Guest Blogger: Stephanie Draven

Today I am happy to have author Stephanie Draven as a guest blogger. Her latest book Poisoned Kisses came out earlier this month. Here is Stephanie to talk about how her books come together.



Sometimes the Sex Comes First

Usually, when I’m writing a story, the first thing that comes to me is a premise. For example, when I wrote Midnight Medusa, I knew I wanted to write a story about a modern day gorgon. Other times, I’ll get a character voice in my head and I want to know more about him. But sometimes, when it comes to writing paranormal romance novels, it’s the sex scene that comes to me first.

This is important, because the way an intimate scene unfolds can tell me more about the people I’m going to write about than any character study might. The setting of the sex scene tells me if my characters are desperate people or hedonists, if they’re exhibitionists or very private. The position they choose often tells me who is sexually dominant and who is uninhibited. The way in which my characters will fall into bed reveals either a slow and steady seduction, the mark of self-control, or an animal hunger. If there’s any whiff of taboo about the love scene, anything
subversive about it at all, I try to deconstruct what it says about my heroine’s deepest fears and desires. In short, a sex scene should never just be a sex scene. It’s another opportunity to give the reader insight and to develop your characters at their most raw.

Another reason to start with the love scene is to make sure that it’s something I can appreciate as an author. What turns my characters on doesn’t always have to be what turns me on--but it can’t be anything that bores me. And in a romance, it can’t be anything that repulses me, or else it will repulse the reader too.

To that end, I’m of the firm opinion that a love scene should be as hot as an author can make it within the confines of the genre, or else close the bedroom door. But the heat comes from the scenario--the set-up, if you will. Otherwise, it’s all about inserting tab A into tab B and that’s not very exciting, which is exactly why starting with the sex scene might actually be the best way to
begin writing a romance novel.

Stephanie, I think you make a great point. I've always wondered about love scenes in books. Even when following the same author the love scenes are usually so different from character to character. I can't imagine that every scene is one that the author is turned on by, because they are so different. And I like the idea that the sex scenes give you a better idea of who the characters are. I've never really looked at those scenes as giving insight but to see if from your point of view I get it now. Thank you so much for sharing with us. I have my copy of Poisioned Kisses in hand and am now eagerly waiting to get to it!

You can get more information about Stephanie and her novels at her website.

Thank you for reading!

Closed: Giveaway: The Wild Series by C. Fern Cook

Thank you to Fern for doing a guest post for me this week. She has also graciously offered to give one lucky reader a set of the Wild Series books!

About the Wild Series:
Wild Evolution:
"Wild Evolution" could be described as a paranormal-thriller or horror-police procedural, either category you pick would work fine.

A brief description of "Wild Evolution":
When Dan defends his livestock against a wild dog attack, he is put in a 'kill or be killed' battle. When he takes the head of a wild dog in to be tested for rabies he discovers he has the head of a human male instead of a wild dog. Now he is forced to cover up a self-defense killing because no one would believe he killed a wild dog when he has a human head.

A werewolf by contamination, Dan's life spins out of control. All his senses are heightened including his passion for the wild. His passion for the wild compels him to try to stop a new housing development that threatens the local wildlife from loss of habitat, but things don't go according to plans and now he has a second body to dispose of.

While under investigation for murder, Angela gives Dan her unflinching trust. Because of an abusive father, Dan has never been able to trust anyone, but now he has someone he wants to start a family with, someone to build a future with.

Wild Justice:
In Book II, Wild Evolution, Colorado rancher Dan Tucker’s life is turned upside-down.

After surviving a mutant canine attack, Dan discovers the animal he killed is not a wild dog, but a man. To protect himself even though it was a self-defense killing, he covers up the murder.

A werewolf by contamination, Dan finds his attitudes and appetites changing. His love of nature and the wild increases as he runs at night with a wolf pack in the nearby national forest. As a man, he becomes more bold and amorous, winning the heart of Angela Connor, a waitress at the local café.

Meanwhile his best friend, Grand County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Ramirez, becomes increasingly suspicious, especially after Dan has several public run-ins with his cantankerous old neighbor, and the man later turns up missing. When the remains of two bodies are discovered some time later in a remote cave, Tony ceases to be Dan’s friend and goes to great lengths to prove him a murderer.

With his quiet life as bachelor rancher transformed into a constant battle of wits to keep his deep, dark secret safe, Dan finds himself at odds with everyone, including his girlfriend and his former best friend – and most of all, himself.

