A World Apart by CD Brennan---a review

Ah...young love...it's so much fun to read about! Especially when you've already been through it and come out the other side. I love finding a sweet romance where I'm totally hooked by the end of page one and am reminded of what it was like falling in love for the first time....

Once again, Cd Brennan has pulled me in with her Love Where You Roam series. About a year or so ago I read and reviewed the first book in the series called Watershed and loved it. I was excited to get my hands on a copy of her latest release, A World Apart. What I liked about Watershed and the idea of this series in general, is that it blends people from many cultures together, binding them in love.

In A World Apart, the reader is introduced to Australian Lizzy (who actually made a cameo appearance in Watershed) and Scottish Hamish. Lizzy is currently working as a bar maid in a Scottish pub and researching her family tree. She is headstrong, fun loving, adventurous and unafraid of a challenge--which of course, makes her the exact opposite of serious Hamish. Hamish is the local hottie (his nickname is Hottie Hamish), but he is a shy guy who comes off as being a bit brusque and reserved. He may have the money and background that Lizzie doesn't, but he is seriously lacking in social skills.

He offers Lizzy a job as his house keeper which she accepts. Her first day on the job is not exactly a stellar one--she manages to take his dogs for a long walk and gets lost in the process. Hamish comes to her rescue, but ends up stranding them on the side of a mountain overnight. Well, this leads to some intimate cuddling, which leads to feelings of desire, which leads to...well, you get the picture.

Turns out Hamish is angling for a job at a university but when he interviews for the position, he discovers the university wants more than just a "by the books" teacher. They want someone who can relax, relate to the students, be a human being. Shy Hamish feels out of his league, and when the Dean invites him to a black tie affair, he definitely doesn't know how he will get through the event. However, it occurs to him to take Lizzy who is able to charm the pants off of anyone. Unfortunately, the dinner doesn't go exactly as planned and leads to a series of misconceptions and self doubt.

As usual, Cd Brennan brings her characters to life through great dialogue and accents. It is easy to hear Lizzy's Australian voice which is a contrast to the Scottish brogue of Hamish. These characters felt real to me, very believable. Her book is rich in description of the local scene, but it's the interplay between her characters that really makes this tale fun to read. I wished it hadn't ended so soon! I just wanted to go a little further down the road with these two characters.

While there is some sex in the book, it's nothing graphic. This is a sweetheart book where the romance is the focal point and shows the development of the characters relationship and growth as people. I would give it a low rating on the heat level, but high on the romance!

Here is the Amazon link for the book! Can't wait to see where this series roams next!

A World Apart

Romance in YA--How Far Can You Go?

Yes. This is really me. Yes, I have
bangs now to cover up my
spotted forehead!

How far can you go when writing about romance in young adult novels? What kind of love are young readers looking for? Is sex allowed? How graphic should it be?

It's a big debate for some writers, as well as, some readers.

Remember when the Twilight book series first came out? Keep in mind, I'm talking about before all the craziness of the movie versions. Most of the people I talked to about this series were really into the romance of it, the lingering looks between the two main characters, the blatant yet unsatisfied desire, the sexual tension! This is the type of romance that many older YA readers(20s-30's) remember experiencing in high school or really wanted to experience. It's just one of the reasons they like romance in young adult stories.

But then comes the sex.

I recall sitting around with a group of women at lunch and one of them was talking about how Edward and Bella were getting to the point of having sex in the book. This woman didn't have a problem with the progression of the relationship, but she'd decided that she would not allow her daughter to read any further in the series until the daughter was much older. She also felt like once the writer brought sex into the book, the romance factor was gone. To me it sounded as if the story had taken a turn into adulthood that the reader wasn't willing to follow.

I think that's an interesting phenomenon and really very personal to the reader. And as a writer, it's something you have to be aware of. Romance and sex can make or break your young adult book depending on how you use them. Sometimes it’s the factor that sells books. Sometimes it’s the factor that turns your audience off. It all depends on how you weave those things and what style of YA book you are writing.

When I write YA, I don't intentionally set out to have a romance in the story. However, because of the age group, because of the hormone factor, because it's virtually impossible to put two teenagers in the same room and not have them notice each other, some sort of relationship usually develops. That's life though. That's reality. That's what YA readers cling to.  When it comes to sex, I only let my characters get there if its part of the natural progression, but it's still something I'm cautious about. In my young adult novel, Bayou Myth, sex is a factor in the story, though it's not something my main character is doing. However, we do learn a lot about my protagonist's thoughts on the subject! Though my book is mainly a YA horror novel, it does have a romance in it that helps drive the story along.

