The villain.
A cackle. An arrogant quip. A threatening vow of defeat.
Villains drive our stories and give our heroes and heroines the opportunity to face fear and become the best versions of themselves. But....a good villain is very hard to write. They have to be as heavily researched as your main character, and they have to have their own motivation that actually is battle-worthy.
I find that a lot of villains are written the same way. Arrogant, sarcastic, cynical and cooler than you. This type has its place, but I love it when the bad guy is unsure, or so underrated that the hero or heroine doesn't even know to fear them.
The best villains follow-through with what they're going to do. (Up until the end, of course!)
The best villains don't monologue. They don't miss their chance. They take it.
I say, let the villain go. Let him or her win a little. This makes them believable, and, the most important thing....it makes your hero or heroine have to fight. It gives them a reason to overcome. It allows them to escape, to be smarter, to be brave.
Don't be afraid to write a silent villain, one who waits, who sneaks up on the good guys. Or one who's so clumsy that he or she gets passed over because they seem disorganized. Or one that is noisy and won't quit. I promise you'll figure out how to get the good guy out of trouble, and you'll have a better story because of it.
My first book, Welcome Home, has a bad guy. Most of my stories do, though I wouldn't say I write romantic suspense. Villains are sooooo much fun, but, thankfully, my compassion doesn't extend to wanting them to win. (Whew!)
I'm not too sure if I wrote a good villain in Welcome Home, but I did fool my father. He's the king of figuring out who did it, and I managed to stump him. I call that a win!
In Welcome Home, Emma Prescott has to prove she's not the spoiled heiress Kyle remembers. Her father killed Kyle's, and this also puts a rift in Emma and Kyle's relationship, especially since she lied to the sheriff. But she battles for Kyle's forgiveness. She starts her own farm and fights a stubborn mule, the Texas heat, a devastating tornado, Kyle's pain and anger and last...her father. It's a beautiful story of forgiveness and courage. And if you read it, I hope I fool you, too!
If you comment, leave a note on who your favorite villain is. I have a few, but mine is Malificent. I know, she's definitely got the "cooler than you thing" going on, but she actually is cooler, so I'm ok with it. If you comment, I'll also enter you into a drawing for a free ebook. Just leave your email address -- spelled out, not as a hotlink -- with your comment and I'll let you choose the book if you win!
And don't forget, this is #NoTricksJustTreats month on our blog!
Click here to enter our No
Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter today for a chance to win Amazon Gift
Cards. Enter often and tell your friends! (You can also click Monthly Giveaways
on the Menu Bar of the blog to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter
and to enter it.)
Monday, October 28, 2019
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Scare me - I LOVE IT!! by Peggy Jaeger
There are really only two things I love about Halloween: the
candy and the scary movies.
The candy doesn't need an explanation, I mean, come on: Candy corn, Peppermint Patties?
Paleeze!
Paleeze!
The fact that I like scary movies – and the scarier the
better - is one of the top 10 things you need to know about me that I have
listed on my blog bio. And when I say scary, I’m not talking about all the
blood and gore crap and the torture porn that passes as scary these days.
Movies like Saw, versions 1-10,000,000 and the Texas Chain Saw massacre
franchise. Those movies are meant to shock you, not really scare you.
When I say scary I mean those movies that make you drop down
into your seat at the movie theater, pull your legs up to your chest, make you
heart pound, your ears ring, and make you cover your eyes with fingers you can
peek through because you just know something’s gonna happen. You know it; you
feel it; you sense it. Your adrenaline goes haywire; your hormones kick in with
either a flight or fight or paralyze reaction; a scream gets lodged in the back
of your throat, or alternately, pierces the air around you like an air raid
warning. Your lips tingle, your toes wiggle and you can’t keep still in your
seat.
I love those reactions!!
When I was a kid and my parents worked late into the
evening, I was usually alone in our apartment. Back then there was a station on
regular TV ( no cable back then, kids!) called CREATURE FEATURES that played
nightly. I watched that damn channel every single night, alone in our apartment,
a blanket pulled up over me and every single light in the house on full blast.
My mother could never understand why our electric bills were so high.
My scary movie watching wasn’t only relegated to old black
and white movies of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s though, with Boris Karloff, Bela
Lugosi, and Lon Chaney. Every weekend I took my meager allowance money and went
to the actual movies, which cost $0.75 for a Saturday matinee. Lord, I loved those days and those movies.
Nothing really compares nowadays for plot, star power, or scare factor for me.
Some of my favorite scary movies of all time, the ones I can
watch over and over again and really enjoy, run the gamut from sublimely scary
to ridiculously uproarious.
