5 ways writing is eerily like Zumba

Dancing is one of my many addictions. So when I can have a whole workout where I dance and burn lots of calories, I’m in. I love Zumba- the Latin/Afro/Reggae beat mix of music with a varying combination of movements. I recently started attending a new to me Zumba class near my home. One thing you need to know about this type of exercise is that not every instructor is the same. So you can go to ten different classes and get ten different styles. This leader was Type 1 energetic and I liked her very much.

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Every time I attempt to get coordinated with the instructors movements I look around the room and attempt to keep my laughter to myself  when observing some of the other participants’ movements. The most interesting part was that they didn’t give a flying fig that they were moving left when they should’ve been moving backwards. And then the connection between Zumba and writing hit me. Here we are with a handy dandy comparison list of writing and Zumba.

1. Courage is a must. Dancing is one thing. Dancing while following directions you’ve never seen before in front of a whole bunch of people can be embarrassing if you let it be. Those who do Zumba are similar to those who write in that they take more of a “I don’t give a damn” approach. They do it in spite of the fear and risk for embarrassment and failure.
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2. Everyone has their own style. How many writing styles have you come across in your lifetime of reading? I’d venture to guess that as many authors as exist or have existed are how many styles there are. In Zumba I’m pretty quick to catch up with the movements while others aren’t as lucky. I smile virtually throughout the whole class because I’m having so much fun with the workout while others are frowning as they struggle to breath. When you look at the people in a Zumba class, even though they’re doing the same (or similar) movements, they each add their own flare.
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3. You will mess up. I don’t think this needs explanation. Even the instructor in a Zumba class messes up, what more the participants? Writers mess up all the time. No written work is perfect, but we don’t stop writing even though we know we’re going to mess up. Just like with Zumba we continue to hone our craft and get better, knowing that we will get things wrong, but a little less each time.
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4. It’s fun. Yeah it is! When I’m in a grove with writing, I don’t want to stop because I’m enjoying it too much. Just like Zumba. One minute you’re starting and in what feels like no time the cool down music is playing.
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5. You don’t like every aspect of it. For me there is always one or two songs that come on during a Zumba class that make me groan with displeasure because either I don’t like the choreography or the song itself. The same is true about writing. I don’t enjoy writing heavily emotional scenes because for me they are a lot of work. And yet just like with Zumba I plow through and get it done so I can get back to fun part.

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So am I right or am I wrong? Let me know in the comments section. And if you’ve never done Zumba before get to dancing. If you’ve always wanted to write and haven’t, then get to writing.

Top 6 questions every writer is plagued with (hint: self-doubt)

I’ve encountered these, or similar questions on so many writer’s blog posts. That’s because in essence Writing = Insecurity. Even when you’ve finished a story, your beta readers have given it the thumbs up and you think you’re as hot as a buttermilk biscuit fresh from the oven. BAM! Something snags you back to a state of WTF am I doing? Usually that reality is brought to you by a special care package from a publisher or agent you queried.

The questions about your adequacy as a writer start to flying and fear walks up boldly and laughs in your face (When I write you, I totally mean me!).

1. Am I good? This is number one on the list. I’m not asking an esoteric question here about my personality or my behavior. I want to know if I’m a good writer. I’ve had seven books published – by three publishers who took a chance on me. It should give me the answer right?  WRONG!

2. Why don’t they like me?  This is asked as you sit at a table which is about to buckle because it’s overburdened with ice cream, brownies, rice crispy treats (fill in what makes you happy) stuffing your face.

3. Did everyone who has ever read my books lie to me to spare my feelings? This may sound ridiculous, but it’s a valid question. At least it is when you’re in the pit of writing despair (One of the best movies ever!).

4. Am I wasting my time writing? Yes, this question will make an appearance doing a tap dance while adding jazz hands with the brightest smile you’ve ever seen.

5. Why can’t I catch a break? You try and you try and you try. Three books ought to be enough to make me famous, right? I’m sure you wouldn’t be reading this post if the answer was anywhere in the affirmative.

