Please welcome author Cynthia D’Alba to So Many Reads!

How Big is a White Lie?

Hi All. Cynthia D’Alba here today talking about lies. How big does a lie have to be before it moves from a little “white lie” to a flat out lie? Where’s the line in the sand? If you tell your friend that her new haircut looks great when in reality it looks like a dog groomer gave her a poodle cut, did you do her any favor?

Lying is weighing heavy on my heart today as I write this. I made a big purchase today—a new embroidery machine—and haven’t told my husband what it cost. He hasn’t asked and if he does, I’ll fully prepared to lie! The problem is I am a horrible liar. I know my husband will know I’m lying.

This is the problem my heroine has to face in TEXAS TANGO. She’s told her dying grandmother (Mamie Bridges) a little white lie. Her grandmother so wants Caroline (my heroine) to find a love like Mamie had with Caroline’s grandfather. Caroline doesn’t have a special man in her life so she grabs onto the name of the man who happens to be standing outside her office…Travis Montgomery. It’s not that she doesn’t like Travis or isn’t attracted to him. She is. Very much so. But they’d never had a date, much less a relationship. Her grandmother is very relieved that Caroline has found THE special one for her. Caroline lives in Texas while her grandmother lives in Arkansas and while Caroline feels horribly guilty about keeping her grandmother in the dark, Caroline has only six month left in Texas and then she and Travis will have a tragic break-up.

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Updated – Congratulations to “Anita H” – the winner of the FEARLESS goody pack from Tawny Weber!  Thank you to everyone who participated.

Today I would like to introduce a new-to-me author – Tawny Weber.  I recently read Tawny’s book Fearless (review here) and I look forward to checking out more of her books. If Fearless is an indication of her typical writing she writes smart, fun, contemporary romance stories. Tawny joins us to talk about Fairytales and is giving away a Fearless goody pack to one lucky commenter. 

Fearless Fairytales

Guest Post by Tawny Weber

As a child, and as an adult, I loved reading fairytales.  The timeless message seems to span generations, genres and genders.  Everything from Once Upon A Time to … and they lived happily ever after makes me smile.

I didn’t realize it in the writing of FEARLESS, but after the fact (okay, 4 months after, but still) it hit me.  This is a very modern, Cosmo-esque spin on the classic Cinderella story.  Gia, the heroine, is crazy about a guy she works with.  Not only is he way out of her league, there are fraternization rules at work.  So her friends use the Girlz Guide to figure out how to make her fantasy come true. This includes a total makeover, a trip to Las Vegas and, since it wouldn’t be a Cinderella story without them, a pair of very gorgeous shoes.

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Please welcome author Gerri Brousseau to So Many Reads today!

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Thank you so much for inviting me to share with your readers today on So Many Reads.

As an author I get asked many questions, such as where I get ideas for my novels, do I write from experience, do I write characters with my personality, but the one that took me most  by surprise was when someone asked me if I was a plotter or a panster. “A what?” I asked. They went on to explain that a plotter does exactly that, they plot out every aspect of their novel. They write outlines, they use post-it notes. They use character analysis sheets. They may even cut out pictures of people they think look like their characters and hang them up near where they write. Well, no, that’s really not my style. So, what is a panster? That’s someone who sits down and writes by the seat of their pants. “Yes!” I shouted jumping up out of my seat. “Yes, that’s me!” Well, that’s sort of me.

A story will come to me as a thought, a glimmer of an idea. It may be a character, or a certain period of time. When that seed of an idea plants itself in my mind, I let it sit for a while. I think on it for a few days, watering that seed with “what if” scenarios and I see where the story leads me. I come up with a journey for my hero, who is generally a handsome man, because, let’s face it, we are writing fiction and we all want our man to be handsome . . . right? It’s always “Prince Charming” and never “Prince Rude” or “Prince Pompous” and so, the hero is a handsome man who is going along in life and suddenly is presented with some challenge. During his journey he will, of course, meet the heroine. At some point, they will fall in love, and at the end of the story they will hopefully reach the goal, vanquish evil, solve the mystery or win the prize.  After all, as a reader of romance novels, isn’t that what you want?

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Please welcome author Emma Shade to So Many Reads!

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I was born and raised in a very small town. Living in the country, with two brothers, I had to have a crazy imagination to keep myself occupied. It’s so easy to laugh at our antics as a kid, but recently a friend pointed out…it may have been this over active imagination that helped create my characters. As a kid I’d pretend I was magical, had special abilities to communicate with nature, or could control the wind. When writing several of the scenes, it was home that gave me some inspiration.

In Finding Obscurity, Lily can dream about different events. Blake can enter these dreams as he sees fit. A little excerpt about a dream inspired from my childhood home.

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Update: Congratulations to “Ma75ma” for winning a copy of Anna’s book! Thanks to all who stopped by to support Anna and her new release.

Teachers, Families, and Community Inspire Us…
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Three Days on Mimosa Lane

What inspires you and makes you want to live life to the fullest?

The words of Robert Frost have long been a muse for me. He is one of my literary heroes. His words, even just a few of them, inspire thought and creativity and memory and vision for the future. His work “feels.” His emotion and characters connect. His themes inspire.

His poetry, his essays, quotes from his interviews and day-to-day life… They are glimpses into what he saw and thought and felt. They challenge me to search for the “new” and to discover a better world.

And the quote that challenged me the most as I wrote the second book of my Seasons of the Heart series, Three Days on Mimosa Lane, was… “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.”

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