Tuesday Teaser: Wolf’s Prize
Yikes! My apologies. This is getting out late today. This is an excerpt from Book Five in the After the Crash series. Taye’s cousin Ellie and her husband moved south into Kansas. The husband died and after Ellie had repeatedly declined to marry his employer, the man sold her to traders, who were taking her and a couple other women to Ellsworth to sell to be prizes in a Bride Fight.
“It’s too dangerous,” Ellie protested.
Sara snorted. “You act like an old granny. You’re not that old.”
“I’m twenty-four,” Ellie murmured. At this time, one short year ago, she had been a happy twenty-three year old wife and mother. Now, she was a widow who felt twice that, at least. Maybe three times that, with her little boy kept behind in the house of the man who had sold her like a cow. “I’m old enough to know what could happen to two women alone.”
“We have to do something! I don’t want to be married to some guy I don’t even know.”
Neither did Ellie. “But even if we did manage to get away, where could we go that would be safe?”
“We can do it. We’ll go to my uncle and my cousins in Omaha. They’ll take care of us.”
“I have a cousin, too.”
Ellie felt a wave of longing for Taye, her big, strong and over-protective older cousin. Taye had tried to talk her husband out of taking her so far away to live. When Neal had died, she had written to Taye, asking him to come and collect her and little Connor. She had written several times in the five months since Neal had died, but no answer ever came. She hadn’t understood why until this morning when Mr. Moore had traded her for gold. All the letters she had given him to post had gone into the fire instead of the mail pouch. Taye probably didn’t even know Neal was dead. If he did, he would have come for her right away. An idea struck her.
“Sara, wait here. I’m going to talk to Mr. Thomas.”
Sara perked up. “What about?”
“I think I have a way for us for us to not become prizes in a Bride Fight.” Ellie climbed over the back of the wagon. “Wish me luck.”
“Good luck. But if it doesn’t work, we’re running away.”
“Hm,” said Ellie, noncommittal.
Rye was still reclining by the coals of the fire, and Tim, Jeremy, and Paul were there, too, drinking coffee and talking in quiet voices. They broke off when she came to Rye.
He looked up at her, his face mildly surprised. “It’ll be a long drive tomorrow. You might want to get some sleep.”
“I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes, if you don’t mind.” She wiped her wet palms on her pants. “It’s business related.”
“Always glad to talk business.” Rye waved his hand at Tim, and the blond man moved a couple feet to the side so she could sit. He waited in silence for her to speak. It took her a second to find the right words.
“I have a cousin who loves me. He’s pretty well off. He would pay you twice what the men of Ellsworth would if you brought me to him.”
Rye’s brows rose until they almost disappeared under his limp curls. “Twice? That would be 200 gold.”
Ellie’s heart stuttered at the sheer amount of money. Did Taye have that much? “I don’t think that will be a problem for Taye” she lied. “He dotes on me.”
“And what about Miss Nelson?”
“He will pay for her, too.”
“Four hundred gold?” Rye whistled. “Your cousin must be loaded.”
Loaded with gold, no. Loaded with sharp teeth and a wolf’s aggression, yes. Not to mention an entire pack of men who all felt like he did. Ellie forced her hands to relax in her lap.
“Taye feels strongly about the safety of the women in his family. Actually, all women. He would be grateful to you if you bring me to him.”
Should she mention that Taye would want her son Connor brought to him, too? No, better not. Once she was safe with Taye, they would retrieve Connor from Mr. Moore. With a stab of vindictiveness, Ellie wanted to see the look on his face when Taye showed up at the Moore place to collect Connor. She doubted Mr. Moore would live through the retrieval process.
“That’s a lot of money,” Rye said thoughtfully. “But we have a contract with the men of Ellsworth. If we start breaking contracts, who will trust us to deliver our goods? Besides, we got one more girl to pick up tomorrow. Sorry, Mrs. Overdahl. When you get settled in Ellsworth you can write your cousin a letter.”
Ellie steeled herself to deliver a gentle threat. “Taye Wolfe is not a man you want to make an enemy of, Mr. Thomas.”
Next to her, Tim jerked in an audible breath. “Taye Wolfe? Where’s he from?”
“My cousin lives near Kearney, Nebraska.”
“Shee-it,” muttered Tim. “We’re in trouble, boss.”
What Is A Book Review For?
Pop Quiz Time!
What is a book review for?
