Evolution of a story idea - When The Party's Over

  When The Party's Over was one of those magical times when a story comes fully formed to an author. I knew exactly what would happen, when it would happen and what would be the outcome. The characters where open with me and I listened and let them run the show.
  I knew Thom Kim would be a blond boy adopted by Asian parents. I knew Le Lan Lee would be ready to settle down and willing to follow Thom anywhere. I knew what the night had in store for them and well, I tried to talk them out of it.
  Their story is going to be one that needs to be explored and that will touch a lot of people's hearts I hope. I could have just told it in one installment but I think that it would be better served as the anchor to the series. I decided to open the Burning Bridges series with their novella and then let the other characters tell their stories so you will get pieces of who Thom and Lee Lee are until we finally get to their complete story. The reader will be more than ready to see how far love will take these two.
  One thing that did surprise me was Jace. He stole my heart in every scene he entered into during When The Party's Over. He was funny and I loved the bathroom scene.  It was a scene that made me laugh out loud. Watching Thom and Jace's friendship, I knew it had to be the next in the line up with Starlight and Lullabies.

Le Lan Lee has a choice to make. On New Year’s Eve, she receives a message from her past. Will she answer Fate’s call? The decision regarding helping an old flame out of a jam will lead her down the path of life or death, and love or hate.

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This is why we need diversity in romance novels.

 "Are you a lesbian?" That is normally the first question I get when I tell someone that I've written a Contemporary Romance about two women falling in love. When I have told people that I wrote about fallen angels, reapers, or reincarnation, they never ask if I am one. Why is that? I don't mind being asked if I'm apart of the LGBT community. It does make me wonder if people really think that we should only write and read about what is close to us personally. Wouldn't that be completely boring?
  I like romance of all types and Kennedy and Basil were perfect for one another. I didn't realize how insta their attraction for one another would be. Basil found Kenny intriguing from the moment she laid eyes on her. The scrapped opening from The Art Of Losing Inhibitions, she is scoping Kennedy out and was completely enamored. Then she finds out she is "straight"who wants to experiment. Or so Basil thinks. One can never really know what is in one's heart. Kennedy is going through a rough divorce. Her husband Kevin has left her for another woman. When you change yourself and become someone you don't even recognize anymore for a person and they are no longer interested you begin to question what the point of it all was. You can't build a life on lies you have to be the truest version of who you are.
  Stories like these happen in every group and community of people rather they be Black, White, Asian, Latino, gay, straight, or asexual. That is why we need diverse books and they need to be read because once you realize that essentially we are all living breathing people who often experience some of the same issues you can start to accept and love all the ways they we differ as well.

One man's trash is another woman's treasure. 
Reeling from the loss of her husband to a carefree socialite, uptight Kennedy retreats to Dasia island for a little bit of R and R. Will she learn to let loose in the arms of Basil, the wild-child trust-fund baby with a silver tongue?

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Snippet:

Basil

What the hell am I doing? Kennedy was not the kind of girl one had an island fling with. She wore pearls for Christ’s sake. She was a high maintenance, stuffy protestant princess … with the saddest green eyes and a body that begged to be touched, licked, and coveted. My pep talk of the list of Kennedy’s cons wasn’t working.

Fine. How about the fact that she’s straight? She had the indention of a wedding ring. You know what you are supposed to do with the married, straight ones. You catch, bed, and release.

Kennedy wasn’t the catch and release type.

“Okay, I’m changed. You can look.” Kennedy stepped out of the door, and my eyes widened at Kennedy’s curves in the emerald swimsuit. I forced my tongue back into my mouth.

“Wow, you look amazing.” Understatement of the year, Bas. “I … we better head out to meet Fokai.”

“Do I have to walk around like this? Can’t I put clothes over it?” Wrapping her arms around herself, Kennedy covered her stomach.

I reached over and gently took her hand into mine, effectively removing her cover. “You look great. The world should totally see.”

Alpha, Beta—Stop! Gimme the Beta and nobody gets hurt...or growled at.

