West Houston RWA

The Blackthorn’s Bride
By Shana Galen
Avon
Nov 2007
ISBN: 9780061124976

“Ashley, get out of the coach,” Maddie said. “This is my elopement. You’re not invited.”

“Nevertheless, I’m coming,” Ashley said, and Maddie knew that stubborn look in her cousin’s eye. “You’re not the only one who’s allowed to have an adventure.”

“But it won’t be an adventure, Ashley. It will be boring, I assure you.”

That was unless Ashley insisted on coming along.

Maddie glanced at Mr. Dover, seated beside her. He looked agitated and impatient. In his hand, he held a pocket watch. “We are now precisely eleven minutes behind our scheduled departure,” he said.

Maddie massaged the bridge of her nose and tried to be patient.

And optimistic—an act that was becoming increasingly more difficult every time one of Mr. Dover’s precious seconds ticked away. “Ashley,” she pleaded. “Get out.”

“No.”

Maddie was about to leap across the coach and forcibly evict her friend when Dover raised his hand. “As time is of the essence, might I suggest an alternate solution?”

Ashley shook her head. “Where did you find this … man?”

Dover sniffed. “As I was saying—or about to say”—he gave Ashley a reproving look—”it might be more expedient to allow Miss Brittany to travel with us.”

Maddie stared at him. “Come with us?”

He removed his spectacles and began polishing them. “Yes. After all, what is the harm in her coming?”

“You obviously don’t know her very well,” Maddie grumbled. Ashley could find trouble in a nunnery.

“Well,” Dover said, looking at his watch again. “Perhaps she could be our chaperone. We didn’t think to bring a chaperone.”

“That’s because eloping couples don’t have chaperones!” Instantly, Maddie felt guilty for raising her voice. Especially as Mr. Dover had turned his reproving look on her. “I’m sorry for that outburst, Mr. Dover. I’m extremely agitated at the moment.”

“I think Mr. Dover has a splendid idea,” Ashley said with a smile for Maddie’s fiance. “I would make an excellent chaperone.”

Maddie would have laughed if she didn’t feel like crying. They really did not have time for this. Any moment her parents were going to realize she was missing and begin searching for her. It wouldn’t be long before they or one of the servants discovered the note she’d left on her pillow.

“Ashley, please,” Maddie begged. She never begged, but she was at her wit’s end. “My father will be after us, and if we don’t leave soon, we won’t get away.”

Ashley, who by all appearances had settled into her seat permanently, said, “Then by all means, tell the coachman to drive on.”

Defeated, Maddie dropped her head in her hands. Mr. Dover, seeming to understand that a decision had been made, rapped on the roof of the coach.

He rapped three times, waited, then rapped again.

Nothing happened.

Maddie lifted her head and peered up at the hatch, where the errant coachman should have appeared.

“Where—”

There was a loud crash on top of the coach. Maddie ducked, afraid the ceiling would fall in on them. The ceiling held, but the crash was followed by a scrambling sound. She stared at Ashley, who, for once in her life looked frightened.

Maddie almost groaned. The dreaded adventure was starting already.

Mr. Dover reached for the hatch, but the coach lurched and he fell back. Maddie staggered against the window with a small squeal, then almost tumbled out the door when it was thrust open and a dark-haired man with a bloody nose and a coffee-colored stain on his buff breeches climbed inside.

He barely got the door closed before the horses were whipped into frenzied motion and the coach pitched violently.

The man practically fell into the seat beside Ashley. He pushed his dark hair out of his eyes, his gaze falling on each one of them. When his dark eyes met hers, Maddie gasped, unable to breathe. There was something feral and untamed about this man. The space between them seemed to buzz with heat.

He gave her a wicked smile, and she swore she heard the hiss and crack of lightning.

She tried to close her mouth or to make it function, to say something. Her mouth moved, but no words would form.

The man settled in, stretching one booted foot out to rest beside her, and said, “So, where are we going?”

Colleen Thompson presents “How to Hurt the Ones You Love”.

Since conflict is the key to keep tension high, pacing brisk, and readers eager to turn the pages, even the nicest author needs to have an arsenal of methods for turning up the heat on his/her protagonists. In “How to Hurt the Ones You Love,” Colleen Thompson examines the importance of conflict, ways to deepen it, and how to know when you have gone too far.

RITA-nominated romantic suspense author Colleen Thompson has written thirteen novels, including her latest, The Salt Maiden (Leisure, 12/07) and Head On (Love Spell, 7/07). For more information, visit her at http://www.colleen-thompson.com or check out http://www.boxingoctopus.blogspot.com her blog for emerging writers

Early Morning Session

Kimberly Chambers (w/a Kimberly Frost) presents “Wish For It; Work for It: The girl’s guide to goal-setting”.

