New Author Shout out

My buddy Trudi Jaye has her first book hitting the magical e-shelves on May 28th! Go Trudi. So if you like a bit of fantasy and the twisting turns of a Carnival, check her out! You can find the book on Amazon here.

The magical Jolly Carnival is the only life Rilla knows—and it’s falling apart around her. Just as she’s thrust into the role of Ringmaster after her father’s unexpected death, an old family friend turns up to challenge her birthright.

Her rival's sexy son Jack isn’t helping either. Despite being a greenhorn and an outsider, he's intent on charming everyone, convincing them all that Rilla isn’t up to the task of leading them through these tough times.

But Rilla must also contend with another threat—the ongoing sabotage that has been disturbing their delicate magical balance and threatening to destroy the Carnival. All signs are pointing to an insider, making it impossible to know who to trust.

To save her beloved Carnival, Rilla must do everything she can to find the saboteur before they attack again. But if she takes her eye off the battle for Ringmaster—even for a second—she risks losing everything she's trained for her entire life. 

Happy reading.
xMichele

Mermaids, madness and happy mothers day

So, I thought I'd pop in to wish any of you mother's out there a happy mother's day. Down under it's already Mother's day, and if you read my post over at The Naked Hero this week, you'll know how I've spend my day. I made cake. Lots of cake! Well, I made the cake last night - but the icing extravaganza that this lady mermaid is, she got made today. (You'll have to forgive her hair do, this was prior to transportation and I was trying to keep her red tresses out of the icing.)

Now we've been to the party, Mr two and a half ate his body weight in crackers and cheese, and  I'm ready for a cup of tea and a sit down! Surely that's allowed! I hope you've get to have a wonderful day with your special people, and that someone makes you a cup of tea, coffee, wine or whatever else takes your fancy. Now if I could convince everyone to give me a couple of minutes, I might even get time to read my book!
What did you do this mother's day?
Have a great one, and happy reading.
x Michele

Sweet or spicy?

I’m making cake. Birthday cake. For a five year old girl no less. It therefore has to be in the form of Ariel the Mermaid…stay with me here, this is still a post about romance writing. It got me thinking of Disney Princess types. The virgin heroine, the quivering at the sight of a super-alpha pageant-beauty. There are a lot of them about, and in the hands of a skilled writer, the virgin heroine is a thing of beauty: able to bring men to their knees with a glance, and hold out for what she wants till she’s 100% she’s going to get it.

But thinking this through reaffirmed my belief that I like sassy heroines who have seen a bit more of life – girls with gumption, chicks with chat. I especially like it when they have a quality vocabulary that has more than a few expletives in it and a smattering of good barbs. The WIP I’ve been working on at the moment though has a heroine who is much softer. Even a little, *gasp*, sweet.

For a while I struggled, trying to get her to talk the way I thought she would, but it all just sounded wrong. She’s a far cry from Disney Princess, but she isn’t the “girls can and should do anything” type I thought I would always write. In frustration I sent her to my CP and asked if she thought she needed a slap. My CP laughed at me and quietly and calmly reminded me that characters are who they are. She even liked her.

So I’ve had to re-evaluate my parameters. I’ve upped her vocabulary, downed her simpering and come to a happy place where she’s still on a mission, and is back in the girls can do anything camp, but she doesn’t need to fight quite so hard to prove it all the time.

With my Ariel Mermaid cake, I think I’ll take the same approach. There will be a doll in the middle, but she’s bound to have a sparkle in her eye, and a damn good retort to anyone who dares question the styling of her icing bikini (okay, maybe that last bit will be me). Some sass with her smile and maybe just a little extra flick to her tail.

So what about you? Do you like your heroines sweet, sassy or somewhere in between. And can you made to like someone you never though you would, just because she’s got a sparkly green tail and a sparkle in her eye? Thanks for stopping by!

X Michele

(image courtesy of sodahead.com)

This post also appears on www.thenakedhero.com