RT RECAP Part 3: Day 3... The Man-Candy and Food Porn Edition

After staying up so late on Thursday, I slept in on Friday. Jess and I had a quick breakfast before she went to some agent and editor pitches, which I'm proud to say, landed her a ton of requests for her new exciting project... which unfortunately I can't tell you about.

So I went back to pursuing one of my primary goals of the conference: meeting people. I ended up running into a few agents and editors myself, including Margaret Bail, who used to be one of my critique partners ages ago and is now an agent. It was a blast to meet her in person. Somehow I ended up with a few requests for my metal romance. I also got to see my local RWA chapter buddy, Rebecca Zanetti.

And now for another crazy fan-girl moment: Just as I was heading up to an awesome panel on vampires, I ran into Shana Galen again... and of course I didn't have the book I wanted her to sign... and she was on her way out the door to leave!! Eeek!  But, she graciously waited while I raced up to my hotel room and signed it for me and gave me a hug. Fan-girl squee!!

So I ended up late to Jess's panel but I still got to participate in plenty of the fun and I got to meet Caridad Pinero! On our way back to our room we shared an elevator with Charlaine Harris, which was totally sweet.
Jess and I had a quick lunch. Daisy Dukes was full so we went next door to another place that was pretty good too. I had shrimp n' grits again.

We did a bit of sight-seeing and picked up more hard cider before going to an awesome Avon book signing. Among the highlights were Jess getting to meet Kim Harrison and I got to meet Janine Frost and Lisa Kleypas. Lisa loved the title of BITE ME, YOUR GRACE so much she had me write it on a napkin for her. (I'd run out of business cards). 

After the signing we joined Paige Prince, Elise Hepner, Charity Hendry, Jackie Morgan and Casey Harris Parks for dinner at the Palace Cafe. 

And now it's time for some food porn. I had turtle soup which turned out to taste like chili with elk burger. I'd expected turtle to taste like calimari or something. I also had blue crab claws which were tiny, but delicious. And then I had creme brulee for my first time. OMG, heaven in my mouth. Aside from the excellent food, we had a wonderful time discussing crazy stories about our craft and the industry.

I'd thought that we were then going to attend the RT party of the night, but instead some dude dressed up in a police uniform gathered us up and escorted us down Bourbon Street to a bar called OZ. On the walk I met book reviewer, Jo Lacey Wood who turned out to be a fellow Megadeth fan. We sang "Sweating Bullets" on our way there. 

Then we sat at the bar and talked books and watched everyone dance. I also had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with 2 charming actors: Zac Bostrom and Eric Carpenter. I told them that they should totally be cover models. 

"People keep telling us that," they replied.

Gee, I wonder why.

And then the stripper showed up. It was my first male stripper. Needless to say, I was delightfully amused by his outrageous costume and antics. The guy was even doing ballet poses. I was only able to get pictures of him from the back view, but due to the PG-13 rating on my blog, maybe that's for the best. 2 more strippers arrived and though they were nice eye candy, the first guy eclipsed them with his funky craziness.

You guys won't believe how he looked from the front.

Sara Humphreys showed up and bought me a drink. ::Fan girl squee:: We chatted a bit and showed off our muscles (hers from working out, mine from turning wrenches). 

Then the noise became too much for Jess and I and we went back to the hotel. I hung out in the lobby with a few more nifty people and got a few hooked on hard cider. I then finally got to hang out a bit with my other fellow RWA chapter buddy, Shoshanna Evers. We had so much fun talking about the convention that I tripped over a palm tree when walking her back to her hotel. She was really worried but I turned out okay.

Fun at the Release party for HUNTED

I've been anticipating this story since book one, when the premise was first hinted. Needless to say, like all of Rebecca Zanetti's release parties, I was hella-excited to attend this one. The only bad thing about 'em is that I've been working a night job and thus I only get to hang out for a half hour tops.

But I made it, picked up my copy of HUNTED and I got my fan-girl picture with the author.

Rebecca's her usual elegant self. I look like a dork, but at least I'm rockin' my DIO shirt!

