"WHAT IF?" TURNED OUT WELL

In Print or E-book

EPIC 2011 Finalist, NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES includes six novellas, one of which is mine. The five other authors and I are friends and decided to put together an anthology on a "what if we did this?" basis. Working together was fun! Not only were we able to contract the anthology with The Wild Rose Press, but we've had wonderful reviews from the result. We were #6 in the 2009 Preditors and Editors Top Ten poll last year and received a 4. rating from Romantic Times. This was the only thing I've written set in Georgia or in the Civil War time period--I prefer Texas in the years from 1870-1895. To my pleasant surprise, NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES came together rather well (in my opinion, which might be more than a little biased LOL). Over the next few weeks, I'll slip in interviews with each of the authors and ask each to share some information about her novella. First up is my long time friend, Jeanmarie Hamilton.

Jeanmarie Hamilton

Jeanmarie enjoys family and friends, oil painting, fossils -- which reminds me of her story that was inspired by a "dinosaur beach" -- and dinosaur tracks. She said, "A thirty-inch long dinosaur footprint touching your toes can change your life!" Texas is her home as it was to some of her ancestors -- men who were farmers, ranchers, judges, lawmen -- women who would rather be outside riding their horses than inside cooking, who learned to speak the language of the Lipan Apache, stopped hangings, and raised children. Jeanmarie loves writing stories set in the Southwest about heros and heroines, the problems they overcome, their fears and triumphs and the forever love they can't deny.


Caroline: Welcome, Jeanmarie. How did you come up with that idea for ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE? for the anthology?

Alsatian dress Castroville
women settlers wore

Jeanmarie: When we authors decided to write an anthology, I was interested in writing a story about my Texas ancestors' experiences. I didn't want to write about them exactly, so I used their actual history for inspiration. The town of Castroville, Texas (known as Little Alsace) voted to have a local militia unit to protect their town rather than send men to fight in the Confederate army. My great great grandfather wanted to keep the states together. He'd come to Texas from Holland in the early 1840s and it was important to him and many other farmers in that area of Texas to keep all the states together. His son became a member of the local militia.

Comanche family. Comanches were
known as Lords of the Plains

Another family story involved my great great grandmother saving the life of a Comanche brave who had been wounded and hadn't been found. The scene of how she discovered the Indian at night and removed the bullet and cared for him is actually part of my great great grandmother's story. Inspired by the militia and her experience, I developed the characters, Lexie and Clay, for "ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE?"

Caroline: Tell us about your writing schedule. Do you write full time?


Jeanmarie: I write all the time. I'm either writing a story, editing, or working on promotion for my stories. I start around 9 in the morning and stop when my husband arrives home from work around 5 or 6 pm. I take off on the weekends when he's home all day, unless I'm in a hurry to finish a project at an editor's request.

Caroline: I know you love setting books in Texas, as I do. Are you drawn to the Civil War era?


Jeanmarie: Although my story, ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE? takes place immediately the Civil War, I haven't previously written stories influenced by the Civil War. I would rather write stories about how the war influenced my characters' lives following the war and how they picked up their lives once again.

Caroline: What are the other works you have out?



Jeanmarie: I have a few out. MOONLIGHT DESPERADO published by Siren BookStrand is a werewolf western historical romance that takes place in central Texas after the Civil War. This story was inspired by an incident which involved raiders who robbed my great great grandmother in Castroville. Of course I changed it as well as the characters and added werewolves for some fun. Werewolves are strong over-the-top characters and I enjoy reading and writing about them.

SEDUCTION was my debut book out in 2009. It's a western historical romance with a little touch of pygmalion flavor. PURE HEAVEN, out with Red Rose Publishing, is a short novella, an erotic werewolf western historical romance I wrote under the name Jenette DuPris. It has received some great reviews as well, and it's part of a multi-author series titled Legends of Loving Texas.

Caroline: What do you have in the works for the future?


Jeanmarie: I just contracted another erotic werewolf story, GUARDIAN OF HER HEART, with Siren Bookstrand. This one is a contemporary story and also a novella. It is scheduled for release in March, 2011. Meanwhile, I'm working on an erotic western historical novel about a Texas Ranger and a strong-willed rancher's daughter.

Caroline: Would you give us a blurb from ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE?

Jeanmarie: Strong-willed Lexie Perreau must protect her lifelong friends, the Lipan Apache from being wrongly arrested for a deadly raid. Clay has led the local militia in times of war and peace and kept his community safe. But someone has just been killed by raiders. Now he must find the killer and agrees with the men in town that he must catch the Apache raiders responsible.


But beautiful and courageous Lexie challenges him at every turn, endangering her own life and possibly the trust and respect of the one man who holds her heart.


Caroline: How about an excerpt:


Jeanmarie: Certainly.


"Mind if I cut in?" Clay smiled at her.


"Yeah, I do mind." Al looked plainly disgruntled.


"Too bad." Clay pushed Al back, slipping between him and Lexie, taking control.


As Clay's gentle hand swept around her waist, and his other hand took hers, she breathed a sigh of relief. Relaxing in his embrace, she smiled at him as he swept her into a turn, following the music. "I didn't know if you'd make it," she admitted.


"Sorry, I was late. I wouldn't miss the dance knowing you'd be here."