Narrowly escaping Tony’s murder investigation, Dan goes about eliminating threats to his future. Now all he wants is to pursue his dream of running a dude ranch with his soon-to-be wife, Angela. But as the wedding gets closer, he wonders how he’ll keep his nocturnal life a secret. He soon discovers that’s the least of his worries…

You can also get more information by visiting Fern's website.

Giveaway Info



The giveaway will end 10/12/10 at 11:59pm (EST)

From here on out I will only be taking form entries. Comment entries will no longer be accepted. Thank you everyone for helping make the forms a success!

Rules:
1) Only winners from the US and Canada
2) No PO boxes

To enter:
1) Fill out this form.
2) Get an extra entry for following my blog.
3) Get a third entry for mentioning this giveaway: On your blog, facebook, twitter... anywhere (Make sure to leave me a link or your SN so I can verify!)
5) "Like" Just Jennifer Reading on Facebook.

Please RT: @JustJennReading: New Giveaway: Wild Series by C. Fern Cook

Remember to use this form. Comment entries will no longer be valid entries into the giveaways.

You can see the current entries here.

The winners will be randomly drawn and notified by email.

Good Luck and thank you for reading my blog!

Guest Blogger: C. Fern Cook

It's another guest blogger day! Today we have author C. Fern Cook author of the series The Wild Series including Wild Evolution, Wild Justice and Wild Legacy. So let's see what Fern has to share with us today!

Fern's post:

The Wild series began when I was a patrol deputy in the Colorado Mountains. I worked in a county that was cattle country. As charming as that seems, many of the ranchers killed anything that crossed their property they didn't like.

This did not sit well with me, the great animal lover that I am, I believe all animals have right to live on this planet. As a patrol deputy, I could do nothing about it unless it was an endangered species or poaching involved.

I have always been the storyteller, I imagined a rancher that shared his land with all creatures including the dreaded wolf. This turned into a skin walker or werewolf story. A good story always takes on a life of its own. While I was writing the series, the story developed in ways I had never imagined when I first set out to write the first book.

What would happen if you were attacked by a vicious animal? What if that animal turned out to be human, a changeling? Would you tell the cops about the person you killed in self-defense? Would you hide the body and tell no one? Who would believe your story?

How would this affect the rest of your life? How could you put this behind you and just forget about it? Wouldn't you be on edge? Suspicious of everyone? How could you live a normal life from then on, especially if you became the creature that attacked you?

Wild Evolution is about how Dan chooses to hide the body because he thinks no one would believe his story. He worries that if anyone found out, he would be charged with murder. It is hard to be a mellow when you are obsessed with keeping your secret a secret.

Wild Justice is the continuation, how Dan tries to live a normal life and get married and have family. How he tries to live the American dream of owning his own business.
Wild Legacy continues with Dan's attempt to raise a family and try to blend in with the rest of the community. This is how the Wild series evolved.

The characters are composite of people I have met through my real life experiences. The first in the series has a great deal of crime scene processing in it. The law enforcement officers are composites of officers I had worked with. The crime scene processing is as real life as possible; this comes from my experience as a crime scene investigator when I worked with Boulder PD.

Just like my books, I have also evolved as a writer doing this series. I have learned a lot from the feedback from readers. I enjoy hearing from readers and hear about what they think. I invite any questions you might have about the series, my writing, or experiences in law enforcement.

Thank you Fern for your post. I too LOVE animals and it hurts me to hear that about people who kill animals without justification. I would imagine that having to deal with those kinds of issues on a regular basis was difficult to deal with. I also love that your love of animals is what lead to this series!!! To all the readers, please feel free to leave comments for Fern and when she returns to JustJenniferReading for another blog post on October 12th she will be answering your questions. In the mean time you can learn more about Fern's books on her website.

Fern has also agreed to give one lucky reader a set of The Wild Series!!! So look for the contest post (link will be added later today)!

Review: Audiobook: Live Long, Finish Strong by Gloria Copeland

Thank you to Anna at Hachette for letting me review this book.