In the scary scary group, I’ve got:
Halloween (the first one only. The rest were just dumb)
The Exorcist (I went to church every day for two months
after seeing this the first time! – I was 11)
Scream (One of the best beginnings of any scary movie out
there! The rest of the franchise wasn't scary.)
In the fun and funny group, I’ve got:
Practical Magic ( love Sandra Bullock!)
Young Frankenstein (I-gor not ee-gor)
Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein ( I went my pants every
single time when Costello tries to tell Abbot about Dracula!)
It’s the great pumpkin Charlie Brown ( Because it’s Charlie
Brown)
Hocus Pocus ( Bette Midler is a superstar and Kathy Najimi
flying on a Hoover is side splitting).
So, want to be my BFF? Go to a scary movie with me and watch
the whole thing. Heehee
Because it’s October, the Gems are doing something a little
different in the giveaway department this month:
OCTOBER 2019 PROMOTION
No Tricks—Just Treats
Every Day is Treat Day in October. To be entered in the
random drawing for an ecopy of FIRST IMPRESSIONS,
leave a comment and tell me what your NUMBER 1 SCARIEST MOVIE ever was, with your email address written out (not as a hot link). The
deadline for doing this is 2 days from now. I’ll draw the winners name on 10/29/19
and notify the winner by email and by leaving a comment on this post.
F
By the way, in case you wonder why Authors give away books,
it’s simple. We give away books to introduce new Readers to our writing. The
best way to thank an Author who gives you a book is to post a review of the
book. Just a few sentences saying why you liked the book is all that is needed!
Do this, and we’ll adore you!
Click here to enter our No Tricks—Just
Treats Rafflecopter today for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter
often and tell your friends! (You can also click Monthly
Giveaways on the Menu Bar of the blog to see details of the current
month’s Rafflecopter and to enter it.)
SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES!!!
Until next time ~ Peg
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Coffee and Conversation with the #RomanceGems
Is it a childhood memory, trick or treat, a super-cool costume? Maybe it’s something you do, or did, with your kids or grand kids? Do you dress up the dog or cat? (ouch!) Decorate, host your own haunted house, or watch scary movies? Tell us!
"My mother always saved old sheets. I can’t remember being anything other than a ghost. Every year I’d fill a grocery sack almost full of candy. What fun!"
~ Karen Kelley
"As someone who spent 20 years working at a children's hospital, we were encouraged to wear costumes on Halloween. I've been everything from a clown, to a crayon, to a fully-lit Christmas tree. My favorite still remains my ode to McDonalds french fries!"
~ Nancy Fraser
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| Nancy Fraser at the children's hospital |
"As a young girl, my favorite part of Halloween was always the sparklers. I would write in the air with them. (Guess I wanted to write even then, tee hee) Fast forward to today. My girlfriend lives directly behind a house that goes all out for Halloween including a fireworks display that frequently puts to shame fireworks funded by local politicians for civic and federal holidays. We sit on her deck with some nice mulled wine or cider and gaze skyward in awe." ~ Kathleen Lawless
"My favorite thing about Halloween is Trick or Treat. As a kid, back in the day, we were allowed to go on our own through the neighborhood. All the kids were out. No one was afraid to let us Trick or Treat by ourselves. When I grew up, I took my own children out, and now my grandchildren. My son lives in a “safe” neighborhood that reminds me of Trick or Treat of old. Following the kids and watching them have fun like I used to do makes Trick or Treat fun today." ~ Jan Scarbrough
 |
| Jan Scarbrough's Trick or Treaters |
"My favorite thing about Halloween has always been giving out candy to the trick or treaters. I loved opening the door to a group of ghosts, witches, princesses, and pirates. I loved seeing their faces when I held out the large black cauldron I kept the candy in (and I always made sure I had tons). The most special thing was when one of my students (past or present) showed up. Some of them knew I lived there, but if they didn't, the surprise on their faces was the best!" ~ Kari Lemor
 |
| Connie Vines' grandson Logan |
"My first dinner featured “Deadman over Worms” (meatloaf in person-form with a fork in the chest) served over wheat pasta with snips of parsley, bleeding cemetery cake, and eyeball, witches-fingers appetizers.
"The next year it was hot-dogs carved to look like bloody fingers served in a hot dog bun, punch with ice-cube eyeballs, dip that looked like slime, veggies arranged to look like a skeleton, chocolates shaped like mice served over cake topped with crushed candy graveyard dirt. For photos and inspiration visit my Zombie Nite Café on Pinterest. Happy Halloween my lovelies." ~ Connie Vines
 |
| Kathryn Hills' Halloween decorations |
Thanks for joining us. Happy Halloween!
~ The Romance Gems ~
Don't forget our October Giveaways!
Enter our No Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter today
for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends!
for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends!
