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Jess Granger, I Get By…August 29, 2009 at 5:00 am | Category: Guest Blogger, blog
First of all, I want to thank Sandra for inviting me here today. I met her, (over and over (okay I must have been subconsciously stalking her. I couldn’t help seeing her everywhere.) at the RWA National Convention this year. She’s a naturally open, friendly, smart, fun and beautiful lady. I had a great time at the convention and really enjoyed our conversations. I did a lot of people watching during the convention. You can tell who’s comfortable talking with and meeting new people. I love meeting new people. I love making new friends. I’m so excited to get random emails from people I don’t know, if they want to talk about the book. That is awesome. Maybe this thirst for getting to know people is part of what drives me to create new characters. I love my hero and heroine, but for me, sometimes it is the supporting cast of secondary characters that makes or breaks a book.
Here’s the blurb. In a universe torn apart by civil war, a warrior and a slave must fight for their freedom, for their lives, and for a love that may destroy them both… After five years behind enemy lines, Captain Cyani is ready to retire to her homeworld of Azra as one of the Elite — the celibate warrior sisterhood that rules the planet. But first she must complete one final mission to rescue her fellow Union soldiers. The last thing she expects to find is a prisoner, chained and beaten — but radiating feral power and an unbroken spirit… Soren is a Byralen, an enigmatic people who possess a unique hormone that they use to bond with their mates — and that is sold as a sexual narcotic in the shadow trade. For years, he has endured torture at the hands of his captors as they leeched his very essence. The last thing he expects is to be freed from slavery by a beautiful warrior woman with radiant blue eyes. Driven by her rigid sense of honor, Cyani frees Soren even though her life hinges upon the success of her mission. But after so many years in bondage, his hormones are so unbalanced that he will die if he does not bond with a woman. Can the lovely but distant warrior be the woman he needs to survive, or will the forbidden bond destroy them? While Beyond the Rain is at it’s heart and core a Romance, and the focus is clearly on Soren and Cyani, I had a great time filling out the book with some interesting secondary characters. Some of them will continue on into their own stories. From Cyani’s loyal soldiers Hatch and Tola, to the exotic and slightly cocky Makkolen prince, Kaln, or the rugged smuggler-captain Xan, I find myself drawn to the secondary cast of men as inspiration for future books. How could I not? They’re all so darn sexy. Especially Xan. He’s trouble, I can tell. However, at least two women, perhaps more, might have a story of their own in there somewhere. I just don’t know what relationships with my characters will turn into long and interesting friendships that inspire full novels, and which ones will be a pleasant conversation or two, then nothing more. Sometimes that’s the way life is. I certainly hope some of the people I met, *ahem Sandra* turn into enduring friends, but I’m glad for the ones that come in and out of my life as well. Like characters, we all have our place in the story. I just hope to make the story as exciting and romantic as I can. It’s been a pleasure! Jess
At Earth’s Edge By Christine McKay ~ Reviewed at RIAugust 22, 2009 at 10:51 am | Category: blog Today at Romantic Inks, I’ve reviewed At Earth’s Edge By Christine McKay Stop on by and see what I had to say about it!
New Relase ~ The Silver Casket By: Debbie MumfordAugust 18, 2009 at 5:00 am | Category: New Relase, blog  Cat Logan, a young American with a recent degree in medieval literature, travels to Scotland to discover her Celtic roots. She finds more than she bargained for when a mysterious silver casket (rumored to hold the desiccated heart of a long dead Scottish laird) transports her back in time to the 1400s and the man whose heart she holds in her hands. Publisher: Freya’s Bower
Nat & Alex Wolff ~ And The Kidlets’ 1st Concert ExperienceAugust 15, 2009 at 6:10 pm | Category: blog Okay, any of you following my recent Tweets and Facebook/MySpace updates, know Darling Husband (DH) and I took the kidlets to their first concert yesterday. But, you may not be aware of how truly amazing this trip/day was for the entire family. It all started while I was away at the Romance Writers of America National Conference in DC, this year. I got a call from DH. “Sandy!” he said. “The Naked Brother’s Band is touring! Well, Nat & Alex are. Rosalina and the rest of TNBB won’t be there.” (Let me share that both DH and I actually really enjoy TNBB music. These kids are amazingly talented and not just with your tweeny kid boppy kind of stuff. They are a little bit Beatlesesque with a healthy bit of grunge added in to make them really rock!) Anyway, DH asked if we could make this happen. And I said, “Let’s do it!” Okay, another small interjection is needed here…DH found out about the Nat & Alex Wolff Summer Tour while looking into purchasing tickets for the two of us to see Kid Rock who was set to play near us on the same weekend. This was quite the dilemma for the DH. He loves Kid Rock. He really debated over a kidlet free night out or a