LET YOUR CHARACTERS WRITE YOUR LOVE SCENES/PART THREE

Revised and updated from a workshop I did several years ago, this post is all about using your characters to make your love scenes unique and intricate to your story. It has been posted in several parts over the last few months. If you’re a writer, this may help inspire you to write some of the most difficult scenes in your book: your sensual encounters. If you’re a reader, you will get lots of sneak peeks into the Relics of Merlin series, which is being re-released by Sourcebooks over the next few years.

The Relics of Merlin series of books are whimsical romances set in a magical Victorian London of sexy shape-shifters, enchanted tea, wicked spells and loose corsets. Since I’ll be using excerpts from several of the books in the series, I thought it might be helpful to have a quick overview of each:

Enchanting the Lady:  In a world where magic rules everything, two misfits--Felicity Seymore, a Victorian beauty unable to perform even the simplest spell, and Sir Terence Blackwell, a were-lion searching for Merlin's relics--form a passionate alliance.

Double Enchantment:  When Lady Jasmina accidentally creates a double of herself using a relic, the mix-up brings her real self into a compromising position with sexy were-stallion, Sir Sterling Thorn.

Enchanting the Beast: In the third book of the Relics of Merlin series, ghost-hunter Philomena Radcliff comes to Grimspell castle to rid the residence of spirits, but she finds most haunting of all a reclusive were-wolf suspected of murder.

Everlasting Enchantment: In this brand-new fourth book, Sir Gareth Solimere has been trapped inside of one of Merlin’s relics for centuries, and only true love will set him free. But when were-panther Lady Millicent Pantere steals the relic, will she be his salvation or his doom?

So why am I doing a post on (gasp) sex scenes? Because several friends of mine said it was the hardest thing for them to write. Since they are my favorite part of the book to write, I thought I’d share how I do it and hopefully it will be helpful to others. Since I always seem to learn better by example, I’ll be giving examples from all my books to show how my love scenes are a development of my characters, plot and setting. I’m sure there are many other ways to develop a love scene, so let this be an inspiration and not a rule. If you’ve read any of my other posts on writing, you know my favorite motto is: there are no rules in writing, just guidelines.

(Read my previous posts on this subject by searching for the title in the LABELS or CATEGORIES in the far right sidebar.)

THREE: USING YOUR CHARACTERS’ GOALS

The following excerpt is taken from the same scene I used from Enchanting the Lady for using a character’s flaws.  In this part, Felicity has been covering her nervousness with speech, and Terence takes advantage of it to pursue his own goal—to find the magical relic by discovering Felicity’s involvement with it:

   “So, you like to talk?”  His voice had gentled to a purr.  “All right, we’ll talk.  Had any bad dreams lately?”  He started at the buttons on his shirt, slowly releasing them one at a time.

   Felicity’s head spun.  Tonight of all nights he had to ask her about her dreams?  “No, not since the one I had at Fairview Manor.  Why?”

   “It got you that time, didn’t it?  What was it, a fog of black, a slimy monster, a mist of knives?”  He stripped off his shirt and let it fall to the floor.  His skin gleamed gold in the candlelight, the hairs of his chest made a pattern that sharpened to a point near the top of his trousers.

So Terence is intent on making love to Felicity but at the same time he’s still pursuing his goal: finding the relic. Consider how your character’s goals can lead you through their love scene or create one for you.  This next excerpt is from Double Enchantment. At this point in the story, Sterling’s goal is obvious:

   Frenzy gripped him and he rocked her up and down against his groin, pulled away and then plunged in again, seeking that threshold of pleasure that only Lady Jasmina could give him. And when it came he groaned with the force of it, half-aware that her own release shook her body in union with his.

   “Let go,” he finally rasped. Jasmina tore her cramped fingers from the headboard and he gathered her into his arms, her legs still wrapped around him, his shaft still inside her as she sat on his lap. He kissed the hair away from her face and stroked her back. He couldn’t afford to show her any mercy. He would have her promises before she came back to earth. “You are mine now.”

   “I know.”

   “I will tell your father that we are to be married.”

So think about what your character wants.  It will probably change throughout your book (although their primary goal might not) and each new goal can lead you to a new, unique love scene. Consider what your character wants.  Can the H/H provide it for them?  Can you use the love scene to reflect their individual goals?

