Oh...such excitement!!  The days are going quickly until the Crossroads Romance Writers take New Orleans by storm!  We have so much planned for this trip...
We have rented a house in the very beautiful and historic Algiers Point to hang our ball gowns until the masquerade ball.  Making final plans for the long drive but with five romance writers, I am sure that it will be cars filled with books, clothes, shoes, and a lot of chatter..along with sleep as we take turns driving.  We are going to play tourists on October 8th, then will be making our presence known at Octavia Books in Uptown New Orleans at 6:00 pm on October 9th.  On October 10th we will be joining our good friend and fellow author Lacey Thorn as she co-hosts The Midnight Gala at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.  For more information about this exciting event go to http://www.midnightgala.com/

I am fascinated with New Orleans.  Not only is it the setting of my Vengeance series which will be releasing through Soul Mate Publishing but it is also the location of the last vacation I took with my daughters before they all started growing up and moving out.  Steeped in history and mystery, there are so many things that I want to do while I am there.  Visit the cemeteries, take a walk along Bourbon Street with a frothy, frozen Hurricane in hand, visit the voodoo shops, eat some fantastic Cajun food and hopefully find some alligator on a stick.  I want to find some nice souvenirs to bring back for my lovely daughters and take a whole hell of a lot of pictures...which I will share on here along with a write up about the whole trip sometime after we return.  I want to ride a streetcar and see the Garden District and perhaps take a chance at my luck at Harrah's Casino.  Think I can fit it all in for the three and half short days we are going to be there?  Please, everyone cross their fingers that the weather will be wonderful the entire time!

Well, it's late and I need to get busy on my newest book...it finally has a title...A Wing and A Prayer.  It's a romantic comedy about a very bad girl and her equally bad guardian angel.  See what happens when one tries to keep the other one out of trouble as they let down their hair in no other place but New Orleans!  Watch for teasers over the next few weeks on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TeresaAKeefer

Have a wonderful rest of the weekend everyone and if you are in New Orleans between 10/8-11/2o15 look me up!  And if you have any ideas of places we can check out, please leave me a message either here or on my Facebook page!

 "Laissez les bon temps rouler."

This week's blog hop topic was posed by Tessa Gray (www.tessagray.com).  Her questions were-
Romance novel readers are said to love emotionally satisfying endings. Are there issues you feel are taboo in romance novels that you wish you could write about? What are they?
 
As both a romance writer and long time romance reader, of course I love emotionally satisfying endings.  I mean, who wants to read a romance that doesn't have a happily ever after?  If I wanted to read something that wasn't emotionally satisfying, I would go read some non-fiction political novel.  (Which I do read occasionally, by the way)
I think that the whole premise of romance stories is that the reader wants to escape into the perfect world of relationships.  The hot men with a lot of testosterone, interesting careers, lots of money, seductive sex scenes...instead of the vanilla ice cream blandness that most of us tend to have in our own lives.  Reading romance novels tends to throw the hot fudge, whipped cream and cherries on top of our ice cream and lets us enjoy a bit of rich decadence for just a little bit. 

To be emotionally satisfying, there has to be a lot of different components for a lot of different women (and sometimes men!).  As we are each very individual in our tastes, so would our reading choices be diverse in nature.  Some of us like sweet, slow, tender love stories with young, ingenues falling in love for the first time.  Others like the heated, fast paced sexual encounter with the baddest boy ever.  And there's a whole range in between. But how do we, as authors, know when it is emotionally satisfying?
 
Someone asked me once how I know when the sex scenes in my own stories were enough.  Emotionally satisfying would have to be judged the same way.  I know that it's enough when it reaches out and grabs the part of the reader that the story was intended to grab.  With sex scenes it's pretty easy to know for me, my beta reader tells me that she had to run off to the bedroom with her man after reading a certain scene.  For emotionally satisfying, did my reader get misty eyed as the happily ever after rolled off those last few pages?

