The End?

What do you think when you see this picture? 

Is this a sign made of plane debris from survivors on the television series LOST?  Have Gilligan and the Skipper, with the help of Mary Ann and the Professor, of course, prepared an arial message to help search planes locate the Minnow?  Or has Elizabeth Swann burned the last bottle of rum, leaving Captain Jack Sparrow on a tiny island with a gun 'with one bullet that isn't meant for you' and no sustenance?

 Whichever story you conceive, you've chosen the version you'd believe, the one you'd like to write or see written.

I'm finishing up a book I really love, my first contemporary romance, a Harlequin Presents.  I'm on the downhill slope.  Yay!  But as much as I want to revel in this, my greatest writing achievement to date, I'm already trying to come up with that next BIG story idea.  You know the one!  It calls when you're not ready and sways you from your purpose, finishing the book you're writing.

The catch is, I'm not having that problem this time.  Oh, I have historical books plotted, but right now I'm waiting patiently for news on a nibble.  And while I wait, if this contemporary writing gig goes well, I'll have my jets raring to go on another project.

Beginnings are wonderful, aren't they?  You're free to choose from among character names, settings, time eras, genres, etc..., until everything falls into place.  Plots evolve/thicken, characters protest and flesh each other out until they inhabit the very pages created, the ones readers love.  In a perfect world, or book, the writing flows, revisions go well and editing is minor.  And so when the writer types The End, that same writer hopes he/she will get The Call in good time.

Aha!  Here's where I see the question mark in this photo.  Is typing The End really the end?

Life is full of twists and turns.  No one can predict a storm or challenge on the path.  A deer can leap out across the road at any time, derailing your progress.  Be it rejections, lengthy submission waits, doubts, revisions, edits, galleys, copy-edits, bad health... the list goes on, depending upon your rung on the ladder.

After the tornados that hit our area last week, I've come face to face with one realization.  Beginnings and endings are just that, stepping stones to the next beginning and ending.  How we step out in faith defines our path.

When have you faced The End but found it wasn't really the end?  And what new beginnings are you looking forward to in the next few months?

The Trophy Wife Rocks!

Today I would like to review a fantastic new book from Harlequin Presents, The Trophy Wife by Janette Kenny. If you have visited here with us much at all you will know that I am a huge Harlequin Presents fan. They were the first romance books that I ever read and while I don't think I could ever write one, I love the way they sweep me away to wonderful worlds of romance and excitement!

The Trophy Wife delivers all of the glorious settings and glamor that you would expect from a Presents book. What stood out about The Trophy Wife, is how it deals with the struggle that is often common for couples in any income bracket--feeling as if they are losing each other, but being fearful of revealing private fears and vulnerabilities. Even though the hero, Rafael, is a super wealthy businessman, he is afraid that he will never be enough; meanwhile, his supermodel wife, Leila, is terrified of losing control of her life. The way they love each other so much and yet try so hard to keep their facades up is a true slice of reality. I won't spoil the story for you, but I will say that I loved how, in the end, love conquered all. After all, that happily ever after is what we all want!

The Wonderful Janette Kenny

The Trophy Wife was a December release but I am sure you can still

order it and, in my opinion, you won't regret going that extra mile to get

a great story!!

Do you enjoy the glamor and glitz of a Harlequin Presents style romance or do you prefer your romances to be more of a slice of real life?

The Man with the Money

We are so excited to have the fabulous Lynn Raye Harris blogging with us today and sharing her recipe tomorow!  We have scheduled this blog to work with the release of her newest book not realizing at the time that Lynn would be out of the country in London when the blog occured.  (Lucky her!) Lynn plans to make an appearance at some point today, if possible.

Please, join us in welcoming Lynn Raye Harris visit with us under the tulip tree:

I’ve written twelve books for Harlequin since I sold in 2008, but this book marks my first time being asked to participate in an editor-driven continuity. Basically, what happens is that the editors brainstorm a set of stories that are connected in some way and then ask the authors to write them. The Notorious Wolfes (called Bad Blood in the UK) are a family of eight siblings – seven brothers and one sister. They had a crazy father. Seriously, the dude was awful. Check out this gorgeous video trailer that Harlequin made to promote the series.

I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to rush right out and read them all! Scandal, secrets, bad boys. Yum!