6. How come my first book didn’t make it onto the New York Times bestseller list as I’d expected?

I’m sure there are so many questions I neglected to ask. Please share yours.

Quiz on your books

For those of you who have published more than five books, I have a question for you. If you were given a pop quiz on your books, would you pass?

My friend Empi likes to talk to me when she reads my books. She picks up little quotes and sends them to me or she asks me questions and I’m stumped.

Every once in a while I delve into a page of one of my books and I laugh because I forget just how funny my writing could be. And then I can’t believe I wrote it, even though I know I did. There are some words and scenarios that I will never forget that I wrote, though.

So if I were given a pop quiz on my books about the details, I’d pass, but not with flying colors unless it was my latest book or current WIP.

What about you?

Words that trip me up

There are some words in the English language that I stumble on when writing them. These tend to be words I can’t replace with another, even though I may spend hours trying. I’m sure you’re dying for examples so here are a few.

Drank vs. drunk

Pat vs. patted

Towards vs. toward

Dove vs. dived

Farther vs. further

Leapt vs. leaped

Its vs. it’s

Lay vs. Laid vs Lain

Who vs. whom

I wrote this post with no intention of clearing up these words for anyone, not even myself. Only because when I look them up and then understand them for the moment, I somehow find that I’ve lost that clarity when I need to use the word again.

English can be a little confusing.

Do you have any words that you get mixed up?

For the love of reading, get an editor!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and again until I stop being a writer (that’s until death do us part), EDITORS ROCK! Let me amend my comment by adding the adjective, GOOD, because bad editors are useless.

I just finished going through a round of edits for two of my books and they were tough. All because my editors were sharp eyed and not afraid of those pesky things called feelings that I may or not possess. Were they mean? Absolutely not. Did they bruise my pride a little – maybe a tiny bit because isn’t my writing perfect when it comes straight from my head? I’m joking (mostly).

Editors catch the big and little things that a writer misses. I have a tendency to forget that not everyone is as privileged as me to reside in this wonderful brain of mine so I may skip a step or three to get to the point I want to make.

I’m good at English. After all I passed all my Regents English classes in high school with honors. But there are things you forget that an editor picks up. Hyperbole anyone? I had to look it up when my editor mentioned it.

If I were to advise any Indie author about publishing a book, it would be to get a fantastic editor. It may not be cheap, but it’ll be worth it when people don’t trash your books for having too many repetitive words, adverbs, characters whose names you changed, and chunks of information that drag the story down.

A huge round of applause to the editors in my life. Past, present, and future.

Branding – it’s everywhere (Ghana, too) #branding

While in the middle of teaching class  a guy dressed in a black suit, turquoise shirt, black tie, black shoes and no socks starts yelling about his wares which he carried on his head. Both I and the class looked out the window and laughed.

When I asked what the man was selling they mentioned a type of snack I’d never heard of made from sweet plantain and peanuts.

One of the students smiled up at me, shook his head, and said, “Branding.”

I was shocked.

Of course I wanted to know what the young man knew about branding, but the lesson about HIV took precedence. None-the-less I let a couple of the students leave the class to purchase the snack because I was so impressed by the man. Unique in every way. Was what he sold fresh or delicious? I don’t know. But how he sold his product impressed me.

I’ve heard a lot about branding since I became an author. The authority for me is Kristen Lamb. She knows how to break it all down. Has this helped me develop my brand?

Um…well…Lots of feet shuffling and looking down.

I know I have one, it’s just that I haven’t sat down to figure out what I want to portray to the world so they will always link me to it and buy my book. One day I’ll figure out how to infuse my kooky, honest, straight to the point, smart aleck, chocolate loving, take no s*&t, kick ass ways into my brand.

Do you have a brand?

Does your writing echo?

I haven’t been a writer for long. I’m horrible with keeping dates so let’s say I’ve been an author for about four years – plus or minus a couple years or months. One thing I know is that even after all this time I have trouble with echoing, especially during first drafts.

