Once a month, Bria Quinlan and Alexia Reed host a bunch of authors who get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just be a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site or click on the banner above!

This month’s excerpt is from an abandoned holiday themed contemporary. There’s still something about the characters that keeps me from simply deleting the file, so I hope you enjoy this snipped and don’t have to experience anything similar to their travel woes. I’ve got something different in the works for Excerpt Mondays in 2011, but you’ll have to come back in January to find out what exactly. Until then…

Continue reading “Excerpt Monday: Take 17” →

Once a month, Bria Quinlan and Alexia Reed host a bunch of authors who get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just be a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site or click on the banner above!

This month’s excerpt is an extended version of the opening of Revealed which got a total revamp during Bria’s SYTYCW contest. I learned so much with this contest. I think the biggest thing was that I could tell people that I’m writing a romance novel and most of them didn’t laugh at me. Ok. You got me. None of them did, at least not to my face. The other things I learned were don’t overthink/overwrite the life out of something. Sometimes you have to go with your first instincts and always get someone else to read it before hitting send. If you decide you don’t like the second sentence, for example, you’re stuck with it in this type of contest — make a note in your word file to change it later and move on!

If you’re one of the many that I begged votes from, you can read the original 2400 word version of Marcia’s story by clicking on it. It reveals something of the trauma she experienced at her first ball. After going back and rereading it just now, I’m surprised to see what I’ve kept and what’s been tossed or changed in taking the original 2400 words and expanding it to its current 41,000-word length. It’s definitely still a work in progress.

Read on below to see the new opening chapter and get a chance to meet the hero (if you’re not a regular reader here at the blog).

Continue reading “Excerpt Monday: SYTYCW Opening” →

Once a month, Bria Quinlan and Alexia Reed host a bunch of authors who get together and post excerpts from published books, contracted work or works in progress, and link to each other. You don’t have to be published to participate–just be a writer with an excerpt you’d like to share. For more info on how to participate, head over to the Excerpt Monday site or click on the banner above!

This month’s excerpt isn’t exactly an excerpt, but more of the spark for one of my works in progress, Sweet Temptation, a Regency-set Romantic Comedy which explores issues of identity and gender. Part of the idea came from listening to When I Was a Boy by Dar Williams and speculating on what would happen to similar characters in the Regency Era. The identity issues came from the similarity of the two female friends’ names and wondering what if neither the heroine or the hero are who they present themselves to be. Then I thought, “But what if they fall in love with each others true selves?”

I thought it might be interesting to share this behind the scenes look for a change. Where do you find your inspiration?
Continue reading “Excerpt Monday: Take 15” →