A. To let everybody know what you thought of the book
B. To make the author feel good
C. To show off how cleverly snarky you can be
D. To get everybody to buy (or not buy) the book
Is there a correct answer? Sure, and maybe more than one. But the answer that should not be chosen is B. A review should not be written to make an author feel good. A review may praise the story, the writing or the characters, and that will probably make the author feel good, but that’s not the point of a review. And (this is really important) a book review should review the book, not the author. In my opinion, a review is for other readers, to help them decide if they want to spend the time and/or money on that book. One reader might write a scathing review because they hated the book. But if they aren’t specific about what they didn’t like and why, it’s not really helpful to other readers, is it?
For instance, if I am Reader Maddy and I’m scrolling through Amazon looking for a fun vampire romance to take with me on my Labor Day vacation, and I see a book that piques my interest I’m probably going to look at some reviews to help me decide if I want to read it. A review that says, “This was the worse 3 hours I ever spent! Save your money. ” tells me that reviewer hated the book, but not why. A review that says, “This book is awesome. Get this book and you won’t regret it!” tells me that reviewer loved the book but not why.
How could these two reviews be better? More info is needed. For example: “This is the worst 3 hours I ever spent! The heroine was a doormat. The hero was sexy, and I liked him, but I never figured out what he saw in the heroine. The writing was so disjointed I couldn’t follow the story, and I couldn’t stand all the typos. I quit reading after the halfway point. Save your money.” This tells me what this person didn’t like and why. “This book is awesome. The writing moved at a fast pace and I felt like I really got to know the hero and heroine as their relationship progressed. I loved the way she had to grow up to be able to keep his love, and the climax in the last few chapters had me biting my nails. Get this book and you won’t regret it!” This review lets me know that this reader felt very differently about this book and why. Is it possible that two readers can have opposite reactions to the same book? Certainly! And that’s okay.
What made me write this post? Well, sometimes reviews are snarky and an author makes the mistake of responding to the snark. Bad author! NO COOKIE! My advice to myself is to NEVER respond to a review. Why? Because a review of one of my books is not written for me. It is written for other people who are thinking about reading it and are looking to see what other people thought of it. It would be nice if reviewers were polite and balanced in their reviews, but 90% of the people on Amazon, Good Reads, etc, who leave reviews are not professional reviewers. They want to get their point across and sometimes can say hurtful things without meaning to hurt anyone. If they are trying to be hurtful, then shame on them. But twice the shame on the author or fan who snaps back. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Some readers find a mean review entertaining. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.
There has been, once again, an internet brouhaha between a well-known author and her fans, and reviewers. Boy, it makes a writer nervous! With the digital age we live in, the distance between authors and readers is very small. Authors need to remember when they are posting on Facebook, or Twitter, or on their blogs, that people are reading their posts not as if they were private people but as public authors. Mind you, authors are only human and we do a whole bunch of stupid things in public. Please be as kind as you can when we are idiots.
If you are a reader who would like to leave a review on Amazon or Good Reads, etc, but aren’t sure of what to say, I do have a suggested list of things to consider when leaving a review. Yes, these are only my suggestions! 🙂
1. Over all, how did you like the book?
2. Summerize the plot in two or three sentences. You can paraphrase the blurb. Try to not give spoilers.
3. How did you feel about the hero/heroine? Did you like their relationship? The love scenes?
4. How did you feel about the style of writing? Was it boring? Could you follow the action? Did it go too fast?
5. Was there something, perhaps a scene or a character, that stood out for you, good or bad? Why?
6. Is there at least one bad thing and one good thing you can honestly say about the book? Say it.
7. Be honest. If you didn’t like a book, say so. If an author gets her panties in a twist, that’s her problem. Don’t engage in bickering online.
8.. Would you recommend this book to a friend?
Authors, if you happen to read a review that hurts you, do not engage! We are professionals. People are giving us their time and money to read our work. Be polite. Not everybody is going to love what we write. Strange, I know, but I can’t stand brussel sprouts and everyone else in my family inhales the icky things like they are candy. *shudder* There’s no accounting for tastes.
The internet is a big sandbox. True, the romance community is a small corner of it, but there should be enough room for all of us to play without kicking sand into each others faces, right? So Let’s Play Nice.
Love’s A Beach Blog Hop!
Welcome to Maddy Barone’s stop on the Just Romance Me’s Love’s A Beach Blog Hop. If you want to go on the hop or you’ve fallen off the tour bus, you can get on by clicking here.
My current series takes place in Nebraska, in a dystopia-like future where women are scarce and wives are often taken by the winner of a Bride Fight. Not a lot of beaches in Nebraska 🙂 But the idea behind beaches is relaxation, right? Maybe some hot lovemaking? Here is a scene from Eddie’s Prize, the 4th book in the After the Crash series, which I am hoping to have submitted by September 30. Eddie is a blond hunk who won Lisa in a Bride Fight. With so few women, there is no one to fool around with, so on his wedding night Eddie was a virgin. Lisa was a famous model before her plane jumped fifty years into the future. She is definitely NOT a virgin. This scene is the morning after.
