Susan has been making up stories her whole life. She tags along with her husband on business trips whenever she can because hotels are great places to write: fresh coffee all day and cookies at 4 p.m. They have a home in Greenville, SC, which they occasionally visit. Susan’s short fiction has appeared in moonShine Review, Spinetingler Magazine, Relief Journal, The Petigru Review, and Catfish Stew. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, is a 2012 RWA Golden Heart® Finalist and a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist.

Susan is generously giving away one copy of her award-winning debut to one lucky commenter—in the format of the winner’s choice: Kindle, Nook, or Trade Paperback. So please come on by, read her wonderful post about her journey to publication, then go check out her mystery—Lowcountry Boil. It sounds like a wonderful read: here’s a taste…

Private Investigator Liz Talbot is a modern Southern belle: she blesses hearts and takes names. She carries her Sig 9 in her Kate Spade handbag, and her golden retriever, Rhett, rides shotgun in her hybrid Escape. When her grandmother is murdered, Liz high-tails it back to her South Carolina island home to find the killer. She’s fit to be tied when her police-chief brother shuts her out of the investigation, so she opens her own. Then her long-dead best friend pops in and things really get complicated. When more folks start turning up dead in this small seaside town, Liz must use more than just her wits and charm to keep her family safe, chase down clues from the hereafter, and catch a psychopath before he catches her.

Doesn’t that sound like a great read? Now go check out her post, then answer the question about how song lyrics trigger our imaginations, and maybe you’ll win a copy! And thank you so much, Susan, for dropping by today—and good luck with your debut!

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Kaki, thank you so much for having me here on Virgin No More! I’m so excited to share with y’all how I lost it.

I’ll give y’all the abbreviated version of the backstory. I was that child who tried to get the school librarian to let her check out six books when the limit was two per week. I started college as an English major, but plenty of people were happy to tell me the odds against ever making a living as a writer.

Four major changes later, I took a long detour through corporate America, which came to an abrupt halt in 2004, when the company I worked for went out of business. My husband, who knew how long I’d dreamed of writing, looked at me and said, “Why don’t you give the writing thing a try.” So I did.

We had lived in the old village area of Mt. Pleasant, SC, for eighteen months while my husband was working on a contract in the area. Mt. Pleasant is just across the Cooper River from Charleston. Cross the Intracoastal Waterway on Ben Sawyer Bridge and you’re on Sullivan’s Island. I used to ride my bike across that bridge and down the beach every morning.

I loved living in the lowcountry. It spoke to me. And I probably ate my weight in lowcountry boil, a regional dish of shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, and whatever else the cook wants to boil in beer and spices. Moving back to Greenville when my husband’s contract was up was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Sidebar: Greenville is awesome in her own right, but this isn’t Greenville’s story.

One day, shortly after we’d decided I was going to live my writing dream, I was listening to that old Eagles song, “Last Resort,” on the radio. The ending of the song is, “They call it paradise. I don’t know why. You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye.” (Don Henley) Anyway, the word “paradise” sent me back to the lowcountry, and a story started percolating in the back corner of my brain.

Several drafts, a few conferences, a critique group, several rounds of “revise and resubmit” with agents that didn’t work out, and another pass of edits later, I started querying agents in earnest. After forty-nine queries, and maybe fifteen requests for the full manuscript, I signed with an agent.

But, just as she started submitting, she fell ill and went on medical leave. Thankfully, I had signed with a well-known, reputable agency. They re-assigned me to another agent, and I am convinced that he did his best to sell my manuscript to several New York editors. Most of the rejections I was getting sounded like great reviews until you got to that last sentence that said something like, “Unfortunately I’m just not passionate enough about it to make it a must-have for our list at this time.”

I started thinking about small presses about the same time someone I knew from a writers’ group decided to start her own. For many, this would be a risky venture, but I knew things about this lady that maybe everyone didn’t—like she was a successful entrepreneur in another business, and had been a freelance editor and cover designer for years.

I signed my contract in late March, and Lowcountry Boil has just been released. This was the right path for me. I’m absolutely thrilled to be with Henery Press. It’s small enough to be nimble. We hope to have the second book in the series out in spring. I have forward momentum, which was necessary for my continued grip on sanity.

Thanks again for having me, Kaki! Y’all please come see me when you can. I hang out in all the usual places—my website, Amazon, B&N, & Fiction Addiction

Hey, before I go, I was wondering, do song lyrics ever inspire stories for y’all? Even if you’re not a writer and never wanted to be, do you sometimes start imagining what happens next to the people in the song?