At his words, Lexie looked up at his eyes. His warm gaze sent heat and that disconcerting ache streaming through her to settle low in her stomach. Oh Lord. She hoped no one noticed how he affected her. He easily led her around the room, turning her in time to the waltz until she was almost dizzy. When the music stopped, he released her from his hold and escorted her to the refreshment table.


They drank glasses of punch and afterward shared a breathtaking polka. As the dance ended and people clapped and whooped, Lexie noticed Clay's attention was drawn to the entry. She turned to see what he looked at and saw with disappointment that one of the younger militiamen stood inside the doorway gesturing for Clay to follow him.


"Looks like I'm needed for something. Hate to leave so early, but I'd better check this out." Clay turned to leave.


"No. I'll go with you." Obviously, there was trouble. What kind of danger did he face? She hurried after him as he made his way through the crowd and out the door to the road.

Caroline: Is there any other news you’d like to share? Any links?

Jeanmarie: I'm thrilled to say that the anthology, NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES, which includes "ARE YOU GOING TO THE DANCE?" is a finalist in the 2011 EPIC contest. Look for an ad for the anthology, NORTHERN ROSES AND SOUTHERN BELLES, in the January 2011 issue of RT Book Reviews. I'd love it if readers would like to sign up for my newsletter. Anyone interested can find the link on my web site at http://www.JeanmarieHamilton.com


The anthology set around the Civil War is available in both print and e-book format and is available at http://www.thewildrosepress.com/ and also on Amazon for Kindle, and most other online book sources.


Jeanmarie, thank you for sharing your experiences with us.

Evolving as a Writer, Evolving as a Reader

June and July are the Summer Reading Trail 2010. I hope you like to read--obviously you do or you wouldn't be here reading this blog. I'm also giving prizes throughout the Trail, so stick around. One comment is an entry and a follow is a second entry.

As long as I can remember I've loved books. My dad taught me to read when I was very young. I think he tired of reading the funnies and comic books. I bugged him to keep up with my favoites--Bugs Bunny, Superman, etc. Once I learned, I read whatever was handy. My mom was not a book enthusiast until later in life. She was unable to attend school for the entire year due to helping on her parents' farm, so she didn't do well in school. Besides, until she was middle aged, she thought too much reading was bad for the eyes. Then her sister insisted she read a book, and she was hooked. She rued having missed so many years of pleasure before then..

I used to haunt the library. Even after I was an adult, I made runs to the library on my lunch hour or on the way to the bus stop to load up on novels. I read on the bus all the way to and from work. I never tired of reading. I still don't! But now I buy most of my books. I reread favorites and pass the rest on to friends.

Once I began writing in earnest, I attended workshops and conferences. Not only did this change the way I write, but--here's what surprised me--it made a substantial change in the way I read. Now I noticed when authors broke the rules. How did they manage this and still continue securing contracts? Why couldn't I break the rules, too? Why were they published and I wasn't?

In the first place, well known authors have earned the right to break those rules. They've worked until they've built up a fan base whose readership guarantees their future sales. Secondly, perhaps a few of those same writers who are now successful would never be offered the first contract in today's tough publishing atmosphere. Isn't that thought a kick in the head? You know which authors I mean, I'm sure. Long, flowery descriptions to open the book. Anachronisms and faulty research in historical novels. Slow pacing. Paragraphs that last a page or more. Yawn.

Generally speaking, we are currently consumers with short attention spans. We want to get to the meat of the story fast. Short phrases interspersed to give us the weather and mood when necessary, but no long descriptions of the weather or the room. We want the hero and heroine to meet early in the book (or movie. How do you suppose Sleepless In Seattle sold as a screenplay? Wouldn't it be a shame if it hadn't?). Quick action, lots of dialogue, no long paragraphs without a break. No sentences that take three or four lines on the page.

My critique partner and friend Jeanmarie Hamilton and I often talk about writing trends. She writes historicals and erotica; I write sweet contemporaries, and sensual historicals and paranormals. Both of us write romance. We are constantly noticing new trends and puzzling over them and how to incorporate them into our writing. As the King of Siam said in The King and I, "It's a puzzlement."

This doesn't mean that I don't like older novels. I do! I love Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Marjorie Allingham, and others of the Golden Age. I can't read some of the older writers--those with heroines Too Stupid To Live. You know the ones I mean. The heroine is wearing a white nightgown and hears a noise. She takes her candle/lantern/flashlight to investigate, even though she knows there's a killer on the loose. Writers call her TSTL--Too Stupid To Live. My friend Sandy Crowley once wrote herself into a corner with her heroine facing killers in an alley. She said, "I just left her there for a day. I figured I'd created someone TSTL."

Since writing has evolved, writers' techniques must also evolve or they'll be left behind. I have to write fast so I'll have time to blog and comment on other blogs and go on Facebook and Tweet on Twitter and go to writer's meetings and speak to community groups. Good grief, no wonder I'm tired. That's why Hero brings me an occasional soda or tea, snack, or meal so I can hibernate in my nice, pink cave and keep writing my heart out and trying to please readers. What a guy!

The whole idea of this is that readers' tastes change, too. How has your taste in books changed in the last decade? Do you still read the same authors you read ten years ago?