Enough of the emotionally satisfying topic.  Let's talk about the taboos in romance novels.  Of course, this is going to be a matter of the reader's taste.  With the newer surge in the romance novel market including everything up to down and dirty erotica, I'm not sure that anything is taboo that anyone would WANT to write about.  Seriously, when I think of taboo, I think of spanking and props and aggressive domination and we all know that those topics made one particular author a best selling author.  These might have been taboo subjects back when Harlequin first came out with their monthly selection of romance novels where they only hinted at sexual relations.  Do you remember those?  Where the young woman was still virginal and the man was several years older than her and very experienced?  I do...which is very age revealing!  But even Harlequin and Silhouette has evolved with the market and have their own lines which are more risque, even though they might not rise to the level of erotica that has the ability to provoke the reader into seducing their mate into the bedroom for some afternoon delight. (Or to their toy chest for some alone time.)

So, I guess my answer there is that it's a matter of choice.  A matter of taste.  What's taboo for one person may not be taboo for another one.  We have such a wonderful variety of romance writers today that tell stories of varying levels of heat that appeal to a growing market of readers.  I may not necessarily write about something, not because I feel that it's taboo, but because it may not be something that in appealing to me in a romance story. Taboo?  I think that it's taboo to say that anything is taboo these days as long as it's written tastefully and appeals to the reader at a level that keeps them reading.  

For more stories like this please go visit Brenda Margriet http://www.brendamargriet.com/blog


 

So, I'm pretty proud of myself tonight...I just sent off the first edits of a book that I self published a couple of years ago to my editor.  Thank God for the patience of Char Chaffin from Soul Mate Publishing!  This has been a long time coming and I've learned that editing isn't all that bad...once it's done that is.  This is my first time working with a professional editor so I am hoping that it will get easier the more that I do it...or better yet...get it close to right the first time.

I first got the idea for Blood Vengeance when I was hooked on True Blood which was based on the Sookie Stackhouse book series...then I read 50 Shades of Grey...and thought what the heck...how about I shoot for something that would reach out to readers of both.  Of course, I've been hooked on vampire stories since my afternoons after school were spent watching Dark Shadows with my mom.  The television series...not the movie...

I wanted to break open a bottle of champagne to celebrate but since it's almost 1:00 am EST and I'm sitting here with Oscar on one side of me, Halo on my feet, and Whiskey on my shoulder...they probably aren't going to be interested in sharing a bottle with me and there is no way that I am going to drink it by myself.  I mean...I'm NOT a lush...

Instead, I turned to my blog and decided to give everyone who visits a glimpse into the story AND share for the first time the wonderful cover designed by my publisher's art department.  I have to say that I'm pretty damned pleased with it!  So, without any more delay...

Set in New Orleans, Blood Vengeance portrays a group of vampires as vigilantes who have devoted their un-dead traits to seeking out and destroying those who would bring harm to others.  In the first book, the leader of the group is approached by a young lady to help find her younger sister who wandered off with a psychotic cult leader.  Of course, the vampire finds her to be very tasteful to his senses and seduces her into his bed.  What better way for a vampire to warm up his otherwise cold body than with a warm, willing human?  Being the southern gentleman who was created by his maker in the time before the Civil War, he can be quite chauvinistic which doesn't always work well with a young, modern day woman.  He's protective, aristocratic, seductive, rich and sometimes brooding.  She's the light to his dark with her determination and love for her sister.  This book supplies a little bit of everything...history of New Orleans...vampires...ghosts...suspense...and a little bit of gore...not to mention some pretty hot sex scenes.  You'll just have to read it when it is released to find out more!  And if you watch my blog, Facebook page and Twitter you may just have an opportunity to win a free copy when it comes out!

In case you haven't figured it out, I absolutely LOVE the city of New Orleans and am excited to be traveling there next month with a group of wonderful ladies who also happen to be romance writers.  Can you imagine the conversations that will take place on the 12 hour drive when you get romance authors together in a vehicle?  We have rented a house in Algiers (which I hope is haunted...sorry ladies...) and are planning on meeting up with some Louisiana based romance authors for a book signing.  Then we are going to take the city by storm and see the sights, eat some of the wonderful cuisine, and go to a masquerade ball.  My ball gown was delivered last week and I received my mask in the mail yesterday.  I can't wait to share the photographs with everyone when we get back!  This will be my second trip to the Crescent City and I have a feeling I missed out on a lot the first time...except for the wonderful company of my daughters who were mere teenagers at the time.  I want to take a stroll through the French Market, stop for beignets at Cafe Dumond, ride the street car, drink a hurricane while walking down Bourbon Street, and visit the famous cemeteries.  Not to mention, I am really looking forward to eating some alligator and crawfish.