Beth writes romantic suspense, mysteries, and the occasional hilarious blog post. A storyteller since her playground days, she published her first piece in high school with a spoof of soap operas for the school’s newspaper. She hasn’t stopped writing since.  Now living in California with her husband, two sons, and their dog, she’s hard at work on her next novel.  After you read her guest blog here on how important a name is, pop over to her website, www.bethyarnall.com, and learn more about this fabulous new author and her book, RUSH, which hit the shelves yesterday! 

RUSH, book 1 in the Please at Home Series

Someone is stalking Miyuki Price-Jones.

As the host of a very successful home shopping TV show that sells adult toys, Mi has become the object of an ex-con’s obsession, requiring the services of ex-Navy SEAL turned bodyguard, Lucas Vega. As the attraction between Lucas and Mi grows, Lucas has a difficult time keeping his feelings for Mi separate from his mission to keep her safe. A mission that is more challenging than anyone could have predicted.

Damaged by their pasts, Lucas and Mi find more in common then they could have imagined and secrets they thought would tear them apart could be the ties that bind them together forever. But with the stalker growing bolder, Lucas and Mi must learn to trust each other or risk losing more than their hearts.

One of them could lose their life.

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What’s In a Name?

Your name says a lot about your family, the era you were born in, your nationality, and who you are as a person. It marks you. If you’re a parent you understand the importance of choosing just the right name for your bundle of joy. I imagine there are some who wish they had a different moniker than the one on their birth certificate. And then there are those who have taken it a step further by legally changing their name to something they feel better suits them.

Names are important.

Heck, it took forever for my family to settle on just the right name for our dog.

Naming a character for a novel can be just as stressful to come up with, just as vital to the story as the setting and conflict. A character’s name says something about them sometimes before they even appear on the page. One of my favorite authors, Janet Evanovich, had this to say about naming characters in her book on writing HOW I WRITE~

‘Whenever possible a character’s name should suggest certain traits, like the character’s social or ethnic background or something unusual about that character. When I started writing the Stephanie Plum series, I searched for a long time to find the perfect name for my heroine. I wanted something that was kind of voluptuous and juicy—like a plum!

All character’s names are important, not just the main characters’. And once you hit on it, you’ll know it.’

When I first imagined the heroine for my debut romantic suspense novel, RUSH, I knew she would be of mixed Japanese heritage and that her name should start with an M. I’d been searching for the right name with no luck when I decided to ask my Facebook friends for suggestions. Miyuki was one of the suggestions. I loved the way it sounded when I said it (Mee-yew-kee) as will as the shortened version- Mi (My).

Miyuki, was named after her paternal grandmother and she needed a last name that would reflect her mixed heritage. I liked the idea of her having a hyphenated last name, Price-Jones. Her life is complicated and I felt her name should exhibit that. Miyuki Price-Jones has a lyrical sound to it that worked for me.

My hero, Lucas, as he does in the book, revealed himself to me slowly. I knew he’d be an unusually large man of Hispanic heritage. He’d been in the military, but was now at a crossroads in his life. He needed a strong name with hard and soft sounds. I tried out several until I found what I though was the right combination, Lucas Joaquin Vega. Lucas was also named after a grandparent, his maternal grandfather.

Miyuki’s and Lucas’s names became very important to the story. For one of them, their name gives them a sense of belonging and family. It ties them to a past they wish they could revisit. For the other, their name is a heavy burden and a reminder of events that continue to impact and haunt their life.

What does your name say about you? Have you ever wished for a different name and if so, what name would you choose?

Like me, Theresa pursued an impractical education that allowed her to read everything she could get her hands on. Unlike me, she put it to use by going on to work for universities and libraries, where she got to read even more. Eventually she started writing, too. She now lives with her family in the Midwest and lives online at http://theresaromain.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Here’s a taste of her fabulous debut:

TWO SISTERS…

Julia Herington is overjoyed when her stepsister, Louisa, becomes engaged—to a viscount, no less. Louisa’s only hesitation is living a life under the ton’s critical gaze. But with his wry wit and unconventional ideas, Julia feels James is perfect for Louisa. She can only hope to find a man like him for herself. Exactly like him, in fact…

ONE CHOICE…

As the new Viscount Matheson, James wished to marry quickly and secure his title. Kind, intelligent Louisa seemed a suitable bride… Until he met her stepsister. Julia is impetuous—and irresistible. Pledged to one sister, yet captivated by another, what is he to do? As Christmas and the whirl of the London season approach, James may be caught in a most scandalous conundrum, one that only true love, a bit of spiritous punch—and a twist of fate—will solve…

Take it away, Theresa!