 I know I'm probably one of the rare few readers who doesn't love alpha males. I just don't. I'm a paranormal girl so that is just like unacceptable. Good luck trying to find a paranormal male who won't growl "Miiiiine" at you. I mean damn can you just be a regular man? Shit!

 I have better luck finding betas in Contemporary Romance but even that is hard. Not a lot of beta MMA fighters am I right?

 No, I'll take a hot beta over that possessive shit any day of the week. They are kind, gentle, and if you are sick they will take care of you. Having a shitty day? He notices. When you get home he has your favorite dinner for you, a bottle of wine and is down to just cuddle while watching your favorite tv show. I mean how can you not dig that?

 Jace is the hero in my newest book and he is in the hottest band. He fell and love young and the girl slipped right through his fingers. Leandria is childhood sweet heart left him without so much as a see ya later. She was just gone. It left him reeling!  He won't admit to his band mates how completely fucked up he is over this, instead he writes the most heart breaking lyrics. He can't help but look for her every performance he gives at every campus. Until one day he finds her. Maybe now he can get the answer he knows he deserves but does he really want to know? The truth may destroy the love he has been harboring for the girl who ran away...forever.

Jace Johnson has one true passion and it's not making the music the world loves him for. Years ago the love of his life walked out on him taking his heart with her. For Jace, there is no song that can compare to the beautiful music he made with her. Despite all of his success, he still pines for the one who got away. 

Leandria Lancome, the top of her class Astronomy major, has had many regrets in her life but her first one is her biggest. Years ago she gave away everything else that mattered to her for the one thing that mattered most. Leandria has done all the wrong things for all the right reasons. 

For Jace and Leandria, time has done nothing to extinguish the flames of their love and desire for one another. But Leandria holds a secret so destructive that it will put Jace's devotion to the ultimate test. This time, it could be Jace's turn to leave with no goodbye.

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I hate the BLEEP!

  I have a love for the unlikable heroines. I really can't get enough of them. I find them in a way more relate-able and thus more likable than Pollyanna everybody loves me super innocent heroines. Those bitches get on my damn nerves.
  Most of my heroines, okay all of them, have been hard to like but only because they are usually hard to get to know them. I believe that once they are known they are easy to love. These women have layers and of course the outer ones are a bit hard and not pretty but once you go down deep enough you discover a vulnerability that they are desperate to protect. I love that about all my characters. I usually know exactly when I have my heroine right when a reader tells me they want to punch her in the face. My heroes take the time to know these women that a lot of readers declare as unlikable. The hero gets to know them and like me, those boys fall in love with what they discover.
  Leandria, heroine of Starlight and Lullabies is my newest heroine and probably will be the most hated. She makes some horrible decisions in life. She is young and things begin to snowball out of control and things get shaky. Guilt, regret, and passion for a boy she would do anything for -including break his heart.

Jace Johnson has one true passion and it's not making the music the world loves him for. Years ago the love of his life walked out on him taking his heart with her. For Jace, there is no song that can compare to the beautiful music he made with her. Despite all of his success, he still pines for the one who got away. 

Leandria Lancome, the top of her class Astronomy major, has had many regrets in her life but her first one is her biggest. Years ago she gave away everything else that mattered to her for the one thing that mattered most. Leandria has done all the wrong things for all the right reasons. 

For Jace and Leandria, time has done nothing to extinguish the flames of their love and desire for one another. But Leandria holds a secret so destructive that it will put Jace's devotion to the ultimate test. This time, it could be Jace's turn to leave with no goodbye.

