Romance Writers Weekly

Hello and welcome to this week’s hop.  So glad you’ve joined us! This week’s challenge comes from the fabulous Brenda Margriet:

Choose 2 characters from one of your books (published or WIP) to answer these five questions:

I choose Wylie and Kennedy from “Texas Summer”…

What’s your favourite word?

 Wylie would say “Yes”.

Kennedy would say “Exotic”.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Wylie – I remember every part of my childhood as being great. I was allowed to explore and be a kid, but I had enough chores and responsibilities to give me a sense of honor and accomplishment.

Kennedy – When my father would show up. I loved him, but he was never around. Or, at least, not enough.

What one thing in your past do you wish you could do differently?

Wylie – I wish I had come to this town sooner and met Kennedy when I was younger. Then, I could have more years with her and maybe made her life easier sooner.

Kennedy – I wish I’d had the chance to travel more. I might have had a better perspective on life. But I am so glad I was here when Wylie’s car broke down.

 Vanilla or Chocolate?

Both agree on chocolate.

If you could have lunch with one famous person (alive or not) who would it be and why?

Wylie – I’m a writer and I admire James M. Cain. His work combines the essence of the noir with the crime and he could dig into the heart of his characters like no else. Second choice would be Agatha Christie, the grand dame. She would kill off a character and then seemed to have a great time watching everyone try to figure out who dunnit.

Kennedy – I love to paint so my choice would be Rembrandt. I would love to pick his brain and try to understand how he sees and then manages to translate it to canvas. Color comes easily to me, but the way Rembrandt could capture light and shadow is unsurpassed.

Now let’s pop over to the amazing  Jenna Da Sie and check out her answers…

https://jennadasie.com

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Romance Writers Weekly

Hello and welcome to our hop. We are so happy you’ve joined us! Here is this week’s challenge:

Summer is unofficially here! I love a good outdoor party where everyone brings a dish. What’s your signature BBQ/Summer Party dish? Recipes welcome.

Well, here’s mine…

Special Summer Potato Salad

2 bags of very small red potatoes (the small bags)

3 Hard-boiled eggs

Bunch of Celery, chopped

Bunch of Cilantro, chopped (discard stems)

3 Green Onions (green part only), chopped

Mayonnaise (start with 1 cup)

Spicy Brown Mustard (start with a Tablespoon)

Pepper to taste

Start by cooking the eggs and the potatoes.

Place the eggs in cold, heavily salted water (It keeps the shells from cracking.) Heat until boiling and boil for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and run under cold water. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

Boil the potatoes (leaving skin on) until soft, and drain, then refrigerate them, too, for 4-5 hours.

Cut the cold potatoes into halves or quarters and put in large bowl. Peel and chop the eggs and add to potatoes. Add the celery and cilantro and onions. Stir everything together.

Mix mayo and mustard and fold into salad. Add more dressing in the same proportions as needed until the potato salad is moist but not too heavy on the dressing. Add pepper to taste.

Chill and serve.

Happy summer!!!!

Now let’s pop over to the incredible Jenna Da Sie and find out what her favorite summer dish is…

https://jennadasie.com

Romance Writers Weekly

Happy Tuesday and welcome to this week’s hop. We are always so glad when you join us. Here’s the challenge:

I love daily mantras, they get me through the day and almost always gets me through tough times. What gets you over the hump of a really bad day?

I, too, have a daily mantra: Never give up! If you quit, you will fail. Do not quit!

We all have bad days. Some are simple, like a bad hair day, while some are catastrophic. Most are somewhere in between.

I had a particularly bad week. Things that should never have gone wrong did. So, I gathered some fabric and I made some dresses and skirts. It was a twofold benefit: it gave me, if not instant, then very quick gratification. (They were simple garments). And, I got new clothes out of the deal.

Sometimes, I make jewelry to feel better. And sometimes, I just curl up on my couch with my dog and read a book or watch TV.

After my pity party, I get up and get back to the keyboard, because all life experiences contribute to the work.

So, when a bad day (or week) hits, I remind myself that I can use this by writing about it. That thought takes away the sting.

Now let’s pop over to the fantastic Brenda Margriet and see how she gets through a bad day…

http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog

Romance Writers Weekly

Hello and happy Tuesday! Welcome to our hop. We are so happy you are here! This week’s challenge comes from the fabulous A.S. Fenichel:

When you started out as a want-to-be author, was there someone or something who/that inspired you? Tell us about it?