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Theresa Romain

You Can’t Do It Alone

Just like the title says: you can’t do it alone. That goes for most firsts, whether…ahem…or a job you get on a tip from a friend, or a scarf you* knit once your aunt shows you how to hold the needles.

Writing is no different. We often think of it as a solitary act, but it takes a lot of support to get that time alone with our writing implements. Charles Dickens had ten children, and I can guarantee you they weren’t underfoot while he was writing the Victorian era’s most popular novels. Thoreau, that ultimate get-away-from-it-all fellow who wrote Walden in a tiny house near a beautiful lake, was living on land that belonged to his good friend Emerson.

What do I have in common with Dickens and Thoreau? Well, we all have vowels in our names. We all have (or had, in their cases) dark hair. And we couldn’t be writers without help from others.

Allow me to elaborate.

I’ve been in the habit of writing nonfiction for a while, but while I was pregnant with my daughter, I developed a strange new craving. Not for pickles in peanut butter, but for fiction. I gorged on novels like never before, and I eventually decided I had to try writing one. Being a history lover, and a love lover, naturally I turned my hand to historical romance. I wrote approximately half a novel, and then…

Then I had the baby. So there was this baby to take care of all the time. I still had a job to go to every day, and laundry every evening, and the ceaseless needs of an infant at every point in between. When could I possibly write?

I posed this question to my husband as an information-seeking endeavor. I’m not sure what I expected him to say. “Get up earlier,” maybe, or “Write on your lunch hour.” (I did try those things. They were more successful than wishing for the words to appear by magic, but not by much.) But he surprised me, because what he actually said was, “I’ll put the baby to bed every night, and you can write during that time.”

That sounded pretty good to me. So with Mr. R’s support, an evening at a time, that half-novel became a whole one. Then it became revised. Then it became revised again and again. Then it became my historical romance debut, SEASON FOR TEMPTATION, and several other projects followed it. The baby stopped being a baby quite a while ago, but this is (approximately) still our family routine.

I write by myself, but I couldn’t do it alone.

*And I do mean you. Not me. I have been found by a panel of experts to be incapable of learning to knit.

What’s something you tried to do alone and realized you needed help with? Do you ask for help, or take it when it’s offered? Whether you seek out support or like to be a lone wolf, let us know. I’ll give a signed copy of SEASON FOR TEMPTATION to one random commenter!

Order book: amazon • barnes & noble • book depository • books-a-million • chapters • indiebound • posman’s • powell’s • word brooklyn

Order ebook: kindle • nook • kobo • ibook

I know, I know. You didn’t think they made those, especially in the Marine version, but I found one! And what a guy he is. Don McQuinn not only writes strong women characters, he actually almost nearly understands them, at least as much as the male physiology allows.

Technically, he’s been deflowered, publishing-wise (and I’m assuming since he has three sons, all other-wises, too, but I refrained from asking). He was published in print before, and won awards and made best-seller lists. But now he’s re-releasing those fabulous backlist books in e-format, so he’s sort of an e-virgin (and those are the sweetest ones, so we have to be gentle.)

Don has a wealth of life experience to draw from—adored and adoring husband, father, grandfather, retired Marine officer and combat veteran, a surly civilian, and a fantastic teacher all wrapped up in an accent to die for. (If any of my books were ever put on audio, this is the voice I’d want to read it.) His journey is touching and humorous and full of humble wisdom. This is a man who has given back a lot more than he has taken from this life, and it shows in his work. Read on, and I bet you’ll be doing the “awwww” thing before you’re done. Then go buy his books for your brand new Kindle, Nook, or whatever.

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Don McQuinn

Kaki Warner and I have known each other for a long time. As much as I admire her work, I particularly admire her determination. She made herself successful; she’s an inspiration to everyone who knows her. I’m flattered and grateful that she’d introduce me to her fans. I’m new to the present social network thing, so she’s taken on the chore of teaching this old dog new tricks. She started by telling me I should provide some bio stuff and a description of what brought me to this point. It’s all pretty much of a piece, so I’ll do what a writer’s supposed to do – start at the beginning.

