BASKETS, BOOKS, AND BAKING...A Writer’s Collection Of Hats.

My guest is the award winning romance author, Holly Jacobs. She shares her thoughts on her daily *water cooler* chat breaks and the various hats we tend to wear.


Like all women, I wear a lot of hats. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, granddaughter, friend, sister-in-law, aunt... I’m also a splitter of wood, a dogwalker, and a basketweaver. I’m a writer, an off-key kitchen singer, and speaking of kitchen’s, I’m a baker and a cook. I’m a sci fi geek. I’m a... Okay, you get the point, I’m a lot of different things to a lot of different people.



Available September 2011

Until Facebook and Twitter, most people knew me by a handful of titles, but certainly not by all. Most of my readers might have realized I had kids since kids are so prominent in many of my books, but they might not have known I bake bread. Some people might have known that I have a slight (stop laughing, slight is accurate, I mean, the water in a swimming pool seems slight when measured against an ocean) coffee addiction, but might not have realized how much I enjoy home improvement projects.


Here’s the thing, writing is a solitary occupation, and Facebook/Twitter have become my daily water cooler. I love to go hang out with friends there. And while I love talking about my books and do tweet about new releases (tweet...tweet...A Father’s Name is out in September!!), and awards (A One-of-a-Kind Family just won RomCon’s Readers’ Crown, a Golden Quill Award and Write Touch Readers’ Award) even I can’t manage to talk about my books daily. And really, even if someone enjoys my books (and I hope many do) I can’t imagine they’d want to read tweets on them daily. So I do a lot of water cooler talk. Some are simple observations...garden talk, travel talk. Some is even more inane...today’s tweetable insight? I had homemade granola for breakfast. Not the most scintillating thing! LOL But it’s oh-so good. I’ve been making granola the last few months, and love that I can make it to taste. Not exactly a book related tweet, is it? But I do enjoy talking about things I enjoy. I bought a new artisan bread book and until summer’s heat dissuaded me, was making bread daily. And when I bought Beverly Lewis’s cookbook and fell in love with the Golden Angel food cake in it (yes, you can use egg yolks in an angel food cake!), I had fun talking to friends about the recipes.

And then there’s the basketmaking. I started taking classes a year ago, and I make a few baskets a month. I love the creativity of it. If you get good enough at it, it’s an artform. I’m still a novice, and my baskets are the fingerpainting of basketweaving, but I really enjoy the process. And so far, my Facebook/Twitter friends don’t seem to mind when I tweet my basket joy.


I have a lot of fun sharing glimpses of all the hats I wear with friends. And I love learning about them as well. I love getting glimpses of other people’s lives. I enjoy looking at pics of grandkids and sunsets. And I enjoy hearing who baked what, and who loves Mondays as much as I do. (My Monday Glee isn’t shared with everyone...I know, who knew?? LOL) And I love hearing about other people’s pets. I have two dogs, Ethel Merman and Ella Fitzgerald, and frequently puppysit my daughter’s two dogs, Boogers and Cosmo. I love dogs. And without FB, I might not have realized how many other people adore their pets, and I might not have read about how committed Catherine Mann is to fostering dogs. And I’d always loved Cathy’s books, and Cathy herself, but getting introduced to this particular “hat” she wears made me respect her even more!

That’s the things, watercoolers and Facebook/Twitter–they are places where you can learn more about people than just their work. I think they’re a great way to discover the many hats writers wear. My many and varied interests are reflected in my books. In the series I just sold, I have a character that works at/owns a coffeeshop, one who is a partner in a café, and one who owns a vineyard and is starting a winery. Yes, my love of coffee, food and wine is showing! And my Facebook and Twitter friends aren’t shocked! LOL


I’m sure as that September release date for A Father’s Name draws closer, I’ll talk about the book. I might reveal that because of my husband’s affinity for the Teutul’s motorcycle show, American Choppers I was inspired to make my heroine, Tucker, a graphic artist who does specialty painting on motorcycles and other vehicles. (And speaking of the Teutul’s, I’d really love to sit down with Paul Sr. and Paul Jr. wearing my Mom-hat and tell them both to get over it and make up!)