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Book Blitz: Scarred by Marie Long

Scarred by Marie Long @marielongauthor

Scarred by Marie Long

Publication date: March 3rd 2015

Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Sometimes, love comes with a price… The past is always gonna try and bring you down, but you gotta fight. Fight hard for what you love. Fight to win is what twenty-two-year-old Dominick Anderson believes, but his life is a struggle. Growing up with an abusive father has made Dominick slow to love and trust, and he relies on his brother Kevin to keep him on a straight path. Dominick fights his demons every day, every night. Now a sophomore at the University of Washington and working a steady job at a mechanic’s shop, Dominick wants to create a better life and find the future his father never wanted him to have.
Dominick suppresses his identity and feelings until he meets Denise Ramsey. Smart, stunningly gorgeous, and sharing his love for motorcycles, Denise is everything Dominick longs for in a girl but knows he can never have. When a past love threatens her life and brings out Dominick’s suppressed dark side, he must decide if she’s worth the risk.

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Excerpt :
Chauncey’s is pretty busy by the time we arrive. With the place being only blocks away from campus, it’s one of the most popular bars, and our favorite hangout spot. Kevin finds a space across the street to park, and we get out, hustling across the street as rain pelts us.
“You know, you look ridiculous wearing those at night.” I point at his sunglasses.
Kevin adjusts his ball cap and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his brown hoodie. “I don’t give a fuck. I’m not in the mood to deal with fans right now.”
Dim lights and the smell of stale beer welcome us as we enter. The groups of college students that frequent here are standing or sitting around in their usual spots. Kevin and I find two empty stools at the bar, near where a bunch of frat guys are playing darts. “You’re Miss Dee Dee tonight, li’l bro,” Kevin says with a smirk, and then points out the vodka to Olivia, the bartender. I roll my eyes. It’s an inside joke Kevin and I have whenever we go out and drink. The one who’s named “Miss Dee Dee” first is responsible for driving, so they’re not allowed to get hammered.
“Whatever you say, Miss Daisy,” I say, and order my usual.
Olivia fills three shots and slides them in front of Kevin. He downs the first one in a single gulp, and then winces and hisses through his teeth.
I spin around in my stool so my back’s against the counter and watch the crowd at the dartboard. I recognize a few guys from Xi Rho Nu. The girls watch each guy who takes aim like predators assessing their prey. I look sidelong at Kevin, who quaffs his second shot. “Hey, Kev. You still single?”
Kevin looks up. “What the hell kinda question’s that?”
“An important one, ’cause . . . well, I met this girl at the club the other night, right? Name’s Trinity. Pretty sexy. Thing is, she’s one of Denise’s friends. She knows you and I are brothers.”
“Mmhmm.” Kevin downs his third shot and then signals Olivia to fill up three more.
“She’s cool,” I say. “But I don’t think we’d make a pair, y’know?”
“What? You can’t like her?”
“Not anything more than friends. I mean she already knows I have a thing for Denise. But the moment I mention your name her panties practically drop.”
Kevin smirks. “I tend to have that effect on the honeys.” Three more shots slide his way. He picks one up and tips his head back, emptying shot number four.
“She’s a good girl who’s looking for love, bro. You should talk to her.”
“Naw. I’m done with relationships for a while. Not after the shit I went through with the last one.”
I shake my head. “Seriously, I don’t think she’s anything like that. She’s Denise’s best friend, and from what I’ve seen, Denise doesn’t hang out with skanks like Justine.”
“Justine was worse than a skank.” Shot number five disappears quicker than I can blink.
“Trinity loves the fact that you play basketball,” I say.
“You told her that?”
“Yeah. And she thinks it’s hot.”
“Does she, now?” He traces his thumb across his smiling lips.
“Yup, and she said she wants to watch you play sometime.”
“Play what?”
“Basketball!”
He nods absently. Has the vodka already started to kick in?

AUTHOR BIO:

Marie Long is a novelist who enjoys the snowy weather, the mountains, and a cup of hot white chocolate. She's an avid supporter of literacy movements like We Need Diverse Books (WNDB) and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

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Guest Post by Michelle Moran (author of Rebel Queen)

JANAM KUNDLIS

Michelle Moran

With every book I write, I discover something about the culture I’m researching which completely blows me away, often because it’s so unusual and something I’ve never encountered before. In the case of my book, REBEL QUEEN, set in India during the British invasion, the concept of Janam Kundlis struck a chord with me, particularly since Janam Kundlis very nearly played a role in my own life and my marriage to my husband, who is Indian.