I was born in Winthrop, MA. We moved a lot, and I did most of my growing up in Texas, but graduated college at the University of Washington. I was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant, USMC that same June. Carol and I were married in December. The first week of February I was commanding a platoon on a hill in Korea. Twenty years later I retired from the Corps and discovered that, no matter how hard I searched, I could not find a worse civilian. Finding a job wasn’t the problem. Keeping one was a whole ‘nother thing. I quit two in rapid succession – probably one deep breath ahead of being fired. By then we’d moved to Seattle. When I talked about finding another job Carol said she wished instead that I’d start writing. Carol’s wishes are always spoken softly and lovingly, as that’s her nature. Experience shows, however, that behind that truly soft and loving nature lurks the wallop of a howitzer. She went on to say she knew I always wanted to be a writer and she’d always wanted me to be a writer. Her notion was that, between what she could earn and my retirement, we could get by until I started selling my work. Our three sons, all of whom had college aspirations, were in enthusiastic agreement with her in what had to be the goofiest family finance plan of the 20th century. I’ve always thought they all figured that if Daddy didn’t find something to do all by himself, hopefully in a dark basement, Daddy was going to get himself locked up. It’s a delicate issue; only my abiding sensitive nature has kept me from asking about it. Anyhow, with that kind of support, I couldn’t consider failure. It was on the menu for several years. I got my quota of rejection letters. I’ve heard people tell of keeping theirs. I burned mine minutes after they arrived. But I learned the craft. I went to writers conferences. I joined a writers group. I read everything, anything, and talked about writing with everyone I could. We did get by; Carol saw to it. Our sons did go to college; they took any and every job they could find to help pay their way. I got published. I was lucky enough to be awarded the Governor’s Literary Award for fiction and the PNWA Achievement Award. Even made some best-seller lists. Yeah, I did the writing – the heavy lifting, if you will. None of it would’ve happened without her faith and confidence.

I tell that story a lot, but all it says about me is that I’m obstinate. The important thing is what it should tell you about you. I don’t care what your dream is, you do not let it go. It’s a hard world and the dream may never be fully realized, but the day you quit on it, you quit on your own heart. Once you surrender that dream, you can never stand as straight as when you held to it. It doesn’t even have to be your own dream, not if you take on someone else’s and help them understand how important it is to keep going forward with it. That’s what Carol did.

Having said all that, I think those of you who are reading this know I work to create strong women characters. My post-apocalyptic novels feature Gan Moondark, a man with a quest. They’re adventure stories, full of action and challenges. I try to give them as much realism as possible. That means the women in the story are as engaged as the men because women understand adventure as fully as men do. If anything, they understand it better; they’re the ones who have to straighten out the mess when the hollering dies down. What many adventure stories forget, however, is that women come with their own agenda. For me, as a writer, that’s where the real fun starts. A story without a love interest is just dull. But a love interest that’s just there to gussy up the place, like a chintz curtain in a butcher shop, is a flat-out lie. I want to write about women I’d like to know. Maybe have a drink with them, maybe a cup of tea. No matter – they’re women who have their own story, their own ambitions, their own dreams and the innate feminine ability to combine theirs with those of someone they love. They’re supportive, but they’re not support. They’re partners – whether the guy understands that or not. And they’re most assuredly not mere followers. Even when fate sends them flying like autumn leaves, they fight to assert their will. Some people in this business disparage what’s called “women’s fiction.” They talk about it as if a women’s fiction book should come with an apron and a year’s supply of diapers. Bull. A female protagonist doesn’t detract from a good story and a book written with a view to women’s concerns isn’t trivial because of that. My own work isn’t structured to appeal exclusively to men or women. It’s aimed at readers. That’s why I can sit down with someone like Kaki and we can talk about books and stories and techniques and language and we’re always on the same page. She’s a standout writer, but she’s also a real pal. It’s people like her that are the most unexpected and most treasured benefit of being a writer.

So I’d like to end this with some questions for you, her readers: Exactly what are you looking for in a book? Why do you find yourself drawn to a particular author or a particular time period for your recreational reading? And lastly, what do you think of the publishing business’s attempts to define women’s fiction?