Many years ago, I was living in a duplex. It was a Saturday morning and I walked downstairs to clean and change the sheets on my bed. I took out the clean linen and was just about to strip the bed when a thought occurred out of the blue.  I can do this or I can go upstairs and write a book.

I have no idea where the idea came from, but I didn’t hesitate. I opened my word processor (I told you it was a long time ago) and spent the rest of the weekend writing. I tapped away for hours, skipping meals and sleep. And I continued until I was finished. I had written a novel. Now, in retrospect, it was a terrible book. Years later I went back and read it and had to laugh. And yes, I threw it out. But, the passion was ignited. There has been nothing before or since that gives me the exhilaration and satisfaction that writing does.

Since that day, so long ago, I have written for TV (actually sold an episode of a show), penned screenplays (and had one optioned), produced twelve romance novels, and contributed to an anthology. And I am nowhere near finished. Next up is the third in the “Morocco” series, a sequel to “Payback” and a love story that spans time. And after that? Who knows…?

Now let’s pop over to the wonderful Jenna Da Sie and hear about her inspiration…

https://www.jennadasie.com

Romance Writers Weekly

Happy Tuesday and welcome to our hop! Thanks so much for joining us!

This week’s challenge comes from the fantastic Jenna Da Sie:

My birthday was a couple of days ago. What do you do to celebrate your birthday and do you have one particular birthday that stands out above the rest?

First, happy birthday, Jenna!

My birthday is coming up in a few months and my husband and I are planning on going to Discovery Cove in Orlando to celebrate. It is an awesome place where you can swim with the dolphins. That will be wonderful. There is nothing more humbling and exciting than interacting with these amazing animals. And you can also spend some of the day with all kinds of other exotic creatures. What could be better?

Oh, and I really want a white cake with white icing. My favorite!

My most memorable birthday was in 1969. It was on that day that Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. We were all glued to the TV for practically the whole day. And every moment was more exciting than the last. I don’t remember much else about that day – but who cares. It was awesome!

Now, let’s hop over to the incredible Brenda Margriet and find out about her special day….

http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog

Romance Writers Weekly

Hello and thanks for joining us! We really appreciate it! This week’s challenge comes from the amazing A.S. Fenichel:

What’s the best part of being a writer? What’s the worst?

The best part? Everything to do with the actual writing process. Coming up with an idea is always exciting. Then, deciding the when and where. Next comes the research. Lots and lots of research. I love it. I learn so much from every book I write. I never liked history until I started to see it as people rather than just dates and outcomes.

After research, the characters forming in my head evolve.

Then, I sit at my keyboard and let the story pour out. I am lucky enough to not suffer from writers’ block. Sometimes I get stuck on a plot point, but then I just step away for a while until it resolves. Which, happily, so far, it always seems to do. And then seeing what my fabulous cover artist, Jena Brignola, designs for me. It makes my vision really come to life.

Next is editing, which I actually enjoy, since the book always comes out so much better. That thanks goes to Jenn Bray-Weber.

And last, writing “The End” which is bittersweet. Loving the process, hating to see it end, then getting excited again by another idea or a continuation of the series.

The worst? Marketing. The competition is so fierce and there are so many choices: social media, blogs, classes to take, options to weigh. Some things work, some don’t, some work only part of the time. So necessary, but not so much fun.

All in all, though, I have the best job in the world!!!!

Now let’s hop over to the fabulous Brenda Margriet and see her take on this….

http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog

Romance Writers Weekly

Hi and welcome to this week’s hop. Thanks so much for joining us. The challenge this week comes from the amazing J.J. Devine:

One of my favorite sayings is, “Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite.” Tell me your favorite love story.

Trying to choose a favorite love story is almost impossible. Each story is unique in its own way and reading about people loving each other never gets old. So many locales, so many time periods, are just icing on the cake.

I can say that some of the ones I read over and over again are the books by Kathleen Woodiwiss, the Twilight series, and The Velvet Quartet by Jude Deveraux. And, of course, “Outlander”.

All of these books have one thing in common. The characters face conflict and come out on the other side stronger. Their love is what holds them together and they do find their ‘happily ever after’. And a tale well told is a wonderful thing.

So, my favorite love story is each and every one.

Now, let’s hop over to the fabulous A.S. Fenichel and see what her favorite is….

http://asfenichel.com/blog