Romance Writers Weekly ~ What you do when you're stuck ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop we're asked, “What do you do when you're stuck in your writing?”

Ooh, this is such a good question! Generally, when I'm stuck it's due to one of a few things.  Either because I haven't thought out the story well enough--the only help for that is to go back to the drawing board, so to speak, and figure things out. Another common problem is that my characters aren't cooperating. That's usually because I'm trying to "tell" the story from the wrong point of view. The only way around that is to give the scene to someone else. Sometimes...the problem is that I'm about to make one (or more!) of my characters very unhappy; maybe even kill one of them off! That's never fun, but you just have to power through it. But I've continued to grieve some characters' deaths years after the fact. 

Occasionally, I'm stuck for a minor issue--I've lost the narrative thread. The best way around that is to start from the beginning (or some other convenient place) and read what I've written so far. Very often by the time I get to the place where I've ended the story, I find the problem has disappeared and I'm able to move on. 

Now, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page to find out what she does when she's stuck!

Also, happy Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year!

Games We Play: Boxed Set 1

Book a stay the Wild Geese Inn, where love is rekindled, friends become lovers, trust is rediscovered and the fun never ends! 

A quirky, family-owned resort on the Jersey Shore is the setting for this erotic, lightly paranormal series. Cousins Brenda, Luke and Gwyn are determined to turn their failing hotel business around. They have no time for love. They're in no mood for games. But it's not going to matter. Not when they're up against a handful of ghosts, a mischievous boggart, a family curse, and destinies written in stone.

The Games We Play trilogy. Three books that prove that holiday fun doesn't begin or end in December!

https://books2read.com/rl/GamesWePlayWildGeese

Musical Monday: The Way You Look Tonight (Frank Sinatra)

 

As we continue to explore songs for Clay and Allegra to dance to, here's an oldie. I don't think the song is their style (although the dance in this video would probably appeal to them). HOWEVER, this is the kind of song that Legs would think her uncle would find appropriate--because it's the kind of song that his parents might have danced to...although probably not at their wedding. 

Actually, maybe this would be better for her to dance to with her uncle? Hmm.

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Valentine's Day ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop we're asked to: “It's almost Valentine's day. What does that mean to you and why?”

Ooh, that's another good question. I'll be honest, my husband and I have been together for a looonnng time. So, many years we exchange cards and maybe a token gift, and that's about it. Sometimes we'll stay home and make a special meal (we like cooking together) or order in. Some years, we'll dress up and go out for dinner. One of my favorite Valentine's Day dinners was at a little place called Kelly's in Paso Robles which is, sadly, no longer there. Of course, we're not there either so... I don't recall all the dishes but we had a yummy goat's cheese salad with dried cranberries to start, and lavender creme brulee for dessert.

I do enjoy setting stories around Valentine's Day.  ALL the characters in Sound of a Voice That is Still have Valentine's Days that...well, let's just say they fit the couples (at least it fit where they each were at that point in the series) so there was quite a range of experiences!

In Truth or Dare, my thruple enjoy two vastly different Valentine's Days together.

Many years ago, I wrote a piece of flash fiction that became the inspiration for today's featured story, Put a Ring Around the Rosie. 

Now, hop on over to Jenna DaSie's page to learn what she thinks of Valentine's Day. 

Put a Ring Around the Rosie 

February 14th is just another day...until it's not.

They say timing is everything, and that certainly has always been the case where Alex and I are concerned. We met nearly two years ago when he was hired to work at Cup of Joe, the coffee shop where I was already an old timer. It was lust at first sight, at least on my part, but I had a boyfriend then, and so did he. By the time we were both single and I’d worked out that he was bi, things between us had become complicated in so many other ways that it seemed much simpler and safer to just stay friends.

We were work spouses for a while, and then we weren’t. And when we reconnected with each other last month it was after a prolonged period of hurt feelings and miscommunication during which we barely spoke to each other at all. 

Now, even though our friendship’s caught fire, so to speak, I feel like we’re both still recovering from that last, disconnected phase. Heaping a bunch of unrealistic expectations, or a need for chocolate hearts, plush toys, or rose colored anything on top of that seems like a little too much added pressure. 

​https://books2read.com/RingRosie

Musical Monday: All of Me (John Legend)

 

Wedding dance music--yes or no? I can't decide on this one. The lyrics are perfect for Legs, but can you really dance to it? I mean, I guess you can, but it strikes me more as interpretive dance music than ballroom. Thoughts?

Wine Wednesday: Grape Creek 2022 Invention

 

So we're back to the cutesy names that say nothing. Invention is a mostly Petit Verdot--a varietal about which I know very little. It's a dry, full bodied, inky dark wine with cedar and cocoa powder on the nose (along with some eucalyptus, I think?) and an intense dark chocolate/dried cherry flavor. 

According to the website there are pronounced floral notes. I smell beetroot...but not in a bad way. There's a deep earthiness to it. The tannins in this wine are softer than a Zinfandel, but I think it would fill the same niche. Based on my interpretation of the description on the label, the Texas terroir elevates this grape in a way that put the label writer in mind of Michelangelo's work with marble. 

That might be overstating things. This is a good wine--very enjoyable. Which is good considering I have another bottle of it! I'd pair it with anything Tex-Mex.  

Romance Writers Weekly ~ WIPs! ~ #LoveChatWrite

This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop we're asked to: “Give us a sample of your WIP.”

Ooh, another easy one! So there are two books I'm sort of working on at the moment. The first is a follow up to last year's Que Sera Syrah (see below). 

If  you've read the two Christmas freebies (links to those are below, as well) you already know that all three of the Martinelli sisters got engaged. The Our Big, Fat, Napa Weddings anthology will release some time in June.

I don't have a blurb yet for my story--Nice Day for a Wine Wedding--but you can get a sneak peek of the cover HERE.

Legs wants a super big blowout of a wedding while Clay isn't sure he wants a wedding at all--can't they just quietly elope?--and that's before their respective families start adding to the confusion! It's so much fun to be back in Oak Creek Canyon, and I LOVE writing wedding stories, so I hope you'll save the date! 

You can read an excerpt HERE 

My second story is a continuation of my Celtic Legends series--it features a selkie and a former fisherman turned reclusive lighthouse keeper. It is, somewhat improbably, a light BDSM (heavy on the bondage, because fishermen know ALLLL about knots) And, as it turns out, I do have a blurb, which you can find HERE

You can read an excerpt of that one HERE. 

Now, hop on over to Jill Haymaker's page to find out what she's reading. And don't forget to check out her book, Mountain Hearts.

MOUNTAIN HEARTS

Two hearts damaged by grief are drawn together as kindred souls. To move forward they’ll have to face their pasts and lay their ghosts to rest. Can broken hearts dare to love again?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B5H9GW7

Meet the Martinelli Sisters!

Rosa, Bianca and Allegra Martinelli--three sisters who have just inherited a once-storied winery in the heart of Napa Valley. They’re living the dream, right? Not so fast!

As it turns out, not everybody is happy for le tre sorelle. And that includes their Uncle Geno who’d assumed the property would come to him.

There are hoops to jump through, barrels to get over, and a mountain of regulations they'll have to scale. But these sisters are crushing it—and we don’t just mean the grapes.

They’re making wine, falling in love, and working together to restore their inheritance to its former glory, one pour decision at a time. 

https://books.bookfunnel.com/POURDECISIONS

Musical Monday: Walk for Peace 2026 (Hemp the Artist)

 

Okay, I needed something inspirational, so here it is. And yeah...I got nothing else to say today. Om, shanti, shanti, shanti. Also, happy Imbolg.