Until Next Time,

Kathryne 

Why Read Romance Novels

Yesterday we attended a wedding reception for our friends Angie and Dan. The above picture is of her bouquet and the unity sand bottle filled by wedded couple, family and friends. It warmed my heart to see how happy they both looked. I don't think I have ever seen her so beautiful.

With so much love in the room, I was reminded of why so many people read and write romance. We can't attend weddings every day to get that adrenaline shot of love that makes you feel good all over, but we can read novels daily.

A romance novel will challenge the hero and heroine with life's ups and downs, but in the end they are guaranteed a happy ending. When I put down the novel after reading the last page, I always feel good.

The last I heard, over 50% of all paperback novels were romances. I understand why.

Until next week,
happy writing and reading!

Tina Swayzee McCright

Author Spotlight on Cara Marsi

Let's give a warm Much Cheaper Than Therapy welcome to our guest author Cara Marsi who is here to talk about her latest book Murder Mi Amore.

 

Blurb: Lexie Cortese is in Rome to forget. The last thing she expects is to meet a sexy Interpol agent who suspects her of being part of a terrorist plot involving a stolen diamond. Suddenly thrust into a world of murders, muggings, and kidnappings, Lexie doesn't know what to think--or who to believe.

Dominic Brioni's assignment is simple. Befriend the American and bring her to justice. Only Lexie seems the most unlikely terrorist Dominic has ever met. Sweet, determined, and direct, she faces life with courage and fire, a fire that sparks his protective instincts and a longing for something more--something he allowed himself to hope for only once before.

But that woman betrayed him, and his boss isn't about to let him forget it. With his career on the line and Lexie in danger, will Dominic learn to trust his heart before they both get killed?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mi-Amore/dp/B009UEVVP0/

More on Villains

This month we are discussing villains. The trick-or-treater above seems harmless enough, even kind of cute, but what if this isn't your child following you home after a night of collecting candy? Who is it? What will he do? Let your imagination take over and write the story.

Villains are your antagonist. They are whoever or whatever keeps you from your happily ever after. The villain could be an abusive husband like the one in the movie Enough with Jennifer Lopez, or a monster as threatening as the evil vampires in Twilight. You could be your own villain if you have split personalities just as the character played by Sally Field did in Sybil or the character plagued by mental illness in A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe. The villain doesn't have to be human or even a monster; it could be a storm such as the tornadoes in the movie Twister. The villain could also be big industry dumping harmful chemicals similar to the one in the movie Erin Brockovich.

Sometimes villain are based on true stories and sometimes they are a figment of the imagination. In either case, they should be powerful. Our hero and heroine must fear them before they fight and conquer. When you are creating your next villain, look deep inside to what scares you, what really, really scares you.

Until next week,
happy writing!

Tina Swayzee McCright

Introducing Nancy Jardine

Once again, I would like to introduce our blog readers to another author at The Wild Rose Press.

       Nairn Malcolm’s looking for the impossible. He needs a highly skilled, enterprising aide who’ll be at his beck and call 24/7. No ordinary Jane Doe will do. He doesn’t expect the only candidate who drops in at his Scottish castle for an interview to be so competent…or so stunning.

      Aela Cameron’s got exactly the right mix of talents to satisfy all Nairn Malcolm’s needs, and more. She loves the jobs he needs done, adores his castle, and finds his frenetic lifestyle energizing. But she’s only      looking for temporary: not to fall in love with the man.

      Can Nairn convince Aela she’s tailor-made for him in every way…and not a passing fancy?  

Take Me Now, is available at Amazon and at the publisher's website: http:www.thewildrosepress.com.  You can read more about Nancy on her various Internet sites:  

http://nancyjardine.blogspot.com                                                            http://nancyjardineauthor.weebly.com                                                             http://facebook.com/nancy.jardine.56   

Writing the Villian

Villains. We all love to hate them. Everyone has tricks and techniques to write villians. I’m hoping I can add a little something to how to go about making a villain three-dimensional.

Character Sheet 

I always pull out my characterization sheets and map out my villain’s traits. You have to make them three dimension with hopes and fears just like your other characters. You need to decide on what motivates him or her, what their greatest fear is, etc.

How dark is your villain? 

Decide how dark you want to make your villain. What shade of gray is he or her? Do you want to go all out and have a serial killer or someone tamer and who stays inside societies dictates?

