Another Excerpt From “Someday In Dublin” – Don’t Piss Off The Leprechauns!
In Someday in Dublin, Michael and Amy take a tour of the countryside and do a little shopping. Amy is determined to pick up a few certain things from her list.
“What do you think of these?’ she asked, holding up a pair of odd-looking girl and boy leprechaun salt and pepper shakers.
“I think they’re horrid,” he said. “You don’t plan to pay money for those, do you?”
“They’re not much money. And I think they’re cute.”
“The pepper leprechaun looks rather wonky. Her leprechaun breasts are uneven.”
She gave him a look. “Leave it to a man to focus on leprechaun breasts. Fine. I’ll put them back.”
“I’m only codding ya,” he said. “Buy them if you’d like.”
“I can’t look at the pepper without seeing her freaky boobs now.” Continue reading
Mystery And Intrigue – And How The Difference Can Move Your Plot Along #writingtips #amwriting #writers
One of the things I try to remember as I write is that everyone loves a good mystery.
Which is sort of funny to think about if you knew me – I personally don’t like to read mystery books or whodunits. I can appreciate the craftsmanship, but I never have the patience to put clues together and I end up skipping to the end every time.
However, I do love when a mystery presents itself in a book that’s primarily about other things, like romance, or friendship or teenage wizards or something. And as a writer, it’s always awesome when I can surprise the hell out of my readers (and occasionally, myself) with a reveal or a plot twist or a series of clues that finally fit together with that final piece in place.
And that, my friends, is where mystery and intrigue come into play.
These are two different concepts, and not a lot of people realize that when they start writing. I know I didn’t. To put it into layman’s terms, mystery is when the author withholds something from the reader. Intrigue is when one character withholds something from another.
We, the audience, are not privy to the first and it’s as big a shock to us as it is to whoever it’s being revealed to. The second we saw coming, and are eagerly awaiting the reaction of whomever it is that’s getting that information, because we know their response is going to determine where this story goes.
If you find yourself getting bogged down and bored in your manuscript, think about the concepts of mystery and intrigue – you may be able to use on or the other to move things along, or deepen a plotline, or add an interesting new twist.
Working Hard On HARD LABOR #amwriting #erotica #eroticromance
I’m technically on vacation this week, but with a writer that’s not really much of a thing. If anything, it gives me more time to write. Today, I’m putting together my latest novella, Hard Labor. Would you like a little tease?
Lexa Bradley got the beach house when she and her husband split. The problem is, the thing needs a lot of work done. She hires a contractor that can give her what she needs – in more ways than one…
#FanFic Friday! Pandora Comes To Storybrooke, And There’s Hell To Pay #OnceUponATime #CaptainSwan #Hookers #Oncers
In Pandora’s Pain, my most recent Fanfic for Once Upon A Time, we see a visitor arrive in Storybrooke, and she’s plagued by a terrible curse that sends everyone in town back to a dark time in their lives. In this scene, Hook, Emma and Henry are out for a sunset cruise when they realize something has gone very, very wrong:
Killian was right, Emma thought to herself. Henry handled the wheel like he was born with one in his hand.
She reached up to pull a piece of flyaway hair out of her eyes, but Killian beat her to it, curling the strand around his finger and tucking it gently behind her ear. She smiled up at him, leaning back into him slightly as she looked out at the water from her place at the bow. He slid his arm around her middle, and she tried very hard to ignore the casual way his thumb was stroking her belly through the cotton of her tee shirt.
“Better zip that jacket up,” he murmured low in her ear. “Once the sun is all the way down, it gets chilly on the water.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “What? You’re not going to offer to keep me warm? You’re slipping.”
“I’d be happy to keep you warm love,” he grinned. “I’m still remarkably hot-blooded. But there is a child aboard so I’ve chosen to remain more…circumspect.”
“Is that so?”
He kissed her forehead, and she could feel his smile against her as he did.
They stood in silence for several minutes, just watching the sun sink into the sea. Killian had been right about that, too – it was incredibly romantic. She sighed, lifting her head from where she’d leaned it back against his chest.
“Why the long sigh, Swan?” he asked. “You’re not turning pensive on me, are you?”
“Maybe a little bit,” she confessed. “Just thinking about what life must be like – looking at this every day.”
“And now you know why the sea is any sailor’s first love,” he replied. “I suppose his ship is his second.”
And you gave up your ship for me, she thought. A glance over her shoulder at his face said he was probably thinking the same thing.
And This Is Why You Always Order A Hard Copy Proof Of Your Printed Book
Yes, that’s the print copy proof of Someday In Dublin, held in my hot little hand. Oh, it’s marvelous!
And it’s f**ked up.
Something in the conversion process went awry – I’m not sure what because the template is letter perfect – and the first four chapters have double-spacing between the paragraphs. I don’t know why and they don’t know why and we don’t know why. And I caught two little typos that somehow slipped by me before. Ugh. Continue reading
Sky Woman Is FREE on Fridays In June! Here’s An Excerpt! #FridayReads #amwritingromance #romance #amwritingfantasy
In Sky Woman, the first book of my Seeder Saga, Miri Reynolds finds herself kidnapped and taken to another planet, where she initially meets up with a shady man whose motives are less than friendly. Miri’s fair hair and blue eyes make her a valuable commodity in this land.
In this chapter, Miri tries to escape his clutches and finds herself running headlong into Lunan – who ends up being her ticket out of there. Continue reading
My Great Big List Of Writing Resources #amwriting #writingtips #writing
From time to time I clean out my bookmark file and go back through some of the writing resources that I’ve found particularly helpful. I’m going to share these today and maybe you’ll find some use for them, too.
I’ll start with this marvelous item I found in the writing community on Reddit – It’s a list of current writing deadlines for various publications. Special thanks to redditor u/motopoeta, who got these originally from the monthly email that’s sent out at Literistic. If you want to see this on a monthly basis, go to Literistic and subscribe!
Ray Bradbury (one of my all-time favorite authors) on how list making can improve your creativity.
5 Ways To Stretch Your Word Count
The Free Visual Online Dictionary – for when you need to find the right word. Continue reading
Sail Away To A Magical Realm And Spend Eight Nights At Sea! #romance #fantasy #amwriting
What happens when a sexy, sarcastic pirate meets a sensual stowaway and her secretive sibling?
I’ll give you one guess, and it starts with “S.”
STEAM. Serious steam.
Zephyr Jamieson is sailing the seas of a magical realm, where witches and mermaids and other magical creatures abound. When he pulls Rina and her brother Aven out of the hold of his ship, he can either pitch them over the side or find a way to help them get what they need…for a price.
Here are just a few of the reviews for Eight Nights At Sea:
“This love story is so softly mystical. The details wrap around your heart and pull you in.”
“This is one of the best stories I’ve ever read! I would trade places with Rina in a heartbeat! Pirate Zephyr melted my heart…”
“I absolutely loved everything about this book.”
“If you love a good pirate, or even if you don’t – this story is so magical it will make your heart spin.”
What To Do When Projects Are Warring In Your Head
So here’s what’s going on in my writerbrain right now.
I have not one, but two projects to finish under my other pen name. One is a rework of my YA novel (which is itself part of a larger trilogy), and the other is a semi-memoir kind of thing that’s one of those “truth is stranger than fiction” kind of stories. Those have deadlines in the immediate future. They are a priority.
And along with those priorities, comes my hashing out the over-arcing story and plot points of my Elemental Novels, a fantasy romance series in four parts based on Earth, Air, Fire and Water. This thing is epic in its scope, and I’m working hard to intertwine the stories before I really start fleshing it out and filling it in. Continue reading
Britt DeLaney 