You can also click Monthly Giveaways on the Menu Bar of the blog
to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter and to enter it.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Crafting Timeless Romances by Cheryl Bolen
Like fashion and just about everything else in life, the
publishing industry is constantly changing. But one thing about romance novels
that has not changed is a classic romance.
To diverge for a moment here, when I first joined Romance
Writers of America in 1993, we were told every publisher was eagerly seeking
time-travel romances. This was on the heels of Diana Gabaldon’s mega bestselling debut
romance, Outlander. Within three or
four years, the market was glutted with time-travels, and most publishers quit publishing
them.
I’ve seen the publishing market’s pendulum swing
frenetically over the past three decades. Everyone wanted those slender little
traditional Regencies; then all the lines closed. Publishers couldn’t get
enough vampires; now authors can’t sell them. Romantic suspense was everywhere;
publishers have now pulled back on acquiring them. And who remembers the short-lived publishing frenzy to acquire chick lit after the 1990s success of Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones Diary?
Classic Romance Never Goes Out of Style
No matter what the genre within our romance genre, though, a
classic romance will never go out of style. What are the elements of a classic
romance? It’s very simple. Two people falling in love. The reader needs to have
a sense that of all the people in the world, these two were made for each other
and have been waiting their whole lives for one another. They just don’t know
it until we, the authors, bring them together on the pages of our books.
Of course there have to be obstacles standing in the way of
their happily ever after. The tougher the obstacles, the more satisfying the
reader’s reward.
After chapters and chapters of building this
once-in-a-lifetime love story, our hero and heroine fall into each others’ arms
and vow undying love forever and ever. And the reader closes the book (or turns
off her reading device) with a smile on her face.
I hope I can bring such a smile to my readers with my two
brand new Christmas novellas, One Room at the Inn (Lords of Eton series), which is in the Winter Wishes anthology,
and His Lady Deceived (the Deceived
Series).—Cheryl Bolen is the NY Times,
USA Today bestselling author of 41 romances. When she’s not traveling to
England or watching her alma mater University of Texas playing football or basketball, she can be
found reading about dead English women. Visit her at:
Comment below for a chance to win a digital copy of my The Portrait of Lady Wycliff (Book 1, Lords of Eton).
To win Amazon gift cards, go to our giveaway page here.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Treat yourself...by Judith Hudson
But it's not always easy, in fact I was tempted to title my bridge novella Too Much Family instead of Family Matters, because every time things start to get interesting there's a knock and the door and - more family!
Welcome to the Sandwich Generation, the one sandwiched between parents and children. I'm tempted to call it the Sandwich Gender, because
You know what I mean.
But now, picture this! An actual bed of roses (or carnations, or orchids).
Because yes,
YOU DON'T NEED PERMISSION TO BUY YOURSELF SOME FLOWERS!
GO AHEAD. YOU DESERVE IT!
I thought so. Me neither. And I'm here to tell you - you totally deserve it!
And right now, with winter just around the corner in much of the world, it's more important than ever to bring a little joy - in the form of flowers - into your world.
And if you are feeling alone, that's even more reason to treat yourself!
It doesn't have to cost a lot. A $4 bunch of baby carnations will last an incredibly long time. I often buy myself a small pot of orchids to keep on my desk. Sometimes they are as little as $10, and the flowers can last for over a month.
So why not start a new personal tradition and treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated. Buy yourself some flowers today.
I guarantee it will bring a smile to your lips!
And while you're at it, why not buy a bunch for someone you know who might need a boost too.
Have a happy month,
Judith Hudson
You can find the Fortune Bay series on Amazon in paperback, e-book and on Kindle Unlimited.
Or join my mailing list and get the first book in the series, Lake of Dreams, free!
PS - There is still time to enter the October No Tricks Just Treats giveaway!
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
The Tale of the Polite Ghost by Kathryn Hills #RomanceGems
Kidding! It was a beautiful spring day back in 2011, and I was visiting Salem, MA for a writer's conference - NECRWA’s (New England Chapter Romance Writers of America) “Let Your Imagination Take Flight.” The lobby of the historic Hawthorne Hotel was overflowing with writers, all checking in via one small, seriously overwhelmed front desk.
I stood in line with everyone else, checking our watches, sweating a wee bit. It was 3:00 PM. Most days that wouldn’t be a problem. It’s a standard check-in time. But on this day, many of us had tickets to attend Donald Maass’ bonus workshop, beginning in thirty short minutes.