What’s echoing? According to my editors and the expert writing bloggers, it’s when you repeat words, phrases, or concepts. This phenomenon happens naturally when we talk (If you haven’t noticed it during conversations, pay closer attention). When it occurs in writing, it’s annoying. You don’t intend to presume the reader is dumb and needs things repeated (unlike some people we converse with in real life), we just don’t realize it.

Maybe it’s easier for our brain to repeat something than to come up with new words or phrases. Who knows? Whatever the reason, cut it out. It’s irritating to readers.

Need an example? Here’s something from my own work, Entwined Destiny- the third book in the Destiny Series, which I caught when going through first round edits.

Where had those come from? She didn’t care; they needed to find their way back. She needed the neutral feelings for him returned. No need to complicate their friendship by becoming attracted to him.

And viola, the echo free version:

Where had those come from? She didn’t care; they needed to find their way back. She wanted the neutral feelings for him returned.  It’s not part of the plan to complicate our friendship by becoming attracted to him.  So stop it.

Do you have a tendency to notice echoes in novels?

To series or not to series? #Romance #Writing

I never thought I’d be a series writer.  Do you know how much pressure there is on writing a second book in a line? A lot. When I wrote Midwife to Destiny I thought it would be a single book. And then my editor casually mentioned that I should think about a second book.

Of course once planted, the idea sprouted and then grew. I ended up with the tree of Destiny Mine. The story of Ora’s cousin, Esi. She was so much fun to write in Midwife to Destiny. Spunky, adventuresome, and a tad bit over the top. I paired her with Adam, Jason’s best friend. Adam is an alpha to the core. Worse, he can’t stand being involved in relationships, in other words he’s a player.

When I put these two characters together there were fireworks. Enough for me to leave the sweet subgenre of romance and venture into opening the door to the bedroom.

Writing the Destiny Series was one of the best things I’ve ever done and I’m glad I didn’t let fear of being a flop stop me. In fact it spurred me on.The third in the series, Entwined Destiny, is due to hit the bookstores soon. So keep a look out.

Are you a series writer? Did you start the book knowing you would be?

Stigma of being a romance writer in Africa #Africa #writingromance

Very few people who are acquainted with me, live and in person, know that I’m a romance author. There are a few good reasons for this. Of course I’m presenting it in list formation. Who doesn’t love a list?

1. The reputation of romance books is alive and kicking in Ghana. You know, that look down their nose at you and presume you’re some kind of a slut  expression  because you read that genre. If a person isn’t a romance enthusiast or doesn’t like reading in general, there’s no need for them to know what the job of my heart is.

2. My books are basically ordered through the internet, um, for money. When my fellow countrymen (and women) learn I’m an author they want a free book. And when I’m generous and send them one, they don’t read it. To be fair my friends Josephine (may she rest in peace), Matilda, Anthony, Empi, and my cousin Adjoa read them as if they’re going to be examined. And they loved them.  Supportive peeps.

3. Well that’s it folks. I couldn’t very well leave you with only two things on the list. This is a dummy point to make the list look good.

What's it like being a romance writer in your country?

Writing is fat inducing work #writing

Writing can be difficult. 

Technically I don’t find the writing aspect of being an author to be the hard part. It’s the dag on second, third and fourth drafts, and the editing process that I find difficult.

When I’m writing the ideas seem to flow out of my fingers onto the keyboard. Sometimes I don’t want to stop writing, while other days, well, I don’t want to start.

To be honest, making corrections to my work is what adds a few more pounds. In order to procrastinate the torture of the duty, I tend to eat, and eat, and eat some more. I really need to find a new way of dealing with the stress editing brings before three hundred pounds creeps up on me one day.

Of course I love the end result of the effort I put into a piece, but the process is so much work that while I’m going through it I wonder why I don’t just read books instead of writing them.

And then I remember why I write. Because it’s cool as hell that I can (huge smiley face).

What about you? Is writing a pure pleasure for you?

