New Review for Texas Passion

"Overall, I highly recommend Texas Passion."

Overall rating: 4 hearts

Sensuality rating: Explicit

Thank you, Marika from The Romance Studio

To read the rest of the review click on the link
http://www.theromancestudio.com/reviews/reviews/texaspassionphilmar.htm


Anita
www.anitaphilmar.com

Welcome My Guest Today Jennifer Jakes

Q: Was your road to publication a delightful stroll in the park or a tiring job over hot coals?

A - I'm going to duck as I say this, but it was pretty much a stroll. Not that I didn't get a few blisters or cry a few tears along the way, but I got really lucky to find wonderful critique partners . . .and I'm extremely single minded when I want something, so I studied the craft constantly and made it happen.



Q: Do you have critique partners?

A - Yes, when writing RAFE'S REDEMPTION I had Barb and Sara Ann *waves!* and now I'm lucky enough to have gained 2 more, Marci and Lisa *waves*. I would not be here without them, and I truly believe finding good CPs are the key to becoming a better writer.



Q: What was the best advice you were given leading you to getting published?

A - Well, I had lots of good advice. But one that I believe is most important is to keep learning the craft.



Q: Do you believe in love at first sight or just lust at first sight?

A - Yes. LOL I believe that sometimes what we think is just lust is really our soul claiming "There's my other half". The first time I saw my hubby (of 18 years) I was instantly attracted. Did I love him....? I didn't think so. Actually, I didn't really like him -just liked the way he looked. HA HA Probably because he pushed all my buttons, and I didn't think I wanted that. But he didn't give up, and as I got to know him, I realized he was perfect for me in many ways. (That's a nice way of dancing around admitting he was right) He made me laugh (still does), and he has a very kind heart.



Q: Tropical or European vacation?

A - Tropical. White sand beach, hammock for 2 between palm trees, cold drink. . .ahhhhhh;) Can I go there now?

Only wish we both could.

Find out more about Jennifer Jakes by visiting her at


http://www.jenniferjakes.com/
http://www.authorjenniferjakes.blogspot.com/

And her current release is

RAFE'S REDEMPTION

Available From The Wild Rose Press
Buy Link http://tinyurl.com/4oh5387

A teaser for you -


He rode into town to buy supplies, not a woman.

For hunted recluse Rafe McBride, the raven-haired beauty on the auction block is exactly what he doesn't need. A dependant woman will be another clue his vengeful stepbrother can use to find and kill him. But Rafe's conscience won't let him leave another innocent's virginity to the riff-raff bidding. He buys her, promising to return her to St. Louis untouched. He only prays the impending blizzard holds off before her sultry beauty breaks his willpower.

She wanted freedom, not a lover.

Whisked to the auction block by her devious, gambling cousin, and then sold into the arms of a gorgeous stranger, outspoken artist Maggie Monroe isn't about to go meekly. Especially when the rugged mountain man looks like sin and danger rolled into one. But a blizzard and temptation thrust them together, and Maggie yearns to explore her smoldering passion for Rafe.

But when the snow clears, will the danger and secrets that surround Rafe and Maggie tear them apart?

Thank Jennifer for dropping by. You are welcome any time.

Anita











Anita www.anitaphilmar.com

Action

The Plot - Conflict in the story.

This along with the character is why people read. They want to be carried away to another world. Live another life. Conflict is why the reader becomes emotional invested in a story.

Some would argue it's the characters that drives the emotion.

Again the each element playing off the other. We might not like Scarlet in Gone with the Wind, but we can sympathize with the pain of losing one's home of one's world coming apart at the seam and what better setting than the civil war.

Hope you are beginning to see the interplay between each element. How one has to play off the other to create a beautiful read.

Anita

What Makes a Cover - A Blog from My Guest - Wendi Zwaduk

I want to thank Anita Philmar for having me on her blog, here today. I love her blog and have looked forward to this post. So, she let me have a wide open topic idea...what should I talk about?

Didn’t take me long to come up with an idea. I have a couple favorite times of the year. No, I don’t mean Christmas (although I love Christmas). I’m talking about the arrival of the Cover Faery. Yes, it’s a glorious time.