  

Going back to Twilight, think about when Edward and Bella finally consummated their love. After they got married. Very traditional and something that probably satisfied lots of mothers in the fan base. However, is that realistic? I'm not asking is it right or wrong, but is it how most teens think today? Hmmm….not for most of the ones that I know! In comparison, I've also read the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. Their characters definitely are having sex and dealing with the norms (like them or  not, parents) that occur in many teen lives. The same could be said for many other book series like Gossip Girl or The A-List.

In the end, a writer should let the romance and sex angle develop how it will. What would be the natural progression for your character? Put aside the audience you are writing to (yeah, I know lots of people will contradict me on that one) and allow your characters to just develop!

Mary Ann Loesch is not only a contributor to All Things Writing, but the author of Bayou Myth and Bayou Scar, a YA horror novel series about voodoo, Greek myths gone wild, and a dash of betrayal. She has also written an adult fiction urban fantasy, Nephilim, and contributed short stories to the anthology, All Things Dark and Dastardly. Visit her website at www.maryannloesch.com.

The Naughty Shakespeare Series--Literotica

Well, I've finally got my first two books in the Naughty Shakespeare series up and running! I'm pleased to announce that Ophelia's Lessons and Ravishing Rosaline are both available now. I'm absolutely thrilled and hope that you'll drop by and check them out. Ophelia's Lessons will be available for free today and tomorrow and Ravishing Rosaline will be free on Sunday and Monday. I love being able to offer freebies, but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mind dropping a short review of either one at Amazon. After all darlings, that's how us writers find out what our readers desire and need!

Tempt you into my erotic world  of prequels to the Bard's most famous works, I've included a synopsis of both tales and their Amazon link! Enjoy!

Sweet, innocent Ophelia--she wants nothing more than to marry Hamlet Elsinore. But what does a simple virgin know about pleasing a man like the sophisticated and charming Hamlet? Not a whole lot, but when her seductive roommate, Portia, learns of Ophelia’s interest, she gets Horatio to “teach” the innocent girl everything she’ll need to know to seduce his best friend, Hamlet. 

Horatio is a hot, experienced lover who claims virgins are his specialty. He explains she has what every man wants--an innocent look, but the potential to be a whore in the bedroom. Hamlet has particular tastes and likes his women to be submissive and sexually open--something Ophelia, due to a lack of experience, is not. While she doesn’t completely understand what he means, Ophelia’s confusion is swept aside when her virginity is taken by Horatio’s expert skills, and her world is opened up to a whole new way of thinking. 

Set in modern day, this prequel to Hamlet is steamy enough to have even the Bard blushing! Enjoy this first book of literotica in the Naughty Shakespeare series. 


Ophelia's Lessons

Ravishing Rosaline...Romeo's first love or so the story of Romeo and Juliet tells us. But who was she really? In this sizzling erotic tale, we are invited in to Rosaline's world--a place where women are expected to be chaste and submissive. But Rosaline isn't like that. Her pleasures know no bounds, her need for revenge against a former lover consumes her. She will do whatever it takes to get her desires met--even if it means taking Romeo away from Juliet. 

Once again, Esmae Browder delivers a modern day prequel to one of Shakespeare's most timeless romances. Ravishing Rosaline is Book 2 in her literotica Naughty Shakespeare series.


Ravishing Rosaline




Turn learn more about me visit my website at http://www.esmaebrowder.com

Tackling the World of Self Publishing by Guest Author Jessi Gage

I reviewed Jessi Gage's fabulous book Wishing for a Highlander a few months back. Click here for the review: Wishing for a Highlander Review! This is the perfect Valentine's Day read! And, I have to say that I adore the new cover--though I'm biased! I'm delighted to have her blog for us today, and I hear a sequel is in the works for her Highlander series. Can't wait to read it! Enjoy and Happy Valentines Day!---Mary Ann

Thanks for hosting me on the day of luurve, Mary Ann! I’m celebrating Valentines Day by shouting from the rooftops news of my re-released time-travel romance Wishing for a Highlander.

With the sale of my publisher, Lyrical, to Kensington last month, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to try self-publishing. It’s something I’ve been curious about and have learned a lot about through friends who have done it. It felt like the right time, so when I had the opportunity to get my rights back, I jumped at the chance to launch myself as a hybrid author (author who does traditional and indie publishing).

So what’s new in the second edition of Wishing for a Highlander? Pretty much just the cover (which Mary Ann helped me with *winks*), blurb, and price. I made a few minor edits, but for the most part, the story itself is just as fast-paced and sweet as ever.