Ever heard of GMC? Review:GMC Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon #writing

Prelude to a review

You’d think that when you sit down to write a romance novel, the conflict would automatically be part of it. For my latest WIP I accidentally thought the romantic aspect was part of the GMCs, the main aspect. So I proceeded to write a whole book driven by romance.

I’m shaking my head at myself because after reading countless books, and publishing four, each with clear GMCs, I should know how to include it in all of my stories. I keep wondering what happened. Of course as I wrote it, something kept nagging me that an integral aspect of the story was missing. I ignored it.

Finishing the book didn’t make me happy but I still sent it off to one of my awesome beta readers asking her to tell me if the story made sense and if it had enough conflict (never ask a question you already have the answer to).

My fabulous beta reader saved me a huge rejection when she told me she’d reached page 55 and no conflict had made itself clear.

With my suspicions verified, I had some major work to do, but first I needed some more insight about conflict. I did some reading on the net but it wasn’t enough so I decided to buy a book on the subject. That’s how I ended up with Debra Dixon’s book.

Now I’m doing a rewrite with clear GMCs for the hero and the heroine that are outside of the romantic aspect of the story. It’s a much better novel for sure.

The Blurb

Goal, motivation, and conflict are the foundation of everything that happens in the story world. Using charts, examples, and movies, the author breaks these key elements down into understandable components and walks the reader through the process of laying this foundation in his or her own work.

Learn what causes sagging middles and how to fix them, which goals are important, which aren’t and why, how to get your characters to do what they need for your plot in a believable manner, and how to use conflict to create a good story. GMC can be used not only in plotting, but in character development, sharpening scenes, pitching ideas to an editor, and evaluating whether an idea will work.

Be confident your ideas will work before you write 200 pages.

Plan a road map to keep your story on track.

Discovery why your scenes aren’t working and what to do about it.

Create characters that editors and readers will care about.

My Review

The concept of goals, motivation, and conflict seems easy enough to grasp, but if you’ve never had it explained to you, then it can be difficult for a writer to implement.

Ms. Dixon does a tremendous job of breaking down the meaning and importance of GMCs,  making sure the reader understands its importance by giving many examples of how it’s applied in a novel.

This is a great book for any and all writers, especially those who are new, stuck on a WIP, or unclear about what GMCs are and how to form them for their characters.

I purchased this book from Amazon.

I give this five out of five chocolate bars.

What the heck does kill your darlings mean? (Part I) #writing

He has nothing to do with killing anything,
but a cute guy with a book on his head is awesome.

For the longest time I never understood the full meaning of "Kill your darlings." I’ve heard a few interpretations:

1. Edit out the excess words not needed in the  story

2. Get rid of the excess characters in the story. Not everyone in the first draft makes it to the second.

3. In order to add drama to the story, kill one of the main characters.

4. This one's the most drastic and too painful to think about. When you need to kill a whole book. Why oh why?

For my latest WIP, The Dream Maker,  I had every intention of doing the third. I went into the book knowing I was going to kill off the heroine’s favorite patient who happened to be the hero’s niece. It would be easy to do because she’s been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Do you know how hard it is to kill off a beloved character? I really liked this young lady. A lot. Her name is Vanessa and she’s an intelligent smart ass. Plus she likes to stick her nose into everyone’s business, like when she helps to set up the hero and heroine. But the thing I enjoyed most about her is that she enjoys life and doesn’t want to disturb anyone with the pain she’s feeling about being diagnosed with cancer.

Oh my goodness I love Vanessa. So do you think I was able to kill of this darling? Um…I’m not telling. You’ll have to wait until the book comes out to see. It was a difficult decision, but I think the one I made turned out well for the story.

What about you? Any darlings in your novels that you’ve had to kill which gutted you to do so?

Is blogging a help or hindrance? #Blogging #Writing

Just a little confused

Hi loyal, but most times sometimes random, fans of my blog. I have quite the conundrum. To blog or not to blog?

