And the winner is....

Congratulations Reba. You're the winner of Cassie's book. Please contact Kim at kwatters 21 (at) hotmail.com (no spaces) to claim your prize. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

People Watching

Last Week I discussed Janet Evanovich's book
on writing. She said she people watches to
help her create great characters. What she
sees and hears is filed away for her to play with later.

I gave myself a homework assignment.
This week I took several opportunities to
people watch.

I saw a man on a plane who seemed to be upset.
He looked intently around him. If I used
this man as a character I would make him serious
and upset because the day wasn't going his way.

There is a teacher at my school who is sweet and just
happens to sell jewelry. She doesn't bring it up often,
but I could make her a character and play it up.
She would constantly hold up her necklaces or
earrings in front of people in an attempt to sell her products.
"You would look smashing in this $300 turquoise necklace.
Lucky for you, I can get it for $150. "

While in a hotel room, I heard two men arguing next door.
As a writer, my imagination went wild. In a book, the
fight would escalate to violence, perhaps gunshots.

I met a woman on a shuttle bus who had
just spent time with her sister for the last time.
Her sister is dying. This woman had a wonderful
visit and made peace with what is to come. I filed
this away for a time when one of my characters needs
to say goodbye to someone they love.

Today in church I saw an older man who seemed sad.
He could be a grieving widower in a book.
I also saw a man who appeared to be near age forty.
He wore pressed tan slacks with a sweater top.
He kept his hands folded on his lap.
Next to him sat his stylishly dressed family.
If I were to put him in a book, he would be a man who
needs to be in control. He worries about appearances.
Of course, in our books he would encounter a situation
in which he cannot be in control.

People watching is indeed a great way to add to
your mental bank of characters.
Try it!

Until Next Week,
Happy Writing!
Tina LaVon

Interview with Cassie Ryan

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Cassie Ryan. It’s a pleasure having you come visit us at Much Cheaper Than Therapy, where chocolate is plentiful and advice is free. So grab some chocolate and a lounge chair. Your therapy session has begun.

I understand you have a new release out called Seducing the Succubus. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Seducing the Succubus is the first book in the Sisters of Darkness series. The series is about four succubi sisters in Hell’s version of the Witness Relocation Program. The first book is about Jezebeth who is living out the centuries as any succubus must—seducing men to survive and corrupting souls to make her quota with her queen, Lilith. But when she’s attacked by a bounty hunter demon, it’s a handsome human who saves her.

Noah Halston is a horror writer who owes his life to Lilith. Now he must pay up by eluding the fearsome beasts of hell while escorting a very attractive and tempting succubus safely to Lilith lair—or else he will forfeit his soul to an eternity of torture.

Trouble is, if he spends too much time with the all too tempting Jezebeth, he may just lose his heart—or, even worse, his life.

The Sisters of Darkness: Seducing the Succubus is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

My editor, Kate Seaver, actually came up with the series title, The Sisters of Darkness and I fell in love with it immediately. As for Seducing the Succubus, my agent, Paige Wheeler, Kate and I all brainstormed different titles with Succubus in the name and all agreed that Seducing the Succubus was a perfect title for the first book in the series.

What made you decide to write in this genre?

I’ve always loved to read anything paranormal and I’m a huge fan of romance, so combining the two was an easy choice for me. As for writing HOT, one of my critique partners, Brit Blaise, was published in erotic romance and I really enjoyed her books. At the time I was published in sensual paranormal romance, but I’d never written anything close to erotic. But when I heard Audrey LaFehr from Kensington say she was starting a new line (Aphrodisia) and was looking for uber hot books, I took a chance and sent her a partial. The rest is history.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

I was actually watching a History Channel show on demons and they mentioned how Lilith was believed to be kicked out of the Garden of Eden along with Adam and Eve—and she’s often considered the first succubus. That made me wonder what it was like to be the “bad girl” from the beginning of time, and what kind of life she would end up leading for all of time. The world built itself out from there.

What are your favorite paranormal research books or sites, and why?

I don’t really have any specific sites or books that are my favorites for research. I tend to find wonderful bits and pieces of research information in tons of different places. I love the Internet, but tend to just Google what I need as my research needs change. And I love to go hang out at a well-stocked bookstore with a notebook and skim books for the facts I need. And if it’s a Barnes & Noble, that has the added benefit or feeding my Starbucks addiction. Another terrific resource is interviewing people. Everyone loves to talk about their jobs, and I’ve had some fascinating conversations with nurses, policemen, ambulance driver’s and many others.

Which character did you like writing about the most, and why?

There were so many fun characters in Seducing the Succubus, that it’s tough to pick, but I’d have to say that Jezebeth as the heroine who needs to learn to open up and love was my favorite. And a close second is Uriel, the Archangel with a past who is trying to balance his duties and responsibilities with a forbidden love.

Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research and/or world affect your character development?

