New and Improved Blog

Introducing our new and improved blog. Hey if companies can do it with their products,
so can we. The first thing you'll notice is the new template.

Carol has worked hard to update our site so give her a round of applause.

We've also added several Phoenix based authors for your reading pleasure. So let's give a warm Much Cheaper Than Therapy welcome to:

Drum role please........

Caris Roane, Connie Flynn, Erin Quinn, Linda Andrews and Tia Dani, (the writing team of Chris Jones and Bev Petrone).

Welcome aboard ladies. I'm glad we're all in therapy together.

Historical Research and World Building

It often surprises me how my historical research will add to or completely gel with the fantasy aspects of my novels. In my new series, The Elven Lords, the stories are based in the eighteenth century, so I spent over a month researching the Georgian era, including the political environment, with special emphasis on daily life and--since my books are first and foremost romances--the clothing and housing of the aristocracy.

When I read that white wigs were prevalent in the era, it made perfect sense that the true reasons for wearing the wigs were to imitate the ivory-haired elven lords of my fantasy world. All I needed to do was to add a crushed silver stone to the wigs, which the aristocracy uses to imitate the silver sparkle of my lords. For my readers to identify with the history of the era, I felt that it was important to keep a king on the throne, but since the elven broke through the barrier between worlds and conquered England, dividing it into seven sovereignties that each ruled, I couldn’t be sure of the role he would play. Then I read that the power behind the throne at that time truly lay with Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of England. So, with an apology to King George, I made him nothing more than a trophy for the elven lords to wage their wars—wars that used humans as chess pieces in games of entertainment similar to the Roman and Greek gladiatorial games, but on a much broader scale. Sir Robert became the leader of the Rebellion, the underground movement of humans and half-elven who fight for England’s freedom and the restoration of their king to true power. As with actual history, the court set the precedence for clothing and style, but since the king of my fantasy world held influence only in that limited aspect, it became an obsession with him and the court.

My seven mad elven lords each had possession of a scepter, and the master of a particular power. As I researched the landscape and the development of England’s resources, I used that knowledge to divide the sovereignties. Since Bath and it’s famous healing waters were located in the Southwest, it fell naturally into place that the elven lord Breden, master of the blue scepter of sea and sky, controlled that area, becoming the sovereignty of Dewhame, and this realm is explored fully in book two, The Lady of the Storm. South Central England, where London is located, is a politically important part of England and became Firehame, the sovereignty of Lord Mor'ded and his black scepter over the mastery of fire, a powerful realm that is fully revealed in book one, The Fire Lord’s Lover. Agricultural Eastern England became Verdanthame, with Mi'cal ruling with the green scepter of forest and plant. Northeastern England, extending upward into York and known for its roadways, became the sovereignty of Terrahame, and the elven lady Annanor and her brown scepter of earth. North Central England, dominated by mining and hilly country, became the sovereignty of Bladehame and the silver scepter of Lan'dor, who masters metal. The Northwest became Stonehame, where the elven lady La'laylia called up quartz from the depths to enchant with her violet scepter. And the West became Dreamhame, butting up against the craggy mountains of Wales, the sovereignty of Roden of the golden scepter, with his spells of glamour and illusion, a realm fully explored in book three, The Lord of Illusion.

As you can see, my historical research into eighteenth-century England helped me develop my world, sometimes in completely unexpected ways.

And the winner is......

Congratulations SimplyMarty, you're the winner of Mary's book. Please contct Kim at kwatters21 (at) hotmail (dot) com. (no spaces) to claim your prize. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

Class Reunions

I recently attended my fiance's 35th high school reunion.
Since my high school hasn't had one to my knowledge,
I could only relate through movies. Most of those films
featured female characters wanting to lose
weight, look their best, and present an image of wealth
and sophistication.

When I heard some people were not attending this reunion,
I thought back to those films and wondered if they didn't
come because they didn't feel they were at their best.
I also heard some people chose not to come because they
didn't have good memories of high school. I can understand
how people might feel this way, but I did notice the reunion
wasn't about reliving high school. These people appeared
warm and inviting. They were happy to see everyone who
attended, whether they remembered them or not.

These people embraced sharing a common background. Many of them
had attended the same grade schools. It was almost a celebration of
surviving life all of these years. No appeared smug or acted like
they were better than anyone else. Most of them had gained a bit
of weight and a few wrinkles over the years, but it didn't matter.
They wanted to see old friends. They spoke of how proud
they were of their children more than they discussed moments
back in high school.

