Posted by: Author | September 27, 2011

Special Guest: Ben Wallace

JILLIAN: I met Ben on Twitter and he’s hilarious, especially his five minute hate hashtag. I thought it would be fun to have him pop by the old blog. I had no idea he had a phobia about other men’s parts, but I’ll let him tell you about that! If his books are as funny as he is, we’re in for a treat. I, for one, am off to get my hands on one.

BEN:

I wanted to thank Jillian for inviting me to do a post on her blog. But I should also add that I’m a little intimidated. Why? Look at her books. No, really, click that link, check out the covers and come back.

What did you see? Romance. Passion. That’s right. I mean, look at that guy on her cover. He’s barely wearing a shirt at all. It makes me a little uncomfortable.

It’s just I feel that I’ve stepped into the wrong restroom and I must flee before being discovered.

It’s not the books. It’s not the guy’s chest. It’s me. I’ve always been shy and timid – especially around women and other men’s nipples.

But here I am trying to convince a room full of romance fans that my books are also worth reading.

I honestly don’t know how I’m going to do it. My books don’t have a ton of romance. I have to fade to black when my characters embrace just to keep myself from blushing.

There is most certainly love in my stories. A love story is a great story to tell. It’s just that whenever my characters get “passionate” I explode a boat, or introduce a Super Smart Bear so I don’t have to write the mushy stuff.

I could try flattery and tell you that you all look beautiful, which you do, but I’m afraid it would seem insincere. And, I don’t want to risk insulting your intelligence.

Even though I’m awkward around women, I think it’s important to note that I have a great deal of respect for women. Women are awesome. When I write their characters in my books I strive to never make them the damsel in distress. I want to make them strong characters, but not in that stereotypical Hollywood strong-fiercely-independent-I-don’t-need-anyone-so-I’ll-treat-everyone-like-dirt kind of way. I mean, we’re all just people, right?

Now it feels like I’m pandering. Is it hot in here?

Okay, here’s the deal. My books are big on action, big on adventure and big on laughs. I’ve also started a new series of short stories starring Dumb White Husband. He may not be the perfect man, but he’s someone we all know/love/hate/laugh at.

Check them out at www.benjaminwallacebooks.com and see what you think.

Thank you for having me here today. I hope it didn’t sound too stupid

-ben

JILLIAN: Ya’ll play gentle with Ben, now. Thanks for coming by, Ben.

20110926-162038.jpg

17 Comments

Posted in guests | Tags: , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 26, 2011

Driving Time

Once a month, I go to a city three hours away one way. I sometimes go over the the night before but the Sunday afternoon drivers are insane. Rush, rush. It stresses me out.  So, I like to go over the morning of the court appearances. I don’t really like the getting up between 4 and 4:30, because I’m so paranoid that I’ll miss the alarm that my body wakes me up every hour so I get no real good rest. I like the predawn drive, though as it is quiet and all the crazy drivers are usually still abed.

I use this time on the road to think out plot problems and to think about what comes next in the story. Today was quite productive on the way over (I’m still here as I write this)- I figured out how to make sure my heroine,  Zoe, doesn’t  act too stupid to live, I figured out how they are going to solve the crimes and the last chapter came to me fully formed, complete with witty dialogue!  So, hopefully, tonight I can remember it all and type that puppy!  This is the way I work. I write some in order, some random chapters to be inserted and usually the end before I get to the middle.  Yep, it’s weird, but strangely, it works for me.

10 Comments

Posted in Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 24, 2011

I Love the Way My Kid’s Brain Works

#1 son sent me an email asking me to go to Sam’s and buy two jumbo jars of Jif peanut butter and ship them to him. He’s not digging the UK version of peanut butter.  It’s too runny and gritty.  I told #2 son about his brother’s request and he killed me with his immediate comment.

He said, “George Washington Carver’s  invention didn’t translate well over there and they won’t import it because they hate his name.”

Dear God, the boy could write a Friday Fact for me, couldn’t he? LOL!

6 Comments

Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 23, 2011

Friday Facts- September 23, 2011- U Boats

I’m writing Book Two in the Gambler’s Inheritance trilogy. It occurs just after WWII. I’ve been doing some research and wanted to share something I just happened upon in the research sites I’ve looked at. I like the sound of this word so I wanted to share it. We’ve all heard of the submarines the Germans used in WWI and WWII and we’ve all called them U boats. Have you ever seen the German word for them? It’s a great word. It’s Unterseeboot. It means under sea boat. So easy. How cool is it that a German word is so easily translated to English?

In English, we call our own under sea boats submarines and the German ones U boats. In German, they call ours the same thing they call theirs. Same kind of boat, same name.  I think I know why we differentiate ours. Or I have an opinion anyway (shocking, I know, that I have an opinion). What do you think is the reason?

6 Comments

Posted in Friday Facts

Posted by: Author | September 22, 2011

Wanted to Share This Photo

#1 son took this picture from the window at the architecture studio in Sheffield, England. His apartment complex is the shorter set of bldgs you see behind the two taller bldgs. I loved this picture as it shows a cool perspective of the city – it seems to go on and on, doesn’t it? I like the look of the sky as well. 

10 Comments

Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 21, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

8 Comments

Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags:

Posted by: Author | September 20, 2011

Words, Words, Words

I got on a roll last night when I got home from the day job and wrote a whole chapter. It was awesome that the words were flowing like they did. This book is coming together pretty quickly but last night was magic. It was an intense chapter and I hope I got the medical details right. I’m pretty sure I did, but I’m going to ask my friend the doctor to read it and see what he thinks.  I’ve known him since I was 9 and he was 7 and he won’t pull any punches and he’ll sure tell me if I’m full of crap.

