Jayne Castle's Blog

We know, we didn't give you any warning. The truth is, we, ourselves, didn't realize that we were going to shut down Running With Quills until a couple of days ago. It was one of those sudden, intuitive group decisions and once it had been made we knew we wanted to do it fast, make it clean and move on.

RWQ has been a wonderful adventure for all of us. You -- the fabulous readers who dropped in to visit and chat -- are the reason this blog worked so well for so long. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your warmth and friendship. But as we all know, if there's one thing that's certain about the online world, it is that the only constant is change. Below you'll read some farewell sentiments from each of us and find links to our other online homes.

We wish you all the best of the holiday season and the New Year. And we hope you will visit us elsewhere in Cyberland.

Sincerely,

Jayne, Stella, Elizabeth, Kate, Lori, Carla and Susan

STELLA CAMERON:

Thank you for sharing our Quills space and for sharing yourselves with us.
I shall miss you, my flowers, but I hope you'll keep in touch. Please come and find me at:

www.stellacameron.com

www.facebook.com/stellacameron

www.twitter.com/stellacam

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Just Be Happy!

Stella


Lori Foster:

To every reader who ever visited us here at Quills, I hope you got at least half as much enjoyment from our blogs as I got from your responses.

A writer without readers would be a terrible thing. I don't want to lose touch with you, so please visit me at some of my other social medias!

www.lorifoster.com

Join me on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Foster/233405457965

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/lorilfoster

Let's compare books on Goodreads: goodreads.com/author/show/17597.Lori_Foster

Sign up for my monthly Newsletter! www.lorifoster.com/newsletter/index.php

THANK YOU x 10!

Lori Foster also writing as L.L. Foster

Susan Andersen:

It's been such a fun run with the Quillsters. I was leery of blogging when Elizabeth Lowell invited me to join RWQ and at first declined the offer. Then I thought, Are you crazy, girl? Pass up the opportunity to hang out with Elizabeth and Jayne and Stella and Lori and (at that time) Suzanne? So I gave it a pop and discovered a whole new world of online friends.

I've loved getting to know those of you who posted. And I hope you'll join me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Susan-Andersen/143285819043638 or stop by and browse through my webpage at www.susanandersen.com.

Thank you one and all—you've made the past few years incredibly pleasurable!

~Susan

Carla Neggers:

I enjoyed being one of the Quills and meeting so many wonderful readers and writers here. People can find me on Facebook or Twitter:

facebook.com/carlaneggers#!/pages/Carla-Neggers/119985488060713

twitter.com/carlaneggers

--Carla

Elizabeth Lowell:

I've been more skulker than presence, yet I'm going to miss everyone. Please keep in touch though my website elizabethlowell.com and find me on Facebook at facebook.com/ElizabethLowellFans

Until then, have a wonderful holiday season.

--Elizabeth

Kate Douglas:

I've really enjoyed being a part of the Running With Quills community—when Jayne invited me to join in January 2009, I was totally blown away by the chance to hang out with all those fantastic authors whose books fill my keeper shelves. (Sort of a book addict's dream) It's been fun, getting to know my fellow Quills and discovering what terrific ladies exist behind the "author persona," (They're not nearly as scary as I thought they were...well, not ALL the time, anyway...) and I've also loved getting the chance to meet the rest of Quillsville—you know who you are! The ones who come back week after week to see what kind of trouble we're getting into.

But just as blogs once burst onto the cyber-stage, we're seeing new social networking venues taking their place. As writers, we can only stretch ourselves just so far from our primary goal, which is bringing our stories to life, and after much soul-searching, we all realized that it's time for the blog to end.

Thank you all for your friendship and your fun and fascinating questions, and I do hope you'll come and chat at some of my other ports of call:

facebook.com/KateDouglas.authorpage

www.aphrodisiaauthors.com/blog/

KateDouglas-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (for newsletter and prizes)

twitter.com/wolftales

www.katedouglas.com

www.katedouglas.com/eroticromance

And to my fellow Quills—thank you all. This has been so much fun, and it's all because of you.