Now, everyone reading this blog wears multiple hats. Most you wear without really thinking about them.

But come on over the watercooler and share a “hat” that your friends might not know you wear.

Holly is a happily married mother of four. She and her family live in Erie County Pennsylvania. She writes for Harlequin, Silhouette and Avalon Books and has sold over 2 million copies of her books worldwide. You can visit Holly at http://www.hollyjacobs.com/, at Facebook or on Twitter

When I’m Not Writing About Hunky Wolves, I am…

It's my pleasure to have para romance author, Terry Spear, visting today. I thoroughly enjoy reading her werewolf series and have been looking forward to Leidolf's story. 

Terry shares a bit of what she does when she's not writing and how many of those relaxing things lead to even more stories, except for the bears...

Thanks so much, Sia, for having me here to share some thoughts over coffee. I thought I’d talk about what I do aside from writing about werewolves!


Truthfully, I love work. I wish I had more time to write, but I enjoy the company of my fellow co-workers who share with me every wolf story that crosses the library counter, and who make me Highland hunky cake and a faux Highland book for my birthday, and even give me title ideas and story ideas and make my job even more fun—both with writing and with the day job. Heart of the Highland Wolf (coming Spring 2011) was a by-product of one of my co-workers saying I hadn’t written about a poor werewolf yet. All of them were wealthy. So what with the current economic crisis and the number of white collar criminals who have been exploiting tons of business and individuals, wiping out their bank accounts, and the fact I’d been mulling around the idea of a story about a pack of Highland wolves—how about a laird whose one salvation is to allow for a movie production at his castle? Now, he’s not happy about it. But what is a broke laird to do? Then here comes Julia Wildthorn, werewolf romance author, who’s suffering writer’s block, and what better way to jumpstart her muse than to write about hunky Highlanders? Only she doesn’t know until she arrives what she’s really getting herself into.


I also love to garden. Now, how does this relate to my stories? Whenever I moved, I’d take part of my home with me in the form of plants I love—like pine trees mysteriously appeared in gardens in Oklahoma and Texas because of my love of hearing the breeze whoosh through the pine needles in California, my original home. And the smell of the aromatic pine in the air. It reminds me of home. I’ve also brought daffodils and irises from my garden in Oklahoma, treasuring the beauty of the flowers in spring.

So too did Bella Wilder when she left Colorado to live in Oregon in Heart of the Wolf. Her greenhouse had some of her treasured plants to remind her of home. And when she returns to Colorado, she takes some of her plants from Oregon to enjoy in her new home. In Dreaming of the Wolf (coming Fall 2011), Jake Silver loves to photograph wildflowers in Colorado, and Alicia Greiston loves hikes through the Colorado country, enjoying the beauty of nature. I only wish I could take photographs as great as Jake does, but I enjoy doing my amateurish part and sharing them on my blog from time to time.


Bears! Yes, yes, I know I’m supposed to be talking about wolves, but I love to make teddy bears that have made it into Teddy Bear Review Magazine and Texas Monthly Magazine, Texas Co-op Monthly, and The MacNeill Gallery. Ah, there’s the connection. Well, kind of. Ian MacNeill is the hero in Heart of the Highland Wolf…I know, he’s a wolf, but I’ve made MacNeill Celtic Clan bears for several MacNeills, and who knows if one of them might be related to Ian? In fact, I’m sure of it. Okay, well, I’ve been asked if I would make a wolf teddy bear…a teddy bear in wolf’s clothing? Anyway, it’s still on the agenda when I have time. But I LOVE making teddy bears. Oh, which reminds me, I have to make one for a new baby.


Let’s see, I’ve taken up hiking again, with my library crew. I told you they were the greatest! And how does this relate to my stories? I’m in search of hunky wolves!!! I love returning to nature, the woods, envisioning running into sexy werewolf types and including them in my stories. Inspiration comes in all shapes, sizes and forms—and from all kinds of different venues!