As a writer, I watched a few people who were quiet and wondered
what they were thinking. Of course, I could have made up their story
and sketched the plot for the book before the night was over.

I was delighted each time someone walked over to the quiet
classmate and said hello. Their faces lit up with joy. One woman
told me she didn't know many of the people who came, but she
was glad she chose to attend.

Since I was with my fiance, I only knew the people I had met
while helping to plan the event, but I was also touched by how
genuinely warm they were.

This reunion taught me to take advantage of the opportunities
you have to reunite with hold friends no matter how much
you might have changed over the years or what turns your
life may have taken.

It also taught me reunions are a great place to people watch
if you need to create a new story.

Until next week,
happy writing!
Tina LaVon

Interview with Mary Martinez

I’d like to welcome our guest today, Mary Martinez. 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 Classic Murder: Mr. Romance. Can you tell us a little bit about your fabulous new book?

Thank you for inviting me, I believe I will have a piece of chocolate. I love chocolate. Here is a bit about my story.

Adam enjoys a lifestyle most men only dream of. Then one day he wakes up to find the morning headlines blaring, "Another victim falls prey to Mr. Romance. Who is next?" He suddenly realizes his way of life is not only frivolous, but deadly.

Dubbed Mr. Romance by New York society for his romantic adventures, Adam Fernando Russo loves women. But lately he realizes how lonely it is coming home to an empty house. Can he settle for only one woman? After he makes a list of qualities worthy enough to merit giving up his desirable existence, suddenly recipients of his coveted attention mysteriously fall prey to a murderer. The murders seem unrelated with one exception--all the victims have recently returned from a fabulous weekend rendezvous with Mr. Romance.

Adam’s assistant, Katie Sinclair, knows Adam is innocent with airtight alibis. The police are at a loss so Adam and Katie work together to discover the link between the murders. As luck would have it, their plan to prove the murderer is copying classic Cary Grant movies goes astray just as Adam realizes his perfect woman has been by his side all along.

Classic Murder: Mr. Romance is a very interesting title. How did you arrive at that name?

One: I couldn’t decide between the two, so I used them both. They both work. Two: As you saw above, the story is about Mr. Romance and what happens to his love life. I love watching classic movies. I can tell you that I loved the research for this story.

Would you describe your book as a cozy, mystery, suspense, or thriller?

It doesn’t fit ‘cozy’ but it is a mystery. I like to think it’s a classic murder mystery, but that’s just my opinion.

What made you decide to write in this genre?

Mostly it’s my favorite genre to read, so I enjoy writing mystery and suspense. However, lately I’ve been toying with women’s fiction. We’ll see how that goes.

Where did you get your idea for this particular book?

I write by the seat of my pants. The idea started as Adam and Katie’s story. This is one time where I had the names and the character personalities before I knew what to do with the story line. As I wrote, I realized there was going to be not one but several murders and I had to figure a way to connect the dots.

Do you have all the key suspense/mystery elements thought out before you begin writing?

I find out what happens in my story the same way my readers do. I have to write to the end. Then I have to go back and fill in and layer. Again, and again… I think any writer knows what I mean. So, no I do not have all the key elements when I begin.

Did you have to do a lot of research for the book? What are your favorite research books or sites?

Every book I research different. Watching Jenny, a suspense about a rock band, I researched bands, concert venues, etc. And because I’m a concert ‘ho’. That was no hardship for me.
Once I realized the way my Classic Murder: Mr. Romance was going, I pulled out the movies. I had notebook on my lap and I wrote detailed notes about each one. Some I enjoyed the movie, but knew it wouldn’t work. So on to the next. I believe I said before that I had a lot of fun researching this story.

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

No question, I was in love with both Katie and Adam from the moment I started the story. These two characters came to me and begged for a story. I like the secondary characters also, but not the way I liked Katie and Adam. This is one time I can’t really explain why.

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

As I write I make up a list of their characteristics. My characters grow as I write. At the end I finally know them. That’s why I have to go back and layer and fill in. The first chapters are usually tossed or so changed no one would recognize them. In Classic Murder: Mr. Romance I changed the beginning so many times, I could probably start another book and use the beginning and no one would know it.

Do you have any authors that inspired you?

Do you have a day or two to listen to my list? Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Johanna Lindsey, Heather Graham, Stephen King, James Patterson, Nora Roberts. And these are only a few.

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

I tried having a book tour, and having it listed on Book Daily.com, not to mention Facebook and the usual promotional avenues. I honestly can’t tell what worked yet. Amazon and Barnes & Noble haven’t paid out yet, so who knows.