kidtastic weekend with the whole fam. In the end…Well, DH happens to be the BESTEST PAPA EVER! So, we decide to make this an uber special event for the kidlets. One, we did not tell them about the concert. This was especially hard as we had the tickets for more than a month prior to concert day. But, we knew the pay-off would be well worth it. DH booked a room at a nearby hotel and the game was on. Early yesterday morning, we pile two sleepy kidlets into the car and…LIE THROUGH OUR TEETH! “We’ve got some errands to run guys. Let’s go.” (Papa had already snuck their over night packs into the car the night before.) When we pass Albany, the kidlets start asking questions. “Where are we going, Mama?” “Oh, well…shopping. Uh, to a mall…yeah.” “What mall, Mama?” “A…uhh….new mall. In…ummm…” (I notice a sign to Holyoke.) “The Holyoke Mall, guys. Why don’t you read or play or something?” Now, I’m sure anyone following the above mentioned Tweets and status updates have seen the strange “I’m going to see @natandalex in Wallingford, CT and I want to go to their pre-show soundcheck party!” updates DH and I have been maniacally posting. This was for a contest to try to get to the…well, the pre-show soundcheck party. We did not win. However, it did get us signed up to follow Nat & Alex on twitter. And so somewhere outside of CT, we saw their tweet asking the fans headed to the Wallingford concert for help. Alex wanted everyone to bring hats…construction hats to be specific. He wouldn’t share much info, but mentioned it would involve drum sticks and the band wearing said hats. In the mean time, kidlets still don’t know what’s going on… “Mama, I have to go pee,” complains little man. “Yeah, me too,” chimes in little lady. DH and I exchange looks. At this point we’re very close to the hotel. “Ummm, Mama has an errand to run for work so we have to stop. She’ll see if you can run in to use the bathroom, guys.” We pull into the hotel parking lot. “What do you have to do here, Mama?” “Oh…um…just a…uhh…thing. Wait here and I’ll come back if you can use the bathroom.” I run into the hotel and check us in. I am about to burst with excitement just knowing the kidlets are going to freak when they find out they’re finally staying in a hotel. They’ve been begging us for years. Even to stay in a local one. It’s just the novelty of not being home, I guess. I go back to the car and gather DH and kidlets. “Okay, guys, they said you can use the bathroom. let’s go.” And, since my kidlets don’t like to make anything easy. Sigh. “Nahh, we don’t have to go anymore. Let’s just go to the mall. WHAT?! NO! You have to go in. Arrrggghhhh! “Oh, well, I still have to go. So everybody out of the car.” We all file into the hotel and to the elevators and down the hall to room 412. I stick in the key card and open the door and say, “Go on in, guys and use the bathroom in our hotel room.” Stunned silence. “Go on,” DH says from behind. More stunned silence. Then, both at the same time, “Our what? What do you mean, Mama?” I’m grinning like a loon now. “I mean go into the hotel room we are staying at tonight and use the bathro–” Squeals of excitement and shock drown out anything more I might have wanted to say. DH meets my gaze over their heads and we share a special smile. This is one of those really cool and rewarding times to be a parent. To see pure joy in your little one’s faces and to know you’re responsible for putting it there. It’s a beautiful thing. And makes all those times they make you want to pull your hair out worth it. But wait! The surprises aren’t over. We’ve still got a concert to go to… We get settled into the room, tell the kidlets about the pool and how we’re going to order room service (Come on, you’ve gotta have the whole hotel experience right?), and hand them the concert tickets. And wait while they read them… Stunned silence…blank looks… DH and I grinning like loons. “Nat and Alex Wolff,” they ask in unison? “Really? Seriously?!” “Yep.” Pandemonium. Two parents grinning like loons… So, when things calm a bit, we head down for a swim in the pool. But, we haven’t forgotten about Nat & Alex’s call for hard hats. So on the way back up to the room, DH stops a maintenance guy and asks if he has two hard hats to spare. This guy goes above and beyond the call of duty to hunt two down. But as he comes back, two hats in hand, he let’s us know he’ll need them back…except we can’t promise that. And sadly, we thank him but have to decline his very generous offer. But wait! He recommends going to Lowes, which is right around the corner. “They’re really cheap,” he says. And that’s all DH needs to hear. He leaves immediately to hunt down 2 hard hats for the kids to take to the concert. And, after a yummy meal in the room and showers, it’s time for the show. Everyone is super excited. EVERYONE! The venue is large and beautiful and there are lots of excited kids. My two look around and quietly point out…”Mama, we’re the only ones wearing hard hats.” DH and I assure them others must have them too. I mean, we can’t be the ONLY ones who got the tweet. No more thoughts on that when the opening act walks on stage. They’re a young all girls’ band called Care Bears on Fire. And they’re very angsty and high energy…and as an author, I immediately had all kinds of authorly thoughts of a new YA series. Yeah, I’ll have to revisit that when my current work-in-progress is in