My buddies, Shelley Martin and Bonnie R. Paulson were there as well and we had fun catching up. I didn't get any wine this time because I'd lost my wallet (at work, thankfully) and the guy carded me. Shelley and Rebecca were jealous, but I was more irritated than flattered. It sucks not having a wallet...or wine. But at least I learned that my heavy metal t-shirts make me look young. :)

To make up for the lack of wine, I indulged in the always awesome appetizers. There was this feta-olive-herb spread that was to die for.

Then Shelley and I wandered around the store, ogling the cooking supplies. I REALLY want the nifty utensils for getting meat out of crab and lobster. We also ran across something that had me giggling and telling dirty jokes...until one of the store employees caught us, but you'll have to check out my Facebook page for that one.

Alas, it was time to go to work. So I hugged my friends, got another hug from the author for good measure and took myself and my shiny new copy of HUNTED off into the warm Spring evening.

And I'm still wondering where I'll have my release party. 

Best books I Read in 2011

Not all of these were written in 2011, but whatever.

The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs. I devoured em all.

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James: 2nd best rendition of Cinderella EVER! Sorry, nothing can top the movie, EVER AFTER.

When Beauty Tamed The Beast by Eloisa James. The cool thing about that one is that I get a post card of the cover when she has a new release so for Valentine's day I give it to my husband and he takes it to the bookstore and says, "My wife wants this."

FATED and CLAIMED by Rebecca Zanetti: The first two in the Dark Protector's Series, Zanetti's vampires are HOT, Hot, Hot!

MUSTAINE by Dave Mustaine: Autobiography of the lead singer and guitarist of my favorite band, Megadeth. I usually don't care for autobiographies, but this one kept me turning the pages and had me alternating between laughter and tears.

THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY by Suzanne Collins: Yeah, I know I was late to the bus on this one, and damn, all the hype was well-deserved!

The WARRIORS series: by Erin Hunter: I usually don't read middle grade, but it was about cats, man! My son got me hooked on 'em!

STONE KISSED by Keri Stevens: Probably the most unique paranormal romance I read this year.

BREATHE AGAIN by Bonnie R. Paulson: A heart-wrenching tale of a woman's journey to love after suffering a tragic loss.

ONCE BITTEN and THE WICKED KISS by Trina M. Lee: The 1st two in the Alexa O'Brien Huntress series, Ms. Lee put the monster back in monsters.

HUNTED BY THE OTHERS by Jess Haines: The most fun urban fantasy that I've read in awhile.

MARKED and ENTWINED by Elisabeth Naughton: These were so engrossing I read MARKED while I was getting my 1st tattoo.

LORD AND LADY SPY by Shana Galen: It's like MR. AND MRS. SMITH set in the Regency...only waaaaay better!

SOUL REBORN by Jean Murray: I've now decided that Egyptian gods are hella-sexy!

11-22-63 by Stephen King: A high-school English teacher goes back in time to try to stop the Kennedy assassination. I can't believe how good this book was. I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished it.

Book Binges

I've been mostly absent from the online universe lately primarily for two reasons: A.) I'm working on proposals for the next two novels in my series. and B.) I've been binge-reading like a sonovabitch.

To get my paranormal kicks I devoured CLAIMED by Rebecca Zanetti. Loved it. Then for historical inspiration...and the snuggle-y security of an old favorite: ALMOST HEAVEN by Judith McNaught. For the classics I'm reading LITTLE WOMEN...but the goody-goody-ness coupled with the knowledge that it doesn't end well has me taking a break from it to also read HEARTS IN ATLANTIS by my hero, Stephen King. And on the kindle I have two classics that may directly tie in to my current WIP.

I go on these binges periodically through my life. How much is motivated by the need to escape and how much is pure literary addiction, I have no idea.

I just wanted to let you all know I'm still alive and I love my online community...but as Sai King says: "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." ....that and my addiction calls.

What are you reading right now? What are some of your favorites?  

Sex Talk With Rebecca Zanetti

When I asked Rebecca to make another appearance on my blog, again she asked me to come up with a topic. We-ell, I kept remembering the time she spoke at an Idaho Writer’s League meeting. Naturally it came up that she writes some steamy stuff. All the romance writers wanted her to elaborate on certain subjects and pitfalls…but alas, the stodgier members kept steering the topic back to the PG-zone. ::sigh:: But now’s my chance. I even gave her an out. I said, “We can talk about sex…or structuring a novella.”