I recently read a book that told me blogging is not necessary to being a successful author. I kind of have a feeling she’s correct. I was talking to an author friend of mine (who blogs) the other day and I mentioned that a popular author that we both know doesn’t blog. Hmmmm. And then I read this book telling me that if blogging isn’t productive or projecting me forward as a writer (my words not hers), then I should stop.

Now I have to justify why I blog and if I should continue or cease (stop crying please).

My reasons for blogging:

1. I get to post my reviews with chocolate bar ratings 
2. Prah and Constantine Review (I love seeing what Constantine thought of the same book)
3. I host awesome books, authors, and contests
4. The Color of Love Blog Hop (all blog hops actually)
5. I’ve met some great people through my blog
6. It helps with my platform (urm, kind of)
7. Blogging helps me to increase my overall writing word count (but I could do this by spending that time writing publishable novels)
8. As much work as it is sometimes, I really enjoy it

I’m going to have to give it some serious thought to see if it’s worth it for me to keep blogging.

What do you think? Does blogging help or hinder an author’s success?

Happy New Year Everyone!

Want To Be a Writer? Five Tips For Getting You There

I’ve been a writer for many years, but only claimed it last year when I got over the shock of having a publisher. My debut novel Love Through Time is out now for your reading pleasure so pick up a copy.  

Today I’m sharing five tips on how to be a writer. No secret actually, if you go to any writing blog you will find these tips in one form or the other. I’m just putting my Nana Prah spin on it.

1. Write. I’m laughing because this should be obvious. If you want to be a writer you must first write. Being a writer is not about talking about writing, but actually sitting your behind down and writing.

2. Accept rejection and learn from it. I dare anyone to name one writer who has never been rejected by an agent, publisher, reviewer, editor, whatever. Rejection is part of the writing game. We don’t relish it, not unless we are a little unscrewed upstairs, but we all understand that it is part of our job.

3. Develop a second, third and fourth skin. Your current epidermal layer isn’t going to cut it. You will be criticized and criticized some more. If you remember not to take it personally, then you should be all right (you may need a tad bit of counseling, but as a writer you probably needed it anyway)

4. Read. That’s one thing I have going for me. I love to read. I wish I could say I’m an all around genre lover, but that would be a lie. I do like to dabble in a little bit of everything though. Reading is what helps us to become better writers. Read. Just like the act of writing, you can’t escape it.

5. Take a risk. My mother used to always encourage me to try new things. Life is one big gamble. Sometimes you’re the Road Runner and other times you’re the Coyote. So what? Remove the huge rock, get back up and try again. Yes this may be easier said than done, but how will you know you can do it unless you actually do it? Notice I didn’t say try, I said do it.

Here’s a bonus for you. The last thing I’m going to contribute to you becoming a writer are these few precious words:

             Get on your ass and WRITE, darn it!

To all my fabulous author friends am I right or am I right? What piece of advice would you add?

Pimping out Aneta Cruz author of Heartbreak Hotel- Guest post and #giveaway

I’d like to welcome Aneta Cruz to my blog to today. We like to tease ourselves about pimping each other out (as authors). Today it’s my turn to be the Pimp Mama. 

I’m very grateful to the wonderful Nana Prah who has invited me to write a guest post for her blog during the promotion of my debut novel, Heartbreak Hotel.

Nana has asked me to write about the joys of writing. In response to that, my jaw dropped and my eyeballs popped out of my head onto the floor. “The joys of writing?” I asked no one in particular since I was home alone—a very rare occasion. Then I collected my eyeballs off the tile and sent Nana a message: I HATE WRITING!

I hate sitting in front of the computer for hours at a time, letting my ass grow larger and larger as it sculpts itself into the mold of the chair. I hate that my eyes hurt from the white blank page that gets slowly filled with words which seem to be sneering at me because they know they will eventually be deleted. “You’re wasting your time,” they seem to spell when I’m nearly cross-eyed and all I see are black shadows stretching across Mount Everest my page has become. I hate not being able to sleep because all I can think of is that damn dialogue that needs to be re-written first thing in the morning. I hate my migraines that come precisely at the moment in which the Muses have decided to dance around in my head, but my head refused to join the fun. I hate saying good bye to my characters and leaving them in the world in which my presence is no longer needed because the words The End have made me an outcast.