Ever get to the end of the month and realize that the word count is lower than planned? The editing stalled out? That you didn’t get around to updating your website? How about making your 2008 a little different? Join Kimberly Frost as she shares strategies she’s learned about how to set goals and achieve them. The workshop will include questions and prompts to get members thinking about their own lives so they can generate individual wishes and goals and personal strategies to achieve them.

Kimberly Chambers (aka Kimberly Frost) juggles a career as a doctor and her writing career (her first novel Would-be Witch and its sequel sold to Berkley), and has recently taken on new responsibilities as president of WHRWA. Working with highly successful and extremely busy professionals, she’s learned the fine art of goal-setting and following through to make them happen.

Meeting Location: Memorial Drive Christian Church, 11750 Memorial Drive, Houston, 77024

Our PAN Spotlight for this month is Shane Bolks/Shana Galen..

Q:How long have you been writing?

Shane: I started writing for publication in January 2000. Growing up, I always enjoyed writing. I think the first story I wrote was when I was eight. It was in My Book About Me, and it was Star Wars fan fiction. I wrote my sister’s story in her book, too!

Q:How long did it take you to publish?

Shane: I sold my first book a little over 4 years after I began writing for publication.

Q:How many manuscripts do you have hidden away/under the bed/in storage?:

Shane: I have 2 full-length manuscripts that have never been published and probably half a dozen proposals.

Q: Do you have a writing schedule and if so, what is it?:

Shane: I used to, but my life is in transition right now. I try to write after work and on weekends. I’m a fast writer, so it works.

Q: Do you have a critique group? If yes, how many are in the group?

Shane: Yes, there are 3 of us.

Q: If this is not the only critique group you’ve participated in, how many others did you have before finding the one that worked?:

Shane: I was in one before this.

Q: When developing an idea for a new story, which comes first – the plot or the title or the characters?

Shane: I think it’s a mix of plot and character. The plot kind of informs the character and vice -versa. Once, I did come up with the title first: Jedis, Wookies, and Other Men I’ve Dated. That became The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Men I’ve Dated.

Q: How do you handle new story ideas that pop up when you’re in the middle of a project? (ex: notebook by the bed/separate word file/ etc?)

Shane: I have a separate word file labeled Ideas. I write a brief description of the idea and file it away.

Q: Have you ever gotten to the middle of a project and got bored or lost your momentum? If so, how did you handle it?

Shane: Not really because I write pretty fast, and I’m driven. I don’t allow myself to get bored or lose momentum. Usually when I lose momentum it’s because the story idea isn’t good. I don’t usually get more than 10-15 pages into one of those books before I have trouble. Then I shelve the book. I haven’t yet gone back to one of those.

Q: Finish this sentence: If I could write anything I wanted and knew it would sell, it would be….

Shane: A love story between a Jew in a concentration camp and a non-Jew set in WWII. You know how romantic concentration camps can be.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received in regards to your writing career?

Shane: Don’t take it personally.

Q: What is the worst?

Shane: Write what you know.

Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Shane: Beginning a new book.

Q: What is you least favorite?

Shane: Chapters 6-9 and revisions

Q: Which came first for you – the editor or the agent?

Shane: The agent.

Q: How many contests did you enter before you sold? How many did you final in?

Shane: I probably entered 10. I think I finaled in 3 or 4. I finaled in the Golden Heart. That was the big one.

Q: How do your promote your books?

Shane: Website, e -newsletter, bookmarks, Romance Sells, promo to booksellers, reader contests, my blog www.jauntyquills.com.

Q: Free form – your chance to tell us anything you’d like – tidbits, advice, funny stories, pet peeves, hopes, dreams, etc:

Shane: Well, my pet peeve is when people find out I’m an author because they always want to tell me about the idea they have for a book. Usually they want advice on how to get this yet-to-be-written book published, but invariably they dream of writing a (write more continued from page 11) cookbook or a book that falls in some other market I know nothing about.

My advice is not to get too wrapped up in this industry. I think writers are obsessive-types. At least I am. Prioritize writing, but don’t forget about family and friends and relaxing. Life is too short to devote yourself to a business that won’t ever devote itself to you.

The Blackthorn’s Bride
By Shana Galen
Avon
Nov 2007
ISBN: 9780061124976

Blackthorne’s Bride by Shana Galen is a series of misadventures detailing Lady Madeline’s trip to Gretna Green to marry a man she barely knows. She’d rather marry a stranger than continue to face a never-ending parade of dowry hungry suitors. Her elopement is complicated by many things, including:

• her cousin’s insistence on accompanying them as a chaperon,
• the abduction of her carriage by two nobleman on the run,
• their pursuit by a humiliated Duke intent upon revenge and
• the wounding of her fiancé who is left behind to escape pursuit.