Well...I'm going to wrap up this blog post with a teaser from the book...just to give you a glimpse and hopefully leave you begging for more!

                  She spoke softly as she approached him. “There is something unnatural about                     you. Something evil and dark under the façade of being a gentleman.” She                            reached to touch his shoulder. “But under that darkness, there is a need to chase                  away the monsters who prey upon those who are weaker, frailer. You could                        use that need to help me.”
Blood Vengeance/Book 1 of the Vengeance Trilogy

Whenever I think of 9/11/2001 the song by Alan Jackson comes to mind.  Where were you when the world stopped turning?  I remember that day very well.  I was a law student at the time and on this particular date I went into work early because I had a class that started at 4 in the afternoon.  My class was in Lansing, MI and I worked in Fort Wayne, IN.  The day started off just like any other normal early day for me.  I got up early and made sure that the girls were up for school before I left home.  I was sitting in my office when around 8:00 am the rest of the office staff started arriving for the day.  One of the gentlemen in the office next to me walked down the hall and said that there had been a horrible plane crash and that the plane had hit the World Trade Center in NYC.  We all started filing into the conference room where there was a television to see what had happened.  And as we watched the television, the second plane flew into the towers followed not too long after by a bulletin that a third plane had flown into the Pentagon.  It was pure shock and heartbreak as we realized that our wonderful country had just fallen under attack by Islamic extremists, terrorists, cowards.  Then we watched as the towers fell.  Nobody worked that day, we were too shocked as the reports continued to roll in.  Our airspace was closed and every flight was grounded.  We received a call from our corporate office in Canada expressing their heartfelt sympathy for the attack on our country.  We all left early, my class was cancelled because the law school was in the same block as the Michigan Capitol building so I headed home.  There were lines at the gas pumps due to the fear that we wouldn't have gas for long.  The airport that I drove by on the way home was quiet and it was strange not seeing the usual hustle and bustle of air traffic.
Over the days that followed, we watched as heroes from across the country came to the aid of those in NYC.  The firemen, the law enforcement officers, doctors, nurses, EMTs and regular every day American citizens worked around the clock to try to rescue as many as they could that were trapped in the rubble of the Twin Towers.  We learned of the heroes on Flight 93 who revolted against the al-Qaeda hijackers and prevented the plane from hitting its intended target...our United States Capitol.  These fine men and women lost their lives protecting others.  And they stopped the hijackers.  
Tonight, we come upon the 14th anniversary of 9/11 and I want to urge each and every American citizen to remember that at any fleeting moment we could once again be faced with a tragedy such as this.  There are still terrorists in the world that hate America and all we stand for.  Because we stand for a lot more than any of them could collectively dream of standing for.  We stand for individual freedoms, we stand for capitalistic prosperity and opportunity for all, but most of all...we stand for each other.  I thank God we survived this attack and have shown the terrorists that we will go on.  That despite their hatred for us and our ways, they aren't able to tear us down.  They may be able to issue one of their cowardly blows but we will get up and fight for what our forefathers have fought to preserve for us.  We are multi-racial, multi-gender, multi-religion, young, old, rich, poor or in between.  But most of all WE ARE AMERICANS.  God Bless the U.S.A. as we continue to show our colors...God Bless our families and our friends...and God Bless the heroes of 9/11 and remember what they sacrificed for the rest of us.  

Where were you when the world stopped turnin'
That September day?
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Or workin' on some stage in L.A.?
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke
Risin' against that blue sky?
Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor,
Or did you just sit down and cry?

Did you weep for the children, they lost their dear loved ones,
Pray for the ones who don't know?
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below?
Did you burst out in pride for the red, white, and blue
And heroes who died just doin' what they do?
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself and what really matters?

I'm just a singer of simple songs.
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN, but I'm not sure I can tell you
The diff'rence in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turnin'
That September day?
Teachin' a class full of innocent children
Or drivin' on some cold interstate?
Did you feel guilty 'cause you're a survivor?
In a crowded room did you feel alone?
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her?
Did you dust off that Bible at home?

Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened,
Close your eyes and not go to sleep?
Did you notice the sunset for the first time in ages
And speak to some stranger on the street?
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow,
Go out and buy you a gun?
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin'
And turn on ""I Love Lucy"" reruns?
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger,
Stand in line to give your own blood?
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your fam'ly,
Thank God you had somebody to love?