I know, hard to believe, but I guess they’re everywhere.  This one comes from Colorado and is a hoot!  She happily bares all the details of her de-flowering (both as a teenager and a writer) so I know you’ll want to read on.  Her debut novel, Love Chosen, sounds like an exciting read, and she’s already scheduled for another release in a few months (so she must be doing something right, right?).  So please help me welcome a fun lady and fellow Crested Butte Conference goer, Marne Kirk.

You can learn more about Marne and Love Chosen by visiting her website at www.marneannkirk.com.

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Kaki,  Thank you for having me here. You are such a sweet person… and you have no idea what you set yourself up for with a title like Virgins No More

You were just asking for it, you know…

So, let’s see if I can make Kaki blush without stepping over too many boundaries (yes, even I have some…)

Thank goodness my “blossoming” as a published author has not really mirrored my, er, becoming a woman.

I am so excited to share my debut novel, Love Chosen, available through Crescent Moon Press.  It’s a fantasy romance, set in a medieval world of magic and dragons, discrimination and faith. And, of course, love.

Marne Kirk

Before I get into losing my writing virginity with “Love Chosen,” though, let me do a little set up on the other. I wasn’t your, um, perfect daughter, exactly… Kaki, if I had been your daughter, you probably would’ve given me up for adoption or locked me in a closet! (Looking back, I wouldn’t have blamed you).

Anyways, we cannot all come to our Lord as sparkling clean children, can we? Some of us come later in life…

So, back to my story…

I had heard so much about that first time. Everyone was doing “IT.” I had all of these built up hormones I didn’t know what to do with (and I’d been to church enough to know about the one man being struck down for doing that one thing to himself, I didn’t dare do that…). Oh, and did I mention, if you weren’t doing it, or if you were doing it yourself, you just weren’t cool?

Well, you know I HAD to do it… I set out looking for potential takers, found one (it wasn’t terribly difficult. I had a great product, lol), we dated for a few months (I was a chicken), and BAM Baby!

I’ll skip the details and go to the important part of my message…the conversation after:

Him: “Oh wow. Man, that was fantastic.”

Me: “Really? That’s it? We’re done?” (Yep, true story… I said that.)

Him: “You didn’t like it?”

Me: “Oh…um, it was… okay… I guess…”

Sad, I know. But true. I learned so much from this experience, though, and so much of it can be applied to getting published.  I did NOT repeat this past in my writing life, proving humans CAN learn from their past.

1. Everyone isn’t doing it (getting published RIGHT NOW). I wrote for ten years before I sent “Love Chosen” to Crescent Moon Press. Did I try other editors and agents in those ten years? Oh, heck yes. Except…not really. I didn’t try extremely hard, because deep down, I wasn’t quite ready. If you’re just starting out on your first story, enjoy the process of learning to write well. Find your writing voice, find what you LOVE, and enjoy who you’re becoming as a writer for awhile before jumping into the rest. When I was ready, when “Love Chosen” was where it needed to be, I found my editor and she loved my writing…
2. If you decide to do it yourself (publish your own novel), you won’t be struck down… but you might have better luck with someone helping (critique partners and editors) … I’m just saying.
3. Pick your partner (editor or agent) wisely and make sure you love them. Do your research. Find a publisher or agent you know you can respect, be with for the long haul of producing and selling your novel, take criticism from…. “Love” for your book. You’re going to be bringing up your baby together. That’s HUGE!
4. Once you do sign that contract, you give your editor your baby (see? JUST like doin’ the dirty), and you don’t hear from anyone for a while. When you do hear from them again, it is to get your bunnies to work, work, work. The honeymoon is OVER and you have a lot to do to get your baby ready for the world. How well your baby does in the world is up to you and your partner (your editor). So, pick a partner wisely and make sure you can love them, because you’re going be tight (did I already say that?)…

The moral of the story (and I tell my kids this all the time): if love isn’t there, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s better to wait. Wait until you love your story. Wait until your critique partners love your story. Wait until some contests have loved your story. Then wait until you’ve researched and found the perfect fit in a publisher or agent.

I did, and I’m so glad.

I’m going to give away a copy of “Love Chosen,” here today. So, if you enjoy fantasy romance, or if you think you might enjoy it, leave a comment and show some love!  I’ll let Miss Kaki, our wonderful hostess with the mostest, pick the winner and work out the details.  I’ll mail an autographed copy  of “Love Chosen”  to the winner.

Thank you, again, for having me Kaki. I hope I didn’t make you too pink… Well, okay, I was going for a little blush…