Being able to price the book myself, I reduced the price to $3.99. It’s wonderful to have such control over every aspect of my baby, but the benefits come with risks and hard work. So far, I’m pleased with my new indie venture, and I hope it pays off for readers too!

Wishing for a Highlander

In a nutshell, it’s about a single and pregnant museum worker who accidentally wishes herself back in time and is forced to marry a Highland warrior with intimacy issues.

Here’s the blurb:

Be careful what you wish for. It might just come true.

Single-and-pregnant museum worker Melanie voices an idle wish while examining a Scottish artifact, that a Highland warrior would sweep her off her feet and help her forget her cheating ex. The last thing she expects is for her wish to be granted. Magically transported to the middle of a clan skirmish in the sixteenth-century Highlands, she comes face to face with her kilted fantasy man.

Tall, handsome, and heir to his uncle’s lairdship, Darcy Keith should be the most eligible bachelor in Ackergill. Instead, thanks to a prank played on him in his teenage years, he is known for being too large under his kilt to ever make a proper husband. “Big Darcy” runs his deceased father’s windmills and lives alone at his family manor, believing he will never marry.

But a strangely dressed woman he rescues from a clan skirmish makes him long for more. When the woman’s claims of coming to Ackergill by magic reach the laird’s ears, she is accused of witchcraft. Darcy determines to protect her any way he can, even if it means binding her to him forever.

Buy Links

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Goodreads

About Jessi Gage

Jessi lives with her husband and children in the Seattle area. In addition to writing paranormal romance, she’s a wife, a mom, an audiologist, a church-goer, a Ford driver, a PC user, and a coffee snob. Her guiding tenet in her writing is that good triumphs over evil, but not before evil gives good one heck of a run for its money. The last time she imagined a world without romance novels, her husband found her crouched in the corner, rocking.

Jessi Gage links

Website | Blog | Facebook Fan Page | Twitter | Goodreads

Thanks for stopping by to wish me well on my first indie venture, and thank you, Mary Ann, for hosting me!

Happy Valentines Day!

Lifetime's Flowers in the Attic: Blooming or Withering?

I adored V.C. Andrews as a child. Absolutely could not get enough of her! I remember spending countless nights under the covers with a flashlight reading the book my mother swore I should never read: Flowers in the Attic. Of course, the more she protested, the more determind I was to get my hands on a copy. And once I did....well...

I think that's when I actually fell in love with the world of romance writing.

Not that Flowers in the Attic is the best example of writing! It is a bit clunky in spots and the dialogue at times is a little stiff, but let's face it! It's one of those novels that is so bad you just have to keep reading.  And reading. And reading.

I know I read all of the sequels and the prequel and then jumped right into the Heaven series.

When the first movie came out back in the late '80s, I was so excited. And then so disappointed. That sucker was awful. It left out all the good stuff, didn't even touch on the romance between Cathy and Christopher, much less show the big scene where stuff goes down between them. They changed the ending and the acting--ugh, I could go on and on about that.

Lifetime aired a remake of Flowers in the Attic this past weekend and I made sure to tune in. The previews hinted that this was going to be much closer to the original book. I loved the way the previews also tied in the artwork from the series, too. It made me giddy with anticipation!

So...how did the new movie fare in my opinion?

Meh...okay. It was closer to the book. They did leave in the romance, but there was no rape scene. The whole movie felt a bit rushed to me, but then again, they are trying to cram four years or so into a two hour show that includes commercials. I thought everyone looked the part, especially Heather Graham who played Corinne and Ellen Burstyn rocked the Grandmother outfit. Her wig was also a lot cooler than the really crappy one they stuck Cathy in later.

The acting was the problem for me in this version. I didn't feel a ton of chemistry between Cathy and Chris, which is pretty crucial to the story line. I also thought that Heather Graham was oddly stilted in her attempts to be the good mom at the beginning of the movie, but caught her stride as the selfish bitch towards the end. The Grandmother was certainly more sympathetic than she is in the book, but I wonder if that's because they are playing this with the prequel in mind where we learn about the Grandmother's own past. Those two kids that played the twins----poor darlings! They just didn't have much to do!

I know this probably sounds kind of crazy, but I also thought the grandeur of Foxworth Hall wasn't there either. In the book, it's this amazing place that inspires fear and awe. The one in this version looked  like a nice rental place. No fear and awe here.

