RT Convention

So I got a chance to go to the RT Convention in Kansas City, MO. the past week and had an awesome time! I listened to some authors talk about the differences between traditional publishing and E-pub. Sylvia Day was on the panel and was awesome, I also got a chance to talk to her during the E-pub book signing (the authors brought actual books.) I might Jaycee Clark who writes a wonderful series about the Kinncaid Brothers which I totally love and will have to review here on my blog. She wanted to post a picture of us together on her FB page because I surprised her with some indepth questions about the series. I think a lot of the authors smile and say thank you when you go up and talk to them - but I really rattled her because she wasn't expecting me to give actual scenes in her book. I'm hoping for a Q&A with her. Once I can figure out how to post the picture it will be of Kahlen Aymes and Karen Avivi (E-pub book signing).

Q&A with author Kahlen Aymes of the Remebrance Trilogy

1) How did you come up with the story and decide to go back and forth between Ryan and Julia's points of view? I really enjoyed that I got both perspectives. Was/is it difficult to write that way?

The story began with a title:  Don't Forget to Remember Me and then was built around it.  There is more of an explanation in question 2. I decided to write in alternating points of view because I felt the reader needed to be in both of their heads to truly feel the pain.  Plus, Ryan is the one who suffers the most, and while most first person romance novels are written in the female POV, in this case, getting inside the male's head was necessary.  I didn't find on perspective more difficult than the other, and this was the second series I wrote from alternating POV's so I didn't find it strange for this set of books.  (The first will be heavily edited before publication).

2) Ryan and Julia always say to each other, "Just don't forget to remember me," and the trilogy is called the Remembrance Trilogy. Is this saying something close to your heart, or did you come up with that just for these books?

Yes, that phrase was one that my college boyfriend used after we became separated after college, so yes, it was close to my heart, but then I thought, how could I make it mean even more?  I wondered how painful would it be to forget such a beautiful love?  And how would it feel to be the one who still remembers everything?  Who's loss would be the greatest?

3) I like the image of the bracelet with Ryan and Julia's first initials entwined. Is there an actual bracelet that inspired the idea?

No, but the book may inspire a real bracelet.  I'm looking into it.  (I gave a powerpoint design to my book cover artist and she was amazing to make it just as I envisioned.)

4) Ryan had lots working hours and study time while becoming a doctor. Julia strives for her own dreams as well. Who do you think gives more to the relationship?

I think they both give up a lot.  If Julia wouldn't have been able to transfer to NYC with her job and then moved to Boston... she would have given up the  most.  I think they found a compromise.  He wanted her in Boston, she didn't go there, but she was much closer.

5) In the second book, Ryan has to go through pain and grief by himself while trying to heal Julia and be there for her. The emotions came across as very overwhelming to me as a reader -- there were times when I would have to put the book down because I would cry. While you were writing it, did you ever have to stop and step back from the book, maybe take a walk or work on another scene?

Of course, it made me emotional, but that's when I do my best writing.  When I cry it's usually when forming the scene in my head... before I write it down.

6) Did you ever think about having Ryan just tell Julia about everything in the second book -- the relationship, the loss of the baby and what it meant to him -- instead of him taking the advice of the psychiatrist and trying to deal with it all by himself?

If I did that, the story would have ended and there would be no second book, which was all about HIS pain.  And Ryan is much to unselfish to risk hurting Julia just to ease his own and would it ease it?  He needed her to really remember him and how deeply they loved, not just be told about them. It would be a hollow victory if she knew the truth, but didn't FEEL it.  It would mean nothing if she knew and didn't FEEL it.

7) The end of that book was very intense. Did you decide to allow Julia to realize what happened so the third book could continue the story, or was it because you finally had to allow Ryan to be able to come to terms with Julia "forgetting" him and their relationship?

Actually, the end of book two was where I was going to end the story.  My readers asked for more of these characters so I thought up the plot for the third book.  Ryan had to just throw up his hands and say "Having her love me now, without the memories, is better than not having her at all."  She couldn't know if she'd remember, but she knew she loved him desperately.  He didn't think she could love him as much as he loved her without all the memories, so she had to convince him.  He worried her feelings only developed because he took care of her, but she always felt him, even if she couldn't remember him.

8) In the first two books, Ryan was always saying that Julia is the air he breathes, his soul and that there is no one else for him. How in the third book does he almost allow another woman to come between him and Julia after everything they've had to deal with?

That's the thing.  He's a dude.  He doesn't realize he's doing it at all.  He's being a good friend and in his head, that's all it is.  Julia sees it as taking a part of him that belonged to her and giving it to someone else... because remember they started as friends AND Julia fell in love with him for the second time when she was the patient, which is what Jane becomes int he third book.