Also known as an astrological chart, a Janam Kundli is made by a priest for each child in India. No one is sure when the concept of a Janam Kundli came to be, but as Vedic astrology is several thousand years old, it’s not surprising that my protagonist’s Janam Kundli would have looked similar to my husband’s,¬ even though they were born more than a hundred years apart. A person’s Janam Kundli includes the details of their birth–time, date, planetary alignments. It also includes other things which aren’t so common in the West, such as that person’s probable future career and who they were in their most recent past life (in my husband’s case, a yogi!).

Reading a person’s natal chart is serious business. Once a person’s Janam Kundli is created, they will keep that document with them for life, producing it when it’s time for marriage. Even today, Janam Kundlis are used to make prospective matches between brides and grooms throughout India, where the majority of marriages are arranged. And woe betide anyone whose Janam Kundli declares them to be a manglik, or a bad-luck person. If that’s the case, as it was for the famous Bollywood actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, one of two options are available. You can either marry another manglik, thus canceling out your bad-luck status, or you can hire a priest to conduct a variety of ceremonies that will make it possible to marry someone who isn’t a manglik like yourself. This last option, however, is only available if the non-manglik person’s family finds the risk acceptable. In Aishwarya Rai’s case, her in-laws obviously felt the “risk” was worth it, and in 2007 she married a tree before she married her husband, thereby canceling out her bad-luck in this way.

Why a tree? Well, this was something I very nearly discovered myself when my own Janam Kundli was made. Apparently, like Aishwarya Rai, I too am probably a manglik, meaning marriage for me would most likely end in the divorce or death of my spouse. I say probably because my Janam Kundli was done online. The effect, however, was very nearly the same. Major discussions took place as to whether I would need to marry a tree before the wedding could proceed, or whether my Janam Kundli should be discounted since I am not, after all, Indian, and my Janam Kundli hadn’t “officially” been made by a priest.

In the end, it was decided that my husband should take the risk and go for it. I never had to marry a tree or even choose among a variety of clay urns for my groom. Either option, apparently, is acceptable, as it’s believed that a person’s manglik dosh can be canceled out if the manglik person’s bad luck is spent on the first marriage. Thus, the bride first marries a clay urn or a tree, then either breaks the clay urn or chops down her tree-husband in order to become a “widow” (in some places, the tree is allowed to survive). After this, the second marriage is ready to proceed without a hitch.

There are varying interpretations of this ceremony, and even though it didn’t end up affecting me, a person’s Janam Kundli can alter their destiny, just as I describe in the beginning of REBEL QUEEN. It’s cultural gems like these which make researching historical fiction such a pleasure, and it’s these type of details which I try to include in each of my books. As a writer, my hope is that they pique the reader’s interest along the way, and as a reader, they are the sort of facts which help ground me in another place and time.


Rebel Queen

From the internationally bestselling author of Nefertiti and Cleopatra’s Daughter comes the breathtaking story of Queen Lakshmi—India’s Joan of Arc—who against all odds defied the mighty British invasion to defend her beloved kingdom.

When the British Empire sets its sights on India in the mid-nineteenth century, it expects a quick and easy conquest. India is fractured and divided into kingdoms, each independent and wary of one another, seemingly no match for the might of the English. But when they arrive in the Kingdom of Jhansi, the British army is met with a surprising challenge.

Instead of surrendering, Queen Lakshmi raises two armies—one male and one female—and rides into battle, determined to protect her country and her people. Although her soldiers may not appear at first to be formidable against superior British weaponry and training, Lakshmi refuses to back down from the empire determined to take away the land she loves.

Told from the unexpected perspective of Sita—Queen Lakshmi’s most favored companion and most trusted soldier in the all-female army—Rebel Queen shines a light on a time and place rarely explored in historical fiction. In the tradition of her bestselling novel, Nefertiti, and through her strong, independent heroines fighting to make their way in a male dominated world, Michelle Moran brings nineteenth-century India to rich, vibrant life.



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