So did this remake bloom or wither on the vine? It kind of blossomed and then slowly wilted. I watched the whole thing and will probably watch the rumored sequel. Hell, Petals in the Wind has never been made into a movie to my knowledge, and it's one juicy book.  I can't wait to see how they ruin it...er...handle it!

The Nora Formula

There are lots of great writers out there that I love to read. Sometimes I go for literary. Sometimes I need some down and dirty erotica. Often, I'm in need of thrills and chills, and occasionally, I want to my historical fiction. You can clearly see that I'm all over the place as a reader when it comes to genre.

As a writer, I can't help but pay attention to how some of my favorite writers put their stories together--particularly the ones who are very well established and have a niche in the genre world. What do they do that keeps their readers coming back? Is it just good writing? Are we drawn in to their character's worlds? Is it that these writers just seem to always know how to spin a good yarn for their genre?

I think all of the above things can be true, but for some writers the secret seems to be The Formula. They've figured out what "secret" formula works for them and they stick to it no matter what. This can be a good thing as far as book sales and pleasing both old and new readers. However, it can also be a turn off and leave some readers feeling a little cheated.

To illustrate my point, I give you The Nora Formula.

By Nora, I mean Nora Roberts.

I've been a fan of Ms. Roberts for years. She knows her stuff and can suck a reader in with a wave of her magical writing wand. Most people think she is strictly a romance writer, and while it's true she is known for that, many of her current stand alone stories are more in the thriller genre with a splash of romance thrown in. Even her romantic trilogies tend to have some thriller themes to them. I really enjoy reading most of her work.

And yet...lately, I've noticed that I'm disappointed in her newest trilogies. They still have the same rich descriptions about new and exotic locations. There is lots of humor and that sizzle of romance. But...I feel like I've heard all of these stories before. So I asked myself why that is? Why can I figure out by the end of Chapter 3 who will end up with who in subsequent stories and how the end of the trilogy will turn out? Why can I figure out too quickly who the bad guy is? Why can I see the twist coming? Has Nora let me down?

My realization? It's due to The Nora Formula. She has figured out a floor plan for her novels that she uses time and again. The only changes she makes are her character names, their location, and parts of their back story. But the basics remain the same.  Typically, her trilogies consist of the following things:

• A new comer to a town or location who has been burned by a past relationship whether it be a family member or lover.
• Something supernatural that may be a ghost or a witch of some sort that causes problems or has it's own love story to be solved.
• At least, one story will have a single parent with kids.
• There is always a dog.
• One of the men will be super smart, one will be funny, one will be the sexy jerk that gets brought down to Earth by his compatible love interest.
• One of the women will always be the more beautiful of the three and show an innate natural confidence that gets under some man's skin.
  
• There is usually some jerky ex husband, boyfriend, or lover that physically threatens one of the women.
• They all end up married.
• You will meet the bad guy by the end of Chapter Three. He'll be the one she randomly mentions who doesn't pop up again until almost the end of the book. By the way, that's the bad guy for this leg of the story. There is also a three story arc bad guy, too.
• Ireland will be brought up even if the story doesn't take place there.
• Often there is a family matriarch who is a no nonsense type, but has no problem talking to her sons about sex and still bakes cookies. Eventually, you find out she's been having a quiet dignified affair with some minor character.
• The words "roughshod" and "three fingers of whiskey" will pop up.
• The sex will always be well written.

Am I wrong? Those of you who've been loyal Nora fans can probably think of several other pieces of the formula I've left out!

Does this make me like her writing less? Not really, but I do think she is very talented and it wouldn't hurt to get something fresh ideas going on in her trilogies. On the other hand, The Nora Formula works for her. It's kid tested and parent approved. It sells books. It generates new readers. Hell, I wish I had The Mary Ann Formula that did the same for me!

What do you think, fellow writers? Who else has their own writing formula that seems to work?

Shrouded in Ilusion by H.D. Thomson--Book Review

I love finding a great summertime read! Today's book was given to me courtesy of the fabulous folks at Innovative Online Book Tours. If you're ready for a little mystery, a little romance, and a little telekinesis with a slice of thriller on the side, then H.D. Thomson's Shrouded in Illusion is the book for you!

Here is the publisher's blurb:

Someone wants Skye Hunter’s son and they’re willing to kill her or anyone else to get to him. On the run for her life, she is forced to turn to the only person who can help her—a complete stranger with a shared past—David Bishop, a renowned illusionist.

David’s life is also an illusion, built of smoke and little else. He meets Skye, a woman filled with passion and conviction, and the pain he sees in her eyes is a mirror to his own soul. But when he realizes she has the same strange, telekinetic phenomenon inside her body that he does, he is forced to question his life, his childhood and the father who raised him. Can these two lost souls uncover the mystery behind their powers and save Skye’s son and themselves in the process?