I start by doing a birth (or creation in the case of my succubi) to current day character sketch in 1st person. I just let the character tell me all about themselves and I get to learn all kinds of amazing facts that end up coming out throughout the story. Then as I write and new facts come to light, I keep an Excel Spreadsheet that helps me keep track of everything—especially over the life of a series! As for the world—I consider the world another character—it has personality, rules, and attributes just like my characters and is an important part of the story that interacts with every other character in the book.

How do you go about building your world if you use one? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?

A lot of my world building is organic and tends to form in my imagination as the story idea and the characters gel inside my head. However, once it takes on a life of its own, I do jot down notes, drawings, charts or whatever else will help me keep everything straight. There’s nothing worse than making a “rule” within your world and then not remembering you did! So being organized helps me ensure that doesn’t happen.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

So many… I grew up reading Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey, Terry Goodkind, Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe and a host of others, then I added Nora Roberts, Cheyenne McCray, Jennifer Ashley, Laurel K Hamilton, Stephanie Laurens, Sabrina Jeffries and a thousand others… I’m such a book lover, and every book I read inspires me to continue to write and do what I love.

What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?

I think that depends on if we’re talking short term or long term. For short term, as in one book, I think doing the Romantic Times Convention and being on the Fairy Court was an amazing promotion vehicle. That got my cover and my author name in front of tons of readers and it was a very effective promotion, although it was a bit expensive. But if we’re talking long-term promotion, I think book signings. (I can hear authors snorting at this…lol). I love doing book signings. I get to meet readers and make that personal connection with them. I still get notes from people who I met at my very first book signing who buy every book I write because we made that personal connection…and I hope because they also love my books J

What do we have to look forward next?

The second book in the series, The Demon & The Succubus, is scheduled to release on April 5, 2011. And I’ve got some other books in the works, and will hopefully very soon be able to announce some great news!

Thanks, Cassie!

To celebrate her book release, Cassie is offering a free book of Seducing the Succubus to one lucky commenter on today's blog. (please check the blog Monday night to see if you won. Chances of winning determined by the number of entries.)

She will be around all day today. I'm sure some of you have questions or comments for her, so please ask away...

Check out author’s website at http://www.cassieryan.com

Buy http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Seducing-the-Succubus/Cassie-Ryan/e/9780425236840/?itm=2&USRI=seducing+the+succbus.

Quote for the week from the dictionary:

Inspiration, noun

1: arousal of the mind to special unusual activity or creativity

2: a product of your creative thinking and work; brainchild

3: a sudden intuition as part of solving a problem

4: arousing to a particular emotion or action

5: the act of inhaling [inhalation, breathing in]

I am blessed--or cursed--with a vivid imagination!

I was blessed with an over-active imagination. (or cursed, depending on your point of view! My poor husband…if he’s late 10 minutes, I’ve got him in a car crash, laying on a street somewhere bleeding from several wounds…you get the idea).
Thank heavens I had my writing to turn my imagination to.

I always start out with something that inspires my imagination, whether it's a character or a new world. I start creating the world, which is always such fun, and then once I start writing, all the details just start to flow through. A lot of it comes from my characters. For example, in my Georgian Fantasy romance series (THE ELVEN LORDS, book one, THE FIRE LORD’S LOVER), I had two secondary characters pop up in the book, and I gave each of them an extraordinary magical ability. And then later on, those abilities actually affected the plot. It wasn’t planned, it just happened through the story and characters. Now the hero’s abilities, that of fire magic, was planned from the beginning, as were the heroine’s ability to perform death dances.

So my imagination starts with a plan, then keeps growing from there, sometimes with what seems like little actual control from me.

So if you are blessed, or cursed, with an active imagination, try your hand at writing. You might be amazed at what develops.

And the winner is.....

Congratulations Emma. You're the winner of Lynn's book. Please contact Kim at kwatters21 (at) hotmail.com (no spaces) to claim your prize. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Janet Evanovich on Writing

Janet Evanovich on Writing.

I believe it is important to learn your craft. Once
you know how to write, what works and what
doesn't, you can then add your own style. Your own
spin to it.

I picked up a copy of How I Write by Janet
Evanovich with Ina Yalof, a writing instructor
at Dartmouth College. Like many of you,
Janet is one of my favorite authors. She makes
her characters come to life and I wanted
to learn her secrets.

In the book, I believe it is Ina who says,
"You must bring your characters to life, make
them believable and worth caring about. The
deeper and richer your characters are, and
the more emotion you put into them, the more
your story will come to life."

How do you go about "bringing them to life?"
Janet says she people watches. She pays
attention to the various people she comes across.
She puts them into her imagination and lets
them run wild. She stores up everything she
sees and hears, knowing it can find its way
into one of her novels.

So, our homework this week is to people watch.
I will try to find interesting bits of information
to share with you next week. I hope you will do the same.

Until Next Week,
Happy Writing!
Tina LaVon