The dudes meet Brittany Carter and the Ba Bridge Monster

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Glencoe, Incy Black, New book, Romance, Shehanne Moore, The Writer and the Rake, Time-travel

 

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Brittany : Darlings, I don’t steal. It’s called re-appropriation. And I am very generous towards myself that way.

Brittany. Mitchell is fanciful.  It’s a family trait.  You don’t want to believe a word he says.

Brittany. Me? Three slices of pork?  What do you think I am? Desperate? As for anyone helping themselves to anything, I hope you are going to ask him about my six packets of fags. All right it was three.

Brittany. A recipe? Are we kidding here? What do you think I am Mrs Beeton’s cookbook? As I said to Mitchell, ‘I think we’ve all got it that I’m not  a Georgian housewife,’ all right?’

Brittany. I thought I had.  I mean this speaks for itself doesn’t it?

 Brittany. Well darlings, where else would you be kept? I mean let’s face it, you have everything there, lovely little beds of straw, nice corners where you can play with your balls all day. What’s the problem? If Sebastian hadn’t done that I would have run a mile I tell you. But maybe he’d have liked that.

Brittany,  Oh now then dudes, there really is no need to get your little hamster knickers in a twist assuming you wear them.  Why do people always want to throw things at me?  Oh very well. So long as you don’t eat my fags or drink my voddie we’re good, little dudes and I swear to uphold the rights of little hamster dudes to fight for world domination.  Do we have a deal here?

 Brittany. All right darlings, it’s been lovely meeting you too. Now I really must go, you know pop off down to supper, even though it’s unlikely there will be anything to eat there… Unless…

Brittany. What’s that? Some sort of exotic cocktail? You know I thought you lot welcomed writers here?

Brittany Well darling here’s what I think.

Brittany-  and that goes for hamster dudes too. Unless you’re going to you know– open the vodka and do the Cossack dance for me like you do for everyone else? Hmm?? I don’t know about you but I am gasping. A shot of that Uzi would be nice…

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James Bond and the Dundee connection

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Ba Cottage, Catherine Cavendish, Dundee, Glencoe, Hard to Protect, Ian Fleming, Incy Black, James Bond, James Bond and Dundee, Newport-on-Tay, Peter Fleming, Robert Fleming, Shehanne Moore, The wrath of the ancients, The Writer and the Rake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AH and aw in equal measures. Firstly AH because this the long awaited third book in the Hard To series featuring Incy Black’s own special Black ops. Aw, because she says trilogy although I hope that the exciting Freya Dervish will feature somewhere along the line in another book. No pressure there now Incy, just saying. Although I’ve read the other two books in the series, in many ways this book is a standalone.

In true spy honey trap tradition, Will Berwick, secret agent hot and complicated, is asked to seduce the secret of her brother’s whereabouts, from Dr Treherne, ice angel extraordinary. Not the best thing to ask him to do when she’s been evaluating him for months re his suitability to return to service.  Trust me when I say that you just know that in the not too distant future  Angel will be evaluating other aspects of his suitability because it’s plain they are under one another’s skins. However, Incy Black’s skill lies in keeping them at one another’s throats. This couple don’t give an inch for very personal reasons and it makes for great chemistry.  You want to know they will heal one another’s pain. A pain they don’t admit to. Add this to a plot full of twists and turns, Incy Black’s own unique voice,  and the result is explosive.

Incy Black on these special secret agents.

Tags

Black ops Heroes, Hard to Protect, Ian Fleming, Incy Black, James Bond, New book, Rudyard Kipling, Spies, writing

 

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Spies, no condoms by Incy Black

Nil illegitimi carborundum – don’t let the bastards grind you down. The bastards being anyone in authority worshiping the god of ‘red tape’, about whom I personally harbour deep-seated suspicions.

Which probably accounts for my thrill of a good conspiracy—lardy-arsed officialdom, the villain—and my cheering on of the men and woman who thumb their nose at the ‘rules’ but being smart, swallow their resounding ‘fuck off’ behind a grin—smiling crocodiles, if you like.

Hence my love affair with spies, spooks and secrets. The corruption of loyalties, the lies and deceptions, and the down right rude. Evident in one of my favorite quotes from Hard to Protect: “You stick your head any further up Butters’s arse, Berwick, and no one will be able to hear you singing Rule Britannia.” Angel, the heroine, is giving the hero a right gobful, at this point.

Whitehall and the British Intelligence Service, clashing head on, the perfect arena where the bad boys (and girls) get to behave outrageously, all respect for pretty much anything but ‘the win’ withheld. Insubordination and insolence paving the way. Must be why they call espionage ‘The Game’ because it’s fun and in it’s own way, heroic.

 

And who is responsible for distorting my view of what is mischievous?

 

Why Rudyard Kipling (Kim) and Ian Fleming (James Bond), of course. Both recognized the excitement of ‘finding trouble’, who cares that neither is now politically correct. The romance of bad boys is that they are virile, sexy, unapologetic, and defiant as all hell.

Bond with his fast cars, his smoking, gambling and drinking—dry martinis, shaken not stirred. His womanizing—not a condom in sight. The sanctioned killings—the bodies of opponents piled high. All for queen and country? My arse.

It takes a special kind of damaged to kill. A fierce addiction to adrenaline to put yourself in a position of doing so. And that in itself is fascinating.

Spooks and assassins, on the side of good or nefarious, like—or is it a need—to live as large as their stories. And long may they and their thrills clutter our pages, for they are the dash of colour in the Establishment’s grey.

 

 

BLURB:

 Some Black Op missions are too dark—even for him.

Volcanic hot and ambitious Special Agent Will Berwick doesn’t give a damn what his orders are, he’s not taking the enemy—the lovely, but arctic Dr. Angel Treherne—to bed. Nor will she die on his watch, most certainly not by his hand. Oh, he’ll root out her secrets. But his own way—teaching her a much-deserved lesson while he’s at it: that no one messes with his career plan just because they’re a little peeved with him.

Caught up in a tangled web of deceit and betrayal, psychotherapist Angel trusts no one—certainly not alpha-cocky, cunning Will Berwick. First he’s hostile, then he’s charming, now he wants to protect her? Why? What’s he hiding? With her life—and heart—on the line, she needs to know.

With the risks high and personal, can Will and Angel agree the dangerous choices they must make?

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The Season of the Witch and the Hard to Forget Incy Black

Tags

Entangled Ignite, Entangled Publishing, Hard to Forget, heroes, heroines, Incy Black, Romance, Suspense

 

Incy Black scary? Just when Incy thought it was safe to come back on here? Oh come on dudes, hamster up. Seriously, we are going to have a little Halloween fun. But today is a special day. The release of Incy’s second book, Hard to Forget. What do you mean…ONLY…when she’s a best writing buddy? SO we’re not going to hang about. We’re going to welcome her AND the contents of her new hero’s pocket.

 

 

‘Jack Ballentyne (spy/viscount/hottie/hard bastard/Josh Holloway lookalike) is flat out, an uncommunicative bugger. So, to gain a little insight into what makes him a man, I slipped my hand into his trouser pocket (front facing) for a grope about…AND SCORED! Oh the treasure, pure manhood…a survival kit. Tidy in a hand-sized (big hand) tin box…….

Lets flick the lid:

Oooo…a neat little knife, a CRKT Ritter RSK Mk 5 Lightweight Survival Knife, to be exact,

handy for… well, cutting I guess. Maybe some stabbing, digging a grave, at a push.

 

And this? A condom? Jack was once an opportunist (randy bugger), but I assumed Lowry had calmed him the heck down. Now for uses—hmmm, a neat little skull wrap for when it’s raining in the woods.

Though, it’s a bit of a tight fit (and no, not attractive in the least—a dinky mirror is taped into the lid of the tin, so I checked and can confirm, the donning of a condom to one’s head gives an ‘emerging larva’ look.

And what’s this? Cotton wool balls? Well, I suppose a man must care for his complexion. “For bloody tinder”, snaps Jack, as I reach to stroke his cheek, just testing for silky smoothness… I couldn’t help myself. (I can confirm that beneath the three-day stubble, his skin felt lickable.)

Weather-proof matches,

  (yes, the heads have been dipped in candle wax. I need to remember that tip.

And I’ll used scented candles to cover the odours of…well, life in the wilds. Win-win.

Plaited parachute cord?…would never have pegged Jack for a closet finger-knitter. I notice he has a complicated plait of leather throngs tied round his rather delectable wrist, too—nice wrist, tanned, easily thicker than a thumb-forefinger span, light dusting of tiny bleached hairs where wrist becomes more arm, muscles curving, very touchable…sorry, I digress.

Coffee filters? Christ, the man likes his little luxuries. “Helps with water purification,” Jack growls…as do those tablets. “Oh, and here I was thinking those were for stomach cramps and PMT,” I mutter, not at all impressed at his implication that I’m a bit thick.

Super glue (for closing deep cuts, apparently), tweezers—not for his eyebrows, I suspect, though they are beautifully shaped, plasters (for those booboos when Lowry’s not around to kiss them better), alcohol wipes (well, I guess you could suck on them at a pinch, but it would seem they double for antiseptic and tinder). Dental floss? Seriously? Jack’s obviously got a penchant for cord, thread and restraint.

Oh, how sweet, a dinky little torch…and a whistle…didn’t know Jack was into music and laser shows.

An ugly looking nail, heavily taped with gorilla tape (bright yellow)…more bondage for Jack…shiny pins, needles, and a button compass. “I got one of those in a Christmas cracker,” I tell him, proudly, using the mirror fixed to the inside of the lid to check my lippy. “So with all that’s here, I could fend off the walkers, come the zombie apocalypse?” I ask, slipping the tin into my handbag—Fendi, very sweet.

 

“No. You’d need a fucking baseball bat for that…

and preferably a gun, rapid firing, double loaded clips.” He digs (roughly) through my handbag to retrieve the little tin box, I’d tried to filch. “Lowry made that kit up for me. It’s precious,”

he shares, somewhat rudely. And then waves a sweetly wrapped tampon (no doubt, found at the bottom of my handbag) in my face. “I’ll keep this. Useful for bullet wounds.”

On which note, I beat a hasty retreat. “Nice growling with you, Jack. We must do it again sometime,” I lie.

Jack Ballentyne, hard bastard-hero, carves a place for himself in Lowry Fisk’s life in HARD TO FORGET. No small feat, it’s worth noting, given he’d shot her, and deliberately secured her dishonourable discharge from the British Intelligence Service. Their tale is best summarized in two short quotes

“He didn’t want her trust. What the hell would he do with it?” Jack Ballentyne

“Protective custody? What’s that a euphemism for, exactly.” Lowry Fisk

Hard to Forget

 

Free, Full Chapter 1 available here:Entangled Publishing

 

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It’s Girl Friday

Tags

Entangled Publishing, Hard To Hold, heroines, Incy Black, writing, Writing a flawed heroine

 

 

 

Okay…Okay…this has nothing to do with love heart jerseys. This is the launch of

 

or maybe I should say….a new, regular…I won’t say weekly, I will play it by ear…feature where a spesh author drops by to answer questions on her , sumexy, her daring, her…(ta dah, FANFARE)

 

heroine.  Oh come on,  we get enough of the sumexy guys don’t we. It’s time to sound it for the galz. DO we write them good or bad? How do we create them? Which do we prefer and why?

Before we kick off though with the first grilling  so happy to be here she’s battering on the door screaming let me out  dancing on the ceiling guest, can I draw some attention to two fabulous writer things? FANFARE…please the Dook.

One is a fabulous interview by Nancy Cassidy, Managing Editor of my publisher, Etopia Press. She shares some great inside tips re submitting to publishers. https://duotrope.com/interview.aspx?id=5235

The second is http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&pageId=697 a tough Publisher’s Blueprint Plotting Event Coming June 16-22 with Savvy authors.

Okay enough writer’s stuff, let’s hear it for the galz. Specifically for my first guest, the intrepid, the daring. INCY BLACK.

               Are your heroines nice or, well, you know?

 

Oh, definitely ‘well, you know’. Life’s a bitch, and though my heroines are not—bitches, that is, the hard knocks have given them…uhem…character. With the number of crisis they have to face, and the hard bastards with whom they have to contend, being nice wouldn’t cut it. They’d go hoopy-loopy mental.

 

    In a word, or maybe ten, how would you describe them?

 

In a word, marmite—your either love them or you hate them. Smart-mouthed and ballsy are in there, so is damaged (though the hero has the superglue to mend them).In other words, they’re trouble.

Why do you choose to write heroines who are ‘trouble’?

 

I don’t choose them, they choose me. I prefer to mind my own business, but then bam, up pop these never-take-no-for-an-answer woman, mouths full of caustic soda, minds wicked with mischief and naughtiness, all demanding I find them, not a man…THE MAN.

     What kind of hero do you match them up to?  

 

Fast answer: Superglue carrying, sometimes foul mouthed, hard bastards. Because two wrong ‘uns make a right…though admittedly it can take a while (and a good few dead bodies) to get them there.

Considered answer: (see fast answer)

A line from the book to describe your current heroine, Anna Key Marshall, Hard to Hold.

She’d driven him insane most of the time, but fuck, it had been worth every single dangerous second.

 

 

 

Her favourite line or motto?

Motto: Fall down 7 times, stand up 8 (talking life here, not alcohol)

Tips on creating a believable ‘bad’ girl heroine?

 

• Good or bad, write her like you love her…or no one else will.
• Make her thin, fat, buxom or flat, armless, legless, one-eyed if you wish. Holy or evil, super-gorgeous or pox-riddled, hot, cold, chaste or dirty, saint or sinner. Fanged,

tailed, furred or scaled, colour her bright blue for all I care, but please, please, please give her half a brain. In other words, avoid the TSTL (Too stupid to live) sinkhole.

Flaw her—no no, not floor her,

though the hero should want to—flaw her! Give her faults, little things to tease the reader and make them wonder at the ‘appropriateness’ of her as a heroine. Then let her fly, full colours snapping in the wind—because no one like a limp flag, no matter how glorious.

OKAY Fellahs..you can take off the hair bows now….

‘Anna Key Marshall is about to get what she’s always wanted: a baby. Granted, it’s through a sperm donor instead of her ex-husband, but you can’t have everything. She has no idea why someone wants her dead, but she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her unborn child—even if it means turning to her ex, the Black Ops specialist who broke her heart.

Five years ago, British Intelligence agent Nick Marshall slammed the door on the woman who betrayed him. But now Anna’s back in his life with a vengeance, pregnant and full of attitude. He’d like nothing better than to walk away, but with her life on the line, he has no choice but to do what he does best—protect her at all costs.

As old wounds resurface, Nick begins to doubt his version of what went down with Anna so long ago. And he begins to believe they might have a second chance together. But with Anna’s would-be killer on the loose—it will take the full force and fury of his protective instincts, fueled by a powerful love he can’t leave behind, to hold on to the woman he still loves.

 

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FIND INCE HERE>

Website. http://t.co/tLMFyyWcjY

https://twitter.com/IncyBlack

http://en-gb.facebook.com/incy.black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A rootin…tootin….Viking

Tags

Adrienne deWolfe, Cowboys, Incy Black, Vikings

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.etopiapress.com/

 

‘GIRD YOUR LOINS AND SLAP ON YOUR CHASTITY BELT

 

It tends to get a little dangerous when I muse. Buildings burn, bullets fly, unspeakable baddies come out to play, and gosh…love hurts–a lot. But, in the spirit of Nothing ventured. Nothing gained, Hazardous Idea #1: Give anti-advice–not what one should do, but what one should, categorically, absolutely, cup-your-precious-parts, NOT DO.Hazardous Idea #2: Why should I take all the blame? Why not let others chance their reps?And, so birthed the idea for a new blog series, ‘5 Things You Should Never Do…’ written by the intrepid, the daring, the oh-well-what’s-the-worst-that-can-happen incautious….otherwise known as Writerly Guests. And guess who was first to volunteer (no coercion necessary–much), Shehanne Moore, writer of historical romance in extremis, to share sound anti-advice related to her current project: VIKINGS. So handing over to her…..

5 Things You Should Never Do…With A VIKING

Firstly I want to thank the amazing  Incy Black for (that tenner she sent me earlier)  asking me here today on her superb new blog feature. Five things not to do with a Viking.Sorry, maybe I should specify before you get too excited here, haul off your undies and otherwise start waving them,  it’s five things not to do with various things, people, whatever. You’ve got the Viking and you’ve got me because having been through pirates and hot Scots I thought let’s bring on the Vikings.  Sort of, anyway.So, having researched them for my present manuscript in the making, what five things do I suggest NEVER doing with a Viking? Well, maybe we should ask Malice, she’s only the poor, little heroine, who gets to spend a lot of time with them after all. Malice…kid,  or should I say,

Owner of,

What do yah think?What would you tell the Strictly Business galz in your employ, never to do with a Viking?

I was lucky, I had the book…although having said that it was no real advantage once I was actually there, in Scandinavia with them. To do to them is one thing. The list there might be endless and include things like using their helmet as a cooking pot, or vying for their attention against other women on a longship. It’s not the best place. They rock…the longships that is… and well, let’s just say it really depends on how good a sailor you are. But if you’re not, it then depends on how nice a Viking they are.However this is categorically five things never to do with them. So, having been strengthened by my ordeal, the advice I would give my Strictly girls is…. 1  Never get in a kissing bout with them. Vikings are not only seriously over-sexed, they are also seriously good at dragging you upstairs. They may pretend this is only to annoy the hell out of their fiancées, let me tell you they are all of them, without exception, excellent liars, they are hot ones too, who really don’t care how much the bed creaks. In fact they want it to creak.

2 Never share any kind of bed with them. If you are so unfortunate as to find yourself in this position through no fault of your own, do not, under any circumstances suggest any fancy moves to them, especially when they’ve had a few noggins of ale at their best buddy’s homestead. That is asking for absolute trouble. I won’t say how. Only that it might involve a slave’s collar and being sold. Just lie far away from them and face the wall in the hope they won’t notice you. That way you won’t be going to the slave market in the morning.

3 Sharing any kind of bath is also an absolute no no. Again, this is a ploy on their part to pretend to make their fiancées jealous. They may even pretend that is the sole reason they are carrying  you in to their bathhouses. They may even pretend that you stink. Do not fall for this. Without fail they will then bar the door, make you take off all your clothes and refuse all offers to give you other ones.  They may even make you walk barefoot across a yard in their tunic.  So if one should throw you over his shoulder, you know where to kick him.  Don’t  think twice. Just do it.

4Under no circumstances should you ever have actual sex with them. They are not only notoriously hot and greedy, they don’t even care if they’ve just dragged you from the foaming waves. This plays havoc, not just with the cushion you may have stuck up your dress in a bid to make out you are pregnant, but it could ensure you are.  What is more you may have no idea where you are going to end up. The best thing if a Viking wants to have sex with you, is to pretend you are a walrus, or infuriate him, by cooking seaweed in his helmet. Alternatively you could just pretend to be asleep.   5 Be shipwrecked with them. Especially not with an icy but hotly sexy one, with a ton of baggage. You just might fall in love and it could be very tricky.

Extract…..completely unedited.

“Well, that depends.”

She was clutching the tunic fit to tear it. The best thing was to put it on the floor, then she could consider the door. “What on?”

“The thing is Malice, I may not be the kind of man to put a thrall’s collar around your neck.”

A what?

“But I don’t want you thinking of escaping.”

Oh really? She would see about that.

“You give me any more grief that way, you’ll  be beaten. Then, of course, there’s the fact I can kill you if I want. Or any of my family, or friends, can. They would have to pay me recompense of course. There’s a lot of them about in the yard right now. A lot of them about in all the neighbouring homesteads too. So…”

How nice of him to tell her. Was that why he’d let her face the door, to spell out his mastery of her? Why she heard him take a step towards her?

“…The rest of the clothes, Malice.”

 

 

 

Popping corks and cherries

Tags

Adrienne deWolfe, Catherine Cavendish, Hard To Hold, Incy Black, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, tips for writing sex scenes, Writing tips

 

HMMMMMM? You might say…

Hmmmmm?Well……..

 

 

Well…isn’t this nice? You guys would do anything to get back into favour.

OKAY. Fine…maybe not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loving Lady Lazuli…review, ‘ferocious outbursts of anger or equally fierce bouts of sex.’

Kate Furnivall, author, The Russian Concubine, The White Pearl.

 

 

 

Hmmmmm Dudes…. answers next time.

 

Happy Release Day Incy Black!

Tags

Entangled Publishing, Hard To Hold, Incy Black, new Release, Suspense, Writing tips

 

Straight off today, it’s my absolute pleasure to get all the hamstahs in order, after the recent mayhem….AND the taking of ADVANCE book orders…yes….excuse me? For a Christmas Hamster and A Hamster Carol?

to welcome an extra special gal…..

What can I say about Ince? Apart from the fact we were aspiring unpublished writers together, keeping one another sane–something you know I’m not– not to mention being in that fishpond together and she’s a damn good friend?

Well, she’s also a damned fabulous writer and today, after waiting for what seemed like eternity….. take it away Dook …

You too Cinnamon and Ginger…

It’s RELEASE DAY for her very first book!!!!!!!!!

Fast, sch-mart and furious let me tell you. I LOVE IT. And I’m so touched by her dedication…I’VE  GOT TO SHOW IT!! Ince is here today with a special blog post. OOOOOH…all about the dangers of sex…  In Books. And you thought they were safe to read?  Take it away INCY…………………

‘Rather than thank Shehanne for inviting me to post on her blog, I prefer to commend her.  For her bravery.  All sense of the ridiculous and the inevitable traces of smut are entirely my own.

Shehanne cannot be held responsible for the shameless ramblings of my psyche from which I offer a tongue-in-cheek caution against using trite phrases when writing. Yup, we are all guilty and we need to try harder.  Why? Because some images just don’t bear thinking about.  For example, take the following:

 

Seems innocuous enough, we’ve all read similar variations on this description of hitting orgasm, male or female. But take a closer look at the word ‘exploded’ and consider the ramifications of what this would mean in actuality.  To illustrate, I’ll add a sentence.

Hmm…not quite the sexy image intended.  Here’s another, my current favourite, the grossly over used, ‘shattered’.

She shattered in his arms…  Well hell, every time I read this phrase (way too often for my liking), I want to chime in and add to the inevitable wails of ecstasy, ‘Mind the frigging shards of glass!’

 

And in case you need more:He dropped his hand/head/foot…

(how very unfortunate, and not a little disconcerting)

She rolled her eyes…(not doing this one, it has been done before, but think game of marbles)

Without breathing… (so she’s dead then?)

He felt his rod/staff grow hard…(umm, rods & staffs are already hard, ‘tis why they are used as supports or for reinforcement)

He ploughed her lady-garden planting seed…

 

nope, not even gonna comment, because I found one even worse.

Her secret inner canal…

 

this one is so bad, I feel no guilt at dissecting it. For a start, a canal is a man-made feat of engineering, a trench dug with the toil and sweat of navvies—how very romantic.

Two: given the way he was strumming a Hendrix solo in said canal, there was precious little’ secret’ about it. Three, and here I am really plumbing the absurd, how many people have you encountered with ‘canals’ on the outside, let alone the inside?

And the point of this lecture? Well, bore your reader with sloppy phrasing and trite images or paint a spade purple because wood/steel is too prosaic, and the hole you dig might just be big enough in which to bury yourself.  For good. Because the reader won’t be coming back for more, no matter how gripping the plot or how fascinating the characters.

Thanks for thinking, and as an aside, if you are easily riled by statements/suggestions that women are a bimbo-brained, sub-species, avoid researching the ‘Careless talk costs lives’ propaganda campaign used in Britain during WWII.  Took me ages to find the image below which at least acknowledged men could be equally ‘loose-lipped’—umm, I’ve yet to kiss anyone with loose lips.

Thank you Incy. What do I have to say about this book?

1. Setting… Uniquely for it’s suspense genre it’s got a Brit setting. ♥

2. Pacing. Thats fast. In fact I’d say it’s fast schmart and furious. There is never a dull moment. the action ratchets up with every scene and never stops. ♥

3 The characters. Are not just gritty and real–I expected no less of Ince and she delivered in spades—Nick’s so into Anna and he won’t let himself be. He won’t let himself be a lot of things because of the man he believes he is inside. I ain’t spoiling this saying whether he is that man or not. Anna is a tough, independent  cookie. But she’s never gotten over him.  Ever. AWWW. ♥

4 The background. Their background is a tough one. I like how they were fostered themselves and the book is about..well it’s not all about that…but there’s a baby involved ok…and the route Anna’s gone down to have it is a nice touch given their backgrounds. These backgrounds aren’t just foster care, Nick’s is that horrendous something he’s been trying to overcome all his life. ♥

5 The heat index… Oh yeah.. Suspense isn’t all about the sex scenes or the lovey dove but it’s purty clear from chapter one Anna is a magnet  for Nick and us the man drawn. ♥

Overall, it’s a knock out. A stunning debut and I can’t wait to  read more by Ince.

Pop over and read author Jane Hunt’s review if you don’t believe me.

http://jolliffe01.com/2014/04/28/release-day-blitz-hard-to-hold-incy-black-5-review/

Congratulations Incy you got there. I always knew you would. And please pop over tomorrow to Furious Unravelings where Lady Fury will be interviewing Nick Marshall… I do hope he survives… http://furiousunravelings.wordpress.com

BLURB.

‘Anna Key Marshall is about to get what she’s always wanted: a baby. Granted, it’s through a sperm donor instead of her ex-husband, but you can’t have everything. She has no idea why someone wants her dead, but she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her unborn child—even if it means turning to her ex, the Black Ops specialist who broke her heart.

Five years ago, British Intelligence agent Nick Marshall slammed the door on the woman who betrayed him. But now Anna’s back in his life with a vengeance, pregnant and full of attitude. He’d like nothing better than to walk away, but with her life on the line, he has no choice but to do what he does best—protect her at all costs.

As old wounds resurface, Nick begins to doubt his version of what went down with Anna so long ago. And he begins to believe they might have a second chance together. But with Anna’s would-be killer on the loose—it will take the full force and fury of his protective instincts, fueled by a powerful love he can’t leave behind, to hold on to the woman he still loves.

 

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The hamster’s head. The importance of POV part 2

Tags

Catherine Cavendish, Hard To Hold, Incy Black, Linden Manor, Point of view, Sharon Struth, The Hourglass, the Second Wife, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, writing, Writing tips

Abso…and so you should well be praying little hamstahs after that little display the other day. The general..

AND, the fact WW3 was declared over point of view in a story.  PLUS the signing of a publishing contract with Catherine Cavendish, author of to name a few AND a few to come soon too, keep your eyes peeled for Linden Manor,

to produce works of great hamster merit, such as

 

DO step aside Mr Dickens.

All that has saved you from going back to the cages on this occasion is that you did SORT of get it right re point of view.

 

You must have read the lovely Sharon Struth’s post on the subject.

http://writerswow.blogspot.com/2014/03/wwow-writing-from-guerillas-point-of.html

SO….Point of view. Well, cards on the table, this is one of the things I found hardest setting out to try and get published. You see you think you can have as many viewpoints as you like in a scene and in a story. But to quote my heroine, her ladyship Fury, herself…

there are rules.

You can argue this all you like…

but as Sharon Struth also says, it makes that manuscript you’ve slaved over like the proverbial hot stove, look unprofessional, which is not the name of the game.

Okay. Some of it is a matter of trend. For example ….

God wouldn’t have the scene or the story–sorry Ratsy–because the omnipresent is out of fashion. Yep and some  of the best known writers ever, wrote that way too. Mr Dickens to quote but one.

The rabbit, if he’s a secondary character wouldn’t have the scene or the story either.

Don’t shoot me. I’m only the poor writer trying to get it right the very same as you are. The rabbit is just …..the rabbit.

One of my first efforts, a western story  penned at the age of 17 started with 6 people–none of whom were what they seemed– arriving in a small town.

There was the hooker, the hooker’s sister, the hooker’s jack of all trades, the ranch hand, the bank robber, the housewife. Each with a little secret in tow, plus the potential to blow the town apart.

Of course I gave the scene to the stage coach driver. Well.  He was best placed to give us the low down, wasn’t he?

Abso.

To this day I still think he was, cos the story was about the impact this six had on the town. I might still think so. But that would be all. AS Fez would say to the coachman…

cos he wasn’t after that scene. Not only that he had a touch of the Clint Eastwood’s about him.

No name.

But there’s probably worse mistakes to make. There’s……

 Head hopping in other words. You know where one minute we’re with one character and then with each successive paragraph we’re with another. Again you can argue it’s great to know what each person is thinking. Till you’re blue in the face too.

Meantime the slush pile reader has also hopped...it…to the next submission. Yours is in the trash basket.

Yeah, yeah, I know. you look at books from 20 years ago and they are full of head hopping. But this is 20 years on. It’s a tough biz for those who want to succeed.

So?  POV. What are the rules?  Well, these days it seems you tell the story from one or two viewpoints. Probably, unless you’re Tonto’s horse or something, taking  a new slant on The Lone Ranger,  you tell it mainly from one with a  dash of two.

You decide at the start of the scene whose head you’re in. You might stick in that head for the whole scene. The whole chapter, or chapters too. If you switch, the advice is don’t then switch back again in that scene. Do it afterwards by all means.

Personally, in terms of viewpoint I start the scene in the head of the character with the most to lose at this particular point.

Sharon Struth makes great points about why it’s good to have, or not have the other person’s viewpoint. Think of the suspense for a kick off if we don’t know what a character is thinking, while the other is busily hamstering beavering away.

Then there’s the fun to be had from them coming at something from entirely opposing angles…….

extracts copyright The Unraveling of Lady Fury. Etopia Press.

You can also mirror what your other characters…any of them, no matter  how minor…are thinking. so your scene isn’t white space that way.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

She kissed him then she reappeared

Tags

Antonia Van Zandt, Etopia Press, Glencoe, Incy Black, Loving Lady Lazuli, Noelle Clark, Shehanne Moore

No. That’s not her, hugging an inn sign. That is me. But you can see that after sticking the Wentworth emeralds on Dev, Saff’s been appearing all kinds of places… With the fabulous Antonia Van Zandt..

http://antoniavanzandt.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/loving-lady-lazuli-sensational.html

the fabuloustotally to be recommended by the way. She’s now with the equally and marvellous……

and there’s an amazon card giveaway. First stop today is here.http://bookstolightyourfire.blogspot.com/  The fire being books that are hot…. not books you might use to stoke yir hearth up with cos they are minging.

On release day she was here

a very stupid place actually

But may I say the hypothermia is much better now? And wasn’t the Lochan pretty as always?

I also think I may have set a record time for getting off a mountain top.   Saff needs to stop kissing Dev… But she won’t.  Anyway she was also here…

and yes I am reblogging. Noelle Clark author of Rosamanti and Let Angels Fly  did such a great Q and A job of this piece about the Sisterhood, , I gotta share it!! Unlike when Incy Black reblogged her homecoming post recently  and called it Blatant Duplication, this is

Absolute Duplication…..

                                NOELLE CLARK

Loving Lady Lazuli is Book 1 in the new series: The Starkadder Sisterhood. London Jewel Thieves, and focuses on Sapphire, one of the eight members of the Sisterhood.

As you’ll see, the sisterhood are not part of a religious order, however they certainly lay claim to some odd, and even dirty, habits.

Shehanne, can you tell us a little about Sapphire, and why you chose to write her story first?

Firstly Noelle, thank you so much for asking me here today to your lovely blog. It’s a great pleasure  for me to be here. I value it and I value your friendship too. Okay Sapphire, well, Sapphire has been stealing since she was five years old. There’s mysteries about the years before that, before she and her brother Matthew, wound up in London with ‘Uncle’ Starkadder.

These are mysteries she wants to solve. She’s the number one jewel thief. The woman who can pull off any heist. The mistress of disguise.  But this gang is like Fagin’s in a way. The girls don’t gain anything from their efforts. They are forced to steal. Every time Sapphire refused  she was beaten till she agreed. So she and Ruby determined to escape. They’ve spent ten years planning it and they’ve faked their own deaths to do it.

I never meant to write about her first or indeed write a series. I only ever start with a spark of an idea. In this instance I saw Christmas Eve and this beautiful sixteen year old girl walking along the highway in distress so this young man offers her a lift in his coach. She plants a stolen necklace on him and he goes down for it. Lol! I’m sure you know what it’s like. If I had written this twenty years ago that scene would have been chapter one and all the action would have taken place after it, with them ending up as convicts in Australia or something. But now, Regency romance is so popular, that’s not how you’d write it. So that scene became the backstory.

When I got to chapter two and the idea of her past, and the girls coming into her thoughts, I found I was naming them after jewels, and I saw I could make up stories  about their lives after the gang breaks up,

This sounds to me like it will be your most powerful book yet. You always have extremely strong heroines, and they get into some tough situations, but do you consider Sapphire to be your grittiest girl yet?

Hmm. I don’t know. Fury bolted over her emotions and Kara was fairly tough, although she bubbled away underneath. Sapphire has her emotions in control. Being  gritty without making that special effort is second nature to her because she’s been getting out of tight corners since she was five years old. In some ways she doesn’t know any better that way. It’s what makes her so confident about dealing with Devorlane Hawley, when the sensible thing to do would be to bolt. That’s  her undoing–greatest strength, greatest flaw thing– as I am sure you can guess.

There are eight girls in the Sisterhood – Sapphire, Amber, Diamond, Emerald, Splendor, Ruby, Jade, and Pearl. Can you share with us which of the sisters will feature in Book 2?
Splendor features in Book 2. She’s actually not a thief. She’s Dora-Do-It-All, their general skivvy. But she would like to be like them, so she has all these airs and graces. That’s why she calls herself Splendor.

On your Pinterest board, I notice that Pearl looks totally out of place among the strong, sassy, sisterhood. You even describe her as “Pearl – plain as milk”. Does that mean that Pearl won’t get to star in her own book? Is she really too plain? Or does she have a dark side?

Pearl does look out of place and that is deliberate. She is only fifteen in Loving Lady Lazuli and she actually isn’t a ‘proper’ thief like the other girls. She was being trained. Anyway when Sapphire and Ruby made their plans to escape from the gang they cut in Pearl in as they couldn’t stand to see her having the kind of lives they’ve had. She’s not the brightest spark. All the stories are set over a period of years after the gang has broken up, because Diamond has murdered Starkadder, so cutting forward, Pearl might get her own story.

 And that’s it…after Splendor, I want to tell Diamond’s story after all, she’s for the drop isn’t she? AS for Pearl….well…hmmm. I just might.

You  cans e more of Noelle’ blog here.

http://www.noelleclark.net/