 30th (sooner if I can get my Word program to cooperate). This collection contains three novellas: Love in the Afternoon, Writers Unblocked, and Sahara Heat. Three hot stories for some hot afternoons!

I'll post again when it's available. I'm also not sure this is the final cover. Think it needs some tweaking (opinions welcome!).

Remember, authors live and die on reviews, so if you haven't yet reviewed any of my books, feel free to go to the site where you purchased it and leave a review. Alternately, you can go to Amazon, search for the book and leave a review there. Especially there. Because of Amazon's algorithms, books often don't show up unless they have reviews. The more reviews, the more it shows up in searches, the more copies the book will sell!

Okay, back to updating the list of books I've read recently. The first book below I read in May, all the rest are June (to date!).

The Forgotten Seamstress - Liz Trenow (historical fiction)
Just My Type - Simon Garfield (non-fiction; about the history of fonts - and fascinating!)
The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband - Julia Quinn (romance, obviously. Yeah, the title is hokey, but its a Bridgerton prequel - and I'm a sucker for the Bridgerton hunks)
Counterfeit Lady - Jude Devereux (romance; forgot I'd read this one before but worth a re-read)
Starcrossed - Josephine Angelini (fantasy, YA; pissed me off. Doesn't end, story continues in next book and you know how I HATE that)
Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson (fantasy; Man, he can suck you into a world you don't want to leave!)
Elantris - Brandon Sanderson (fantasy; different world, still don't want to leave it)
Match-Up - (anthology; so far have only read Diana Gabaldon's story here; looking forward to reading the rest of the stories as the month finishes)

For those of you keeping count, I'm at 45 out of my 50. Remember that fifty was supposed to be for the YEAR and there's a good chance I'll hit it well before the end of July. Whee!

Okay, I'm off to take my own advice. Some of these 45 I've left reviews (or at least stars), but I'm behind. So going to Goodreads to make my opinion known...and boost the books for the authors!

Play safe!
Diana

Of reading, writing and surgery

And in that order....

Reading

Four books to add to the list for this month:
Temptation - Jude Devereaux (I do like her books!)
Irish Hearts (2 stories) - Nora Roberts (It had "Irish" in the title, although they are transplanted Irishwomen and the stories are set in America. )
Destiny Unleashed - Sherryl Woods (read in a day at the cabin. )
The Difference Engine - William Gibson and Bruce Sterling (Steampunk. Apparently I'm not smart enough to understand all the vague references; story is told with snippets from various characters; I finished the book [not sure why] and still can't tell you what it was supposed to be about)

Writing

Has been mostly non-fiction these past two weeks. Lots of scrapbooking - finally getting the pictures put together with the journaling from our trip last summer to Ireland and Scotland. I like scrapbooking. It gives me an opportunity to relive the time. I've been adding in bits and pieces to the scrapbook that weren't in the original journal entries posted on Facebook.

I have, however, also pulled out and begun formatting two releases, one new, one old. The new will be the collection of short stories (the First Friday Fiction series), the old will be a two-book set that includes Love in the Afternoon and Writers Unblocked. Not sure on a release date yet because....

Surgery

When I was a child, I was fearless. I strapped on my skates, tightened them down with the key and sped off down uneven sidewalks and chip-sealed driveways, the wind in my hair, my body young and lithe...often tumbling and skinning my knees and scraping my palms in the process. And each time I fell, I'd hobble my way back home (never bothering to take off the skate that had stayed on. I wasn't going to be inside that long), get patched up, and go back to my skating.

I rode my bike with the same abandon - and walked on stilts my dad made me - and never walked when I could run.

The upshot? Shot knees.

So far, the right knee has needed arthroscopic surgery two separate times. Each time the surgeon removed the growing arthritis and repaired the torn meniscus. Two and a half years after the last surgery on that knee, its doing fine.

The left knee, however, not so much. I fell on the ice a little over ten years ago and tore the meniscus. I consider myself lucky that it hasn't bothered me much since then. Unfortunately, when it decided to act up again, it has done so with a vengeance.

Tried the cortisone. Didn't work.
Tried the gel. Hurt like Hell going in. Didn't work.

Now going for surgery on my son's twenty-fifth birthday. Arthroscopic. Been there, done that. This is old hat. I always get a little nervous - undergoing anesthesia always makes me a tad nervous - but I know the recovery won't be long. I give myself the day of the surgery and the day following to wallow in self-pity. One should always allow a short period of indulgence after surgery.

But by Saturday I'll be up and walking around, unable to sit still a moment longer. Might even talk my hubby into taking me over to Waterloo, NY - the Birthplace of Memorial Day - for cheese fries!