Does the villain make the hero grow? 

When you’re mapping out your character and giving them certain traits, don’t forget to ask yourself, “What is it about the villain that makes the hero grow?”

What makes the villain who she or he is now? 

A villain wasn’t born that way. Peel back the layers of your villain and discover what changed him or her? Was there one factor growing up that made them who they are or were there numerous factors? Were they abused on a regular bases? Raped? Did they have cold, impersonal parents? Or maybe loving parents and then had a physical trauma as a teenager?

Do you love writing about your villain? 

If the answer is no, than go back and discover a trait or characteristic that you love about them. Once you do, it will come through in your writing, and add a new dimension to them.

Below is an excerpt of one of the villains in my story, Shrouded in Illusion, which will be coming out in the spring of next year. I loved writing about Peter.

Placing the file folder on the floor of the office, Peter Weaver crouched and opened the cabinet’s bottom drawer.  He gripped the penlight between his teeth.  It illuminated three rows of cassette recordings in their plastic cases.  Names inked in black ran across each spine.  He skimmed a gloved finger along the second row and pulled out three cassettes.

Unexpected light appeared through the frosted glass window to the right of the office door and cast fresh shadows over the desk and chairs.

For one pulse beat, Peter froze.  Quickly, he turned off his penlight and gripped the cassettes in a tight-fisted hand.  He rose to his full six-foot height and heard footsteps echo against the tiled hallway.  He hadn’t expected any interruptions after ten tonight.  This added a different spin on things.  He didn’t like complications.

The orders had been to get in, retrieve all available information on his mark, and get out undetected.  Only when everything was evaluated would the decision be made on whether or not to kill the woman.  But if a sudden obstacle developed, then Peter had been given the go-head to eliminate it.

He'd memorized the building from every angle.  The two-story, simple rectangular structure on the outskirts of Boston consisted of offices of varying medical and dental practices.  The elevators were on one side, and the stairwell rested at the other.  This office stood on the top floor and in the middle of the building.  The person walking this way sounded as if he or she were coming from the elevator.

The alarm system had been easy to breach, and the offices themselves were pathetic when it came to added security.  After entering the building, he’d reactivated the alarm system and locked the office door behind him.  That gave the person in the hall the misguided belief of being alone.

A shadow appeared behind the thick, opaque window.  Peter moved around the desk, over to the wall and set the cassettes on the floor by his feet.  He stood left of the door and flexed his gloved fingers.

The scrape of a key against metal and the whisper of the lock being eased back broke the silence.  The door opened inward and shielded him from view.  Someone flicked on the light switch.  Peter didn’t move as the door sighed shut, revealing a woman in beige slacks, a sleeveless brown shirt and shoulder length, straight brown hair.  She turned toward the desk, which gave him her profile, and confirmed her identity as the woman in the photo he’d been given.  

She hadn’t noticed him against the wall.  She turned again, this time exposing her back to him as she bent over her desk.

Perfect.

The carpet covered the sound of his step as he eased up behind her.  Then he struck, whipping his forearm across her throat and under her chin.  She jerked back against him.  Her hand caught at a stack of files.  Papers swept off the desk and into the air.  He drove his other forearm into the back of her neck in a chokehold, while crushing her windpipe and rupturing her larynx with his other arm.  He stepped back, throwing her off her feet and giving him added leverage.

She never had a chance to fight back or cry out.  Her hands fluttered midair, then dropped.  Peter snapped her neck.  He felt her body give, the energy within evaporate, leaving a husk of bone and muscle.

It took all of three seconds to complete the kill.

Peter dropped the woman to the carpeted floor in frustration.  Now he had to dispose of a body.  He'd killed a few people over the years, and they’d stayed buried, but only because he'd taken the time to do it right.  As for evidence of foul play, he’d eliminate all signs of a struggle and dispose of the body in his favorite dumping ground.  That’s why he liked using his hands.  They didn’t leave a mess like a gun or knife.  

He stepped over the woman's body, cleaned the room of evidence, and pocketed the cassettes.

H. D. Thomson

Villains

This month we are going to talk about writing villains. You don't want them to be the typical bad guy who is simply evil. Your villain is the hero of his own story. He needs to have his own layers as a character, his own strengths and weaknesses, his own hates and loves. Why is he/she evil? Were they always bad or did someone push them over the edge? Does everyone see this character as evil? Your villain needs to have character development as strong as your hero to make the story more interesting.