What do we have to look forward next?

I’m actually working on something fun, three story in one. I’ll keep you posted though.

Thanks, Mary!

Thank you for having me on your lounge chair! Oh, and for the chocolate, yummy!

To celebrate her book release, Mary is offering a free signed book of Classic Murder: Mr. Romance 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...

Bio.
Mary has lived her entire life in the Salt Lake City Valley, where she has raised a family of six children. One of her favorite things to do is spend time with her seven grandchildren.
Mary is a member of the Romance Writers of America. Though she loves romance, writing suspense is her favorite. Mary’s dream conference would be the opportunity to attend ThrillerFest.

Mary and her husband love traveling, their favorites are the Caribbean for relaxation and Italy for the wine. Their experiences have given her valuable insight for her stories.
Mary has four books out and one novella.

For more information, you can visit her web site: http://www.marymartinez.com

Blog: http://marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com

Join her newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Marys_Books_and_Such/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/marylmartinez

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mlmartinez33

Buy links for Classic Murder: Mr. Romance
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1610343352/bookstrand-20

Barnes & Noble http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Classic-Murder/Mary-Martinez/e/9781610343350

It Happened On Maple Street

Thanks to Kim Watters for the invitation to visit you all here at Much Cheaper Than Therapy as part of the It Happened On Maple Street International Blog Tour. If you’re just joining us, my husband, Tim Barney, and I are on tour for our new Book, It Happened On Maple Street – our true life love story. A complete tour schedule, allowing you visit past blogs, is posted at www.tarataylorquinn.com.

The thinking on this site fits me. Tim will tell you. My favorite line every time I want a glass of wine is…it’s much cheaper than medication! The caveat, though, is that, if I’m drinking a glass of wine – so is Tim. Which means that if I need medication, he gets stuck medicating, too. Tim and I have a relationship that I suspect would make therapists shake in their shoes – or at least shake their heads and take a lot of notes, making dire predictions and giving loads of advice. Because we do just about everything together. We took the old adage, the two become as one, literally.

I don’t for one second believe our way of life is right for anyone else. But I know that it is right for us. And what I want to share with you today – the piece of advice I have to offer – is not the way of life, but the reason for the way of life.

Tim and I met when we were still too young to understand that life was serious and that every choice had a consequence that could last forever. We fell deeply in love before we were mature enough to recognize that the gift we’d been given was mutual. We walked through fire without each other before, deeply burned, we once again came together – this time to recognize instantly that we were once in a lifetime soul mates.

This time, we also had maturity and many life’s lessons to bring with us into the mix as we set up life together. We’d broken each other’s hearts once before and neither of us could sustain a second hit with that intensity. Our decision to be together was the most serious decision either of us were ever going to knowingly make and we had to give it the attention it required. And that’s what we’re sharing with you today – our advice on how to set up a successful life with the one you love:

1. Know yourself. Be bone deep honest with yourself and your partner about what you really want and need out of life. This can’t be about what your partner needs, but only about what you need. Know your bottom line. Because when times get tough, and they will, when life has taken the wind out of your sails (whether that be the death of a close loved one, a job loss, financial stress, injury, mistakes) all you will have to give and all you will be able to take is what’s down there on your bottom line. If money is your bottom line, now is the time to be honest about it. When it comes time to make the difficult decisions, your partner has to know and be willing to live with decisions that come from a basis of money. If your bottom line is family – same thing – your partner has to be okay with the fact that you make your big decisions based on how they effect what you consider to be your family. This is not a time to hide your less than stellar qualities. It’s a time to be completely honest about them. In order to truly trust him to be there for you during your hard times, you have to know that he sees the real you. Loves the real you.

2. Listen to your partner – not for what you want to hear, or hope to hear, but only with the goal of knowing who he or she is in the ultimate sense. Who is he going to be when all of his chips are down? That is the person you will be living with during the big decision making times. Make certain, in your deepest heart, that you are okay with who he is, right there, on his bottom line. This is not a time to see his potential, or his intentions, but to see who is really there at his core. If, on the bottom line, family comes first with you, and money comes first with him, you have a problem.