This was a fast-paced read that I finished within a day--that's always a plus when you're looking for a great beach read. The story opens with Skye and her son caught up in convenience store robbery. I thought this first chapter was a great set up for the reader to discover exactly what is important to Skye and what kind of person she is. She's a woman on the run who will do anything to protect the child she loves.

Her journey has led her to Vegas where she hopes to run into David Bishop--a man whose name keeps popping up in her dreams of the past. David has a magic act and is a big time, good looking illusionist. When he sees Skye working her telekinesis mojo on the roulette table, he is drawn to her, though something about her also makes him apprehensive.

I loved the chemistry between these two characters. There is a lot of great, smoldering dialogue that really keeps you turning the pages as you wonder whether or not they will get together. The character development for the minor characters was strong and there were lots of turns and twists in the plot. I felt like the climax of the book where you find out what exactly is going on could have been tightened up and some description cut out, but maybe that's because I was so into the tale that I wanted to hurry up and find out if the bad guy gets what's coming to him or not.

This book is the third in a series, but I felt it was a great stand alone title. If anything, it made me want to go back and read the other two.

Click on the Amazon link to get your copy!

Shrouded in Illusion--Amazon

Shrouded in Illusion--Barnes and Noble

Author Bio:

 H.D. Thomson moved from Ontario, Canada as a teenager to the heat of Arizona where she graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major in accounting. After working in the corporate world as an accountant, H.D. changed her focus to one of her passions-books. She owned and operated an online bookstore for several years and then started Bella Media Management. The company specializes in web sites, video trailers, ebook conversion and promotional resources for authors and small businesses. When she is not heading her company, she is following her first love-writing.

Watershed by Cd Brennan--a review

I've always wanted to go to Australia. The country and the stories I've read about the place fascinate me, though I doubt I could ever live there for a long period of time. I'm too much of a Texas girl! I also have always wanted to visit Ireland. I have to admit that's mostly because I watched Darby O' Gill and the Little People a million times when I was a kid and became convinced that leprechauns were real.

When I picked up Watershed by Cd Brennan, I knew it was a romance, but for some reason, I thought it was going to fall into the category of paranormal romance. I've  been getting a lot of review requests for that genre lately so that's kind of where my mind was at. However, Watershed is a straight forward, lovely romance that I really enjoyed. Here is the publisher's blurb:

She left home to find herself...and found love along the way.

Maggie isn’t looking for love on her backpacking trip through Australia. She’s got enough man troubles back in Ireland. Australia is her escape, a place of adventure where she can create memories to last a lifetime.

But some memories won’t be left behind.

Gray is ready to quit hiring backpackers to help with the work on his remote Queensland cattle station when Maggie turns up. She’s just passing through, but the connection they forge during the long nights herding cattle won’t be so easily cast aside.

CONTENT WARNING: A strong-willed Irish heroine, a stubborn Australian hero, and oceans of difference to bridge for love.

A Lyrical Press Contemporary Romance

Maggie is a great character. Witty, down to Earth, and willing to try new things, I think she embodies what many women strive to be. She is a bit down on her luck when the story begins, but is immediately attracted to Gray, the brusque rancher who is tired of all the backpackers that pass through his land. However, she soon shows him that she is capable of carrying her own weight--despite being bitten by a snake and not having any experience with cattle herding.

Gray is what all romance heroes should be--built, mysterious, and at times, a little bit oblivious to the obvious romantic overtones that Maggie is making. Of course, in the end, he realizes he can't be without her!

If you are a romance fan, this book will meet all your requirements: passion, characters who grow together, a twist where their future is shaken, and then a fabulous happy ending.

For me, this book went a step further. I really enjoyed the way Ms. Brennan blended the culture of Ireland with Australia. She really captured the Irish lilt of Maggie and the strong Australian accent of Gray. I could clearly hear their voices in my head as I was reading. They both use slang terms  that are common for the their native countries, but may not be as familiar to readers. Both characters explain what some of these terms mean, and I felt like I'd been to Australia by the time I finished the book. Her description of the cattle drives and the country itself were very well written!

I look forward to reading more of her work. I've also included an excerpt from Watershed to tempt you into exploring the Amazon link for the book.

AMAZON LINK FOR WATERSHED

Excerpt:

“In Ireland we have the Banshee.” Maggie broke Gray’s daydreaming with a start. “She is the omen of death and the messenger from the Otherworld.”