And definitely reading is an inspiration to me. Seduced by the Wolf was inspired by a true story about a wolf biologist who finds a gray she-wolf, her mate dead, and she’s trying to fend for herself and a litter of pups. In Wolf Fever (December 2010), the flu epidemic that was going on at the time, gave me the idea for writing the story.


I have to mention my love of genealogy also. Although I haven’t been as active in working on it—lack of time, you know. But learning about my family’s roots has inspired me to incorporate a small bit of one of the tales concerning my family history in Heart of the Highland Wolf. And in Seduced by the Wolf, Cassie Roux is named after my Roux family from Selencourt, France, since Roux means red and she’s a red wolf. :-)


So I really do participate in other stuff other than writing! All of which help inspire me to write all things wolf, Scottish, and vampiric! ;-)


Thanks so much for having me, Sia! As always, it’s been my pleasure!

• And here is my question for everyone: What is YOUR favorite pastime?

We will be giving two copies of Seduced By The Wolf to two commentors today. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to drop by and say hi!

SEDUCED BY THE WOLF

 His first priority is to protect his pack…

Werewolf pack leader Leidolf Wildhaven has just taken over a demoralized pack. With rogue wolves on the loose causing havoc and the authorities from the zoo suddenly zeroing in on the local wolf population, the last thing he needs in his territory is a do-gooder female, no matter how beautiful and enticing she is…

She’ll do anything to help wolves…

Biologist Cassie Roux has dedicated her life to protecting wolves in the wild. On a desperate mission to help a she-wolf with newborn pups, the last thing Cassie needs right now is a nosy and entirely too attractive werewolf pack leader trying to track her down…


With rogue wolves and hunters threatening at every turn, Cassie and Leidolf may find their attraction the most dangerous force of all…

Excerpt (under the book, click excerpt tab)         Buy: Amazon Barnes & Noble

              ~*~*~*~

A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry Spear has an MBA from Monmouth College. An eclectic writer, she dabbles in the paranormal as well as writing historical and true life stories for both teen and adult audiences. Spear lives in Crawford, Texas. For more information, please visit Terry at these various places on the web:

http://www.terryspear.com/

http://www.wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com/

http://casablancaauthors.blogspot.com/

http://fierceromance.blogspot.com/     

http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear

http://shapeshifterromance.wordpress.com/

http://terry-spear.blogspot.com/

Recharging: The Saving Grace of Laughter

Laughter isn't just the best medicine -- it's life's saving grace.

Everyone needs time away to refresh not only his or her creative spirit, but time to let go of stress. Ever notice when you spend time with friends or family laughing and having a good time, you tend to come back to every day chores with a renewed spirit? The manuscript you flung across the room in frustration suddenly has redeeming value again. You no longer want to send your kids and/or husband to homestead on the moon. What do you mean there is no oxygen or gravity? You’re so brilliant make some. (I figure I might as well put them to work while they know everything.)

The past week, I had a lot on my plate. I had deadlines, interviews to conduct, people I had to see, and places I had to be. I was still dealing with two weeks of sleep deprivation from when my son was recuperated from surgery—brings back memories of dealing with infant feedings every two hours. I had some late nights. I can tell you now, it ain’t pretty when those toothpicks propping open your eyelids fall out, nor is keyboard marks embedded in your face. I reopened a chapter I was writing while I was in the zone. I just didn’t realize what *zone I inhabited when I wrote a part of it. Sigh…yep, I found I had channeled three paragraphs of a foreign language from somewhere in the universe. Not sure exactly where and the UN has no known translators of this language.

Delete.

*Metaphorically throwing the manuscript across the room while muttering, ‘I so suck’.

