Next Up on the Passionate Ink Cyber Tour: BARRIE ABALARD
HOT TO TROTISBN-13: 978-1-59632-665-1
Publisher:
Loose-Id
When she lived in Boston, Barrie Abalard was a jack-of-all-trades, mastering two: radio personality and technical writer/online help designer. Barrie also did short stints as a taxi driver, clerical chartist for the Federal Reserve Bank, and temporary office worker for half a dozen companies. However, fiction writing is her first and longest-lived love. (If you can say that three times fast, you, too, might have a career in radio.)
Exes Patti North and Dylan Decker adore each other. Her problem? He cheated. His problem? Her temper. Fixing things will take more than spankings and hot sex, though that’s a good start.
HOT TO TROT, set in the often funny-weird worlds of Boston high-tech and equestrian hobbyists, tells the story of two exes who still adore each other-and still annoy each other-more than any other twosome on the planet.
Now let's chat with Barrie...
Tell us about your hero and give us five descriptives of his personality.Dylan Decker is complicated, arrogant (but in a good way), funny, iconoclastic, and sweet.
The odd thing about Dylan is that I had absolutely no one in mind when I first imagined him. Usually some small aspect of someone I know will inspire a character, but Dylan sprang fully-formed from the place my muses live. (Barbara Samuel calls them “the girls in the basement”, and that’s how I think of them, too.)
Dylan has a brilliant mind for software, is tall, dark and handsome, has a great sense of humor, and also has the amount of ego necessary to found a company and be one of its officers-in other words, a lot of ego. I spent many years in high tech as a technical writer, but I never met anyone quite like Dylan.
However, he has a sensitive side-he likes to wear silk undies, he adores horses, and he’s emotionally a very complicated man. That last personality aspect was borrowed from my husband. I rather like complicated men.
In which of your books is the heroine most like yourself?It’s Patti North, the heroine of HOT TO TROT, the book we’re talking about. Patti loves horses but isn’t a graceful rider, she grew up with few financial advantages, she’s a technical writer, she’s smart, funny (a real wiseass), and loves Champagne as well as her calico cat. Most of those things are based on me.
I never owned a horse like Flash, but I did ride a horse named Flash once, and he was just as adorable as the Flash in the story. He looked the same, too. It’s a good thing horses don’t read, or I might be in trouble for basing my Flash so literally on the real Flash.
Where did you get the idea for your latest book?I’m still trying to figure that out. HOT TO TROT was the first story I wrote that was longer than a short story-the idea came to me back in 2001. Obviously some parts of the story were inspired by my life, but the story itself just kind of appeared in my head one day, poof. It’s been a long road to publish this novel!
I’m what writers call a “pantster” (meaning, I don’t plot beforehand, I just start writing), so Patti and Dylan came to me first, along with the title. Because I was taking riding lessons at the time (and love horses), I added the horse element. And I was working a contract at a company whose products resembled the ones Patti documents in the book.
What do you like about erotic romance best?I love that my heroines can be fully sexual and unashamedly kinky while falling in love with the man they’ve been looking for all their lives. I love that my heroes can be alpha and still enjoy pleasing a woman in bed. And I love, most of all, that I can write stories that are romantic yet very much true to life.
What does your family think about you writing erotic romance?Both my husband and my grown daughter are very supportive of my writing career, and celebrate my successes along with me. They both bring me such joy!
The cats could care less, as long as I make enough to keep them in cat food.
If you could change one thing about your habits, what would it be?What is the one thing you’ll never change?If I could change one thing, I’d make myself love exercise. I mean, really love it. And be a runner, so I could wear a size ten. Okay, a twelve. I’ve never been a ten in my life.
One thing I’ll never change is my refusal to compromise when the issue is important to me. I will always write what I want to write, the way I want to write it. I will always be true to myself and my muses.
Want to learn more about Hot To Trot? Read an excerpt here.Visit Barrie’s website
here.
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Are you participating in the big scavenger hunt?
http://romanticdaysscavengerhunt.blogspot.com/There are LOTS of kewl prizes to be won, folks. Several great authors participating. All you do is answer the daily questions (and this is only day 2), and you have the chance to win some terrific books and other things.
Don't forget to check out some of those prizes to see what you'd like to add to your TBR pile.
Hit and Miss, March 2008
Total-E-Bound Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-906590-03-1
Genre: Contemporary/BDSM e-Book
Alexis Fleming & Lyn Cash
Nothing like a little foray into BDSM to make a girl feel good about herself.When Kat Toomy discovers her lover cavorting on her bed in her underwear with his best buddy, she knows it's time to kick his butt out of there and go looking for something to restore her confidence in herself. Kat's girlfriends offer her a weekend away on a tropical Australian resort that specialises in fulfilling fantasies and she's all for it, particularly when she meets her new Master, Gabe Carpenter, who can turn her on with the flick of a button.
But how will Kat and Gabe feel when they find out they've BOTH been set up?
There are so many great authors out there. The Summer Cyber Tour has kicked into HIGH GEAR with this contest, run by the incomparable
Melissa Schroeder.
Just remember that if you miss a day, you can still get into the drawing for the ebook reader by sending Mel the answers to all the days.
Best of luck, everyone!!!!!
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First Grade Funnies
A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!
1. Don't change horses ...until they stop running.
2. Strike while the ...bug is close.
3. It's always darkest before ...Daylight Saving Time.
4. Never underestimate the power of ...termites.
5. You can lead a horse to water but ...How?
6. Don't bite the hand that ...looks dirty.
7. No news is ...impossible.
8. A miss is as good as a ...Mr.
9. You can't teach an old dog new ...Math.
10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll ...stink in the morning.
11. Love all, trust ...Me.
12. The pen is mightier than the ...pigs.
13. An idle mind is ...the best way to relax.
14. Where there's smoke there's ...pollution.
15. Happy the bride who ...gets all the presents.
16. A penny saved is ...not much.
17. Two's company, three's ...the Musketeers.
18. Don't put off till tomorrow what ...you put on to go to bed.
19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and ...You have to blow your nose.
20. There are none so blind as ...Stevie Wonder.
21. Children should be seen and not ...spanked or grounded.
22. If at first you don't succeed ...get new batteries.
23. You get out of something only what you ...See in the picture on the box .
24. When the blind lead the blind ...get out of the way.
25. A bird in the hand ...is going to poop on you.
And the WINNER and last one!
26. Better late than ...Pregnant!
Sometimes I wonder if the best writers wouldn't be those without experience and knowledge - ROFLMAO.
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Farming In Flood Waters
Ole McSunny has a farm
Eee I Eee I Oy, My Gawd.
With a cucumber here
And a tomato plant there.
Here some squash, there some beans,
Everywhere some peas and chives.
Ole McSunny has a farm
Eee I Eee I Oy.
A few days ago, I thought boy, I’d sure like to have a garden this year. I wanted herbs and flowers, tons of vegetables, some sunflowers that would bear great seeds for roasting. So I bought seed, peat pots, potting soil, and I did some planting to get some starter plants. My mistake was in thinking that it’d take a couple of weeks for anything to sprout.
Less than a week later, and I’ve used up every plastic dish, every cake pan that had so much as a scratch, what little egg cartons I’d saved for this purpose, and old coffee containers. Every ingredient that could fit into a plastic baggie was dumped so I could use the receptacle for potting plants. And the shit is GROWING – QUICKLY! It’s rained for days, and I have no tiller yet. Come to find out, we must’ve left the new shovel I’d purchased when we moved two autumns ago. That leaves good ole Sunny begging butter bowls from neighbors and repotting flowers in order to free up their containers.
The squash is about 6” tall as I type. The onions have organized a union and are demanding a trough of their own. I heard the tomatoes plotting to reach the French doors and let in the squirrels and rabbits to help with de-populizing the mesclun, leafy lettuce, and iceberg lettuce.
The peppers were smart, I guess – they’ve said screw it and have refused to sprout until everyone else is planted firmly in the ground.
What does a girl do when the weather refuses to cooperate? She cooks. You can find what I’ve been up to at
Lyn's Licks & Laughs Recipes .
Have a good week, everybody. Share if you have a really good veggie dish recipe. I’ll introduce it to my veggies in another month or so. *grin*
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Sunny Weekend with DAR & Borders
You can't see it well, but that's MY book parked beside one of James Patterson's at Borders at my booksigning - lol.
I had the best time this weekend. A neighbor had asked me to speak to her group, the
Daughters of the American Revolution. I asked what I'd speak on, and she said YOUR BOOKS. Ack. Never thought of myself as much of a speaker, but sure. Why not?
Those women were so gracious. I'd inadvertently given my neighbor (who introduced me) a bio that held info about Lyn Cash and Cash Cole. My face flushed - I could feel the heat from roots of my hair to my throat - and I mumbled "Did I give you that?" Everyone laughed, which made me feel better. I mean, I wouldn't have offended them for the world, and the DAR meeting was inside a church, and we’re in the Buckle of the Bible Belt!
So I gave the talk on
La Bella Luna by acting the part of my 4 main characters. I began as Ann, moved to Leta Lou and Merry, and finished as Easy, revealing the first of each character’s secrets as I shifted from one protagonist to another. This seemed to work well - got lots of cheers at the end of it, and I had ladies rushing to my table to pick up the postcard with the book's cover and ISBN. I gave away a couple of copies of my
books and was on my way out when a sweet little lady (who was considerably older than I'd suspect an erotic romance reader to be) asked my erotic pen name again.
I leaned over and whispered, trying to discourage her from buying one of my books, "Ma'am, they're nasty – really, really, disgustingly raunchy."
Not to rely too heavily on cliché, but you could have heard a pin drop. And she looked at me and said in a voice as clear as a bell, "Honey, I HOPE so!" Of course, that brought howls of laughter - even giggles. Some of her friends were shocked, most were delighted to have found out her secret pleasure.
Many of the ladies wanted to know what my mother thought of my writing, so I told them how I'd broken the news to her about my erotic fiction, my pen name, things like that. Told them Mom was the one who'd given me the idea for
Who's Your Daddy - she just didn't expect me to make an erotic tale of it.
Later that afternoon, I had a booksigning at Borders for the mainstream books. Think I sold a little over half of what they’d ordered. I learned something, though. Those who stopped and read the blurbs bought the books. Sure, the covers helped, but the reasons folks stopped were varied.
One woman said she’d never met a ‘real’ author. Told her not to be too impressed, because I couldn’t do much else, which seemed to put her at ease. Come to find out, she was someone who’d always wanted to write, so I gave her my email address and told her I’d put her in touch with what she’d need to get started.
Another woman came up to me and asked which book I thought she might like best! Seems her 12-yr-old daughter had stopped by, and I’d taken the time to talk to the child about writing, about her own wish to write, her shyness, just different things. Anyway, this girl went back to her mother (who was at a knitting meeting in the coffee shop) and told her about me, so Mom wanted to support ME for supporting her daughter. There was just an unexpected yet pleasant symmetry to the whole experience.
As for
Borders, they were GREAT! Even the coffee shop personnel came over to say hello and tell me that they hoped I had a great afternoon there. *blink* They offered to make me a shake, anything I wanted. (I’d taken a soft drink in with me.) I had managers from different departments dropping by and chatting. (Big wave to Jodi and Chuck) My display was set up beautifully, and I had a nice linen table cloth, a comfortable chair – I wasn’t positioned in front of the bathrooms – LOL – as I’d heard many authors complain of during their signings. I had a marvelous time and would go back to that store ANY time they asked. Nice, nice people.
So to the various people who made my weekend so special, THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Just a few were…Carolyn, Pat, Heather, Cathy, Katherine, Barbara, Marilyn, Chuck, Jodi, Meredith, Stephanie, and that guy at Borders who handled the intercom. He should have been a radio DJ – what a great voice – and I’d just melt every time I heard him make the announcement and call my name that I was signing my latest book at the front of the store.
A special thank you and hug for the little girl who wants to be a writer. Follow your dream, kid. Thanks for making my day so special and for introducing me to your mother. I hope she enjoys Leaving Mama.
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Now. For those who have been wondering, since I wrote about YOU (many of you writers), I did hear from Cosmopolitan magazine a few days ago regarding the article I submitted to them. Still no definite "yes or no", but I was told that both the North American and international editors are considering the piece. So...hang in there. That's all I know at this point.
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Plugs for Friends (and moi)
Fictionwise this past week had some exciting news. I know that most of the authors on the list sell the majority of their stuff in print, but it was still a thrill to see my friend Carol's name in the same list as theirs.
Best Selling Authors: Six Months1.
James Patterson2.
Philip Pullman3.
Kaitlyn O'Connor4.
Carol Lynne5.
Sean Michael6.
Terry Pratchett7.
Mercedes Lackey8.
Emma Wildes9.
J. D. Robb10.
Michael Connelly11.
Laurell K. Hamilton12.
Stephanie Laurens13.
Lilith Saintcrow14.
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks15.
David BaldacciCONGRATULATIONS, CAROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friend Alexis has a book cover that won an award. I LOVE this cover - done by the fabulously talented Anne Cain. This cover this cover won the Best Cover for the 2008 NOR AWARDS from
NightOwl Romance in the Paranormal Erotic eBook section.
And if THAT's not enough good news for ole Alex, her short story, Photo Finish, is one of five by Total-e-bound authors to be featured in
Scarlet Magazine in the UK in July.
Congratulations, Alex!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to all of the 5 authors for getting their stories accepted!!!!!!
Here's the complete list of stories for "Cliterature" (Scarlet magazine's erotic fiction department):
Sticky Wicket - Ashley Ladd
That Night In Paris - Saskia Walker
Photo Finish - Alexis Fleming
Jess's New Toy - Dakota Rebel
Happy Birthday To Me - Barbara Huffert
I was under the weather earlier this week and failed to announce that Lex and I had a book out on the 24th!
Hit And Miss
By Alexis Fleming & Lyn Cash
Publisher: Total-e-bound
Genre : Contemporary/Light Bondage/BDSM
ISBN : 978-1-906590-03-1
There’s nothing like a little foray into BDSM to make a girl feel good about herself.
When Kat Toomy discovers her lover cavorting on her bed in her underwear with his best buddy, she knows it’s time to kick his butt out of there and go looking for something to restore her confidence in herself. When Kat’s girlfriends offer her a weekend away at a tropical Australian resort that specialises in fulfilling fantasies, she all for it, particularly when she meets her new Master, Gabe Carpenter, who can turn her on with the flick of a button.
But how will Kat and Gabe feel when they find out they’ve been set up…?
Hit and Miss released 24th March 2008 from
Total-e-bound Publishing Whoo hoo for ME for being associated with Alex.
We've been working on a series for TEB called "Sexy Mythconceptions", as noted above, and the god Pan just got his story accepted - it's called "Pandemonium" and will debut in June.
*waving to editor Michele and publisher Claire*
Okay - enough for today. Have a marvelous mid-week, everyone!
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HOT TO TROT
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