Eddie leaned up with his head propped on one hand and his fingers of his free hand tracing invisible patterns over her collar bones. “It gets better every time, doesn’t it?”
Lisa stretched lazily. “I’m not sure it can get better than that. But if you want to try, I won’t complain.”
“It can be better. This time I didn’t kiss you, or suck your nipples, or barely taste your clit.”
“That’s true,” his wife agreed with a naughty smile. “And I didn’t get to suck you either.”
Eddie shuddered slightly when she ran a finger over his cock lying limp against his thigh. He caught her hand to bring it to his lips to kiss. “We have plenty of time to play. This is our honeymoon, remember?”
Her beautiful smile curved her lips. “Right. I need a bathroom, and then breakfast.”
Eddie returned the smile. “I think it’s closer to lunch now. You get dressed and go use the facilities, and I’ll see what we have in the cold box for breakfast.”
Lisa’s smooth brow folded in a frown. “The only clothes I have are what I was wearing on the plane. They’re pretty beat up.”
Eddie remembered that their clothes were currently scattered from the bedroom to the kitchen. “My mom and sister put a robe and nightgown in the closet for you.” He couldn’t keep his smile back. “I guess you didn’t get a chance to wear the nightgown. Tomorrow we’ll go downtown and order some new clothes for you.”
“Thank you!” Lisa gave him a big, smacking kiss. “I love new clothes!”
She jumped out of bed and flashed him a smile when he leered at her naked body in an exaggerated way. She took her time opening the closet and putting on the robe. She fumbled for the boots he had pried off her last night. She stamped her feet into them and shook her head to free her hair from the robe.
“A chenille robe and high-heeled Ferragamo boots. How sexy.”
He leered again. “I think so.”
She added an extra sway to her hips as she left the bedroom to go out to the outhouse. Eddie whistled at the show, enjoying teasing her. After he heard the door close behind her, his face lost the smile. Sitting up, he put his feet on the floor and his head in his hands. How long could he keep his secret from her?
Eddie got up and didn’t bother dressing before picking up their scattered clothes. Lisa was right. Her sweater was ruined, and her jeans weren’t much better. He folded the clothes and laid them on top of the dresser in the bedroom. He paused to smile at the rumpled sheets and blankets. No sense making the bed. He planned to be back in it not long after breakfast, with his wife beside him. Or under him, or on top of him. His smile grew, resembling a cat contemplating a bowl of foamy cream.
I am offering a download of Book 3: Wolf Tracker, which will be drawn by the Blog Hop organizers on Sunday. I am also offering a download of any of my books to a commenter on my blog. If you’d like a chance to win, leave a comment. Also, those who receive my newsletter are automatically added twice to the drawing. I will draw a name by 10pm Central Time, Sunday night, and notify the winner then.
Have fun on the hop, and good luck in the Prize Winning Department!
How To Choose a Pen Name
Many authors, especially those who write romance, elect to use a pseudonym or a nom de plume. How does one go about choosing a pen name? I’ve been in this writing game for a few years now, and I have a few suggestions. These are only my opinions, not written in some Author Handbook. You may disagree with me or have other suggestions. If so, feel free to leave a comment so others can benefit from your thoughts.
In no particular order:
1. Choose something that anybody could spell. If a reader wants to search you out on the internet or on the shelves of their local bookstore, they may have a hard time if they are looking for Jessica Diamond but you spell it Jezika Dymynd.
2. An easy-to-remember name is a plus. Maybe you really like Maria Maddalena da Monreale-Baroncelli, but will a reader remember that name? Besides that, how would it look on the cover of a book?
3. Do an internet search to see if the name you want is already being used. Sure, you probably know not to call yourself Nora Roberts, but there are a LOT of authors out there, especially with the advent of self publishing. Be sure you aren’t taking someone else’s name. And I’m not just talking about other writers’ names. Check for musicians, actresses, sports stars, etc.
4. Also, don’t choose a name that is too similar to other authors. I can’t tell you how excited I was to see a book by someone I thought was a long time favorite of mine. Imagine my disappointment (and irritation) to find out it wasn’t my favorite author, just someone with a very similar name.
5. Be sure you can spell it and write it easily. This is the name you will be signing when readers ask you to autograph their book. Practice writing it over and over. Is it comfortable for you? If not, look for something else.
