This Bad Boy is Done!

There is nothing sweeter than finishing a manuscript. All of the blood, sweat and tears, fist pounding, hair pulling, more gray hair (which in turn leads to coloring), swearing at the CP for yet another redo and a year of your life buried in your writer's cave... You better believe it was worth it! What a ride!

I am pleased to announce that Bewitching a Highland Rogue, Book 2 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series is complete! Declan MacGregor. I think everyone will love his arrogant alpha arse. Think of him as the Gannicus of the Highlands--a Highland rock star. Of course the beautiful Lady Liadain Campbell sees right through his roguish act. In fact, she's been known to put him in his place a time or two. ;-)

Highland Savior, Book 1 of the Bad Boys of the Highlands series is scheduled for release in Fall 2012. Sourcebooks is deciding on the launch date this week. Woo-hoo!

That pretty much leaves me plotting Book 3. Mmm... Heroes and heroines are named, plot(s) are forming, I might need a few names for villains. Anyone tick you off as of late? Let me know and I'll slip them in or behead them. Frankly, I'll leave it up to you. 

Channeling Your Muse

Sometimes she deserts me. Now and then she awakens me in the early hours of the morn. At times she's my biggest obstacle and every so often she's my best friend. My muse. *sigh* What a fickle creature.

I have to admit, she does cooperate the majority of the time, but there are moments when I could literally (no pun intended) strangle her. How can the words flow out onto the keyboard as if I am a mere vassal serving her brilliant mind and then other times I have absolutely no idea where her thoughts wondered off to? What was she thinking? My 6 year-old could have written better than that.

On occasion, she surprises me. Believe me... those times are not only welcome, but treasured. The other day while riding and writing on public transportation, *cringe*, I was deep into an emotional scene between my hero and heroine. Verbal swords were drawn like daggers and disparaging words were thrown like stones. "Last stop" is announced over the speaker just as I clicked off the Alphasmart. Perfect timing.

Bypassing the herding cattle, I show my ticket to the poor agent enclosed in the metal box and climb the stairs to my car. All of a sudden, I take a mental step back? What is the matter with me? My heart is racing a mile a minute. My blood is pounding. In fact, it's boiling. I was cognizant of the fact that I'm actually angry... for no reason. 

PMS? Not quite! The muse not only kicked into gear, but she was in overdrive! Almost as if I was an actor immersing myself into a role, my characters came to life within me. Needless to say, Liadain and Declan's sparring match impacted my mood. After a few calming breaths and laughing at the depths of my creativity, I only pray she decides to grace me with such gifts again.

Tell me. Has your muse ever influenced your life?

I Got the Call... From My Mother

In my local chapter, we had conversed a time or two about letting family members read our own material. Just the thought chilled me to the bone. I had absolutely no intention of letting any blood relative read Highland Savior. My first m/s? My baby? My love scenes? Yikes!

Even though I write historical romance and the scenes are nowhere near as juicy or hot (no pun intended) as erotica, the thought of actually having a close relative read my literary masterpiece... *shiver* was too close to home. Then again, what did I expect would happen when I'm published?

Having one m/s under my belt, I started working on Bewitching a Highland Rogue and tucked away the memory of Highland Savior. So when my mom asked me to send her Highland Savior so she could read the finished product, I did what any daughter would do in the same situation... I dodged. 

She does not read romance novels. She reads everything else. What would she think of her oldest daughter writing romance? She's never read anything I've written. OMG! What would she think of my love scenes? *cringe* As you know, you can only put off your mother for so long. It did not take her long to call my bluff. 

Stammering a bunch of malarkey, I told her my concerns and she waved me off.   

"I will skip over any sex scenes and just read the rest. Besides, they say to write what you know," she chuckles, winking.

Note: Oh, yes. The dh takes pride in admitting he was the test subject for those scenes ;) 

Men.

Biting the bullet, I attach the m/s and press 'send.' OMG! What was I thinking? What had I done? She hates romance novels. I guess it's just like any other critique and I would just have to suck it up and pray for the best. I immersed myself in writing and forgot about it--intentionally. Oh, God. I wonder if she's at the part where Ciaran... You get the idea.

My phone rings and imagine my surprise and my speechlessness (which does not occur too often) when intense seriousness greets me on the other end. 

"I just called to tell you that I finished your manuscript and I'm just going to tell you honestly what I thought."

Oh, God. Here it comes. She hated it. Why else would she be so serious? *closing eyes and mentally preparing self*

"Once I got through all of the Scottish crap, it was really good."
Note: Mom hates romance novels and Scottish crap.

Recovering, I wipe my brow. "Really? Did you have any trouble with the dialogue?"
Note: I write with a slight Scottish brogue and throw in the occasional Gaelic.

"No! It was a quick read and I was done in four hours. I didn't have any trouble with it. I am not lying to you when I say that I could not put it down. I just had to finish it and know what happened. You tell a really good story. I enjoyed it and I was really impressed. You didn't preach to me or try to teach me a lesson and just entertained me. I even read the sex scenes and thought they were fine. I didn't even have to skip over them."

I had to admit, that was certainly a welcome shock. I guess when it comes down to it, a story is a story regardless of genre. Does it entertain? Romance or not. There's your proof. 

What about you? Do you let your family read your material and what do they think?