Ok, yes, sometimes it can be bad. I honestly can’t complain. Yes, there are times when covers are...not what the story looks like. I’ve been blessed. When the Cover Faery comes to me, it’s exciting.

I just got the cover for one of my upcoming releases and yes, I whooped and hollered. It worked for the story and was just plain pretty.

So, let’s talk about the actual covers. With Ever Fallen in Love, I got lucky. The people on the covers look like Megan and Tucker and I liked the flag along the bottom. It gives the hint of a race theme without being overpowering. The yellowy-orange tinge goes along with the yellow flag/caution that takes place in racing. There’s danger and things can’t proceed until the danger is taken care of. That’s a pivotal part of the book.

Without naming any examples, there are some covers that took me completely out of the story. I couldn’t fathom the characters looking like the people on the cover and my brain insisted on trying to plug them in. Didn’t work. There are other covers that totally kept me from going further with the book because either there was something that I found gross or was presented in a less than fashionable light. No one wants a bad cover and what is considered a ‘bad’ cover is up for debate.

I’ve had authors tell me they just do not like their covers. I wondered why. I mean, most all the covers I’ve seen are fine. Drew me into the story and made me want to know more. So what’s a ‘bad’ cover?

Honestly, I don’t know. Because it has only a woman on it? Well, women read romance – maybe its so we can identify with the heroine. Men read romance. Maybe the same principle applies.

What makes me—a self avowed cover whore—want to nab a book and read the blurb?

Kink. If it’s got a little bit of bondage, I’m more than likely to turn the book over or scroll down to read the blurb.

A dark haired man. There’s a couple of dark haired men who are everywhere, but I am a sucker for a chiseled man with dark hair and a little scruff.

Heroines that look realistic. I’m going to take some heat here, but I am not stick thin. If the book is about a woman who isn’t built like a twig and she’s portrayed as a twig, I tend to grit my teeth through the read.

Ok, so I’ve given away some of my preferences, I want to say one last thing. These are my opinions and keep this in mind: authors are usually allowed to give insight into what they’d like for a cover, but they don’t often have the final say. Just because one asks for a Rubenesque blonde and a guy who resembles Brad Pitt, doesn’t mean that’s what one will get. What ultimately sells me on a book is the blurb and the excerpt. The cover is icing on the cake.

What sells you on a cover? Favorites? I’d love to know and talk about it!

I always dreamed of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in line. I tend to write books with titles taken from songs because music is one of my many muses. I earned a BA in education at Kent State university and as well as a Masters in Education from Nova Southeastern University. I've tried my hand at teaching, waitressing, and retail sales, but writing holds my heart. I love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my menagerie of animals. I have six books under contract and more than my brain can handle percolating. I can't wait to share them with you!

http://www.wendizwaduk.com http://wendizwaduk.blogspot.com　　

Come Visit Me on Rachel Leigh Blog.

I'm a guest today at http://rachelleighromance.blogspot.com/


Love for you to stop by and say Hi.


Anita
www.anitaphilmar.com

Writing Contest

Heard about this contest from a friend on LinkedIn.

From August 1st through the 31st writers of all genres may vie to place by submitting their original flash fiction manuscripts for a $10 entry fee and win the $500 in prize money, writing their stories using one of these inspirational phrases:

"love poems for a girl"
"best chocolate in the world"
"romance village"

Flash Fiction: Stories with a beginning, middle, and end that are less than 500 words but more than 300 words.

1st Place Winner: $200 & publication of submission on Your Story

2nd Place Winner: $150 & publication of submission on Your Story

3rd Place Winner: $50 & publication of submission on Your Story

4th Place Winner: $25 & publication of submission on Your Story

5th Place Winner: $25 & publication of submission on Your Story


All non-winning entries will receive feedback from the judges to help you hone your craft!
Honorable Mentions: The option of having their submission published on Your Story. All non-winning entries will receive feedback from the judges to help them hone their craft.

Check it out at:it out at: http://yourstorywritingcontests.blogspot.com

Visitor David M. Brown

First let me tell you a little about my guest. Born in Barnsley in 1982, he first conceived of the idea of Elenchera in college. His love of history and English led him to read these subjects at Huddersfield University. Inspired by medieval history, Norse mythology and Japanese role-playing video games and anime films, he lives in Huddersfield with his wife Donna and their six rescue cats.