6. Pick something you can answer to. How embarrassing to have a reader call, “Ms. Barone! Maddy!” while you stroll obliviously past her because you don’t realize she is talking to you. She thinks you’re rude and you missed an opportunity to chat with someone who (hopefully) enjoys your books.
7. Check to see if the domain for your pen name is available. Even if there is not another writer/public figure out there with the name you want, if you can’t use www (dot)yourname(dot)com it may be difficult for readers to find your website. And you want readers to be able to find you.
There, 7 suggestions to help you decide on a pen name. As I said, these are only suggestions. Your mileage may vary. 🙂
U Need To Write!
Do you remember my post from a few weeks ago? My rescue kitty LIttle Bit (Masuku) is camera-shy, but I finally got a good pic of her a few nights ago. I was frittering away my writing time playing games on Facebook, and this is what she had to say about it:
Tuesday Teaser-Eddie’s Prize
It’s time a for a teaser from my Work in Progress, Eddie’s Prize. Lisa, an international fashion model back home, is frightened, and wants Eddie to win her. Here are a couple paragraphs from just before the Bride Fights starts.
Lisa looked quickly at the sea of men on the theater floor and found Eddie by his dark gold hair and pale skin. He was almost directly below her, standing a yard away from the stage. For a one moment she forgot everything else while she ran slow, thorough eyes over him. Eddie was a god. A perfect idol fashioned of gold and ivory. He was shirtless and his lean chest and narrow waist were pale amid all the dark-skinned men. Lisa frowned. His pecs and abs were well-defined, but he looked so slender, almost skinny, compared to the other men he stood with. If those other men, so burly and thick, were who he would be fighting, he wouldn’t have a chance.
Ray seemed to read her concern. He patted her on the head like a child, although she was an inch taller than he was. “He might look a bit small, but he’s fast and a helluva lot stronger than he looks. He’ll mop the floor with the rest of them fighters. Just wait. I’ll be calling you daughter before night.”
Ugh, that was the bad part of Eddie winning. But still, Eddie was the best choice. Some of these other men eying her and puffing out their chests were handsome enough to be models – or they would be if they did something with their hair and teeth—but Eddie was the only one she wanted.
Tuesday Teaser – Sleeping With the Wolf
Here is a short teaser from Sleeping With the Wolf, the first book in my After the Crash series. Taye is trying to explain to Carla that it was his wolf who chose her as their mate:
“Your wolf was the one who picked me to be your mate?” Carla tucked a heavy lock of her walnut brown hair behind her ear and studied Taye as if he were a Where’s Waldo poster. When he was in human form she saw no sign of his wolf.
“He did. To be his special companion. He wants you to be the person who belongs to him, kind of like … a horse belongs to a human.”
Carla stared at him blankly. “A horse?”
Taye frown and shook his head. “That’s not a good description. It’s like…”
As Taye trailed off, obviously frustrated to not be able to explain better, another man stepped up to the table. He had light brown hair in a tangled mess hanging in his face and past his shoulders and vivid green eyes peering through it. “I heard my father explain it once to my mother. He said that to his wolf, she was like the only warm house in the middle of a deadly blizzard. She gave him a safe place to shelter in, one that was just for him, and he would take care of that safe place and defend it from intruders.”
Carla’s mouth formed an “Oh,” without sound. Then, “Is that why the wolf doesn’t want me to shake hands with other men? He thinks that might let them into his safe shelter?”
“Exactly,” said Taye with relief. He rested a hand on the other man’s arm. “Thanks, Quill.”
Quill had a shy smile of surpassing sweetness, and Carla reduced her estimate of his age from early twenties to late teens.
Tuesday Truth-Writing is Work
Do you ever think: Wow, I wish I could write book, but … And then list the reasons why you couldn’t, like “I don’t have the time” or “my computer is crappy” or “I don’t have the patience” or “I start and then it fizzles”.
Well, published authors deal with all that too. We all have days where the ideas just aren’t coming. Or maybe I should speak just for myself. I have struggled with writing Eddie’s Prize. I’ve had a lot going on in my life the last year or so. My mom’s been sick, my widowed sister moved back into my mom’s house with her daughter, I’ve had a lot of illness myself. Last summer the department I’d worked in for years was downsized and I was sent to another team. It hasn’t been a good experience for me. In fact, I hate my day job, but I can’t live without the paycheck. I think that stress has affected my love for writing.
However, the good news is my critique group has told me that they think the writing I have done is very good. In fact, one gal said she thought Eddie’s Prize was my best writing yet.
So, I’m back on the horse, trying hard to get this story finished.