About the Book

In LIVE LONG, FINISH STRONG, Gloria Copeland presents a scripturally sound program to help readers claim the Bible promise of a long and blessed life . . . and a glorious death by "divine appointment." Gloria believes the Bible teaches that God desires for every Christian to live healthily beyond 100. In this book, Gloria reveals that the secret to finding this "Bible-based fountain of youth" is in daily receiving by faith and obedience the life-giving Word of God and allowing it to energize and renew our bodies. Each chapter helps readers discover and implement the principles of this amazing process. Here is an insightful new look at God's divine health plan for His children and a personal invitation by the author to join her in living a long and strong life until God calls us home in victory and triumph.

For more information about Live Long, Finish Strong please visit Hachette's website.

Find Kenneth Copeland Ministries on Facebook, Twitter, and friend feed.

See Kenneth Copeland Ministries in action on YouTube.

Visit Gloria Copeland's website and the Kenneth Copeland Ministries' website.

My Review

Although I didn't totally agree with the overall message, that we can live to be at least 120 years old, I did like the ideas that she presented to living a strong life. I did agree with her that our lives will be done when we have fullfilled our purpose on earth and God is "done" with us.

I liked how there were confessions at the beginning of each chapter and at the end of each chapter there were points to remember. When I listen to audio books sometimes my mind gets dragged away and I forget parts of what I've just heard. So the points to remember really helped me keep track of what was being said. At the end of the book there is a whole list of different Bible versus that talk about living long. I think that was kind of neat, that she was able to pull all of these versus together and put them in one place, as a handy reference (if you have the print version).

The writing was very good. It was so simple and had a good bit of humor included. I could really tell that Gloria had done her homework for this book, and the stories of centenarians were quite inspiring. But I think that living a long life is part of the makeup of her and her husband's ministry, so I would imagine she's been gathering this information for quite a while, not that it makes it any more or less inspiring.

The narrator did a great job reading. She had a Paula Dean quality to her voice. She just sounded like someone with so much love in her voice. It was more like listening to a friend talk that listening to an audiobook. I'm not sure if that was from the way the book was written, the narrator's voice, or a combination of the two (I'm leaning towards the later).

Overall I think this was a good one. I don't know that I would have picked it up on my own, but I'm glad I was given a copy.

Live Long, Finish Strong: The Divine Secret to Living Healthy, Happy, and Healed

Review: Hidden Wives by Claire Avery

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy for review.



About the Book

Hidden Wives follows the journey of two young girls forced to grow up in a polygamist community where religion is distorted to justify rampant abuse, incest, misogyny and the taking of child brides.

Fifteen-year-old Sara and her beautiful sister, Rachel, are too young to legally drive a car, but are approaching spinsterhood in Utah’s secret polygamist Blood of the Lamb community. Having long since reached the “age of preparedness,” they will soon be married off to much older men selected by the hidden sect’s revered Prophet.

As Sara, chosen to become her uncle’s fifth wife, grows more distraught over her impending incestuous marriage, she begins to scrutinize the faith she has followed blindly her entire life.

But for Rachel, who will be married to one of the many powerful community leaders vying for her hand, disobeying the Prophet means eternal damnation. Her friendship with the newest member of the community, the young and handsome Luke, starts as an attempt to save his agnostic soul, but ends with the pair falling helplessly in love. When Rachel is forbidden to see him, her absolute faith in the Prophet is severely tested.

When Rachel’s future husband is finally announced, violence erupts, and the girls must find the strength to escape the only life they have ever known… before it’s too late.

For more information about Hidden Wives please visit Claire Avery's website.

My Review

I absolutely LOVED this book. It was such a heart-wrenching story. From the very beginning I was wishing for those girls to get out of there.

Rachel and Sara were great characters. Although Rachel was a bit dense, or I guess I should say brainwashed, she was such a compelling character. Sara, right from the word go showed so much intelligence. Her want to get away, but not leave her sister behind really made me heart ache for her.

The writing was beautiful, not in a poetic kind of way, but in that it was so simple, yet so compelling. Even though what happens in the story is hard to read I didn't want to put it down. There's a certain finesse to this book that makes it hard to put down (even when you have homework or sleep to get to).

The subject matter was difficult to read, but I think it's something that needed to be written. I think TV has sensationalized the polygamist lifestyle, and there's a much darker side that doesn't really come through in these shows. The abuse, incest, and brainwashing that occurred in this book was disgusting, for lack of a better term. I know that not all polygamists and compounds condone or practice this kind of behavior, but I'm sure that there are some (of both) that do, and that is a scary thought.

Such a compelling and heart-wrenching tale. I was hooked right from the beginning!

Hidden Wives