I'm just a singer of simple songs.
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN, but I'm not sure I can tell you
The diff'rence in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love.
I'm just a singer of simple songs.
I'm not a real political man.
I watch CNN, but I'm not sure I can tell you
The diff'rence in Iraq and Iran.
But I know Jesus and I talk to God,
And I remember this from when I was young:
Faith, hope, and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love.

And the greatest is love,
And the greatest is love.

Where were you when the world stopped turnin'
That September day?


Songwriters: Jackson, Alan Eugene
© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
For non-commercial use only.
Data From: LyricFind

The question posed by Romance Writers Weekly for the Tuesday Blog Hop was given my choice of any authors in the world living or deceased, who would I have over for dinner...
Well, my choice would be Stephen King...probably sounds unusual coming out of a romance writer, right?  Sure, if I were given the choice of inviting a whole smattering over for a dinner party, then there would be a whole list which would include Nora Roberts, Jayne Krentz, Lisa Jackson, John Gresham...etc.  But I don't get to have a dinner party this time so Stephen King it is!
I would love to sit at the dinner table and let him regale me with his stories of growing up, how he comes up with his characters, how does he sleep at night without having nightmares...or is it the nightmares that give him his ideas...?  I want to know if an article that I read many years ago that said that he was afraid to go in his own cellar is a true statement and if so, why?  Does he believe in ghosts or demons?  What was it like working with John Mellencamp on the musical The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County?  Which I unfortunately didn't get to see when it came to Fort Wayne, Indiana...dammit!  
I want to know what his wife is like and whether they ever collaborate on stories and is his house haunted.  What does he do in his free time and why does he always do a cameo when one of his books are turned into a screenplay.  Was that his idea or someone else's? If he wasn't writing, what would he be doing and will he someday decide that there are no stories left and go into retirement as a reclusive author that eventually goes mad because his stories haunt him or his muse comes alive and does unspeakable things.
I want to thank him for writing the book On Writing because it was my fortieth birthday present from a person that is very dear to me. Had I not read the book and realized that everyone gets rejections and sometime artists have to sustain poverty before they make it to the big list in the New York Times, probably would still be sitting here going crazy with all these book ideas chasing around in my mind.  I never would have taken the chance to write a whole novel, submitted it to agents who then sent me numerous rejection letters, and then decided that by damn...I'm going to see my name on the cover of a book if it's the last thing that I do!  And I did...as a self-published author...and who cares if the money ever comes...I'm doing what I enjoy doing!

For more blog stories about who is coming to dinner, head over and check out my fellow Romance Writers Weekly author at her blog Carrie Elks http://carrieelks.com/blog/

Sssshhh...don't tell anyone...but I have 3 day weekends for the next 3 weeks...
Life has been crazy busy with an ever-growing "HONEY DO" list...and in my case...I'm the HONEY...but it's all good.  In addition to the normal stuff to do around the house, it's starting to look a little bit like autumn in the woods with some of the leaves starting to change which means it's getting to be time to prepare for cooler weather.  I also have several important things coming up that I need to prepare for.  Even though my life is busy...I'm loving every minute of it!
This weekend will include mowing the lawn, toting horse manure to the garden, leveling off a mound of dirt by the driveway to prepare for a new flower bed, putting together a swag order for my upcoming book signings, doing some crafting, going to garage sales, my grandson's baseball tournament, finishing up my fall cleaning inside, and finishing up the edits on Blood Vengeance for release later this year.  And between times, hopefully getting a pedicure and shopping for a ball gown to wear the the masquerade ball in New Orleans in October.
Of course, my fingers are itching to get a couple of new books finished and released this year...I mean...I have three WIPs right now:  Home Stretch/Book 3 of my Possum Creek Series...On The Wind/Book 2 of my Sisters Series...and my newest venture which doesn't really have a fitting title at this time.  I'm also tossing around the idea to publish a cook book as a companion to the Possum Creek Series that I may release around Christmas.
As far as my craft projects...I am going to be working on some signs made out of recycled wood and a burning tool...some key chains with charms...and some crocheted rag seat covers for my dining room chairs.  
Sound like a long list??  Wonder how much I'll get done??  Stay tuned for updates and photos...and I hope everyone has a relaxing Labor Day and enjoy the end of yet another summer!!