Then I take a deep breath.

And I smile.

I love imagineering. I love building a world out of nothingness, one word at a time. I love describing sceneries that cause me to stare in awe with my inner eye. I love being surprised by the sudden turns in the story that make me say, “How come I didn’t think of that?—Oh,wait, I just did!” I love creating characters who will tie everlasting bonds with their readers. I love bursting out in laughter when I depict the antics of my characters. I love that my eyes water when my body can no longer contain the sorrow my characters feel. I love that they feel. I love telling their story, and I love sharing it with the world. And when I re-read my story and my eyes linger on the words The End, I realize

I LOVE HAVING WRITTEN.

Heartbreak Hotel blurb

Always falling head over heels for men who have nothing to offer her, and running from those who do, Kara realizes that her quest to find Mr. Right is harder than expected. As if her “mostly ludicrous” dating escapades weren’t enough to deal with, her unusual combination of friends—one gay, one a virgin, one dating a married man, and one always telling her to “give it up on the first date in order to start a flourishing relationship”—isn’t of much help in matters of the heart either. Perhaps a kiss in the middle of the Charles Bridge could finally bring her happiness. But wait! That’s just an old myth, isn’t it?

Author Bio:

Aneta Cruz was born and raised in the Czech Republic. She spent most of her childhood hiding in the library because her friends called her a liar. In her defense, she was only “telling stories.” There Cruz fell in love with books and vowed to become an author. She’d heard that dreams come true in America, so she packed her suitcase and got on the plane shortly after her twentieth birthday. Since then Cruz has earned a BA in English Literature, MFA in Creative Writing, and published a-Muse-me[a]nt, a Collection of Poetry and Prose. Her works can be found in Badlands, the GNU, the Global Alchemy Forum, and Mused. Cruz is the winner of the 2011 Desert Literary Society Fiction Award.

You can find Aneta Cruz at:

http://www.anetacruz.com/

http://conundrumcorner.blogspot.com/

FB https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aneta-Cruz/377093035716929?fref=ts

Twitter @AnetaCruz

Buy Links:

Black Opal Books

http://blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore/product/109-heartbreak-hotel

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Heartbreak-Hotel-Aneta-Cruz/dp/1626940606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379553821&sr=8-1&keywords=aneta+cruz

Barnes and Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heartbreak-hotel-aneta-cruz/1116884664?ean=2940045264693

Giveaway!

Aneta is giving away 3 signed copies of a-Muse-me[a]nt on 9/30/13. All you have to do is LIKE her Facebook Author Page (link above) to get into the drawing. Good luck!

Another Great Blog: Kiru Taye

The featured blog for this week is Kiru Taye : Sensual, Passionate, Exotic Stories. Her motto is: Read a different Africa. Love a vibrant Africa. And this woman delivers. I have reviewed two of Kiru’s fantastic romance novels, Island Bound and An Engagement Challenge on my blog. I love her writing. I love escaping to another country in her books. 

Her blog is aesthetically beautiful. A lovely African woman and a hunk of a man wielding a sword are featured on a dynamically colored background. Passion is what she intends to induce with her books and it is reflected on her blog. Her posts  include interviews, book reviews, author spotlights, and articles.

    

Head on over to Kiru's blog and see what she’s talking about.

Not Really a Book Review: Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

If I can give you one piece of advice today, it would be to never read a Stephanie Plum book when taking public transport unless you don’t mind looking like an idiot when you're laughing out loud at a book. 

This isn’t really a review. I just want to mention that I really enjoyed Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich.  It never ceases to amaze me that I haven’t gotten tired of the Stephanie Plum series. Although sometimes I wish Evanovich would stop at twenty . Stephanie and Morelli would get married and that would be the end. Yes I want her to end up with Morelli. Ranger is for me, even though I want Morelli too. Just like Stephanie, I’m greedy.

