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HAPPY FATHER’S DAY.

It is always a bittersweet day for me, as I lost my father some years ago.  On this day I always make time to think of him.  Rather than sad or morbid, I think of all the great times, for me it is a celebration more than anything else.  Today is a day to think of fathers everywhere and the love and strength they bring to their families. I hope you have a great day with your dad, do something nice for him. Make the most of your time with him. If you have anything you would like to add...

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TURNING UP THE HEAT IN YOUR CHARACTER’S BEDROOM.

A friend and I were chatting about ramping up the heat in our stories. My friend and I started searching google, looking for ideas couples came up with for boosting a stagnant love life.  We pondered which of these ideas would work in our stories.  Then inevitably we started to confess which we had tried. As we chatted over a glass of wine, we agreed that there’s nothing more exhilarating than adding a dash of spice to your love life. And sex, no matter how good, is one of those things that you can keep making better.  Now be honest...

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USING MISTAKES OR POOR JUDGMENT TO ADVANCE A PLOT.

God knows we all make mistakes, some more people than others. I have often felt that we are defined by how we handle our errors.  Some people hide, hoping the blunder will go away, other folk face it right up and confess. I suspect most of us admit a problem only when we have to, trying to hide our gaffes as much as we can. So it seems kind of obvious to use mistakes by our characters and their way of dealing with their failures to move our stories forward. There are a couple of examples that come to mind,...

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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR CHARACTER HAVING ONE NIGHT STANDS IN A ROMANCE STORY?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR CHARACTER HAVING ONE NIGHT STANDS IN A ROMANCE STORY? JUNE 10, 2018 It is a thorny subject for me, as a romance reader. A character sleeping around kind of puts me off.  I know in real life, relationships have to start somewhere. I suspect a lot of people thought, that the first night was going to be the first night of forever, but it turned into a one night stand which they were going to regret.  Over the weekend I read a couple of scripts that had one night stands in them, and it...

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A SIMPLE SUNDAY MORNING.

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Sundays are a special day for me; it is my time to recharge my batteries.  I always hope for a sunny day, so I can indulge my pleasures of sitting in my small garden and drink a coffee, or maybe sometimes a glass of wine. Last night, rather than going out, I watched a comedy movie, The Boat that Rocked and I ordered a delivered Chinese meal.  So much of it, I will have the leftovers today.  The Movie was great. I love 60’s music, and I wanted to share this, a clip of the film with this track, Lazing on...

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A GOOD REVIEW? OR A HATCHET JOB?

You have spent a year writing your book. You consult beta readers and spend maybe another year in edits.  A cover artist has worked with you to give you the look you want. You have worked on promo material, and now your book is ready to launch. Reviews seem to be the holy grail and at the same time the catch 22.  You want people to read your story and give their honest opinion to either Goodreads or preferably Amazon.  As authors, we are always looking for honest yet flattering book reviews. A good number of five-star reviews can make...

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IS SUCCESS JUST A MATTER OF PUTTING IN THE HOURS?

I read an article the other day that prompted this thought. This is the article, click here to see it.  I then chatted with some friends to see what they thought of this as an idea. Is success just a matter of putting in the hours? There is certainly something to be said for the time of day when you do work.  I love early mornings or late nights. One reason is that tends to be uninterrupted time, no phone called breaking up the rhythm of work. I find that there is something lovely about the flexibility of setting your own...

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PERFORMANCE ANXIETY.

I was chatting with a good friend of mine last night, we had had a little to drink, and the subject of men in romance stories came up.  My friend made the comment, you never hear of men failing to perform in the bedroom. It is a good point;  I have to admit in romance stories you don’t really hear it that often.  In most stories, all the man’s bits are working well, and nobody is reaching for the little blue pills.  Nobody is failing to perform; quite the opposite in most stories, the mangoes on for as long as she wants...

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ALL THE COLORS OF THE RAINBOW.

I was chatting online with a writer friend last night.  She was telling me about a gay pride event she was going to over this weekend.  As she described the event she said she was going to, I found myself wishing I was going too.  This celebration is held every year for the whole of June and is known as the Mother of Pride.  Brenda Howard coordinated the first LGBT Pride march. As well as sparking the idea for a week of events around Pride Day. These events have developed into the annual LGBT event.  And similar events happen in...

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HAVE YOU EVER TAKEN A SELFIE AND SO WISHED YOU HADN’T?

An alarming incident, just made me think about how much exposure we have on social networks.  I am always guarded about personal images I put up in social media.  These days I am cautious about the pictures I send to people.  The incident happened a while back.  An ex-boyfriend asked for a photo, and I thought what the heck, I sent him a pic.  I was dressed in a swimsuit, and I could not be bothered to change, so I took a selfie. It was a bit of fun and thought no more of it. Just the other day a...

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