She continued in a whisper. “Often she appears an old hag. Folklore says she may also appear as a stunningly beautiful woman.” Maggie raised her brow at him, her eyes twinkling with fun.

Gray threw his head back and laughed, and she joined him. There was no shaking her. He decided he wasn’t going to best Maggie, and for the first time in a long time he was content with that.

He shifted so she had to settle against him. He heard her sigh as he wrapped his arm around her. They sat watching the fire, listening to the sounds of the bush settle for the night. It was peaceful and, Gray had to admit, romantic. He smiled, fulfilled after a long day’s hard work, some good bush tucker and a beautiful woman by his side. He had almost worked up enough courage to kiss her when she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

“I’m going to sleep.” Pulling off her trainers, she climbed into her swag. “Goodnight.”

 

About the author:

 

Having traveled and lived all over the world, Cd Brennan now talks with a strange accent, a mix of distant terminology, a blend of culturally cute but confusing euphemisms that leaves everyone looking at her with a blank stare. Luckily, her Australian husband (who she met in Ireland) and her two Aussie/Yankee sons have no problem understanding her – well, except for the word “NO”.

Now settled back “home” in Michigan, she enjoys reliving her glory days by writing about them. She considers the last fifteen years abroad the perfect research for her Love Where You Roam series; matchmaking women and men from different cultures, even different hemispheres, helping them find their true one across oceans of difference.

As destiny plays a hand in all the stories, Cd Brennan truly believes that what is for you, won’t pass you by. She hopes to inspire others to get out there: “Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” [Mark Twain]  And of course, fall in love.

Get in touch with her at www.cdbrennan.com

 

www.facebook.com/cdbrennan2012

www.twitter.com/CdBrennanauthor

www.goodreads.com/CdBrennan

http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/

On Being Irish by CD Brennan

Today's guest blogger has written a delightful novel called Watershed. I will be reviewing it on Friday. In today's post, she touches on something I wondered about while reading the book: what prompted her to write about an Irish woman hooking up with an Australian man? Is she from either place? The answer surprised me! -- Mary Ann

 

 

The very wee island of Ireland has had a mighty impact on the development and population of our world today. Physically, it is about the same size as the state of Michigan, yet Irish culture, music, literature, language and even drink and cuisine (Guinness anyone?) is infused into not only Western society, but all over the world. Infused, like a good cuppa tea.

 

I have traveled all over, and have yet to step into a country that hasn’t an Irish person on board, in one way or the other. Whether it is a great-grandparent or a cousin three times removed, everyone is keen to show their Irish colors. Over 36 million Americans and over 2 million Australians, including Aboriginal Australians, claim Irish ancestry.

 

Am I Irish?? Nope. Mostly Dutch with a dash of German and a pinch of English. Do I have Irish heritage that I can trace back to the O’Mahoney’s of County Laios, or the Kelly’s of Galway? Not a blood ounce.

 

So why did I have my heroine in WATERSHED be Irish? I wrote the book when living in Australia, having married an Australian man (with Irish heritage) and we had just moved to Queensland to start our own flock of Aussie ochers. I had met my Aussie husband when we were living in Ireland. I still felt Irish, as I has assimilated and braced that country as if it was my own. Just over seven years, Dublin was my home. I worked and commuted along the Dart. I found friends and lost others, I fell in love so many times with, yes, lovely Irish lads, but also places and ideas. I celebrated birthdays, I went to weddings. I sailed boats and rode horses. I cried over silly things. I got drunk at the pubs and belted out the Fields of Athenry, as if I too, recalled the pain and suffering of years past.

 

So ask me again. Am I Irish? Hell, yes - in heart and soul. I’ll be there rooting for them come rugby or soccer world cup time. I celebrate their victories, and am saddened by their setbacks. I wear my Irish jerseys proudly and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with an enthusiasm greater than the Dubs themselves. Even today I can put on an Irish lilt that comes back to me with the first phone call from a mate back there. The heroine, Maggie, is a combination of many of my Irish girlfriends, who are still dear to my heart, who I still think about daily.

 

 

Being Irish, I believe, is not so much about bloodline, but so much more about heart. It’s about embracing the spirit of an Irishman or woman: courage, integrity, fun, music, and yes, a good pint. And as they say, “a bit of craic”.

 

I hope you enjoy WATERSHED, a romance of the Irish spirit set against the stunning backdrop of Queensland, Australia. Sl?inte!