--Kate

Jayne Ann Krentz

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at RWQ. The opportunity to hang out with some of my sister writers was great but the truth is it is those of you who came here to visit who made this blog into a true online community. As book people we all – authors and readers -- share a very special kind of bond. I hope you will join me elsewhere on the net:

www.jayneannkrentz.com/

facebook.com/JayneAnnKrentz

--Jayne

Hey all,

Stella is traveling, Kate is still in Hawaii, and Carla is in NY.
Busy, busy Quills!

Hope y'all won't be sick of seeing me two blogs in a row. :-)

I survived my Black Friday shopping and got lots of fun stuff for the nieces. This year, I have done more than my fair share to help spur the economy!

A few days ago I took my five-year old grandson shopping with me at Toys R Us to get some things for Toys for Tots. For a few months now, hubby and I saved change in a special jar, then he and the grandson rolled it, and the grandson and I shopped.
We got quite the haul and truly enjoyed ourselves.
It did my heart good to hear my grandson decide what a "little girl" or "little boy" might like best. He was very enthusiastic, and very into the idea of giving to those with special needs.

One cute toy we saw, we loved so much that I have to share it. In fact, I want one! When I get a chance, I'll be back at Toys R Us for my own.






Isn't that adorable? It makes all these long funny noises, and that mouth! LOL. Love it.

If you're like me and like to pick up stuff for your animals too, take a look at this fun cat game/toy. Liger and KiKi love it, but Grim doesn't quite understand. He tends to pounce on the ball, and then run away.







For some of those "hard to buy for" relatives, I picked out memory boards. I like them because you can easily change out the photos so visitors always have some new pictures to look at.

I have a lot of the family gatherings at my house, and I try to always take pictures and later share them in the memory boards.

I have two right by my front door!

While everyone was at my house for Thanksgiving, I took some good photos, and put them into memory boards before wrapping them as gifts.

The personal touch!

This is the first Christmas without my dad, and it's bound to have some pretty sad moments. But I hope everyone will remember him with a smile. He enjoyed the big get togethers, and he was always the first to go around and say "Hi" to everyone.

Will you be missing someone special this Christmas?
Do you have any special gifts planned, or are you a gift certificate kind of person?
Have you ever seen a kid's toy that you had to have for yourself? LOL. I'm terrible for doing that!
Do you buy for your pets?

By the way, if you're not on my Facebook Fan Page, now's the time to get there.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lori-Foster/233405457965
Go to the "Discussions" to get in on some holiday giving from me. :-)

Whatever your plans, I hope you're enjoying the Holiday Season!

Lori
aka
L. L. Foster
http://www.lorifoster.com/

Baby, it's cold outside!
How was your Thanksgiving Day? I hope all of you were warm and cozy, gathered with friends and/or family, eating, laughing, and having a good time.

Usually we do Thanksgiving at my Mother in Law's, but this year hubby and I hosted it - with hubby doing the majority of the cooking since I'm on a very tight deadline and I'm hopeful to be done before Christmas. :-) I counted 3 times, but all I know is that we had somewhere over 30 people.

Here's the carving of the turkey...

I'm not a Black Friday shopper, and in fact, I always finish my shopping early so that I won't have to be out and about in the crush. But one niece asked to spend the night during her school break (she's 13) and I'm taking another niece shopping so she can pick her own Christmas gifts (she's 11) and so... the girls stayed over after Thanksgiving for a Black Friday shopping trip.
Egads.

That's Mackenzie, me, and Katie. Fun girls!


I LOVE to go shopping with the girl relatives. I have 3 sons, and a grandson, so I rarely get to buy girlie things. Normally I'm totally in for an all day spree. But with this deadline, and the holiday sales and madness... Oy. Under normally circumstances I'd never deliberately go anywhere near a mall on Black Friday.
But what can I say? I'm an awesome auntie. :-) At least, I hope that's how they see me.