Saturday, I had had it. My nap was interrupted, I had a stream of ranch business visitors, and I was grumpy. I grabbed the kid and said, "change clothes; we’re heading to Grandma’s house and bring your bathing suit." Just mentally shut the door on everything. Put on Seether, Breaking Benjamin, and Five Finger Death Punch, turned it up loud and Jake and I sang all the way to my mom’s

I had a wonderful time. I dropped Jake off at my brother’s house to visit with his cousin, and I went to my mom’s. No husbands and just girl time. We giggled and laughed. We swam in her pool, ran in the house just ahead of lightning and thunder. Mom has a healthy respect for both now but then proceeded to tell me tales of her misspent youth; a rowboat with an outboard in the middle of the lake on my grandparent's resort in Wisconsin. My mother gunning the engine to jump waves in the middle of a horrendous thunder storm, not once, but many times. *eye roll.

You’ve heard of ghost tales around the campfire? We shared, it’s a wonder we’re still alive tales. We sipped coffee and ate chocolate, we laughed at all the do you remember when stories and watched the Lightning bugs rise. We stayed up until 11:30 p.m. and had a blast. Sunday morning we got up to watch the birds sing up the sun and slipped into conversation on current events, music, books, and movies. Mom’s a great conversationalist and a well informed person and it’s amazing how smart she’s grown since I was a teen. *Wink

My younger brother came up to the house (he actually lives next door, sorta, on the family compound) at 7:30 for morning coffee and talk about his upcoming wedding. He’s twenty-six and marrying for the first time. Gads, I never realized what a romantic he is. We rounded off the morning with a visit from my other brother and his partner and my sister. Then it was time to go to my brother Mike’s house to pick up the kid. I was bubbly and relaxed--even when I had a blow out on the gravel road to my brother’s house. He played Knight in a shiny pick-up, had my tire changed in less than ten minutes (good thing as it was 90 degrees), picked up the kid and off for home.

I was energized, was able to finish the chapter I working on—in English this time, take care of blog stuff and still had time to do some work with my Arabian.


I need those fun times.

• What do you do to recharge or relax? You know, those weeks when life has you by the throat and you feel like any creative spark you’ve ever had must have died an ignominious death?

Road Trips, Blizzards, And Truth Stranger Than Fiction

It's my pleasure to have Lori Foster as my guest Over Coffee. I thoroughly enjoy Lori's books. Although I've only recently discovered them and quite by accident.

One day, making a trip with some co-workers to a three day seminar, I realized I left my book at home. The car group stopped at a little mom and pop store that had a small selection of book. A few I had already read, most were authors I hadn't heard of. A book caught my eye by an author I hadn't read before. It was Lori Foster and the book, Too Much Temptation. I read the back cover and thought, wow, this sounds like a fun read. It was. After that I bought several of her back list, like Jude's Law and Murphy's Law. Then I read one of her Mixed Martial Arts books and loved it.

I'll admit it, I'm hooked and I'm really looking forward to Drew's story (excerpt link below).


Like most authors, I sometimes need a break from writing. Not often, because whenever I’m away from writing too long, I start to get antsy. Usually, even when upsetting things happen, my writing is my escape, my entertainment.

But losing my dad... that was a blow. He passed away on the 11th, and I’ve been struggling with writing ever since. I did manage to finish my last single title not too far behind the deadline. But then I was supposed to do a novella that is now late. (It was originally due Feb 1st!)

So anyway, hubby and I decided on an impromptu trip to Tennessee to look at gorgeous lakefront vacation property. Usually a short road trip will rejuvenate me and I get back ready to leap into a story. This time, I came back exhausted!

See, we blundered into one of the worst winter storms Tennessee has ever had! It didn’t really hit until we’d cleared Ohio and Kentucky – two states that know how to deal with snow. We had already travelled too far to turn back, so we pushed on – past a lot of semi tractor-trailers that were overturned, in a ditch, upside down and demolished, past several police cars that had slid off the road, past numerous cars that had spun out of control – too many to even keep count – and past a horrifying accident that involved an ambulance upside down in a ravine. We said a quick prayer that the ambulance hadn’t already been carrying an injured person.