 

About the author:

 

Having traveled and lived all over the world, Cd Brennan now talks with a strange accent, a mix of distant terminology, a blend of culturally cute but confusing euphemisms that leaves everyone looking at her with a blank stare. Luckily, her Australian husband (who she met in Ireland) and her two Aussie/Yankee sons have no problem understanding her – well, except for the word “NO”.
 
Now settled back “home” in Michigan, she enjoys reliving her glory days by writing about them. She considers the last fifteen years abroad the perfect research for her Love Where You Roam series; matchmaking women and men from different cultures, even different hemispheres, helping them find their true one across oceans of difference.
 
As destiny plays a hand in all the stories, Cd Brennan truly believes that what is for you, won’t pass you by. She hopes to inspire others to get out there: “Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” [Mark Twain] And of course, fall in love.
 
Get in touch with her at www.cdbrennan.com

What to Pack When You Travel Through Time by guest blogger, Jessi Gage

I just love today's author, Jessi Gage. I have a review going up tomorrow of her book Wishing for a Highlander. Witty, fast paced, and full of romance, Wishing for a Highlander is a great read! Enjoy Ms. Gage's blog post on time travel. I know I did!---Mary Ann

Thank you for having me Mary Ann! I'm so excited to guest blog for All Things Writing today. To celebrate the release of my very first novel, I’m talking about one of my favorite topics today, time-travel.

Time-travel romance is a much loved genre with diehard fans. I am one of those fans, and it all started with Diana Gabaldon's Outlander. One of the things I love the most about the genre is the way rigid perspectives on women's roles can be challenged, and that it's not just the Neanderthal men we send our women hurtling through time to fall in love with who are challenged. The women are often challenged too, challenged to embrace a supportive role when they were raised to be the star of their own lives, challenged to choose between love and the goals they once had for themselves, challenged to envision new goals that center on the one person they realize they can never live without.

 

But before you can have the fabulous epiphany moment where the hero and heroine make astronomical sacrifices in order to be together, there are always some challenges to overcome. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Poor Cell Phone Reception

 

Nina Bangs’ Pleasure Master is one of my all-time favorite time-travel romances. One of the quirkiest, funniest parts of the story was that the time-traveling heroine’s cell phone still worked! She could call her hair-dresser best friend and discuss her strange predicament. Even the historical Highland hottie gets in on the phone action, withstanding a verbal lashing from said best friend. It’s a hoot and a half.

 

So when you time travel, bring your cell phone if you want, but chances are, it won’t work. Just so you know.

 

Language Barriers

 

“I doona understand ye, lass?”

“Haud your weesht!”

“What is it ye be blathering about, now?”

 

Part of our fascination with the time-travel genre is that we love men with accents. One nice thing about fiction is we can often get around the likelihood that our hero and heroine would have no idea whatsoever what the other is saying. We can fudge the dialect (because, honestly, who’s going to know since no one reading our books was alive then and probably only a few will be linguistic purists). We can insert a magical device to aid with translating. We can make the hero or the heroine a language genius who can learn a new language by the immersion method in a handful of days. We could even do what Maggie Shayne does in Miranda’s Viking, and make the modern-day heroine an expert in the hero’s time-period, complete with a working knowledge of his dead language...and so on. (By the way, Maggie Shayne is one of the few authors I know about who have brought an ancient hero into the modern-day world. The reason you don’t see that much is a topic all its own, worthy of a whole separate blog post.)

 

So make sure to keep your translation dictionary or your magic translation stone on you whenever you anticipate time travel might occur.

 

Birth Control

 

Nothing puts a damper on a hot and heavy interlude in the laird’s private chambers like a sexually responsible heroine asking the question, “So, uh, do you have a box of condoms in that antique armoire?”

 

How do we get around our modern sensibilities when it comes to sex with historical heroes? Really, this topic covers double the ground, because not only are we concerned with the possibility of unwanted pregnancies, but our modern-day heroines (and the heroes that want to boink them) should be concerned about STDs as well. For the purpose of today’s discussion, I’m going to focus solely on birth control, because I have yet to meet a romance hero or heroine with an STD. Not that it couldn’t happen, just, it’s not the norm.

 

While some may find it forgivable in fiction, especially escapist fiction, for birth control not to come up at all, there are plenty of authors who have dealt with the issue in creative ways that don’t throw the reader out of the story. In Outlander, Claire has reproductive issues that make it unlikely for her to get pregnant. Outlander also touches on some herbal anti-contraceptives. I found those sections fascinating and educational as well as entertaining.

 

In Wishing for a Highlander, my heroine Melanie is conveniently (though not so conveniently for her) already pregnant. That’s right, I send a single and pregnant woman hurtling through time. And I’m not the only one. Diana Gabaldon does it too, though I won’t put any spoilers in and reveal who or when in the series.