9) Where did you come up with the beautiful poem Ryan wrote for Julia? Do you write poetry?

Ryan and Julia live in my head.  They're pretty real to me. Ryan wrote that poem, not me, if that makes sense.  I don't write poetry at all.

10) What is the very first book you remember falling in love with?

Hmmm... In high school I read a lot of romance books because my best friend, Charlotte, turned me on to them.  I loved Captive Bride, by Johanna Lindsey, I loved The Thorne Birds by Colleen McCollough, Captive Splendors by Fern Michaels, The Prophet by Kahil Gibran and The Odysssy by Homer.  (The last two are pretty heavy reading!)

The Remebrance Trilogy: Don't Forget to Remember Me

So the first book in the Kahlen Aymes trilogy Future of our Past ended with a huge gasp! The second book in “The Remembrance Trilogy,” Don't Forget to Remember Me begins with Ryan at the hospital because Julia has been rushed in from an accident. Ryan doesn't understand why Julia is even in Boston because he knows that she would have normally called him to let him know that she was coming. Once again the main characters alternate between chapters with their point of view to allow us to see how they are thinking and reacting to the different situations that are thrown their way. This story is much different from the first book because of the pain, sadness and grief. If you look carefully at the cover you'll see Ryan holding his head with the beautiful bracelet in his hand that Julie always wore, and he is now hiding from her.

Ryan decides that he’s going to care for Julia himself, and he doesn’t mind because of how much he loves and worships her; but he words they spoke upon parting becomes a tragic foreshadowing and the engine that runs this edition of the series. The grief that Ryan holds within himself is anguishing and overwhelming, and you’ll probably cry because it seems like it is so real. The author draws the reader into both character's heads and while they both suffer, it is Ryan who bears the most sorrow for Julia's lost memories. Ryan knows the depth of the love that is lost and struggles between telling her the truth out of desperation and his fierce need to have her remember all that they were to each other on her own. For a second time the series continues with discovery and admittance, overcoming obstacles but mostly about unadulterated love, that knows no bounds and conquers all.

I went to Amazon to search for the third book to purchase and was very disappointed in finding that it has not been released yet, because I've fallen in love with these two wonderful but not perfect characters. The author rewards the characters and the readers with a rush of bittersweet joy at the end of book two. You will be left wanting more and more of these amazing characters. I will offer up my humble opinion of 5 stars and tell you to proceed directly to smashword.com or Amazon.com to purchase this book. Right now you’re able to purchase the books for .99 cents until 4/17/13.

The Remembrance Trilogy: The Future of Our Past

Picture used with permission of author

I happen to stumbled upon a wonderfully gifted and talented writer named Kahlen Aymes and her books; “The Remembrance Trilogy.” The first book is titled The Future of Our Past, and the main charecters, Ryan Matthews and Julia Abbott meet in a psychology class in the second semester of their first year at Stanford University. The books are written in alternating points of view between the two lead characters and it really lets you get in their heads. I'm not quite sure how I found this book but I did purchase it as an e-book on Amazon, and am so happy that I did!  I was pulled in from the very first page! I laughed and cried with the characters they almost became like close friends to me. 

The story begins when Ryan finds out that he and his brother, Aaron have both been accepted to Harvard medical school and he is left devastated when he realizes that though it’s a dream come true, it means leaving his best friend Julia behind. When Ryan finally tells Julia that he doesn’t want to leave, while still holding his feelings close to the cuff, she angrily tells him that he and she, have worked to hard to deviate from the plan.  Julia also harbors secret feelings and this book is about discovery and admittance, overcoming obstacles, distance, interference and time to be with your one true love.  I don’t want to give spoilers, but I will say that Just when it looks like the lovers are finally able to begin their lives together,  the book ends in a cliffhanger that leaves you gasping.

I can’t put into words how powerfully these characters are written, and while I was reading the first book I had to go and see if there was a second one and purchased it immediately! This is a passionate, intense love story that pulls you right into the pages. Ryan is the embodiment of perfection and I hope you’ll fall in love with him as much as I have. The love between these two characters will leave you wanting more and the scenes are set up so perfectly that you can picture them in your mind. At the beginning of this book, Ryan’s over-protective nature bother me a little, but as the book progressed, it only made him more endearing to me. I love this book!  5 Stars!

 

As I stated above I'm still trying to think on how I found this trilogy as Kahlen has asked me before? I'm thinking maybe the bracelet might have caught my attention. It's a very compelling picture, and book covers really pull me in. I hope you also find the cover as compelling as I did and want to read this awesome book.

To purchase the book go to smashword.com or Amazon.com. Within the next few days I will have the review the second book of  "The Remembrance Trilogy."