3. Have the courage to sit with each other, at the core, and see if the two can co-habitate through the bad times. Good times are easier. It’s the bad times that will really show the two of you who you are together. You have to know that your needs and his needs can gel even during the worst of times. There will be times when opinions and wants and ideas differ!!! Of course!!! We’re talking bottom line here. This is not an exercise for the weak! It can take weeks. Or months. And you have to be open – both with what you’re sending out and taking in. You might find, as you talk, that what you thought you most needed was only a symbol for what you really really need. You might find that what seems dichotomous on the first go round is, bottom line, exactly the same. The biggest key here is to not get defensive. Bottom line – you can’t help what you most need. And neither can he. Your goal is not to make him give you and accept from you what you most need and what you are capable of giving. The goal is to find out if what you most need and are capable of giving, are synonymous with what he is capable of giving and what he most needs.

4. When you know who you are as a couple, if you find a place that works for the two of you – shut your ears. Every single person on this earth has an opinion. Most of us have people in our close circle. Those people will probably feel a need to share their opinions with you at some time or other. They usually mean well. And, for them, they are probably right. But if you are going to be in a successful partner relationship, only you and your partner can be present in the definition and maintaining that relationship. (Being close with others is great – just not in the core of the partner relationship!) This, by the way, is one reason why it is vital for you to be self honest. It doesn’t work if you give up self. Because in an honest, core deep relationship where you represent you and he represents himself, there is no one else there to advocate for the you you just abdicated.

5. If the relationship has been defined and you are both honestly happy with the definition, stop thinking of self and think of the other. It’s a fine line between being self honest and being selfish. One makes a relationship. The other breaks it. You have to be willing to sacrifice small picture wants and needs, or to compromise them, as daily life starts throwing balls at you. If your core relationship is set and solid and understood and accepted by both of you, then the small picture compromises are much easier to make. And they are made on both sides as situations dictate.

6. Re-visit your core needs on a regular basis. This doesn’t have to be a major task, but can be as simple as a random statement of happiness based on having a core need met. Tim and I wrote our wedding vows to each other, based on our core needs. We have it all in writing! (No surprise there. I’m a writer.) We also re-affirm our understandings in little ways every single day. There are a few key things we do every single day – no matter how busy or sick or even upset we might be – we do them because they stand for our core selves.

Tim gave us a motto – as you will find if you read It Happened On Maple Street. Three words. Simple words. And they carry the power to see us through eternity together. We Go Together.

This post is brought to you as part of the It Happened On Maple Street International Blog Tour. For a complete tour schedule visit www.tarataylorquinn.com. All blog commenters are added to the weekly basket list. Gift Basket given each week to one randomly drawn name on the list.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, or if you suspect someone is, please contact www.thehotline.org, or call, toll free, 24/7, 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). The call can be anonymous and is always confidential. There is not one second of life that is worth wasting.

Next tour stop: Friday, May 27, Guest Blogging Site: http://guestbloggingsite.com/.

To get your copy of It Happened On Maple Street, visit your favorite bookseller, or www.maplestreetbook.com.

Don’t miss The Chapman Files! Still available at: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Tara+Taylor+Quinn.

It Happened On Maple Street is available on Kindle and Nook, too! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0757315682/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_d2_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0SKJ9D86BB5XG2BPT4MV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846; http://search.barnesandnoble.com/It-Happened-on-Maple-Street/Tara-Taylor-Quinn/e/9780757315688/?itm=15&USRI=tara+taylor+quinn.

A Modern Day Romance Novel

He held me firmly but gently just above my elbow and guided me into a room.
I had never been there but I knew this was his room. I knew what he was going to do to me, and I knew I was going to let him. The door closed quietly and we were alone.

He approached silently from behind and spoke in a low, reassuring voice close to
my ear. "Just relax."

Without warning, he reached down and I felt his strong, calloused hands start at
my ankles, gently probing, and caressing upward along my tender calves slowly and steadily. My breath caught in my throat. I knew I should be afraid, but somehow I didn't care. His touch was so experienced, so sure.

When his hands moved under my skirt to my thighs I gave a slight shudder and
partly closed my eyes. My pulse was pounding. His knowing fingers continued upward across my abdomen, my ribcage. And then, as he cupped my firm, full breasts in his hands, I inhaled sharply. Probing, searching, knowing what he wanted, his teasing hands quickly moved to my shoulders and slid down my tingling spine. My entire body was throbbing when he discovered my pink, lace thong.

Although I knew nothing about this man, I felt oddly trusting and expectant.
"This is a man," I thought. A man used to taking charge. A man not used to taking "No" for an answer. A man who would tell me what he wanted. A man who would look into my soul and say...

“Okay, all done. Here's your purse, ma'am. Have a nice flight.”