submission world. Then it’s time. A crazy hush falls over the venue. Until screams and cheers and…there they are! Nat and Alex Wolff. On stage and my kidlets are quietly absorbing it all. No wild and crazy cheering or screaming from them. Nope. Just wide eyed stares of awe. Oh, and DH and myself grinning like loons as we make eye-contact above their heads. Nat & Alex really know how to rock it out, people. I mean seriously. As adults, even DH and I were into it. It’s very easy to forget how young these kids are in light of their very adult sound. I would have no compunction playing this music without a kid in sight. They’re just that good. And they write their own stuff. Amazing. Then half way through the concert, Nat asks if anyone brought those hard hats. The lights shine on the audience. My kids jump up waving and pointing to the bright yellow hats on their heads. And they’re spotted. Nat asks them to bring them to the stage. How exciting! I follow the kidlets up to the front of the stage and watch with a huge smile as my little ones hand up their hats to Nat. And then he says their names over the mic and thanks them. It was really, really cool. What’s Cooler? Nat & Alex’s mom, Polly Draper of the hit show Thirtysomething, who happened to be standing right next to me. On a side note here, DH and I truly admire both their mom and their dad for their level of involvement in their kids’ lives. Those kids are very grounded and I offer true kudos to their parents. Gasp! Really?! OMG! Up goes Jonas, helped by security. Up goes Amelia, lifted onto the stage as well. I watch as my two little ones sing Crazy Car, a song I’d heard them sing countless times when they were tiny tykes still in car seats. I’m not going to lie, people. I got all misty. These are my babies! On stage with a group they’ve loved and admired for years! The rest of the concert was incredible. Their cover of A Hard Day’s Night, which was seriously grunged out, had DH and I up and dancing right along with the kids. I mean it was AMAZING! And Nat played this beautiful new ballad on his keyboard. It should be noted that Alex also played and sang a beautiful song at the keyboard. These kids are so incredibly talented. And I know it’s not for lack of training and practice. They’re dedicated and love what they do and it shows. Bravo! Then the concert came to a close and we started to head down our aisle. But I noticed Nat and Alex’s mom looking around with purpose and I wondered…could she be looking for us? We made eye contact and she waved me down to the front of the auditorium. When I make it down there with the kidlets in tow, she tells me she’d like to have Nat and Alex sign the kids’ hats and give them back. So we follow her and suddenly find ourselves invited BACKSTAGE!!!
But back in the Green Room, we got to meet the stars themselves. And they are really gracious and cool. And, as my daughter continuously points out, “Nat is REALLY tall, Mama.” Yes, he is because my 5′ 9″ self had to look up a tad to meet his eyes when I spoke with him. He’s only 14. That is tall. I have to say, this was an experience no one in our household will ever forget. And DH and I keep reminding the kidlets that this isn’t the norm. DH said, “Guys, I’ve been going to concerts my whole life and I’ve never been asked on or backstage. Ever.” As our kids think we’re ancient, the look of awe and amazement on their cherubic little faces was quite comical. LOL. So, how about you? (Anyone still with us, that is. I know this is THE longest post I’ve ever done. But, hey! There was a lot to share!) Have you ever had the rock star treatment? Have you ever made it backstage to meet one of your idols? Tell us about it! And if you haven’t, who WOULD you like to meet that way? Here’s a Little Thank You to Nat & Alex.
You Guys Rock! ~ Sandy
Back to School Shopping…Already?! Ack!August 13, 2009 at 7:11 pm | Category: blog Yep, it is that time of year. Again. When the kidlets start getting all strung out from a full and tiring summer. They’re ready to go back to school. I am ready for them to go back to school. And I know the darling hubby, who works evenings so got to “entertain” two elementary aged kidlets all summer long, is more than ready for them to go back to school. What isn’t ready? My poor wallet. That’s what. But school shopping waits on no one. And darling daughter is more than ready to dip into it. She was in Target earlier today and felt the need to text me a couple of pictures of school outfits she’d put together. I have to say, I’m actually impressed with her sense of style. I like the outfits she chose. Go figure! Now, just to make sure we get all the other things on their list. WHY?! I ask, do I need to provide tissues for the class? I know my parents never had to worry about outfitting me with tissues or glue. These were things that came out of tax monies. Not anymore, it seems. How about you? If your kids are still in school, what are some of the things they’re having YOU provide? And if your kids are out of school (LUCKY!) how different were the shopping lists from then to now? Sandy
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Hi everyone!
I cannot express how cool or exciting this is for both the kidlets and myself. Poor DH was not near us when this happened so, sadly, he ended up waiting for us in the lobby.
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