But all of these obstacles are inconsequential when compared to her unexpected and growing attraction
to her cousin’s fiancé, the Marquess of Blackthorne. Travel along with Maddie and Jack as they fight their attraction to each other while trying to evade capture by their pursuers. In this third in her series of Misadventures in Matrimony, Shana Galen continues her pattern of providing a wonderful read with never a dull moment.

- reviewed by Linda Krzywicki

Author and Diva News

KUDOS! to Sarah Andre for finaling in the Romantic Suspense Category of Finally a Bride with her new story, LOCKED, LOADED & LYING! The final round entries will be judged by both editor and agent. Best wishes on a favorable outcome, Sarah!

Linda Barrett announces she has a contest running each month for Oct, Nov, Dec at her website. www.linda-barrett.com Check it out! You could win a $10.00 gift card to B&N!

Sandra K. Moore was honored to accept Jo Anne Banker’s First Place Maggie in Long Contemporary for her SOMEONE ELSE’S CHILD, at the Georgia Romance Writer’s annual Moonlight & Magnolias Conference. Jo Anne wore her ‘jewelry’, the silver Maggie medallion, to the October meeting.Victoria Curran with Superromance has requested the full manuscript, so Jo Anne is writing furiously to finish it soon. Congratulations, Jo Anne!

Deeanne Gist has another jewel in her already sparkling crown. She is a finalist for the Writer’s League of Texas annual Violet Crown Award with her novel, THE MEASURE OF A LADY.

Tracy Goodwin is thrilled to announce that DANCE WITH DECEPTION has reached #1 on two Chapters.indigo Bestselling Lists (both the Trade Paperback and Romance Pre-order lists)! In addition, it is holding steady in eBook format remaining a bestseller at #2 on EPIC eBookstore’s Romance Bestseller list and #8 on Fictionwise’s Romance Bestseller list. Dance With Deception is available for pre-order at Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Biggerbooks.com, Chapters.indigo.ca, and Target.com. It is also available in eBook format at Fictionwise.com.

Patty Henderson’s entry, GIFT OF DECEPTION, has won the romantic suspense category in the final round of judging of Mid-Michigan RWA’s Happily Ever After last chapter contest. We are sure this is only the beginning of Patty’s Happily Ever After!! GIFT OF DECEPTION will be released by Wild Rose Press in December 2007.

Exciting news from Jo Ann Robisheaux! She finaled in the Inspirational Romance category of The Golden Pen with her entry, SHADES OF GRACE. Melissa Endlich at Steeple Hill will be the final round judge.

Very thrilling news for Kerrelyn Sparks! Her name has been added to the Honor Roll on the RWA website! Her latest book, BE STILL MY VAMPIRE HEART, qualified her for the list when it spent two weeks on the Publishers Weekly top fifteen bestselling mass market paperback list.Kerrelyn is also part of a new HarperCollins website program.To see it, please visit http://www.harpercollins.com/KerrelynSparks

Booksigning alert! Teri Thackston will be signing PERILOUS PASSIONS at the Houston Writers Festival on Nov 17 from 11:00 to 2:00. It’s at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5000 Westheimer.

Colleen Thompson is delighted to announce that her December release, THE SALT MAIDEN (Leisure Romantic Suspense), has been garnering great advance reviews, including a Top Pick from Romantic Times.

Linda Warren has fantastic news to share – Her book, THE COWBOY’S RETURN, won the Aspen Gold in the Contemporary Category given by the Heart of Denver Chapter.

Johanna Wayne has S-U-P-E-R news! She signed a four book contract with Harlequin Intrigue which will include a 2008 Christmas book to follow up the Colts Run Cross Series (Miracle at Colts Run Cross) and a three-book Special Ops Texas Series to be released in 2009. Her good news doesn’t stop there! TEXAS GUN SMOKE made the Waldens/Borders bestselling romance list recently, checking in at # 7.

WHRWA had a number of members who finaled in the prestigious Northwest Houston RWA Lone Star Competition. Laura Gompertz took first place in the Futuristic, Fantasy, Paranormal category with MCCALLEN’S BLOOD. Sarah Andre took third place in the Romantic Suspense division with LOCKED, LOADED & LYING, and had her full manuscript requested by Patience Smith at Silhouette! Fleury Sommers brought home second place honors in the Single Title category for her entry, CANVAS. Kelly Harms asked Fleury to contact her. Judythe Hixson took third place in the Inspirational with ANNIE’S HEART. Way to go Ladies!

Please send Kimberly Ungar/Jolie Mathis , The author of the award winning book The Sea King, your news at whosinthenews@whrwa.com by the 15th of each month.