Can You Creat Under Pressure!

I'm under a tight deadline right now and something amazing is happening - I am writing a huge volume of words and I actually like what I've written! I never saw myself as someone who works well under pressure, so this comes as a huge surprise. I always thought, particularly with my writing that working under a deadline would stifle my creativity. Not so. What about you? Do you prefer to write as you want, when you want? Or do you prefer nail-biting pressure?

On another note, please check out my Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semi-final entry, A Little Help From my Friends at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011ZCARY

It's a first chapter free download. You can read it and post a review if you like. There are also many other chapters from all the other semi-finalist available for free. So head over to Amazon and check it out!

Tears on my Pillow

I have a confession – I'm a cry-a-holic. Not only do I tear up at sad movies, while reading touching novels, but I can’t keep my eyes from watering at weddings, school plays, even sappy TV commercials. I can’t read too many cards at the Hallmark store without destroying my eye makeup. It's become a bit of an embarrassment. My DH just rolls his eyes when we witness any show of emotion in public. He knows the waterworks are about to begin.
And it's not only the things that touch me. The sight of someone else crying – for whatever reason – will send me over the edge. I don't even have to know the cause of their display to follow suit. I've started avoiding the situations that'll make me cry. If I can't, I use waterproof mascara!
Believe it or not, although I can write a touching scene without fear of an emotional outpouring, I can’t reread or edit said scene. Yes – I know these are made up ficticious characters, products of my own imagination, yet they become so real to me – maybe more real to me than to a reader – that I can’t hold back the emotions.
It's become a handicap, really, this inability to control my tear ducts. I haven’t figured out if I'm really more emotional than most folks, or if I just wear my heart on my sleeve more – or rather, on my hanky. I've even gone so far as to try to distract myself from what's going on so I'm able to focus on not crying. Problem with that is, I feel cheated out of the emotional experience when all is said and done.
What about you? Can you keep your tears in check or are you the waterworks when you observe sad/happy/poignant moments? Are all the final pages of your romance novels stained with your tears?

I did a book signing this weekend with four other local authors at a Borders in the Orlando area. I couldn't help but notice how many customers picked up our books or passed them by based solely on the cover. Is the cover THAT important? You bet.
The guiltiest of all is me! In a sea of books, I always pick up the one with a candy-colored picture on it that screams FUN. That usually earmarks a Chick-Lit book, my favorite guilty pleasure.
One of my first e-books had a cover I hated. At the time, I didn't feel secure enough as a writer to question the publisher. I can't tell you how many people emailed me to ask me what the picture was. It was a closeup of a man's face, but you really had to study it for a minute to realize that. I've never made that mistake again. I was so excited when I got the cover for an upcoming short story from The Wild Rose Press and it was PERFECT! Exactly what I'd wanted. I'm waiting for my next full-length book cover now and am hoping for something wonderful.
What about you? Do you choose what books you pick up at the bookstore based on the cover? Have you ever bought a book based on the cover and been sorely disappointed that it wasn't what the cover conveyed?

Have a Cigar!

Does anyone give out cigars anymore when they have a baby? Probably not politically correct. These days even the bubble gum ones might offend the dental hygienically inclined! Cigars or not, this is our new baby. We hope to make this a blog you'll visit often by filling it with our sharp wit, our sparkling prose and our profundity.

We write for a variety of romance publishers and we all have at least some of our books Epublished. A few of us are also in print. Please check out our links, which we'll be adding to on a daily basis. If you have any requests for links or info you'd like to see here, please let us know.