Writing Update & Excerpt
Hello, all! As May goes on, I’m getting more and more excited about the Annual Reader & Author Get Together. I spent several hours today with my friend Jessica sewing her 1920s dancing dress for the murder mystery party at Duffy Brown’s. We’re nearly done with it. Next weekend I’ll make mine.
On the writing front, I’ve been working hard on Eddie’s Prize, the story of model Lisa Anton and Eddie Madison, the son of the mayor of Kearney. For some reason this book has more love scenes in it already than the others, and I’m only half done. I’m just about to write another love scene and I’m not sure how it’s going to go. Eddie had just read an old magazine article about Lisa’s love life in 2064 and he’s jealous. The next minute he sees Lisa crying on a bench with one of his friends close beside her, comforting her. Eddie sees red. He drags Lisa home and makes furious love to her, to show her who her husband is. Lisa loves it. She has to, otherwise it’s not really a romance, is it? But that’s the beginning of their marriage problems. Eddie doesn’t trust her. The scene I’m really looking forward to is when she decides she’s had enough and leaves him to go live with Taye’s Pack.
Also, Sherry’s Wolf is out all over now. (Except Barnes & Noble, grr.) It’s free everywhere except at Amazon. They don’t allow books to be priced at free unless it’s a publisher loading the book. So I had to price it at $0.99. I put a note at the bottom of the description saying the story was available elsewhere for free, but some people are paying for it anyway. There’s a link on the page at the bottom of the product details section where people can report a lower price and hopefully Amazon will match it. If any of you could take a few minutes to report the lower price at one of the sites below maybe Amazon would make Sherry’s Wolf free. Please don’t feel you must. Only if you want to. 🙂 I meant this story to be a thank you gift to my readers, and it doesn’t seem very grateful to charge for a gift.
ETA: Never mind! Looks like Amazon has dropped the price to $0.00! Thanks, everyone. who went to report the lower price. IT WORKED!
Oh, and I wrote the first chapter of Ellie and Quill’s book. I hope you enjoy Wolfs-Prize in its raw state. I imagine I’ll do some significant editing to this. I might even scrap it all together, but I haven’t shared much lately, so here you go.
That’s all for now, folks! For you moms reading this, I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day.
What’s Sky Been Up To?
Do you remember Sky, the seventeen year old whose wolf chose Rose to be his mate? Remember how he grabbed her, held her against the wall and kissed her against her will? After Taye tore him away from Rose and threw him into a wall, Sky decided to leave Karney and find work in Omaha until Rose was old enough for him to court properly. Do you wonder how things are going for him in Omaha? Me, too. He’s been pestering me to write a scene for him, but I’m still working on Eddie’s Prize, and then there’s Wolf’s Prize. I have the opening scene for Quill and Ellie’s story circling my brain and I want to write it. But back to the scene Sky is pushing at me.
Sky and Quill arrived in Omaha in November and it is now early December. The big city is a shock to them. For one thing, many of the more affluent homes have running water and electricity. For another, the women of Omaha walk all over town by themselves. The men in Omaha hardly seem to notice the women. Sky thinks it might be because of the dozens of peacekeepers who patrol the town. Work on the railroad won’t begin until the snow is gone in spring, and no one wants to hire a pair of half-feral teenagers for the winter. With no money to buy food or housing, the boys have to rely on their wolves to hunt their own food. They can’t stay in wolf form in Omaha because the one time they nosed their way into a stable for shelter, they were shot at by the peacekeepers. Hungry and homesick, Quill argues that they should return to the Clan until spring. As proud and stubborn as any other Alpha, Sky refuses.
Their luck changes one morning as they are going door to door in the business section of Omaha. They see a well dressed middle-aged woman being followed and harrassed by a group of rude men. Naturally, Sky and Quill are furious at this disrepect to a woman, and appalled that she is out alone unprotected. No Peacekeeper is in sight and they don’t bother to go find one. Instead, they beat the snot out of the men and offer to escort the woman to safety. The woman is Miss Lucille, an aging star of one of Omaha’s leading whorehouses. She’s surprised that two such young men are so strong and able to fight so well. As a thank you, she offeres them a freebie. Quill is horrified, but Sky remembers how his kiss didn’t please Rose. He asks Lucille to teach him how to kiss properly. She teaches him taht and a whole lot more. Sky and Quill go to live at the whorehouse, earning their way as bouncers. Who better to keep the working girls safe than a pair of wolves who idolize women?
I don’t want to give too much away. I can’t write this scene right now, but I suspect I will write it soon. Sky won’t shut up.