Thank you David for joining us.

Tell us why you decided to write a story that puts women in a less than stellar light?

I’m all for equality amongst the sexes and frown upon, even abhor, anyone being singled out because of their sex, race, sexuality or religion. While these issues are prominent in the world of Elenchera, I’m pleased to say that from the earliest history right through to the present day women always play a pivotal role in world events. In fact, Elenchera’s greatest ever monarch, a gifted strategist and fearless leader of armies, is a woman named Leansja the Great. Hers is a story I will explore in the future and what a life she has.

With my debut novel, Fezariu’s Epiphany, the focus may be on the troubled life of Fezariu but throughout the novel there are three important women that help shape his destiny. The first is Fezariu’s mother, Jessamine, who begins as the lover of a brothel owner before being manipulated into working in the inn herself. Though initially weak, Jessamine demonstrates her strength of resolve by fleeing from the brothel and beginning a new life overseas. She goes from being a richly adorned and desirable woman to a plain and hardworking mother at a bakery, a role reversal she embraces. Jessamine’s pride is her son, Fezariu, but this idyll does not last and one day Jessamine is gone and Fezariu left alone with a heartbroken stepfather and his childhood companion, Alycea.

Throughout Fezariu’s life, Alycea remains the one constant link to his past. When Fezariu leaves home to join the Merelax Mercenaries and escape from his childhood, he can’t help but write to Alycea every year on her birthday. Fezariu never wants to return to his past and the people that shared it with him but he never wants to completely sever these moments from his life either. As Fezariu progresses through the mercenaries we gain an insight into Alycea’s life as she continues to work in a bakery but becomes well-admired in society and popular with men, though she only shares her heart with one of them. Although Alycea continues to live her life she always waits anxiously for a letter from Fezariu, though none explain why her childhood companion left her years before.

In the mercenaries Fezariu has a trio of friends – Tessera, Vintaro and Arshea. Of the three it is Tessera that Fezariu warms to the most. She proves herself equal in promise and skill to Fezariu during their training and acquits herself fearlessly in battle. While others accept Fezariu as the quiet, contemplative sort he is, Tessera wants to go deeper to get to his core. Fezariu never speaks of his past to anyone but Tessera is the only one that doesn’t accept this. She is intrigued to know what made Fezariu become so withdrawn and why he turned to the mercenaries for salvation from his childhood.

For each phase of Fezariu’s life he has Jessamine, Alycea or Tessera nearby. Tessera is by his side during the fierce battles Fezariu fights as a mercenary but his toughest battles are with his past and both Jessamine and Alycea are at the root of a childhood that continues to haunt Fezariu as an adult. How does it all turn out? This is the point where I annoyingly smile at you and coyly tap my nose!

The White Oak, Clarendon’s oldest brothel, lured and destroyed men by the thousands. Fezariu was different. He had never been drawn by the White Oak’s vices but the brothel had still ruined him when he was just a boy.
Salvation came in the form of the Merelax Mercenaries – Elenchera’s most prestigious hired hands. They gave Fezariu the chance to escape from his past. Immersed in the world of dangerous assignments in the colonies Fezariu longed to forget everything about his childhood but only in facing the past would he ever be free of it.
RRP: £9.99/$14.99 (paperback), $4.99 (ebook)

And find out more about David and his book on any of the following links
The Elencheran Chronicles: http://elenchera.com/
The World According to Dave: http://blog.elenchera.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/elenchera http://www.facebook.com/fezariu
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/elenchera
Book Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgcNNLMBvY

Remember to follow David's tour stops. Win a ($25 Amazon gift certificate) the more comments you leave, the better your chances of winning. check
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/06/virtual-book-tour-fezarius-epiphany-by.html.
for tour dates.

Lets have lots of comments for David and his wonderful book,

Anita

Writing Tips

For the month of August, I thought we would look at some tips that can help us become better writers.

Some people feel if you write erotica that you are not a "true" writer. But believe me, I use everything I've learn to write my books and I'm constantly looking for ways to become a better author.

So even if you don't write, join me this month and check out some of the things an author needs to know to write a better book.

Anita