Will post an update before, though. Play safe, everyone!
Diana

Taking the time to read

One corner of my study where I
write - and read

Every once in a while, I get the urge to follow in the footsteps of both my mom and my mother-in-law, both of whom keep (kept) lists of the books they read, by author, so they would know which titles they'd already consumed and which ones they should BOLO (be on the lookout for). That way, each time they went to a library or rummage sale, they could pull out their notebooks and check so they didn't waste that fifty cents on a book they'd already read.

Now, don't mistake me. Just because they couldn't remember titles didn't mean they didn't remember the plot and the characters - they could tell you all the twists and turns, the who did what to whom, and the Happily Ever After for nearly every book. Neither, however, could necessarily put the title with the story. Author, yes. Title, not so much.

So, in years' past, I've kept logs (I started linking to individual pages but then realized that was too many, since for 2010 at least, I reviewed each individual book as well as posted that I'd read it. Instead, type "book thoughts" into the search bar to see what I've read in the past).

I'm not good at keeping these lists up-to-date, but am truly making an effort this year. Since I last posted my list on March 1st, I've read another fifteen books (!), which I'm thinking is a record for me. At least, the adult me. The kid me would read 15 books in as many days and keep going to the library for more.

So, what am I currently up to?

These pictures were taken from
my desk (comp. screen in bottom
of photo)

In February: 
The Jane Austen Marriage Manual - Kim Izzo (chick lit and funny!)
Hyperion - Dan Simmons (excellent story but no ending - its continued into the next book - which I don't have :( )

In March:
Ready Player One - Ernest Cline (this was a re-read, it's that good)
George Washington's Secret Six - Brian Kilmeade & Dan Yeager (some of the scholarship was slanted to make a point, that I think stretched the facts a bit far)
The Night Circus - Erin Morganstern (Oh, My. Goodness. Go buy this book. NOW!)
How Reading Changed My Life - Anne Quindlen (autobiographical; interesting tidbits)
Starting Over on Blackberry Lane - Sheila Roberts (a Debbie Macomber clone, but that's not necessarily a bad thing)

In April:
The Shack - William Paul Young (wanted to read before I saw the movie)
Walking on Air - Catherine Anderson (probably shouldn't include this - I only read half before I got bored)
Murder at Longbourne - Tracey Kiely (great fun! exactly what the title implies)
Dreams of the Raven - Carmen Carter (a Star Trek novel. Yes, I'm a nerd. But you knew that...)

I love these little bottles. I've collected them since Jr. High -
each room has it's own color. My study has tan walls, green
shelves - and purple highlights!

In May (so far):
Otherwise Engaged - Amanda Quick (okay, so probably everyone knows Jayne Krentz is Amanda Quick. I didn't until I saw the lists of titles at the beginning of the book. No wonder it was so good!)
City of Bones - Cassandra Clare (a library sale find - 1st book of the Mortal Instruments series)
Her Vampire's Promise - Jordan K. Rose (sorry, just not that into vampires. Didn't finish)
Stranger in the Moonlight - Jude Deveraux (it's Jude D - what's not to like?)

All told, since the beginning of the year, that's 33 books in 19 weeks. In that same time, I've written about 10,000 words, editing and then writing further on two different fantasy novels and written another 5,000 or so words on various short stories. Not much, I know. Thank goodness summer's coming and I'll be "stuck" at the cabin with nothing to do but write!

Hope you are all well!
Play safe,
Diana

Big Goals and HOOKED

2017 Big Goals

Yes, I realize this is the first week of April and it's a little late to be making resolutions. I'm thinking that, if I make them now rather than in the heat of the New Year frenzy, I might actually keep them!

So here are my Big Three Big Goals for this year:

BG #1 - Finish one of the two fantasy novels already begun. They are huge already and there is more to be written.

BG #2 - Re-publish my backlist titles, one a month. Now that Ellora's Cave is officially no more, all my books have reverted to me (that means I own all the rights to everything again).

BG #3 - Write more short stories. Again, one a month is the goal. I'll be happy with ten for the year.


Regarding BG #1 - So far I've worked on both. Still not sure which one I want to concentrate on. Will continue to flip between worlds until I make my decision. But both stories will require multiple volumes (two or three at least). Don't worry, each volume WILL stand on its own. I HATE books that don't end!

Regarding BG #2 - This month's re-release is HOOKED and it's now available on both Smashwords and all Amazon markets. Click the title for an excerpt and for Amazon links in countries other than the US.

Regarding BG #3 - Watch for a brand-new story this Friday - part of the First Fiction Friday series of short stories. As always, it goes live at 12:01 Friday morning and will stay up until midnight Friday night. Read it while you can!

If you miss it, don't worry. All FFF stories will be available shortly in a single collection. Watch this space for more info as we get closer to summer!

Play safe, everyone!

Diana