My gifts are all wrapped, but since my tree isn't up yet, they're all stacked in my living room on the couch, the chairs, the floor... I'm betting that by the time I get the tree up (first week of December) the cats will have removed most of the bows and ribbons that I painstakingly attached.

Around finishing this book (please, please) I'm also taking part in a booksigning on Dec. 4th, 1:00 to 3:00 at the West Chester, Ohio B&N on the Streets of West Chester. If you're in the area, join me! I'll be giving away some goodies.

On the 17th, a bunch of us are meeting at Dianne Castell's (aka Duffy Brown) for a holiday gathering where we'll gab, share cookies and ornaments, and just plain have fun! (I'll share photos!)

On the 19th, I'm meeting for brunch with mega talented and super fun radio personalities Chris and Janeen - Married with Microphones. I listen to Chris and Queen Janeen every weekday morning while checking emails and drinking my coffee.

We'll have Christmas Eve at my house again. It's become a tradition and I wouldn't change it for the world. So much family, so much laughter, so much chaotic fun. Way more people than we had for Thanksgiving. I need a new house that includes a banquet hall. LOL

What about you? Any fun stuff planned?
Have you finished shopping? Not even started yet? Somewhere in between?

Do you have a tradition of going out on Black Friday, or like me, do you usually steer clear? What about for Christmas?

I'm going to give away 3 books - readers choice - to a randomly drawn name out of all posters. I'll pick the name on Sunday night, maybe 8:00pm Eastern or somewhere around there. (Give or take an hour or two.) Remember to check back to see if you won! Or feel free to leave your email address with your post and I'll notify you.
(Books of your choice must be books I have available from my own stash.)

Happy Holidays to all!

Lori
aka
L. L. Foster
http://www.lorifoster.com/

If your family's like ours, I imagine during the holidays a lot of your younger couples do the trade-off thing with their respective families. For years the soul mate and I alternated Thanksgivings between my parents and his. I don't remember exactly when that changed, but it was probably when his mom and dad went into assisted living and began celebrating more of T-day with my husband's sister on Vashon Island. Around that same time my oldest brother and his wife assumed the [image error] hosting duties for my side.

So a new tradition of going to Ken and Sue's for Thanksgiving to celebrate with both my side of the family and Sue's was born. Then her father's Alzheimer's got to the point where being away from his home on Whidbey Island for too long
sister sue
made him anxious and her niece started hosting the rest of her family up on Whidbey, where they live. By the time Walt died, they had established a new tradition.

After the transition, Than[image error]ksgiving dinners went from around 3 [image error] 0-40 people down to as few as 8, depending on where our now grown kids celebrate. wrong holiday but right season, year and guests

But some things remain the same.
I always bring the pumpkin pie. We always eat too much. And K & S's house always rings with laughter and the sound of little kids running wild and guys arguing with umpire calls during the Turkey Day football game.

Have a great holiday, everyone! What is your Thanksgiving tradition?

[image error]

Wow, where did this year go? Thanksgiving coming up this week and then it's December and then it's 2011! A new year means a new book for me. And this year that book is IN TOO DEEP, the first book in the Looking Glass Trilogy. For those who follow me into my various Arcane worlds, this is Fallon's book.I'll be doing only one signing for this book, that will be at Seattle Mystery Bookshop at noon on Tuesday, December 28th. If you'd like a signed copy (and a Collector's Packet) and you can't attend the event, you can reserve both by contacting the store at staff@seattlemystery.com or Phone: (206) 587-5737. They do a great job with mail orders and they'll be happy to send you a Collector's Packet as well. It works like this: I'll sign — and personalize if you wish — your copy while I'm in the store that Tuesday. Afterward, the friendly staff will mail the book and packet to you. Makes a great gift! By the way, this year the special Collector's Packet includes a Jones & Jones pen. If you want to reserve a book with a packet check this list to see if there is a participating bookstore near you. If there is no participating store near you or if you buy your books at another store or in electronic form, you can order a Collector's Packet by sending your receipt for the purchase of In Too Deep along with your name and address to: Purple Papaya IN TOO DEEP Packets P.O. Box 620613 Woodside, CA 94062 Now, here's your first look at Fallon from IN TOO DEEP. Fallon picked up midway through the first ring. "What the hell is wrong?" he asked. "I knew I shouldn't have let your drive out there in this weather." "I need backup," Isabella said. "Huh. Don't tell me you found a real ghost." "There's something in this house that needs to be found," Isabella said. "Not sure what, yet, but I don't think it's going to be anything good." "What makes you say that?" Fallon asked. "There's a basement involved." I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Sincerely, Jayne

