Whip-It UP Wednesdays!

A new month is dawning and January is nothing but a bad memory. How have you kept up with your goals? Are you staying motivated?

I've done pretty good. I dropped a few pounds last month . . . thanks to a doctor ordered low fat diet. Bland chicken and veggies is on my menu, thanks in part to a disgruntled gallbladder. I've got two weeks of cooling my heels and eating like an obsessed Hollywood Starlet until I find out if I have a date with Dr. McDreamy and a knife. So, cry for me Argentina because this chocoholic has had the jake-brakes slapped on her habit. All I can say to that traitorous organ of mine is Et tu, Brute?

As for my WIP, it's been smooth sailing. I've finished a chapter and have chugged on toward another turning point. I've found the bread crumb trail and am making headway through the forest of confusion in my mind.

Praise be and pass me a carrot stick!

I'm hoping to finish up the another chapter this week. I think setting small attainable goals has been my dark horse in this side show called life. For once, I haven't been second guessing my voice. Ha! I guess I've reached my own turning point. lol

This weekend, I watched THE DUCHESS with Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. What a treat! Ms. Knightly did a fantastic job playing Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire. The costumes were absolutely gorgeous and the sets were actual locations in England. In the 'special features' section, I watched the behind the scenes snippets and was fascinated by how much information the author had on the grand dame. The real life caricatures of the duchess were awesome . . . but brought to mind a question.

While the ever-talented Ms. Knightly knocked it out of the park in her usual fashion, she didn't quite fit the buxom mold the real duchess seem to fit. Curves. The paintings and drawings of Georgiana all showed a VERY buxom woman. Obviously this is no slight to the actress as she was quite stellar in her role, but why didn't the powers that be fit an actress with more plump in her trunk?

So, with that in mind . . . what about you? Do you tend to fit your heroines within the standard norm of body types? Trim and lean with nary a roll in sight? I find it interesting that most romance novels cast the heroine in the "curvy, but trim" category. Ever after child-birth, the leading ladies of romance just keep on truckin' in their banging little bodies. I realize this is fantasy, but I think it would be fun to have a fuller figured heroine. I'm thinking kind of like a Bridget Jones and her "always just a little bit fat" body.

Do you think romancers would shy away from a buxom heroine? Is that a character you would gravitate to? On the flipside, what about a hero with a little cushion for the pushin' ? Would he be just as dreamy if his hips weren't so lean? Truth be told, I'm a bit of a chubby chaser myself, so a super trim hero doesn't do much for me. I like a man with some meat on his bones. Picture a Kyle Chandler or a Triple H (WWF). Sure they're fit, but also rounded in a very real way! Certainly no half-starved Hollywood actor. What about you? Would you want to read about a hero or heroine who has a little more to love than just angles?

A Novice To Watch: Meet Sara Lindsey!!!

Here's some Monday Morning News I've been looking forward to sharing!

I'd like you to meet debut author, SARA LINDSEY! Tomorrow, her first release, PROMISE ME TONIGHT, will be on shelves ready for readers to snap up! Sara has signed with Signet Eclispe and will be celebrating another release from her Weston Family Series in June. Talk about livin' the dream, huh?!

Get ready to get inspired and to fall in love with a new author to follow!


1) If you were a book, what would your blurb be?

A bookish graduate student by day, Sara Lindsey's nights are filled with romance and passion ... of the fictional variety. As an historical romance author, Sara dreams up happily ever after endings for her characters while remaining optimistic that someday a billionaire cowboy-turned-CEO (who is also the heir to a dukedom) will show up and ride her off into the sunset on a white horse.

2) Using three words describe your voice?

Smart. Sassy. Sparkling. (And sometimes prone to alliteration...)

3) Tell us a little about how you got "The Call". Was it everything you hoped it'd be?

In true twenty-first century fashion, I actually got “The Email,” which was really for the best as my wild screams might have deafened my agent had we been on the phone. I was in my apartment in New York, but fortunately my roommate is also my best friend so she screamed with me, much to the dismay of the cat and probably all our neighbors. Then I called my mom and screamed some more. I'd had my fingers crossed for a two-book deal, so the offer for three books was even better than I'd hoped.

4) What's the best writing/industry advice you've ever recieved?

The best advice I ever received was from Julia Quinn, just as I was starting out. She told me that if I wanted to be a writer, I actually had to put my butt in a chair and write.

5) Newbie writer to published for the masses: How have you grown as a writer?

I learned how to finish a book. That's the biggest difference between a newbie writer and a published author - the ability to complete a manuscript. Starting a book is the easy part. It's fun and exciting to come up with the characters and think of ideas for their story. Pushing forward and fleshing out those characters and plot ideas is the hard work. Putting your butt in the chair and writing is how you grow as a writer. There's no way around it. Believe me, I've looked! *g*

6) You're not just a published author, you're also a graduate student. Any advice for your fellow writers on time management? What's your trick for staying organized?

