It's the final countdown (cue music)

It's the final countdown (yes, sorry, that song is sooo now in your head). But it's countdown time in the world of Entangled Publishing - the September releases are just around the corner - coming to you on September the 9th! Yehaaa. As promised, I'll be hosting the other Indulgence authors, starting with Sofia Harper on the 10th! Swiftly followed by Hayson Manning and Marisa Cleveland! There will be some Facebook shenanigans - with giveaways galore and in the midst of all this, a wee blog hop with The Romance Reviews team.

 There will also be man candy. Fullstop.
This is not the hero from Love Lost and Found, nor even his inspiration, but he has tattoos, a fine head of dark hair and...well, he's pretty close to my chosen model for Rick McCarthy. Stay tuned. There will be more man candy. And shoe candy. And cake. Yes. Chocolate cake. I think September may become my favorite month of the year....

x Michele

The mojo thief

This is what she looks like isn't it? Warts, curled talons, a hump, red soul-stealing eyes? I haven't pondered the looks of the mojo thief before, but with the progress of this latest book I wonder if she has come a calling. It doesn't help of course that the sun has been sneaking in through my office doors and beckoning me outside. Or that Mr. One and a half has become more insistent when he physically pushes me away from the keyboard (smart little monkey). It's not even that I don't want to be immersed in this book. I love my characters. They genuinely crack me up when I get down to pulling their dialogue out. In fact, when I banish Miss Anti-Mojo into the naughty corner, the words don't have much trouble tumbling out onto the page.
Happily the contract for this one allows me plenty of time to make sure that when I do turn up to the page, the words that come out are good ones, not fiercely whispered "just get on with it" verbs and adjectives destined for the edit cut pile.
I'm not sure I've solved my mojo issue. But sometimes just admitting you have a problem helps resolve it ;-) doesn't it? Although that doesn't seem to have helped with my chocolate addiction.
At least the novel is still coming. I finished the central chapter today, you know, that one where the characters finally catch a glimmer of their love for one another as it runs, like a scared hair, through their minds. Of course my hero hasn't quite got that love rabbit by the short and curlies yet. He's got a ways to go before he realizes that the glimpse is what he's been looking for a long time.
So, my mojo thief put into her corner for the day, I'm going to go crack chapter eight now. Phew. I feel better already.
And what about you? Any tips on breaking your writers block? Do you like to spill your woes and clear your mind with a good vent? Or do you let your mojo thief fester until she fair explodes under the weight of all those warts ;-)
Thanks for stopping by, happy reading.
x Michele

Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

Sneak peak

So I've sent off the first draft of Book Two of The Pacific Empress series to my fabo editor and now I'm cracking on with book three. I say cracking on, but with the insanely glorious weather we've been having, I have to admit that the words haven't been exactly flying onto the page at the moment...they will, they will. So in the interim I thought I'd share a tiny sneak peak into life back on board. Enjoy and do let me know what you think!
x Michele

"Today she wasn’t going to take any crap from Captain A-hole Atkinson. Staring over the head of her boss and the well stacked minion he’d taken to having tail him all the time, Felicity sought a glimpse of the ocean out the window. Better. She disliked the way the bulk of the ship disrupted the glorious view of Port Villa, but really, there wasn’t much to complain about. Vanuatu was definitely a tropical island paradise, and gazing at turquoise water was way better than having to watch Captain Atkinson’s face pout through his pep talk.

“He really shouldn’t pick such massive bodyguards, makes his short-man syndrome even more obvious,” she whispered to her neighbor.

            “Careful,” the Cruise Director, standing to her, left hissed back.

            Bugger. Felicity almost bit her tongue, literally, as the Cruise Director glared at her. Professional reproach poured off him, his body stiff, his lip stiffer. Bugger again.

            Must. Remember. New Cruise Director. Is. An. Ass.

            Darius Miller was about as far from her friend and the ship’s previous Cruise Director, Michaela Western as it was possible to be. Gangly. Uptight. A complete slave to authority.

Felicity sighed. Working for Adventurer Cruises was supposed to be relaxing for herself as much as for the passengers. Sure it wasn’t exactly a holiday, but it wasn’t massively taxing and when Michaela had been around at least Felicity had been able to blow off a little steam by providing snarky commentary about all and sundry on board. Damn Michaela for falling in love with investment billionaire Dylan Johns, leaving to take on the world at Head Office and have beautiful green-eyed babies.

Felicity sighed again. The new Cruise Director was no eye candy, and he was not a fan of her witty repartee..."