Another fantastic book by Evanovich. If I wrote like her I’d never stop writing either. Explosive Eighteen is out in May and I’m going to be all over it.

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. 
 
Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list.

Short on time to find evidence proving the killer’s identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it’s time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Grandma Bella, Morelli’s old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye” on Stephanie.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke.

Fantastic news!!!!! Read all about it.

Unfortunately my great news isn’t that I have solved the world’s hunger or environmental problems. And no I haven’t orchestrated world peace. Okay, no I haven’t met my wonderful, meant for me husband (yet).

What has happened is that I have another book coming out in 2014. Oh Yeah!!!!!

Decadent Publishing is publishing my contemporary sweet African romance under their Ubuntu line. My book, Midwife To Destiny, will help give a true reflection of Africa (Ghana in particular). Or at least a little bit of insight into modern day Ghana as opposed to what people believe Ghana to be. (Jungle and naked people dancing all time, did I pull the thought from your head or what?)

Of course you will hear more about it later. Right now I’m silly smiling excited.

Party with Debbie Christiana, author of the highly anticipated book Solstice

Hi everybody. I've been invited to a part so that's where I am now. Debbie Christiana's novel Solstice has just been released and we are celebrating with games and prizes. Stop by the Solstice Release Party today May 3rd from 12 pm Eastern Time to tomorrow May 4th, 3 pm. You will definitely have a good time.

Book Review: Polar Night by Julie Flanders

A new month means another Prah and Constantine Review is here for you to enjoy. After reading my review, hop on over to Cathrina Constantine's blog to read hers. I’m curious to see what she thought about the book.

This month we are reviewing Polar Night by Julie Flanders. 

Let me preface this review by saying that my principle genre is romance, but I'm open to reading other genres. Constantine recommended that we read Polar Nights, and after I read the blurb I thought, why not?  It looked creepy but interesting. Little did I know that those two words would basically be my summed up review.

It was a fast paced read and I would have finished the book sooner, but I refused to read it at night. I admit that I’m a wuss when it comes to reading thrillers. Daniel Fitzpatrick was a hot mess throughout the story, but you felt sorry for him, even though he would  never have wanted you to. I kept thinking that he needed help. Flanders gave him that help by giving him the scare of his life after he made a bad move. A really bad move.

Flanders added a touch of history to this story which made Aleksei Nechayev's secret more plausible and even creepier. Alaska was the perfect setting for this book, and if you didn’t know that Alaska was cold, Flanders made sure you could actually feel the bone chilling cold by the time you finished the story. The ending of Polar Night totally surprised me, and that was a good thing.

If you want a page turner that you won’t want to put down, unless it’s night time, then Polar Night is for you.

I purchased my copy at Amazon.com.

Happy reading everyone.

The Blurb

When Detective Danny Fitzpatrick leaves his hometown of Chicago and moves to Fairbanks, Alaska he wants nothing more than to escape the violence and heartbreak that left his life in pieces. Numbed by alcohol and the frozen temperatures of an Alaskan winter, Danny is content with a dead-end job investigating Fairbanks' cold cases. That all changes when a pretty blond woman goes missing on the winter solstice, and Danny stumbles upon some surprising connections between her disappearance and that of another Fairbanks woman three years earlier. Forced out of his lethargy, Danny sets out to both find the missing woman and solve his own cold case. 

The investigation points Danny towards Aleksei Nechayev, the handsome and charming proprietor of an old asylum turned haunted tourist attraction in the Arctic town of Coldfoot. As he tries to find a link between Nechayev and his case, Danny's instinct tells him that Nechayev is much more than what he seems.

Danny has no idea that Nechayev is hiding a secret that is much more horrifying than anything he could ever have imagined. As his obsession with finding the missing women grows, Danny finds his own life in danger. And when the truth is finally revealed, the world as he knows it will never be the same.