What, you might ask, is she talking about? Why, the STORM OF THE CENTURY, it appears...at least, that's what my husband AND the weatherpersons have been saying all week. We're supposed to get our first snowfall this weekend, which, in our household, is a VERY BIG THING because that means that, no matter what else is planned, Bompa (husband) brings in LOTS of firewood, and the grandkids that live closest will arrive, along with the granddog and a ton of snow gear, and Dabba (me) starts cooking...AND COOKING, and then we wait.

And hope. We live on a hillside--it's the perfect, gentle slope for little ones on sleds, and the few times we've been able to "schedule" a big snowfall with a free weekend for the grandkids have been absolutely wonderful. So I'm hoping the weatherman got it right, hoping we get enough snow to freeze fingers and toes and noses, and hoping we really do fill the house up with the grands--Luca is 9, Gracie 6 and Cole 4--all perfect ages for sledding, though their mommy and daddy are usually right in there, sliding down the hill with them.
Does it snow where you live? We never get all that much--just a few times a year, though this one, if it happens, is coming about two months earlier than normal. I have to admit I feel like a little kid when it snows. The pictures are from snowfall last year, but you can see why I love it--it's absolutely gorgeous, covers up all the rough edges and makes the world look new. This photo to the left was taken in the early morning--I love fresh snow on the branches!
Another thing that's coming is my next to the last Wolf Tales--and I finally received some early copies of Wolf Tales 11 along with Advance Reader Copies of StarFire, my third book in the DemonSlayers series. I'll be giving a choice of one or the other to a reader leaving a comment.
PS: the downside to snow and grandkids coming, is shoveling it out of the driveway--Bompa's back conveniently gets REALLY SORE when it snows, and Dabba "gets" to help...aren't I the lucky one! (At least Bompa had the camera handy for proof!)
I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and a terrific Thanksgiving. Even in tough times, we all have so much to be thankful for. And if you DO get the "storm of the century" this weekend, please drive carefully, stay warm, and enjoy some quiet time with a really good book.

Good morning, everyone! I'm writing from rainy Boston. I finished the first draft of my work-in-progress on Monday and took of Tuesday morning to visit friends from out west who are in town. We had a fun, relaxing lunch that included a lot of laughs and Boston cream pie. Now we're spending the day with our little guy, who is playing with his trains and going, "Toot, toot!"
A nice, much needed break...
I'm catching up on RWQ, and now I want to go to that cabin pictured in Stella's blog! I love to hear and read writers on their writing process. I'm not a regimented writer but I'm disciplined. I've found that I do best when I can let the forces of "abandonment" and "concentration" play out.
For instance, on the drive to Boston yesterday, I figured out a problem that's been bugging me in SAINT'S GATE, my work-in-progress. I'll address it in the next draft, but I know this epiphany couldn't have happened if I'd stayed at my desk and tried to force it. It took walking away from the story. "Abandoning" it for a while -- which is different from abandoning it altogether! It's not quitting, and it's not really taking a break. I know I'll be back at my desk tomorrow. I know when I want to have the next draft finished. Deadlines give the abandonment a necessary framework. But I wasn't thinking about the story. I was thinking about lunch with our friends.
I love the way Kenneth Atchity in A WRITER'S TIME describes the creative process. I highly recommend this book to any writer.
This yin-yang of focusing on the work and walking away from the work helps me on a day-to-day basis, too. A long walk along the river in the midst of a pressing deadline gives everything a chance to sift around in the back of my mind. I don't consciously focus on the writing. I just walk.
Okay, the trains aren't amusing Leo anymore. Off I go!
Have a great day, everyone, and I'd love to hear how your approach a creative project -- or what you do when you've been nose-to-the grindstone and get a bit of a break.
Oh, the other thing I do after finishing a book? Clean the refrigerator. ;-)
Carla