Ha ha ha ha ha haNO. I am the last person to give advice on time management. It's something I constantly struggle with, especially since writing always seems to come last. It's far easier to complete a school assignment (or an errand or household chore), because it can generally be completed in a much shorter time frame than it takes to write a book.

That's one thing I have learned. If you look at your book as a single, enormous project, the chances of finishing it diminish ... unless you are the type of person who enjoys the feeling of standing on one side of a huge chasm and leaping off without caring if you make it to the other side. I like knowing I can make the jump, so I've learned to take a lot of little jumps I know I can land. These little jumps might be meeting a daily goal (words or pages), completing a scene, or even writing uninterrupted for a set period of time - whatever it is, I know it's something I can accomplish in the space of a day (or a week). The end is in sight as soon as I start, so I have no excuse to do something easier like scrub the toilet or dust on top of the kitchen cabinets (both of which I have done to avoid writing).

Make goals you can meet - that's my advice, though it doesn't really have anything to do with time management, except that (in my experience) if something seems too daunting, you will somehow manage to never find time for it. As for staying organized, my latest obsession is Google Calendar - I have it set up to email me my daily agenda.

7) Your debut release, PROMISE ME TONIGHT, hits bookshelves tomorrow. What's going through your head right now? Are you doing anything to celebrate?

I'm a bundle of nerves right now because I'm doing a reading at Lady Jane's Salon (http://www.ladyjanesalon.com/) tonight and I have a terrible fear of public speaking. I'm going to celebrate by going around and signing stock at bookstores throughout Manhattan with numerous stops for cupcakes and hot chocolate along the way!

8) What's up next for you?

This is a busy year for the Westons (and me!) since Tempting the Marquess, Olivia Weston's book, is due out June 1, and then A Rogue for All Seasons (featuring Henry Weston) releases in January 2011. Readers can stay updated by joining my newsletter at http://www.saralindsey.net/.

Excerpt:

“D-did you miss me?” She tried to keep the question light and teasing, but James heard the wobble in her voice, saw her beautiful eyes glistening too brightly.

“I didn’t want to.” He realized the truth in the words as he spoke them.

“I didn’t want to,” he said again, taking an involuntary step toward her, then another and another, until he was face-to-face with her. He knew he should back up, return her to the dining room, and then make his farewells and leave—leave until this madness had passed.

She was a child, and a younger sister of his best friend, for Christ’s sake. The only feelings he should have toward her were those of a protective older brother. Anything else was inappropriate and dangerous. Yes, James knew he should walk away, but he had an awful suspicion he wasn’t going to.

“Y-you didn’t want to. . . .” Her voice shook as she watched him.

James swallowed hard, and then nodded once.

“B-but you did?” It was half question, half statement.

He stared down into her aquamarine eyes, dewy with tears. They were at once the eyes of the woman she had become—the most beautiful, most desirable woman he had ever encountered—and of the adorable, irascible girl she had been. He had never been able to lie to the child, and he found it just as impossible now.

He had missed her. He had missed her wit, and her sunny smiles, and her delight in the absurd. He had missed their conversations, and the looks they shared when Henry said something particularly daft, and the way she had always shown up no matter how hard he and Henry had tried to hide from her.

More than all of that, though, he had missed her—some indefinable quality that was Isabella.

Dear Lord, he was becoming a half-wit. Yes, he had missed Isabella. He had also missed Henry, Lady Weston, and the rest of the family. There were a lot of people he had missed, including his tailor, his boot-maker, and Lucy, the lovely little ballet dancer who had been his mistress before he’d left.

Of course he had missed Isabella; she was practically his little sister. It would have been strange if he hadn’t missed her, James rationalized.

Isabella was still looking up at him expectantly, anxiety and hope written clearly on her face.

“Yes,” James said easily, now that he had figured out his feelings. He smiled down at her benevolently. “Of course I missed you.”

The expression of pure joy that burst across her face was dazzling. Her happiness wrapped itself about him and yanked hard at his insides.

“Oh, James,” she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. Then she pressed her mouth to his and he froze. Her eyes had fluttered closed, and she was kissing him without a whit of skill, frantically rubbing her lips against his, and he, James Sheffield, acknowledged rake, was instantly harder than the oak bookcases lining the room.

How is that for a tasty teaser?! Gotta love a heroine who can throw a rakehell for a loop!

On behalf of novices everywhere, I'd like to wish Sara tons of success with her debut and tomorrow's release of PROMISE ME TONIGHT! If you'd like to learn more about Sara Lindsey, please click on over and scope out her website: www.saralindsey.net!

Thank YOU, TLN'ers, for swinging by and showing the love! We newbies have to sick together! To help get your Monday rolling- here's the Bangles singing MANIC MONDAY! Don't worry, Friday will here soon enough! Now, that's my FUN-day!