It was a harrowing ride – what should have taken 6 hours ended up being almost 9. Given the pile-up of snow on either side of the road, there was only enough room for one vehicle. You couldn’t see the exits even if you wanted to take one, so forget potty breaks. The wiper blades kept freezing over, meaning we could barely see out of the windshield. Hubby drove hunched over the steering wheel, holding it in a death grip.

When we did finally reach the hotel, it was all but buried so we had to plow our way into the parking lot, and then got snowy to our knees getting in the door.

As I took my two little Chihuahuas in and hubby was unloading, we realized we’d forgotten the suitcase holding our clothes.

We had the bag with our shower supplies, my hair stuff (brushes and blow dryer) and make up, and a mostly-eaten bag of snacks. We had several other bags filled with things that my doggies needed. THEY were set, with their cushy bed, their leashes, their food, water bowl, medicine, blankets, a variety of treats, etc...

Of course, once at the hotel, we weren’t about to head back out in search of food or clothes. The room was awesome, but I was uncomfortable and hungry and I wanted clean socks! Thank heavens the internet worked! I’d have gone bonkers if I had to do without that, on top of not eating and not having cozy PJs.

Everything was so snowed-under, that even that next morning we couldn’t get out to see the vacation property. The roads were all but shut down, and you can imagine that roads surrounding new building sites near a lake sure wouldn’t have been a priority for road crews.

Totally bummed, we ate a wonderful breakfast supplied by the hotel, and then headed back home. It was again rough travel until we hit Kentucky, then smooth sailing. But along the way... I got a neat plot idea! See, that novella I have to start is all about spring break and flings and I can’t think of a better way to get things going than to have my couple get sidetracked by a snowstorm when they’re expecting sandy beaches. Heaven knows, I’ll have plenty of experience now to pull from! Every complaint you just heard from me will be in that story!

So now you know, much of what’s in my books is complete and total fiction, but every so often, some of it is based in fact! I’m not going to tell all of the “real” parts, but this time, I don’t mind sharing. LOL.

• Do you use real experiences in your writing?
• How much ofreal life goes into YOUR writing?
  
  
  
  Back Cover Blurb:

SBC president Drew Black is as controversial as they come. But the hot-headed entrepreneur is a perfect match for his popular sports club venture: uncompromising and extreme. Maybe too extreme. With a reputation for saying what he thinks, Drew's been causing a lot of friction. That's why someone's been called in to clean up his image—before he does any permanent damage.

The lucky lady is Gillian Noode, a PR expert who's smoothed out the rough edges on many a man. But Drew is rougher than anyone she's ever met, and he refuses to change for any woman, for any reason. To make matters more complicated, Gillian's starting to like him raw. Now, opposites aren't only attracting, they're igniting. But in the rising heat, which one of them will end up on top?

First Chapter Excerpt


Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has routinely had 6 to 10 releases a year and has become a Waldenbooks, Borders, USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martins, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain. She is currently with Berkley/Jove.

Lori believes it’s important to back to the community as much as possible, and for that reason she ran special contests in conjunction with a publisher, facilitating many first sales for new authors. She routinely organizes events among authors and readers to gather donations for various organizations.

Along with her good friend, Dianne Castell, Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester Ohio. Proceeds from the event go to benefit worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, and The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

In 2007, Lori put together “The Write Ingredients” a cookbook of recipes donated by popular authors. Proceeds from the cookbook go toward Lori’s ongoing “Troop project” of collecting and mailing fun, and sometimes necessary items to our troops.

In 2008, Lori coordinated eleven other authors of her choosing, and through Berkley, arranged for the publication of a special anthology of novellas about empowering women. Proceeds from the anthology will go to the Battered women’s shelter.

In 2009, another anthology with Lori and a new set of authors will be published with proceeds to benefit The Animal Adoption Foundation.

Stop by Lori's website for the lastest from LL Foster and Lori Foster