When it was my turn, I watched the desk clerk activate my plastic room key. Twitching, I glanced at my watch again and stifled a groan. 3:15 – Fifteen minutes. Yikes! Sign-in complete, I spun with my luggage to encounter the epic line for two tiny elevators. They were lovely with brass trimmings and red velvet interior back then. However, they were not lovely when you have only minutes to heave your bags into a room on the fifth floor, change, and be back downstairs to learn things, and be social. I’ll step back here and add I was a VERY NEW WRITER, and I was pitching my first book to an editor that weekend. I needed all the help Mr. Maass could give me!
 |
| Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA |
Yay! That was super-weird. Now hurry!
Fast forward to later that night. I DID make it to the extra workshop and learned lots of great things from Mr. Maass. My friends and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner out, making a night of it. Everyone said their good-byes and went their separate ways. I returned to the fifth floor, slid my plastic key into the lock, and, you guessed it…… Nothing. Several tries later, I had an idea. “Please, may I get into my room?” I asked sweetly of whoever or whatever might be listening. Lo and behold…the door opened.
So, there you have it, a polite ghost. Or a manners-obsessed ghost? Perhaps someone’s mother, grandmother, or governess? Or just a busting ghost that laughed and laughed at the dummy in the hallway. Take your pick. I share this story because it’s a fun ghost story—not a scary one. Ghosts, spirits, whatever you call "them," are often NOT scary, in my opinion.
I’ve stayed at The Hawthorne many times since and haven’t encounter that spirit again. Maybe you will if you visit. But remember to brush up on your manners first, and “please” tell me if you do. I love a good ghost story!
Thanks for reading. Happy Halloween!
~ Kathryn
Don't forget our October Giveaways!
Every Day is Treat Day in October, and I'm giving away a signed copy of Haunting Highland House - A Time Traveler's Journey. I'll even include a surprise spooky treat! To be entered in my random drawing, leave a comment with your email address written out (not as a hot link). The deadline for doing this is Halloween. I’ll draw the winner's name on October 31st by 12:00 PM CDT and notify that person by email and by leaving a comment on this post soon after.
Please note: This signed book and treat can only be sent to winners within the continental U.S. If the selected winner is outside that area, the prize will be an ebook.
Wait! There's more!
Click here to enter our No Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter today for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends! (You can also click Monthly Giveaways on the Menu Bar of the blog to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter and to enter it.)
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Timeless: A Ghostly Adventure by Jan Scarbrough #RomanceGems
With Halloween approaching, I thought I’d tell you about my
one and only ghost story. It started with a cover for inspiration. The original
cover showed a man and a woman, probably in love, and a little girl in the
background. Of course, I thought, the child must be a ghost!
I needed a character who could communicate with my little
girl ghost. Enter Jeff Halstead, the hero and my reluctant medium. I call him reluctant
because he’s not sure of his spiritual gifts.
When Beth Abbott receives a surprise inheritance from her
birth mother, she travels to the family’s nineteenth century mansion in Old
Louisville, now a bed and breakfast and run by Jeff. And guess what? They have
a history together that they know nothing about, but our ghost does!
Writing the story was an adventure, because I needed to do a
bunch of research to make it all come together.
I pulled out a couple of books from my library: Haunts
of Old Louisville by David Domine, and The Great Louisville
Tornado of 1890 by Keven McQueen. I wanted to use information from both
books as inspiration and background for my story.
I went to the Internet for other research. It’s strange what
a novelist needs when writing, and the Internet is a handy place to find that
information. Some of the things I researched were Baxter Square Park (Louisville’s
first park), a party game called Flip Cup, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
and the events of September 11, 2001. I also researched a hill in Louisville’s Cherokee
Park where people sled in the winter. It is called “dog hill.” I investigated
carriages from the 1890’s and period clothing.
After all that, I put the book together, making it a Gothic
romance with ghostly elements!
Dale Epley, my
friend who is also a medium, said this about my book: Timeless is
a beautiful love story that intertwines two different lifetimes, and Jan has
done an incredible job of introducing reincarnation and numerous other
“Spiritual gifts” that we all possess in a clear and concise way that will help
you to understand the possibilities, even if they are not in your reality yet.
So, if you want a non-scary ghost story for Halloween, take
a look at Timeless!
*****
Every Day is Treat Day in October. To be entered in
the random drawing for Timeless leave a comment with your email
address written out (not as a hot link). The deadline for doing this is 2 days
from now. I’ll draw the winners name on October 24, 2019 and notify the winner
by email and by leaving a comment on this post.
By the way, in case you wonder why Authors give away books,
it’s simple. We give away books to introduce new Readers to our writing. The
best way to thank an Author who gives you a book is to post a review of the
book. Just a few sentences saying why you liked the book is all that is needed!
Do this, and we’ll adore you!
Click here to enter our No Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter
today for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends!
(You can also click Monthly Giveaways on the Menu Bar
of the blog to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter and to enter
it.)
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