[image error]Happy Monday, My Flowers:


Kate has inspired me to try sharing some of my writing process with you. I'm taking you to Funnel Rock Cove on Whidbey Island where my current story is unfolding.


I can see the cove ('cause I've been there) and the bluff where Two Chimneys Cottage stands, and the dense forest surrounding the cottage. There is a bar and restaurant called Gabriel's Place and a lovely shop run by a fae lady. The werewolves hang out in one place, my spectacular werehounds in another and I haven't yet decided where the vampire puts himself.

[image error]Niles Latimer, Leigh Kelly, Sean, Ethan, Gabriel, Molly, Jazzy the dog, Cliff Ames, the chef and Sally his helper and, of course, Skillywidden, tiny hairless cat the color of polished silver and as soft as silk, have come to me as my preparations progress.


Each story has a seed at its center but that seed needs a whole lot of attention to turn it into the stuff of fully developed fiction. Niles and Leigh have taken many hours of my time to "flesh out," including work on their speech patterns, voices, mannerisms, attitudes to ordinary and extraordinary situations. I have to know what they want. And I have to know what they don't want or won't tolerate.


In the case of Two Chimneys I must also understand the worlds these characters come from and why they are all together in this one place now. Conflict, conflict, conflict--what has gone wrong and what more may go wrong, and how will they deal with potentially life altering (or terminating!) events.


So far I've written twelve chapters of this book and it only grows in fascination for me. I love it when a character--nice or not so nice--walks into my line of vision and cracks me up.


Leigh has had a rough time of it most of her life. Then, when she thought she had achieved all she could want, she lost the most important element of it again. Now she is determined to quit feeling sorry for herself and get on with making a fresh start. She's a bit snippy sometimes and even can be tough because she had to be when she was growing up--but she is someone I would love to have as a friend. Niles agrees with me but he has his own mountains to climb, not the least of which is his being a werehound.


That's a little peek inside. I'll give you more non-storykilling tidbits as I go along but I do love reading about the way people work.


Fondly,
Stella, Millie, Jazzy and Skillywidden!


If you have any questions about writing I'll do my best to explain what I do and I expect my sisters in crime will have a few gems to add.


Also, I would like to collect some favorite Christmas recipes here for people to share. Please would you send any contributions to me at pushpen@hotmail.com?