Visit Kahlen's blogspot at http://kahlen-aymes.blogspot.com/

Q&A with New York Times Best Seller Author Catherine Coulter

I really want to thank Catherine Coulter for taking time out to answer some questions for me. She's a very gracious and charming author. I've loved her work for so long, and it was such a blast to have her join in my blog! I hope everyone else will enjoy the Q&A as much as I did writing them up and getting the answers back. So feast and gorge yourself the way I did. I've posted links to her website so you can look for her latest book coming in July and her collaboration with J.T. Ellison, which looks to be incredible!

1) In “The Wyndham Legacy,” the Duchess spars so cleverly with Aunt Wilhelmina: "I think you're a conniving bitch." The Duchess heard her well enough this time, but she was so utterly taken aback that she couldn't think of a thing to say..... Wilhelmina merely shrugged....."Yes," she said now, "it must nice to be very rich." Within the book The Duchess comes back with her own quips that she soon is also rehearsing them on Marcus - "I wish YOU WOULD lose all your hair." "Huh? What did you say?".... "I said," the Duchess said sweetly, smiling at him, "that I wished you would call for a chair." He grinned down at her. "That wasn't bad, but you're no competition for Aunt Wilhelmina."

How did you come up with a whole book written like that and keep it so cleverly entertaining without making the reader become tired of it? (Personal note: “The Wyndham Legacy” I think is my favorite historical of yours.)

(C.C.) - I too love this book, particularly Marcus who is such a dominant alpha male. As for Aunt Wilhemina, she simply appeared under my fingers and when she opened her mouth this is what came out. I'm very pleased you found the dialog so entertaining. I'll tell you, it's harder than you'd think to come up with really nasty insults that sounds un-nasty.
2) Why did you decide to change from writing all historical romance to romantic suspense? And was it difficult?

(C.C.) - I've written both historicals and FBI thrillers for many years now. I've found that going back and forth is very 'unconstipating' since the two genres are so disparate. The four romantic suspense novels I've written are again very different from the historicals and the FBI thrillers, so I guess this means I've got the smoothest running brain in the universe. Isn't it fun to mix and match?
3) I read that you believed you were really in the right place, at the right time when you wrote your first book and got picked up for a three book contract. With all of today’s self-publishing and small Internet publishing, do you see books that don't get picked up by large publishing houses as legitimate? 

(C.C.) - I wouldn't have considered self-published books legitimate at all before five, six years ago, but now? It's a whole new playing field and authors are gaining more and more power since there are now so many publishing options venues, which is excellent. No longer are you considered sort of a "failure" if you don't get picked up by a big print publisher (and consider, as houses merge to survive, and so print publishing offers are dwindling) but now you can do it all yourself. I know of some huge successes with self publishing, also of authors who subsequently got picked up by a print publisher after they'd published e-books, and believe me, they came in with a lot more power than they otherwise would have.
4) With all of the different types of romantic genres out there today, is there any other one that you'd like to try? Also, what do you think of the huge boom in erotic romance? 

(C.C.) - I've done oodles of Regency romances, Medieval romances, Viking romances, contemporary romances, contemporary romantic suspense and the FBI suspense thrillers. You want me to do more? Vampires, maybe? I believe there are currently about a zillion vampire romances out there -- Erotic novels? I wrote one, but it's in a safe deposit box.
5) How did you decide to write a book with another author, and was it a difficult decision because you've been writing by yourself for so long?
 (C.C.) - I simply wanted to do something different and like Clive Cussler and others, I decided to try writing with an 'author for hire'. I spoke to Clive, got some great advice, spoke with my agent and he was very enthusiastic. I came up with the series concept and the general plot for the first book.  Then I began reading authors and found J.T. Ellison, a superb writer. She is also fun and smart and computer savvy since she's been tinkering with computers since she was seven.   Once I found her, moving forward wasn't a difficult decision at all. This is our first book together so both of us are learning how each of us work and believe me, there are compromises on both our sides. The first thriller in the A Brit in the FBI series, is titled THE FINAL CUT and should be out around September of this year. I might add that Putnam is very excited with the new series. And Savich and Sherlock will also appear in THE FINAL CUT to tie the two series together.

6. What is the first book that you ever fell in love with?

(C.C.) - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer.

You can visit her website at: http://www.catherinecoulter.com/

Or you can reach her via her Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/catherinecoulterbook

Feb. 27th I'll review author Kahlen Aymes's - The Future of Our Past (The Remembrance Trilogy).

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have to tell you about a really good ebook that I read over the weekend: "Champagne Toast" by Melissa Brown. It's told by both of the characters’ POV (points of view), going back and forth between them over a period of four years. I really liked it and give it 4 1/2 it's available on Amamzon for $3.99 or free if you're an Amazon Prime Member at Champagne. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and make sure that you don't read the ending before it really is the end of the book the way I always seem to do).

So, about my interest in the sex scenes in romance books… I truly did skip them because I wasn’t reading the books for that, I was reading them for the actual romance, or story if you’d like. You could always tell if I tried to read the sex scenes when I first started reading romance novels because I would turn really red in the face -- my friends got a kick out of it. I only let close friends know that I read romance books because I hated being teased about reading them. People were so used to seeing me read serious books or adult-type material that it shocked them when they found out that I was reading romances. Only very few people knew how many I could go through in a week. I ate them up like candy.

On that note, instead of an all-romance posting this week, I'm offering up something else that’s a little sweet. This delicious Devil’s Food cake recipe (which will make 24 cupcakes or 2 9-inch round cake, but feel free to make a 9x13 if you don't have any round cake pans) is awesome. Use really good cocoa powder for this recipe (it deserves it). I think that your valentine will be very pleased with the recipe below.

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I’m just finishing up putting together that first author interview I mentioned last week. You’ll see it here next week around Feb. 20^th.

Here’s the recipe:

Devil’s Food Cake – from The Modern Café

You are going to want to use an electric scale so that you're able to use this recipe because I broke it down into grams. Make sure that you use a really good cocoa powder.

This is one of my very favorite cakes that I learned to make while getting my degree in the Baking and Pastry Arts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients Needed: (make sure that all the wet ingredients are at room temperature.)

Sugar – 562 grams

Pastry flour – 161.5 grams

Bread flour – 161.5 grams

Cocoa powder – 151.5 grams

Baking powder – 5 grams

Baking soda – 2.5 grams

Salt – 1.5 grams

Eggs – 178 grams

Egg yolks (only) – 71.5 grams

Butter (melted, but cool) – 76 grams

Butter Milk – 327 grams

Coffee – 303.5 grams

1. Preheat your oven to 320 degrees and get your two 9” and spray them with Pam or your cupcake pans ready.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients onto a sheet of parchment paper or into bowl.

3. Bring all the liquids, including the melted butter up to 70°. Place the eggs and egg yolks in a bowl large enough to hold all the ingredients in the recipe, and then slowly whisk in the melted butter. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk and, finally, the coffee.

4. Whisk all the dry ingredients until liquid, whisking constantly until it is thoroughly mixed

5. Pour your batter into prepared cake pans or scoop even amounts into the cupcake holders in you pans.

6. Bake for 10 min., and rotate the cake pans, and then bake for 7 to 9 more minutes or until the cake springs back when gentle pressure is applied with your fingertips. Check doneness with a toothpick at the center of the cake pan or one of cupcakes. If you're not sure. Press the middle of the cake with your finger. If it springs back, it is done.

7. If you do not plan to use the cakes right away. Make sure that you wrap them twice in Saran wrap and label them with the date that you made them they will freeze to up to two months. Do not stack them

8. Once the cakes and or cupcakes are totally cooled you can start decorating. You don't need to add the extra cake around the side as I did. I just use it for decoration because I really like it.

For the buttercream frosting to decorate with you can basically use any buttercream frosting that you like or use. I cheat sometimes (if I know I won’t have the time to make frosting) and use the Wilton frosting which works just as well.

Very first blog posting!!

Feb. 9, 2013

I've started this blog about romance books, authors’ interviews, and a little bit of baking thrown in for a college social media class that I'm taking. We were told to do something that we love and are passionate about. I found a red-covered book titled "Between the Covers," by Laurien Blair a Silhouette Desire romance novel, in my 8th grade shop class. Until that point in time, I was basically reading my dad's books, "The World According to Garp," "Catcher in the Rye," and any other book I could get my hands on -- you see, I was a reading nut. But when I found THAT book, well, let’s just say my life was changed and in my opinion for the better (in my dad’s opinion, um, not so much).

Although I read other books, I was hooked like a crack addict is to the pipe. I would go to the library and check out 20 books at a time, dragging my then-best friend Beth along with me who had no interest reading at all. I would gobble them up like candy, reading them on the city bus on the way to school, in class hiding them under the desks while the teacher was talking (if I couldn't wait to finish it) or in bed at night, covering them up when my dad would come in to see what I was doing. I am being completely honest when I say that I wasn't interested in it for the sex; it was the romance. More on that in my next blog.

P.S. Within the next week or so, I’ll be posting an interview with one of my favorite romance authors, who answered some questions for me. She’s huge on The New York Times bestseller list. I also have some other author interviews in the works. Come back soon and check it out!