SPOTLIGHTTING: Janette Rallison/C.J. Hill

Janette Rallison

An Author Spotlight
by Connie Flynn

Janette Rallison (who is also sometimes CJ Hill when the mood strikes her) writes books because writing is much more fun than cleaning bathrooms.  Her avoidance of housework has led her to writing 19 novels which have sold over 1,000,000 copies and have been on the IRA Young Adults’ Choices lists, Popular Picks, and many state reading lists. Her latest are Slayers, Erasing Time, and My Unfair Godmother. Most of her books are romantic comedies or urban fantasies (with romance) because hey, there is enough angst in real life, but there’s a drastic shortage of fantasy, humor and hot guys who want to kiss you.  She lives in Arizona with her husband, kids, and enough cats to classify her as eccentric. In her blog, she discusses the funny side of being a YA author http://janette-rallison.blogspot.com .

To keep Janette on her toes I asked my standard trick question: What question has no one ever asked you that you wish they would.  Here is Janette's well thought out answer.

After sixteen years of publishing, I think I’ve been asked just about every question there is about writing. At conferences people ask about agents, editors, and revisions. Bloggers ask about the writing process, how book ideas happened, and what’s next on the horizon. The really interesting questions come during school visits because kids will ask any and every question that pops into their mind. What is your favorite color? What did you eat for breakfast this morning?  How much money do you make? 

The question I’ve never been asked is: Is it all worth it?  I suppose everyone thinks they already know the answer to this question. The aspiring writers are sure it is, the bloggers are glad it is, and many of the students--when they realize how much money I make--are sure it isn’t.  (The first boy who asked me how much money I made pondered my answer and then said, “So, writing is really more of a hobby than a career.”  It was back then, now it isn’t.) 

Perhaps the best answer to the Is-it-all-worth-it question is: “If you want to know if you’re really a writer, try and stop.” That pretty much sums up life for the avid writer. We’ll write whether it’s a hobby or a career.

The question that surprised me and still haunts me sometimes, came from a young girl during one of my school visits. She couldn’t have had the wisdom or prescience to realize what she was asking when she said, “Have you ever written anything that you regret writing?”

At that moment I thought of every book I’d ever written and the millions of children who have read them. I thought of how books affected me as a child. Some made me want to be a better person, some expanded my mind, some comforted me, others influenced me to do things I shouldn’t have. Books are that powerful. You can’t step into a main character’s skin, live their story, think their thoughts, and not be affected somehow.  Authors are kidding themselves if they think they can step away from that privilege and responsibility.

Standing in that school auditorium, I thought of the story ideas, plot outlines, and random chapters I have on my computer in my Possible Manuscripts folder.  A lot of those story ideas are really good. Some of them might not have the best affect on readers though. I vacillate whether I should ever write those books. On one hand, I as an author want to go on those journeys, to give life to those characters, and experience their stories with them. And doesn’t an author need to be true to a story no matter where it goes or what paths it takes the characters on? Who am I to censor creation?

It’s not the fault of Batman’s writers that some psycho dressed up as the Joker and shot up a movie theater. It’s not Stephenie Meyer’s fault if some misguided folks try to be vampires, or Footloose’s writers fault that teens died recreating car stunt shown in the movie. People are born with common sense and should use it.

But once you publish a book, once it’s out in the world sale and resale, it never goes away. You can’t ever take back what you’ve written. You can’t add disclaimers. No matter what common sense dictates, readers don’t even seem to fully realize that everything a character says or does isn’t condoned by the author. I’ve had people order food for me because I wrote that my main character liked that food.

The books I have out now are fun, romantic comedies and adventures. I write about good characters making mostly good choices. The others stories are still safely tucked away. For now at least, they’ll stay that way.

That's when I looked the girl in the eyes and told her there were books I wish I’d written better, but I didn’t regret anything I’d written. 

I was touched by the poignancy of Janette's answer and it reminded me that writers do important work, something that we so often forget in our scramble to stay in the marketplace.

Erasing Time Janette's latest release. I am an urban fantasy fan and am fascinated.