She replied, “Sex? Go for it.”

So, here I go...and since purple's my favorite color, I totally call dibs. 

 Rebecca, you write for Kensington’s BRAVA imprint, which I understand is a bit naughtier than the ZEBRA line. (About a third of my romance collection is Zebra books…and they can get pretty steamy.) Can you tell us more about what a reader can expect from a BRAVA book?

First, a big thank you to Brooklyn Ann for having me over at Supernatural Smut today!  Great question, by the way.  At Kensington, the Zebra line is supposed to be somewhat sweet, the Brava line is sensual, and the Aphrodesia line is erotic.  In Brava, the hero and heroine need to be very sexually aware of each other from the first meet, but they don’t have to actually have sex until it works for the plot.  In fact, sometimes it’s better to wait and just keep the tension going. Love that tension!

Mmmm...me too, and you do such a good job with that in FATED! 

To get serious for a moment, we all know that romance authors, especially of the steamy variety, get all sorts of judgments and stereotypes lobbed at them. Most recently I’m thinking of the episode with Judy Mays.   Have you gotten any crap from people because of your writing, and how did you handle it?

My short answer here is…no.  The people in my life are supportive…or they’re not in my life.  I have gotten some rolled eyes and dramatic expressions from acquaintances, but screw them.  Sorry to be crass, but life is WAY too short to worry about the opinions of stick-in-the-muds.   You know what’s been interesting, though?  People don’t look at me differently.  They look at my husband differently.  It’s hilarious.  J  (And for the record, my books aren’t THAT steamy.  Okay, they’re steamy.  But they’re not erotic.  And frankly, I have no problem with erotic romances—I just don’t write them.  Yet).

Okay, back to the fun stuff…though this one’s a little related. During your talk at the IWL meeting, you mentioned that one of your dad’s friends called him up to discuss some of the racy stuff in FATED. How did that go? And do you have any more fun stories about reactions from friends and family? (The thought of my father reading my smut makes me cringe…but not enough to make me stop writing it. J)

Oh yeah, I forgot I shared this story.  You have a great memory!  Well, a very conservative friend of my dad’s came up to him and said he read my book.  And my dad was surprised, and repeated, “you read Becky’s book?”  And his conservative friend said, “Sure.  I love vampire books.  Can’t wait until the next one comes out.”  My dad couldn’t wait to call me.  Who knew?  Also, I’m on a nonprofit Board with a couple of nuns, who read the book.  They both just loved the world building.  J

Nuns? Really? That's gonna have me giggling all day.

I read something funny on your blog awhile back. You said, “Those who complained that there was too much sex in book one have already pre-ordered book two.” After I recovered from my laughter, I wondered: Is this sort of hypocrisy common? And what other reactions have you gotten from readers?

You know, I wouldn’t call it hypocrisy.  It’s just human nature.  What happened was an acquaintance (not even a close friend) of my mom bought and read FATED.  When she saw my mom, she said how much she enjoyed the writing, but the sex was way too much for her.  Then she asked my mom if she’d read CLAIMED, and my mom said ‘yes’ because she usually reads a printed off copy from my computer right after I finish the book.  Well, the lady then asked if she could borrow the printed off copy.  J  It gave me a good giggle. 

The fan emails are wonderful and I love getting them.  One nice lady said she is home most of the week with two special needs kids, and while she loves her life, she still needs to escape once in a while in books.  She said she read FATED three times one week to just get lost.  Nearly made me cry.

Awww!!! That's so sweet!

Now for the technical stuff: Do your love scenes just come to you, or do you have to focus or be in a certain mindset to write them?

Wow, that’s a tough question.  I think for the most part they just come to me.  Sometimes I’m under a deadline and I have to really work at it, but usually I’m just in the mood to write a certain scene.

So…let’s ask a question today.  Are some books just too racy for you?  Brooklyn Ann will randomly draw a name of a commenter for a signed copy of FATED.  Thanks for reading today!

Rebecca Zanetti is a college professor by day and romance author by night.  Currently she’s busy writing the sexy Dark Protector Series from Kensington Brava, which has received excellent reviews.  To find Rebecca on the web, drop by her website: http://rebeccazanetti.com/ 

Book one of the Dark Protectors, FATED, is available NOW from Kensington Publishing at all major book retailers.

Book 2, CLAIMED, will be available on October 25, 2011 at all major book retailers and is available for pre-order now!

While geneticist Emma Paulsen appreciates vampire king Dage Kayrs rescuing her from the evil, pasty, creepy Kurjan leader who wanted to mate with her, she wouldn’t have needed rescuing had the vampires not gone to war.  And while she’s willing to spend one night fulfilling her fantasies with Dage, no way does she plan to stick around for good.  Whether the king happened to brand her flesh or not.

That is until her pregnant sister, Cara, contracts a Kurjan virus that will not only destroy the baby but strip Cara’s chromosomal pairs until she’s possibly less than human.  A virus that turns shifters into werewolves.  A bug that requires science, magic and physics to be quashed.  Emma will have to suspend her every belief in science and to trust the vampires in order to save her sister.

Dage Kayrs has waited three centuries to find his mate.  As King of the Realm, he’s accustomed to diplomacy and design, although he’d rather rip his enemy’s head off than negotiate.  He’s tired of hiding his true nature.  He’s tired of being alone.  But the greatest challenge of his long life will be in learning to compromise enough to keep Emma, his learning to bend during a time of war when his oldest friends might become his greatest enemies. 

Vampires are People Too

This post was inspired by 3 things:
1.) The ever present newbie-writer fear that "their IDEA will be STOLEN!"
2.) The incessant rants in the comments of nearly every blog post known to man insisting that their way is right.
3.) The argument that vampires are just a passing trend.

Vampires have been a part of myth and legend around the world probably since the beginning of time. But in 1819, when Dr. John Polidori published his short story, THE VAMPYRE, they have become a common fixture in popular fiction. Their mass appeal may wax and wane, but they shall always be around.

What is so wonderful about today is that there's an endless plethora of different vampires, ranging from hella-scary to hella-romantic. Last month, debut author, Rebecca Zanetti did this awesome post on how she made her vampires unique in this crowded market.

In her novel, FATED, (If you haven't bought it yet, DO IT NOW!) her vampires are a separate species that are born, not made. JR Ward is of the same school. But Zanetti's vampires are only male so they have to mate with human females to reproduce. Kinda like David Eddings's all female Dryads.

Already that is way different from the vampires in my novels. Mine begin as humans and are made into vampires of both genders. The transformation makes them sterile, so no babies, although they are perfectly capable of intimacy. :)

Culturally, Zanetti's vampires are very alpha and very militant with secret hideouts, superior technology, and a staff of scientists.

Ward's vampires come in 3 different classes: Civilians, which are much like average humans. The Aristocrats, which are stiff and spoiled and kinda weak, and The Warriors, which are way Alpha, mercenary and the protectors of the entire race.

My vampires are a cross between feudalistic and bureaucratic. Each city is ruled by a Lord Vampire and the Lords are governed by a council of Elders. Between the two, laws and policies are organized by lawyers and circulated by messengers and paper-pushers. Some Lords (male and female) are very alpha and some are kindly and diplomatic. Some are bat-sh*t crazy.

Besides all that, there are multitudes of variations. Like people, vampire characters are endlessly unique. There is no RIGHT way to do them and we all have our favorites. And even if every author followed the same definitions and traits of what a vampire is, you would still have different stories because we authors are all different people.

And The Winner is.... and other news.

RACHEL FIRASEK!!!!

Congrats, Rachel!!! Email your address to: annarkie12@gmail.com and I'll pass it on to Rebecca! W000t! This was a lot of fun.

In other news, for those of you eyeballing my stagnant progress bar for AN IRONIC SACRIFICE, I must let you know that though I haven't been working on that one, I did complete a short story called IDOL'S KISS, so I've been writing. Also I've been doing some drawing on an anniversary gift for my husband. It's not till May 30th, but I really wanted to draw again.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and let's hope this week will be excellent for us all.

Making Vampires Unique: by Special Guest author, Rebecca Zanetti

I met Rebecca Zanetti on twitter as a fellow paranormal romance author. I didn't realize she lived in my town until I saw her on the front page of the newspaper and read the story announcing her deal with Kensington. So I was beyond pleased to not only attend her release party on Tuesday and pick up a signed copy of FATED, but to also get to feature her on my blog. 


Since we both write vampire romance, I asked her to give her perspective on how she made hers stand out in this beloved, but crowded market.


Without further ado, here's the awesome Rebecca Zanetti! Isn't she gorgeous? 

When Brooklyn Ann asked me to blog about vampires and world building in this crowded market, I thought it was a great topic.  As a writer, it’s a lot of fun to create something new, or something with a different angle.  In doing this, I’d advise you to “remember the why.”  If your world is different than the norm, there has to be a reason for it.  Keep in mind that world-building is important, but don’t spend all your energy with that.  

What sells a book is the characters, vampire or not. 

Lately I’ve asked people who’ve read my books about their favorite scenes, assuming (incorrectly it turns out), that they’ll choose my favorite scenes.  The scenes most often chosen are those that dig deep between the characters, either in a heartwarming or downright sexy way.  The fact that the hero is a vampire usually doesn’t come into play.  (Except his vampireness makes him dark and dangerous…all the more sexy.)

Having said that, hey, if you’re writing about vamps, what does make them stand out?  Mine in FATED are a species on earth, born and not made.  You’re either a vampire or not, and there’s no turning into one.  

Incidentally, vampires in FATED’s world are only male.  Now, science comes into play in the book, so I had to go into a bit of genetics with how this happened.  Easy enough and necessary.  So it isn’t really enough just to say…hey, my vamps are only male.  You have to explain why.  Remember the why.  Readers want to know.  For me, science was the easiest way to explain and took only a few sentences through some dialogue with the heroine.  If you met a vampire and he told you they were only male, wouldn’t you ask why?

Of course, the fact that vampires are only male makes it necessary for them to mate with human females.  

How convenient!

I really appreciate Brooklyn Ann having me on her blog today!  Since my amazing editor sent me some promo copies of FATED, why don’t we give one out to a commenter?  Please leave a comment for a chance to win.  You can comment on whether or not you believe in fate…if you like romances, or whatever’s on your mind today.  Can’t wait to read!


Thanks so much for stopping by today, Rebecca! Readers: I'll draw a random winner on Monday!

Fun at the Release Party for FATED

I'll warn you now, I'm going to make a huge deal over this. I live in northern Idaho, which is a beautiful place, but  is practically in the middle of nowhere. Therefore, we miss a lot of excellent concerts, plays, and other attractions. Authors almost never come here for book signings. But this time, I lucked out. In case you haven't heard, FATED by Rebecca Zanetti came out yesterday. And what's even better is that she's from my area, so I was able to attend the release party!

It was held at The Gourmet Way, a fabulous store full of cooking supplies, spices, and wine. And I got a new digital camera so I was able to go all fan girl and get a picture of myself with the author.

I gotta say, Rebecca Zanetti is even prettier in person! And she was all cool and classy the whole time signing TONS of books for her never ending line of eager readers. I would have been blushing and babbling like a moron, I'm sure.

With all the people there, I didn't get a chance to talk to her long, but there were other awesome people in attendance. My buddy and fellow IWL member, Shelley Martin was there along with romantic suspense author, Bonnie R. Paulson. Then later I ran into author, Asa Marie Bradley who did an awesome workshop at last year's IWL conference.

I also got to sample some delicious appetizers, yummy wine, and these decadent chocolate cupcake thingies. While munching, I overheard the funniest conversation between two guys. They said they loved the cover of FATED because men could read it in public without anyone knowing they were reading a romance novel. LOL!! I was still laughing when I left to go to work.

NOW for my awesome news: Be sure to stop by on Friday, because Rebecca Zanetti is doing a guest post and you guys will get a chance to win a copy of FATED!