My brother, Jack Wolfe, is a loner. He’s also a risk-taker, and he usually gets what he wants. He likes high-stakes card games, though the rush he gets from them is only temporary.

Until he meets Cara Taylor, the croupier who deals him his latest winning hand. Cara has issues of her own. She’s trying to take care of her family back home in New Orleans, and her boss wants her to throw the game she’s dealing.

Things don’t quite go as expected, of course, and Jack and Cara suddenly find themselves on the run across France. I had fun writing this story. It was a challenge to write to someone else’s predetermined plot, but I still had a lot of freedom within the framework. I’m proud of the story that resulted! I loved Jack, and I thought Cara was a worthy heroine for him. I hope you’ll agree!

Here’s the back cover copy:

Jack…Red-Hot. Renegade. Restless.

Notorious gambler Jack no longer gets a buzz from the risks he takes at the card table. In fact it bores him. Until one night he wins more than he ever bargained for…

His prize is stunning Cara Taylor – she might be down on her luck but she certainly doesn’t need rescuing by a card-shark like Jack! Now she’s stuck with him she doesn’t know whether to love him or loathe him.

One lucky commenter today will get a signed copy of The Man With the Money!

Haystacks from Kimberly Lang

Kimberly sent this recipe in for today with this comment:

This has nothing to do with my book other than the fact I’ve also heard these called Haystacks. There are horses in my book so is hay in my book, so I chose a recipe that sounds like it fits.

 

 

No-Bake Cookies Or Haystacks:
In a large pot, mix together 2c sugar and ¼ c cocoa.
Add ½ c milk and 1 stick (8 tbsp) butter or margarine
Stir constantly as you bring it to a boil.  Remove from heat, cool slightly, then add:
½ c peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 c quick-cook oatmeal (uncooked)
¾ c raisins
Mix thoroughly and drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. Cool in fridge.

Kimberly Lang Visits the Tulip Tree

We are very pleased to have Kimberly Lang visiting with us today.  Here are some comments by Kimberly about her new book to get us started.   I know everyone will be as excited as we all are to have her here and find out about her upcoming release! 

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for a recipe by Kimberly for Recipe Friday! 

And now lets see what Kimberly has to say:

This is my first official visit to the Tulip Tree. I sometimes appear in the comment tail, but a front page spot? ~preens~ 

Thanks for having me, y’all!

So, I’m officially here to talk about my new book, The Privileged and the Damned, out this month from Harlequin Presents.  I’m very excited that this book is on the shelves.  It’s the first book in my trilogy about the Marshall brothers, and I’m totally in love with these boys.

I’ve never set out to write a series of connected books before.  I did go back once to revisit a character from a previous book, but I didn’t plan to write the second book when I wrote the first.  This time, I went in with the idea of having the same characters appear in all three books.  It was a challenge for me to set up characters for two future books without having that overshadow the story in this book, and since I fell hard for the Marshall brothers, it was tough not having them take over the entire thing! I also had to set up an entire family, with a past and present and plans for the future, which is the closest to world-building I’ve ever come. Sometimes I felt like I was trying to do way too much within such a short book.

The Privileged and the Damned is Ethan’s story.  He’s the middle brother, a bit of a playboy who falls hard for Lily, a girl who works in his grandparents’ stable who has a secret past she’s trying to escape. This story is a little more emotionally complicated than I usually write, so it was another challenge to face.

There were many times when I looked at my computer and wondered aloud if I’d bitten off more than I could chew.

In the end, though, I’m really pleased with Ethan and Lily’s story.  In December, the oldest brother, Brady, meets his match in The Power and the Glory.  And early next year, the youngest brother, Finn, brings the whole series to a close with his story (which is still so recently finished I don’t have a title or release date yet).

So, my first foray into family sagas feels successful, and I hope that readers enjoy this family and these brothers as much as I did.

Are you a fan of the family saga? Do you like getting that deep into one setting and one group of people? What about the cameo appearances of characters in the other books?

You can pop over to my website (www.booksbykimberly.com) to read an excerpt of the first chapter of The Privileged and the Damned (which contains Ethan and Lily’s first meeting. And, honestly, that’s my favorite first meet I’ve ever written.) and find out more about the Marshall family.

Kimberly