When twins Sheridan and Taylor wake up 400 years in the future, they find a changed world: domed cities, no animals, and a language that's so different, it barely sounds like English. And the worst news: They can't go back home.

The twenty-fifth-century government transported the girls to their city hoping to find a famous scientist to help perfect a devastating new weapon. The same government has implanted tracking devices in the citizens, limiting and examining everything they do. Taylor and Sheridan have to find a way out of the city before the government discovers their secrets. To complicate matters, the moblike Dakine has interest in getting hold of them too. The only way for the girls to elude their pursuers is to put their trust in Echo, a guy with secrets of his own. The trio must put their faith in the unknown to make a harrowing escape into the wilds beyond the city.

Full of adrenaline-injected chases and heartbreaking confessions, Erasing Time explores the strength of the bonds between twins, the risks and rewards of trust, and the hard road to finding the courage to fight for what you believe in.
Available at  Amazon.

Reviews.
Dramatic twists and turns to the very end ensure readers’ attention and the possibility of an equally thrilling sequel. Kirkus Reviews

Hill leaves the ending wide open for a sequel, and the combination of action and romance—which has become a trademark of the ever-growing trend of dystopian series—will make readers eager for the next installment.
Booklist

You can learn even more about Janette at her website Janette Rallison.

Free Short Story

Sorry I'm not providing writing content this month. I'm writing my fingers off to make a deadline. So here's a free short story if you're interested.

She'll risk everything to stay in the magical town of Amores. He'll do anything to stop her from gambling with their future.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Break the Rules . . . Or Not

On Fire

Break the rules is about the best advice any creative person can hear.  Let’s face it, rules are the enemy of the creative process.  I mean, what’s this stuff about plotting, character sketches, inciting incidents and turning points.  I just write and those things take care of themselves. I'm on fire, my fingers race so fast, those ideas just keep coming . . .
Don’t they?

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes everything just flows.  Your people come alive, your story holds together and sizzles with tension.  Never, ever, have you not needed rules more.

What happens, though, on those days when you aren’t quite in the groove?  When, instead of being on fire, you're move like smoldering and threatening to fizzle out.  If it’s just a day or two, you think it’s a touch of the flu or your preoccupation with an upset in your life, and it goes away.  But then your editor calls and offers you a novella and you’re tearing your hair out trying to find an idea. Plus, your work in progress hits a really saggy middle.  The realities of being a successful author sink in.

Barely Smoldering

When inspiration fails you, rules come in handy.  Not stuffy rules like, oh say, the heroine’s mother always has to be a paragon among women.  Or the hero always has to be the richest man in the free world.  Or there can be no romance or sex in mysteries and fantasy. At one time these were standard conventions in contemporary fiction and cross genre writing was a big no, no, and no one read erotica that didn’t come in a brown paper wrapper.

No, I’m talking about using rules to build a comfortable structure in which to write.  Rules like, say, every story needs an arc.  Characters should have flaws.  Listing twenty things that could happen in your book on a daily basis  keeps ideas flowing.  A consistent writing schedule is the surest way to productivity.  Take rejection in stride.  Pay attention to methods of promoting your career.  Be alert to a changing market.

These rules create professional writers.  Craft and business rules that provide a foundation for your daily writing routine.  That support your writing efforts when inspiration alone isn’t enough.

That said, I now circle back to the title.  Watch out for the subtler rules that inhibit creativity.  We often call them conventions.  For instance, for a long period of time contemporary romance was always written in third person — definitely an unspoken rule.  Before that, much of it was in first person, then that died one day and, lo, first person was shunned.  Mysteries remained solidly first person; you seldom saw one written in another voice.  Although taking place in invented worlds, fantasy were always Medieval-like.  Westerns could only be written by Louie L’Amour (just kidding).

If no one had ever broken through these conventions, we wouldn’t have riveting third person thrillers, chick-lit would have never been born, urban fantasy would still be a fantasy, the western romance would be even more unpopular than it is today (another joke).

Another area where rules are being challenged is the area of being published at all and the arenas in which our works will be offered.  Nobody knows right now where publishing is going and writers who cling to the rules are in danger of being left behind.