Of course, we are talking about 1947 medicine so there will be none of those fancy machines he uses now.  We’ll test his “field” medicine skills.  I’m sure he’s up to the task as he’s one of the most brilliant men I know.

I hope the faucet stays on as I start Chapter eight tonight.   I love words when they flow!

6 Comments

Posted in Random thoughts, Writing | Tags: , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 19, 2011

Special Guest: Michelle Miles

Today I have a guest who I met on twitter. We bonded over the chest of the actor that plays Captain Morgan in the commercial that I’m attaching to the end of this post.  Michelle Miles is one of the writers who has a short story in the Entangled Anthology and I asked her to come on and talk about it a little. I’ve read her story in this anthology and it is quite spectacular. The hero sounds tres divine.  Her bio in the book says she’s a lover of Victoria Holt and is a pantser- I knew I liked her for more reasons than Captain Morgan and his chest.  Without further ado, here she is:

MICHELLE:  Wrapped Up in Entangled

 First, I want to thank fellow Tweeter, Jillian Chantal, for having me here today! We share a love of Captain Morgan. The guy on the commercial. Not the booze. Well, okay, maybe the booze too.

 One of the things I love most about being a writer is giving back. I’ve been a contest coordinator for several years and I love calling those unpublished folks to tell them they’ve finaled. I’ve befriended several along the way and kept up with them. I like hearing about their successes and even when they get a rejection (because that’s still a success).

 When I was asked to be a part of the Entangled Anthology, I was ecstatic. This was a chance to give back in a different kind of way. Being able to share my story and being a part of a group of eleven authors who are all giving back to the same cause has been awesome. Cancer has claimed several of my family members, so I not only do this for breast cancer, but for all cancer.

 All the proceeds for the Entangled anthology are going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. BCRF-funded research has helped save lives and improved the quality of care and rate of survival for tens of thousands of breast cancer patients in the past decade. Their research has revealed that the “cure” is a mosaic made up of as many approaches to diagnosing, treating, preventing and surviving as there are different types of breast cancer. The anthology is also a mosaic made up of many stories donated for this worthwhile cause.

 Entangled includes ten suspense-filled paranormal stories from me as well as authors Lori Brighton, Michelle Diener, Cynthia Eden, Jennifer Estep, Misty Evans, Nancy Haddock, Liz Kreger, Dale Mayer and Edie Ramer, plus a novella by Allison Brennan. Stacia Kane contributed the foreword and the book’s formatting and cover art were also donated to the project.

 To help support BCRF, you can purchase your copy of Entangled (ebook only) from Barnes  Noble, Amazon, Smashwords, and other online retailers.

 Michelle Miles is published in contemporary, paranormal and fantasy romance and is a member of Romance Writers of America. For more information about her and her books, visit her website at http://www.michellemiles.net.

35 Comments

Posted in guests | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 18, 2011

Music and How Important It Is To My Process

About two weeks ago, the Tuesday after Labor day, I started writing the second book in the Gambler Series. I had a general idea of who the hero is since he’s the brother of the hero in book one, but he was just mentioned in passing as a ladies man in book one, so I had a lot of leeway with him. I knew he was going to be an American who joined the Royal Air Force at the time of the Blitz because he wanted to be part of the action. 

I also knew my heroine was going to be French and part of the Resistance. I also knew she was going to sneak on board the Queen Mary as the ship repatriated the war brides. I knew there would be murders in the story.  

That was about all I knew. As most of you know, I’m a panster and may have a general idea of the story but never the whole thing or an outline. I like the journey of discovery too much for that. I also usually have a soundtrack for each story. I’d been listing some potential songs for book two as well as book three of this series but had not downloaded them or really listened to them as a playlist, per se, before I started writing because I wasn’t sure I was going to write them. I pitched book one as the first in a series and if the publisher didn’t want two and three, I wasn’t going to spend the time writing them yet.

The first days were hard. The words weren’t flowing. Then I went to lunch with two writer friends. I was bemoaning the fact that the words were dragging out of me and then the lightbulb went on. DUH- I hadn’t immersed myself in the music I’d chosen. I normally listen to the specific play list in the car, at my office while I work on legal stuff and pretty much anytime I can have it going. So, that night, I downloaded the song list I’d made for book two and started listening. Guess what? The faucet turned on and the words flowed.  How wild is that?

Some of the songs on the playlist are still mysteries as to why my  brain chose them, but the subconscious is a powerful thing and I know the reasons are there. I’ll discover them on the journey. I’ll share that list soon. For now, I’ll share one song that I thought meant one thing to the hero and I discovered on Saturday as I wrote that there was a whole other subplot there for him.

2 Comments

Posted in Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: Author | September 16, 2011

Friday Facts- September 16, 2011- Emeralds

Long prized by the upper classes of Egypt, the emerald, a type of  gem called beryls, was rumored to be the favorite of Cleopatra- she even had her own mine of them. Interestingly, Elizabeth Taylor, who played Cleopatra in a film version of the story with Richard Burton, received emeralds from him as both engagement and wedding gifts (maybe not so interestingly- as it was the film where they fell in love, right?)

Anyway, Emeralds are said to bring luck in love as well as faithfulness. It also gives the wearer wisdom. Let’s hope it brings wisdom in choosing love as well, right?

The emerald is May’s birthstone. It has healing properties for the eyes, lungs, and heart, by tradition.

My dear friend, Arabella Stokes has a Georgian historical romance coming out in November with Champagne Books and she got an awesome cover. It’s this cover that inspired today’s Friday Fact. Check it out:

7 Comments

Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: , , , , , , ,

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories