I was asked by the nice ladies over at Petit Fours & Hot Tamales to be their guest cook this Friday, Dec 4th. I decided to continue to discussion on African American romance and it’s place in the romance genre. Please stop by this Friday and join in the discussion.
This is my first guest blog appearence and I’m excited about it.
Ok, I was visiting a writing pal’s blog today (congrats on the great news Mynfel!!!), and she had a Wordle posted. These are custom word clouds, so I made one from my first 3 chapters.
I’m going to look at this more to see what it really tells me, but right off the bat, I can tell Brian and Paris are important. LOL 
Title: Cold Case Affair
Author: Loreth Anne White
Genre: Romance Suspense
Rating: 4
Muirinn O’Donnel is a free spirit that had always felt trapped in her small town of Safe Harbor, Alaska. So she left home—and the love of her life—to pursue her of dream of becoming a journalist; never to look back again. And now after eleven years, prompted by the death of her grandfather, she’s back home; pregnant and still proud and stubborn as ever. A part of Jett Rutledge died when Muirinn left Alaska, leaving bitterness to set in over the years. To say he’s shocked to see her after eleven years is an understatement, but that paled in comparison to him realizing he was still in love her after all this time.
After a couple of break ins and some strange coincidences, Muirinn begins to believe her grandfather’s death was not the result of natural causes, but the result of him looking into a deadly bombing that rocked their peaceful town years ago. As danger mounts, Muirinn turns to Jett for help and protection. Along the way, they find their way back to one another, but will the pain and secrets from the past prevent them from building a future together?
Ms. White penned a great tale with Cold Case Affair. I was sucked in from the beginning, finishing the book after just a few sittings. It moves along at a great pace and contains several twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. And Loreth Anne paints a pretty scene with her descriptions of Alaska, which becomes a secondary character in the story.
I enjoyed Muirinn and Jett as a couple. The sexual tension and chemistry is present from the first moment they appear on the page together. My only complaint is that their romance depended a lot on their history and backstory together, which left me wishing a bit more time could have been dedicated to them rediscovering and exploring their relationship in the present.
But that aside, this is a great romantic suspense and I recommend it to all that enjoy a little bit of mystery with their romance. Cold Case Affair is the second installment in her Wild Country series. If you’ve not read Manhunter
I did it.
I pulled the trigger and hit the “Send” button this morning, emailing my first two submission packets off.
Oddly enough, I’m not feeling nervous and anxious, like I thought I would be. Instead, I’m feeling good, confident in the quality of submission. Now, let’s hope they see something in my manuscript and are interested.
Now, time to get back to polishing the current wip, plotting out my next one, and cracking out the words on my NaNo project as I await feedback.
Decided to do a NaNo check in today, so here goes. It’s Day 6 and I’ve not written today yet (but I plan to, no worries.)
And I will admit, Day 1 & 2 were more than a bit rocky. For one, I’m still actively writing and polishing up my contemporary romance (Worth Fighting For), so that keeps me busy. But determined to get a good, more than good actually, start on my Urban Fantasy, I decided to challenge myself this month and give working on two manuscripts a chance.
It’s also been slow going because I decided to undertake this challenge without a plot overview/outline or character sketches. Apparently, just jumping in feet first is soooo not my style.
Now, I knew this going in, but I am always trying to make myself a better, more productive writer; and that means I have to challenge my established procedures from time to time to make sure I’m not bogging myself down with unnecessary processes.
So I decided to spend time during my lunch break this week to work on character profiles for my main characters. So far, I have 3 out of 5 done, and the story opens up more and more each time I complete one. Yesterday, I had my best day yet, clocking 700 words on my NaNo project.
Yes, is far below the daily word goal of 1,667, but I’m very encouraged by it. Now that I have I clearer view on my story, I know longer have to wonder around in wide circles, waxing poetic about nonsensical things. (Because trust me, I have. If you could only see some of what I’ve written thus far-lol)
I’ve been rolling along nicely, and I hope the trend continues.
