I remember laughing whenever I heard an author complain that they had been asked “Where do you get your ideas?” I was still laughing…until it happened to me. The truth is there is no simple answer to this. Writers get their ideas from anywhere and everywhere. Sometimes something so simple as a phrase or a title can do it. Perhaps that’s why the Del Fantasma series available at Aspen Mountain Press has proved so inspiring. Set around a bar run by a vampire called Cody Warren, the inspiration for each story comes from the title of a drink. The authors currently working with AMP have produced some fabulous stories using just a couple of words as a springboard for their muses. These stories are part of a series but can be equally read individually, although they should perhaps all come with a warning on the cover as they are highly addictive. Read one and I almost guarantee you will want to read another!

“Virgin Special” released last week and is my latest offering for the series. It’s also my first m/m/f novel for AMP as well as my first vampire paranormal. So where does one come up with the idea for a very special kind of virgin?

While holidaying in the Caribbean many years ago, I came across a little cocktail book that I still possess to this day. Wanting to write another book for the ‘Del’ line, I flicked through the pages seeking inspiration, and it definitely found me. Then, as many authors do, I started playing the old ‘what if’ game. What IF my main character was not only heartbroken but a virgin? What IF Cody set him up with two vampires equally heartbroken? In that moment Virgin Special came into being.

I’m afraid that aside from reading my novel, the only Virgin Special I can invite you to try is the cocktail. Here’s the recipe. I have to admit I’ve not tried it and I’m trying to imagine how it tastes, but the book describes it as: “A very pleasant and refreshing summer drink.” If it’s like most things I drank in the Caribbean it’ll taste deceptively fruity or watery, and then it will suddenly knock your socks off!

Virgin Special Cocktail
Take a glassful of fresh raspberries, bruise them a little and pour upon them:
2 glasses of Old Brigand Rum
2 glasses of Brandy
1 glass Redcurrant juice and half glass sweetened lime juice.
Let steep for half an hour, then add 1 glass sherry and some ice.
Shake and serve in 6 cocktail glasses.
Decorate with a cherry.

Ever Fallen for a Virgin?

Fall for one now at Aspen Mountain Press.

Sharon Maria Bidwell
aonia - where the muses live
http://www.sharonbidwell.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/aonia

Verbs are a vital part of the writer’s arsenal.  In fact, you can’t tell a story without them.  Todlers learning to talk have a natural affinity for verbs.  If you listen to a two or three year old speak, you will hear simple sentences containing an identifiable subject and a verb.  Those verbs, I might add, are quite active.  Think about the child who is telling you about something traumatic in their world.  “Doggie bite!”  There is no doubt what that little one is communicating.

As we get older, our sentence constructions get more complex and we add in those words to help sentences make better sense, especially to our ear.  Instead of hearing something like above, we may hear something along the lines of, “The black labrador has a problem with strangers. He tried to bite my foot.” 

Those additions, though, may seduce us into thinking we have an active verb driven story.  The above example isn’t very engaging. As writers you should look to tighten your work, engage your reader, and remove passive writing.  Frequently, one of the ways to make your sentence more action driven is to substitute the linking verb used with a verb depicting action.  Now the sentence might read, “The big, black lab ravaged my foot.” (Remember, these are off-the-cuff!)

How many linking verbs can you replace in a work to make your writing more vivid?  Plenty.  Take this tiny example.  She was depressed.  Was is a linking verb.  It shows depressed is related to she.  How can you replace was?  The blues hit her hard.  Now was has been converted into a verb of action and makes for a more interesting sentence.

Common linking verbs include: is, are, was, were, am, be, been, have, had, seem, felt, and a host more.  You can find lists in middle school, English grammar text books.

There are sentences you need to convey that must have a linking verb or a verb phrase to express the idea you want to get across.  Just beware, there may be a better way of saying writing the same idea that will be of more interest to your reader and will set your writing apart from the scores of others who haven’t conquered a passive voice.

I’m a well traveled author who couldn’t live without a tote on my shoulder. We have such a bag, sporting the beautiful “TEDDI TURNS ON” cover, for you to win in an easy contest. Second and Third Prize winners get a great Goodie Bag.

This contest runs September 7 until October 6. Winners will be announced October 7!

To play, go to www.phoenixrisingpromotions.com or www.sloanetaylor.com. Under the contest section find Questions to the Trivia, but to make it even easier here they are:

1. What does Sloane Taylor’s disclaimer read?

2. What is the heroine’s name in TEDDI TURNS ON?

3. Who are Sloane Taylor’s publishers?

4. What is the featured recipe for August 2008?

5. What is Sloane Taylor’s first Travel tip?

Go to www.sloanetaylor.com for all the answers.

Email your answers to phoenix@phoenixrisingpromotions.com, with TEDDI in the subject line, where you will be entered into a drawing for the fabulous tote.

Happy searching!

Sloane Taylor
Sweet as Honey…Hotter than Hell
TEDDI TURNS ON www.aspenmountainpress.com
FRENCH TWIST www.eternalpress.ca
www.sloanetaylor.com www.myspace.com/sloanetaylor

America has long been in love with cowboys.  There is something about them that captures the attention.  Maybe women love the independent, protective streak cowboys portray.  Maybe men love the independent, tough survival mentality that it took to make it on your own in the wild west.

In the past few months, Aspen Mountain Press has released THREE stories set in the old west, where there was a code of conduct, the ability to fend for yourself, and the idea that a person could make a difference in somebody else’s life.

We started out our western extravaganza with Mail Order Bride by Alex de Kok.   A chance meeting on a train pits a young man seeking his fortune in the west against a bully who is terrorizing a young woman also on the train.  When this mail order bride arrives at her destination, she is shocked to find her husband to be had died.  Now what? 

Two total strangers work together to find a way to survive in their strange new world.

Another story by Alex is A Promise Kept.   Another young man is forced to leave a violent home and make his way in the world.  But he feels guilty for leaving behind the woman his father continues to abuse.  He promises he’ll be back for her, but it takes longer to return than he realizes.  Finding his way involves cooking for lumbermen and learning how to fight.  It takes time to save the money needed to return home for Mary, and of course, there is a woman in this rough and tumble world tempting him to stay.  What choice will Jack make? Will Mary even be alive should he return? Will she have remained under the abusive roof of Jack’s father?  Life is full of uncertainties that must be faced if Jack is to keep a promise he made years earlier. 

And what mention of westerns would be complete without a story with Native Americans?  In her interracial story, Her Savage Lover, Brenda Williamson has prejudicial father who drives two young lovers apart.  The result…a child born out of wedlock and separated from his father.  Now this Native American wants to teach his son the ways of his tribe and in the process perhaps rewin the love of the woman he lost ten years earlier. 

For years, the public has been told that historicals are dead and especially those featuring the old west.  Historical romances are not dead and have a very loyal following.  E-books provide the material for this steadfast public.

Visit Aspen Mountain Press regularly and see the various genres available to readers.

Every once in a while I get my soapbox out.  Well, I actually have several, but today this soap box is in regards to e-Books.

For those of you who may happen by this post through a seek and find method via Google or another search engine, e-Books are simply, electronic books.  These are books you download into your computer or into a specific reading device.  They don’t use paper, and for the most part are not bought in traditional stores, at least not yet.

There are several reasons why electronic, e-Books, are worth paying some attention to.  Here are a few of them:

1. E-books don’t have to use paper.  Not using paper does a number of things including saving trees (you knew that one was coming) and saving the water it takes to create paper.  It’s been shown on several other blogs the only paper that really saves in water usage is recycled paper and that hasn’t been totally embraced by print publishers.  In fact, a large percentage of printed books are returned to the publisher and since that prospect is expensive, those books are stripped of their covers and only the covers are returned to the publisher in order to give the bookstore credit.  What a waste!
2. E-books save space.  Think about it.  You are a bibliophile.  You have books everywhere, and I do mean everywhere.  They reside on your nightstand, the basket in your bathroom, your desk, your overloaded bookcases, nearly every vertical, flat surface in your home.  E-books reside on your computer or in your reading device.  The space savings is incredible.
3. Ever take a book on vacation? More than one?  Gets heavy, doesn’t it?  There are a number of readers that can hold 25, 50 or more books.  Imagine not having to carry a separate bag just for reading material.
4. Lower overhead for e-Books usually translates into lower prices for the consumer.  E-books are cheaper.
5. E-books are available 24/7.  Feel like a good story, go to your favorite publisher, someone like, say, umm, Aspen Mountain Press and you will be able to buy a book.  No need to wait for a store to open, no need to wait for the postman to deliver.
6. Speaking of postmen who deliver, you do realize it costs money to just about everyone involved to physically deliver your reading material, don’t you?  Someone has to find and pack your order, then it has to be shipped in order to be delivered.  That costs time, energy, and fuel.
7. What happens to all those lovely books in the book store that don’t sell?  They are returned.  You know what that means?  It’s number six in reverse.  Now the cost of time, energy, and fuel has been doubled.  What’s worse, one of two things happens with those stripped books.  They are either burned (imagine what that puts into the air) or take up space in a landfill somewhere, or they are “sold” or given away without the cover meaning the book was reported as unsold or stolen and that the author or the publisher was not given compensation for the work.
8. An author can tell a story in as many words as are needed to tell the story.  There is no need to write for a specific word count, no need for “filler” that doesn’t enhance the story.
9. E-books are available on a wide variety of topics, just like what you can find at a brick and mortar bookstore.  Don’t believe me? Take a look at Fictionwise. 
10. E-books are of a similar, if not higher quality than print books.  Sure, there are stories of errors in e-Books.  Sure there are some companies that edit better than others.  Have you taken a look closely at some of the print books sold these days?  They have the same issues e-Books are reported to have, including questionable editing, typos, incorrect word usage, dropped words and plain old mistakes.  Just because a book is in “print” doesn’t necessarily make it “better” quality or the author better.  

People have been heard to say that an e-Book just doesn’t “feel” like a real book.  Nope, they sure don’t.  But, I have an e-Book reader of a similar weight and size that provides me with a similar tactile stimulus, including page turning.  And, my e-Book reader has a back light that allows me to read in bed without disturbing my partner.

My e-Book reader doesn’t smell like a print book either.  For that one, I am quite grateful.  Every time I smell my print book, when I do smell my print book, I sneeze.

These are just a few of the reasons why I’m committed to e-Books.  Will e-Books ever replace paper books?  Probably not for a good long time.  But the tide is turning.  More and more people are seeing the advantages to e-Books; the “younger” generation is already doing a great deal of their communication via electronic means (come on, can you really text as fast as your teen?) and that trend is growing.

Truthfully, there are only two reasons I read.  I read to learn and I read to be entertained.  I don’t care what method delivers the solution to those two needs.  If I can do so with less impact on the environments I interact with, then I’ve really gained. 

Will there be times I read a paperback?  Sure.  Just like there are times I listen to the old LPs I collected in high school.  

As technology changes, I too, find that I go back to the old way less and less often.  Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think so.  I had no trouble replacing my newspaper with an online site, no trouble replacing my VHS videos with DVD’s, no trouble replacing my LP’s with CD’s, and then adapting once more to IPod technology.

So in the meantime I’m happy to save a tree, save money, save time, save space.  I guess that makes me a conservationist.

And it didn’t even hurt.

Sultry doesn’t begin to describe the heat in Robin Gideon’s first ever e-Book release, Silky Sins: Cassandra.  Cassandra, a successful CEO is missing all a marriage had to offer after her husband’s untimely death.  Used to fulfilling her needs on her own, she is shocked to be accousted by her partner’s son.  Passion flares at the man’s touch and rather than give in to what it promises, Cassandra flees to Greece to help win a major deal.

While in Greece, she attracts the attention of several men and her partner, Erik, wants to make the most of that attraction by playing up Cassandra’s considerable sex appeal.  An appeal that he feels all too well.

Robin Gideon explores all sorts of possible romance and sexual connections in Silky Sins: Cassandra and for the reader looking for an incredibly titillating read they will find it in this work.  From public sex, to a menage, this work is hot, hot, hot.

Some readers may remember Robin’s work from her Zebra releases.  For those of you who can’t get enough Robin will have a sequel to Cassandra’s story by following up with the story of Apollonia, her headstrong, wild daughter.  Exploring the ocean was never as hot as it is on the cruise ship Apollonia finds herself on.