Okay, so I'm almost entirely done with CrystalFire. Finally. Finished. Almost. The book will, barring any major calamities, go off in the fancy little FedEx truck on Monday after I finish my final read. This is the last one in the DemonSlayers series--I wrote my final Wolf Tales a few weeks ago,just completed page proofs for StarFire, which releases in April, and I honestly don't know how to feel.
Sort of sad to say good-bye to yet another set of characters I've grown attached to, excited to have completed a series that was merely a few ideas in a conversation I had with my agent just two short years ago, and--this is the biggest surprise!--anxious to get started on the new series that's still in negotiations between my editor and my agent. My editor wants it, I want to write it and so far it's a process of details I'd rather just stay out of.
I know. I am SUCH a wuss! I'm obviously involved in the business side of my career, but I really only want to think about the stories, and I'm surprised at how quickly the old characters are slipping away, and new ones are taking their place. I love this part. I think of it as the discovery period of writing. Just what does my hero look like? And what about the heroine? I need a good visual so I can write them. Sometimes I go online and look through model portfolios, other times I break down and buy a PEOPLE magazine and check out the actors and actresses who are popular. I don't watch television or see many movies, so I'm really out of the loop on what's in and what's not, and magazines really do help.
Then, I need to interview them once I've got a visual. I love to know if my hero is an only child or if he learned to deal with women by coping with a bossy big sister--or caring for a younger sibling. Maybe my heroine dropped out of college because of a bad experience, or maybe she was a volunteer working in a third world country. Maybe the hero and heroine knew each other as kids and couldn't stand each other--whatever the dynamics are that formed them will eventually play out in their internal motivations when I sit down to write. I love the interview process--I sit down and ask my character questions and write what pops into my head. You would be surprised at what I learn!
That's how I knew that Anton Cheval from Wolf Tales had been a magician as a kid, and his ability with sleight of hand helped him survive on the streets when he was a child. Things like that are part of my background and may never actually show up in the story, but by knowing little details about my characters, they go from being two dimensional drawings to three dimensional people.
Of course, the down side is that when I finish their last book, I need therapy for separation anxiety, because by then they're absolutely real to me--and hopefully, they're just as real for my readers.
Think of a favorite character you've read in a story--is there one who really popped off the page and hung around long after you finished the book? I loved Marlowe Jones in Jayne's MIDNIGHT CRYSTAL. For some reason she really resonated with me--I can't put my finger on why--attitude, most likely--but there ya have it! Anyway, I'd love to hear who some of your favorites are, and what it is that makes them special.
Books currently on the shelves--I can't get links on the covers to work, but there are first chapter excerpts at www.katedouglas.com for DemonSlayers, and www.katedouglas.com/eroticromance for Wolf Tales.

Hey, all. My friend and sister Pacific North-Westerner is joining us today with the deets on her new Christmas book and some exciting news on last Christmas' book, which I getta dish! On Strike For Christmas, which many of you probably read after she blogged about it last year, has been made into a lifetime movie! It will be on the (duh) Lifetime channel December 5th! Isn't that just the coolest?

But equally cool is her now book, The Snowglobe. So please join me in giving Sheila a big Quills welcome so she can tell us all about it. Take it away, Sheila!

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LET IT SNOW GLOBE!

Don't you love snow globes? I sure do. I think what I love the most about them is the perfect scene under the globe. It always stays [image error]perfect, no matter how much you shake things up, no matter how wild a blizzard you create. When the snow settles, everything is perfect once more. Just like real life, right? Hahahahahaha.

Ever had moments when you wished you could crawl inside a snow globe and stay in that nice, perfect world? I sure have, especially around the holidays when things are starting to get crazy.

Ever have a perfect moment you wished you could capture? You know, those awesome times when the children are sleeping and looking so angelic, when the snow is softly falling outside and you're warm inside with a nice fire going and a good book (or a good man!), the one time everyone liked what you made for dinner. I can think of several times in my life that I would love to have captured in a snow globe: listening to my big brother read the Christmas story at my family's annual Christmas Eve gathering, the celebration the day we brought our daughter home, my baby son racing around his crib and smiling in anticipation as I entered the room to get him up from his nap, the day my husband and I made our wedding vows, the time I lost enough weight to fit into my dream dress (boy, ther[image error]e was a fleeting moment!).

In The Snow Globe my characters find a snow globe in an antique shop that shows whoever possesses it just what she needs to see to give her hope and help her fix her life. Oh, wouldn't we all love a snow globe like that? I sometimes wonder if I had a snow globe that showed me the future what I would want to see. Me, skinnier, with no wrinkles. On Dancing with the Stars. Hmmm. If I saw that would I be in a wheelchair? Probably, since I'm sure if I went down for the splits I'd never come up again. I must admit I'm happy with my life right now and grateful for all the good things in it and the friends and family that make me feel so blessed. Still what the heck, put me in there with Jonathan or Derek, wearing lots of sequins and make me twenty years younger and thirty pounds lighter. And forget the snow. Give me glitter!

What about you? What would you see? Whatever you're longing for, whatever the future holds, as we charge into the holiday season, I wish for all of you this year a season of hope and joy.