Rules are a mixed bag.  Even the foundational rules of structure — plot, character flaws, scene and sequel —  can sometimes hinder.  Which mean we have to be willing to stretch beyond “what everybody does.”  Once upon a time the way to modest success was to find someone who’s doing it well and emulate them.  No more.  Those who soar to the top always write with a distinctive flair.  They push stories to the edge, and then slightly beyond.  They take a different approach than the average meerkat.  And at the same time they scrupulously follow important rules like consistent writing schedules and meeting their deadlines and networking as needed.

Most of us know how to follow rules. It takes some tweaking of the perspective to break them.  If you’re interested in pushing your own personal edges, take a hard look at your current  writing.  Do you always write in third person?  Try a chapter in first person.  All your heroes are alphas? How about introducing yourself to a beta hero.  Is your writing style in a distant and objective point of view?  Try writing just one scene in the emotional deep pov.  If you always write romance, try you hand at a young adult, or a mystery, or a goofy comedy – not the whole book at first; my, that would be too daring — but a scene, a chapter, a short story.  Stretch the way you write, continually look for new approaches.  Just for the heck of it, despite your deadlines.  Who knows, you could enter a new period of your writing when a fresh voice just bursts out of you.
 
So how well do you get along with the rules.  Are you a plott-dd-er or a pants-by- the-seat-of-er? Is your writing time scheduled or do you fit it in when you can? Have you developed a strong, recognizable style or do you experiment with different voices or structure from time to time? Or maybe you've come up with a unique way of managing your story ideas? I'd love to hear, Drop a note in the comments section and let's discuss it. Tomorrow's election day so I'll be close to my computer and my TV all day and night and will check in often.

Connie Flynn is a bestselling, award-winning author of romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She lives in Arizona and teaches fiction writing at a local community college.

The Fire Opal

Protecting the Witness

I have to admit, when I bought this book I wasn't sure I would enjoy it because of the gang activity involved. My grandmother owned a bar in the rough side of Phoenix and I teach in an area where there are gang-related drive-by shootings. So why was it the first book I bought on my Kindle? I wanted to read a selection of books from Harlequin's new Heartwarming series (No sex scenes) and I wanted to support a writer from the Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America that I joined about ten years ago. Linda is a nice, classy woman, as well as a great writer. I chose to support her.

To my surprise, I was pulled into the story immediately. The story is more about relationships than gangs. Not only the main relationship between the hero and heroine, but the strained relationships she has with her brother, her friends, and her co-workers. I immediately felt for her and wanted her to have that happy ending. Linda did not disappoint.

This is the excerpt from Amazon if you are interested in reading more:

Time Is Running Out…
She had vowed never to return to Houston's crime-riddled East End. But Detective Crista Santiago's promotion to the Chicano Squad has put her right back in the violence of the barrio. Determined to transfer out as fast as possible, Crista first has to prove herself by solving a series of drive-by shootings.
Crista has only one witness—four-year-old Samantha Del Rio. Protecting Samantha becomes Crista's number one priority, which means staying close to the little girl. And her widower father, Alex. But "staying close" soon changes into becoming part of the family. And the more attached Crista becomes to the girl and her father, the more she's afraid she's lost her edge…and her ability to protect the witness.

Show More

Show Less

Author Spotlight: Terri Garey

A Southern girl with an overactive imagination, Terri Garey grew up in Florida, always wondering why tropical prints and socks with sandals were considered a fashion statement. She survived the heat by reading in the shade, and watching cool shows like The Twilight Zone and the classic gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows. Balancing a career in computing with marriage and motherhood convinced her that life was too short to rely entirely on the left side of her brain, and quirky ideas about life among the undead began to replace the dry logic of computers. Deciding imagination was her best weapon in the war against reality, Terri dove even deeper into the world of the unexplained, and started writing her own devilishly delicious tales from the dark side.

BOOKS BY TERRI…

Dead Girls Are Easy, A Match Made In Hell, Weddings From Hell,
You’re The One That I Haunt and Silent Night, Haunted Night are part of an ongoing series
about Nicki Styx, a former Goth girl
who becomes an unwilling ghoulfriend to the dead.

Devil Without a Cause and A Devil Named Desire are Book #1 and Book #2 in her Devil’s Bargain series.

Her latest release is THE GHOUL NEXT DOOR, a novella for the Avon anthology, BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT. 
Ever inventive, she created an interactive game for the release of BLOOD BY MOONLIGHT,  that can be played on her website!

For more information, check out Terri’s website:  click here