 

My favorite method of dealing (or not dealing) with birth control is having the hero and heroine be married before they do the wild thing the first time. That’s in no way meant to imply that pregnancy outside of marriage is always unwanted. But in the time-travel romances I’ve read where marriage precedes wild-monkey, screaming-awesome sex, there is often an attitude of well, if it happens, it happens, and it’s okay because we’re totally in love.

 

So, definitely, bring a several-month supply of your contraceptive of choice whenever you time-travel unless you’re okay with creating a love child with your historical hottie.

 

What one item would you absolutely refuse to time-travel without? My answer: My strawberry flavored Chap Stick

 

Thanks again for having me, Mary Ann (and the rest of All Things Writing’s contributors)! It's always great to connect with a fellow Lyrical author.

 

I’m celebrating my new release with Lyrical Press, Wishing for a Highlander, and would appreciate “likes” and “tags” on Amazon and votes on Goodreads’ list of Best Highland/Scotland Romance Novels for anyone who has time for a click or two. As of the writing of this post, Wishing for a Highlander is #35 on the list. (Note: to vote on Goodreads, you have to have an account and have the book you vote on be marked “want to read” or “have read”)

 

 

While examining Andrew Carnegie’s lucky rosewood box, single-and-pregnant museum worker Melanie makes a tongue in cheek wish on the artifact--for a Highland warrior to help her forget about her cheating ex. Suddenly transported to the middle of a clan skirmish in sixteenth-century Scotland, she realizes she should have been a tad more specific.

 

Darcy, laird in waiting, should be the most eligible bachelor in Ackergill, but a cruel prank played on him in his teenage years has led him to believe he is too large under his kilt to ever join with a woman. He has committed himself to a life of bachelorhood, running his deceased father's windmills and keeping up the family manor house...alone.

 

Darcy's uncle, Laird Steafan welcomes the strangely dressed woman into his clan, immediately marrying her to Darcy in hopes of an heir. But when Steafan learns of her magic box and brands her a witch, Darcy must do what any good husband would--protect his wife, even if it means forsaking his clan.

 

WARNING: A pregnant museum worker, a sixteenth-century Scot, and a meddlesome wishing box.

 

Excerpt:

Size might have its advantages when it came to fighting, but those few boons fell far short of making up for the problems it caused. Being the biggest and the strongest had gotten him into far more trouble than it had gotten him out of. Swallowing his regret for how careless he’d been with her, he sought to determine whom she belonged to, whom, saints forbid, he might owe.

“Whose wife are ye, then? Not a Gunn’s or I wouldna have had to rescue you from one.”

“I’m not married,” the lass said. “And thank you for the rescuing, by the way. I can’t believe I dropped the dirk. Stupid.” She shook her head.

His heart warmed at her thanks. He didn’t hear many kind words from the lasses and would take what he could get, even from a dishonored woman who had caught a bairn out wedlock. Oddly, he didn’t think poorly of her. Whether it was her worried brow, her guileless, soft mouth, or her vulnerable size, he had not the heart to condemn her.

He didn’t even mind so much that she found him distasteful for his size, although talking with her now, she didn’t seem overly upset to be in his arms. He endeavored to keep her talking, keep her distracted from her disgust.

“Ye never answered my first question,” he said. “Who are you? And where are ye from if ye’re no’ English?”

“Ugh. I don’t know. Is there an answer that won’t get me burned at the stake or locked up in a ward for the hopelessly insane?”

Like most things out of her mouth, that had been a peculiar answer. “Ye could try the truth,” he offered, slowing his pace since he heard Archie’s voice not far off.

“No,” she said flatly. “I couldn’t. At least not the whole truth. How about we just go with my name, Melanie, and with the honest fact that I’m a long way from home and I have no idea how to get back.” Her green eyes pierced his. “I’m afraid you might be stuck with me, Darcy Keith.”

 

WISHING FOR A HIGHLANDER buy links:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Lyrical Press
All Romance

Jessi lives with her husband and children in the Seattle area. In addition to writing paranormal romance, she’s a wife, a mom, an audiologist, a church-goer, a Ford driver, a PC user, and a coffee snob. Her guiding tenet in her writing is that good triumphs over evil, but not before evil gives good one heck of a run for its money. The last time she imagined a world without romance novels, her husband found her crouched in the corner, rocking.

 

For more information about Wishing for a Highlander or Jessi’s other works, swing by her blog or website.