Favorite Blogger of the Month (October)

Tadaa ... and here's my Favorite Blogger of October!
It's Danielle Schmidt from Romance Book Junkies. Welcome to my blog, Danielle! It's a pleasure to meet you.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your blog. Why did you start your own book review blog, and which genres do you feature?

I am a 31 year old housewife. I love to blog, read and paint. I also enjoy chatting with other romance junkies so email me anytime. I started my blog because I had met very few people in my life that actually read romance novels and I wanted that interaction with other romance lovers. I also wanted to share all the books I read with others that might like to read a good book that I could recommend. We spend all that time reading a book it seems only natural to want to share that experience with someone else. I will talk and post about any genre in romance on my blog. If there’s a romance going on in the book then it has a spot on my blog that’s why I sometimes will even venture into genres such as historical fiction.

What genres do you read in private? What are your most favorite books of all time?

The genres I read normally are paranormal romance, historical romance and erotica or at least those are the ones I love the most. My favorite book of all time hmmm? That’s like asking a mother to pick her favorite child. Off the top of my head two books come to mind “The Other Boleyn Girl” and “Twilight” even though I normally don’t read YA.

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?

You really do have to be picky about what you read when you’re a blogger because you get so many review requests and you just don’t have time to read them all. I look for books in the genres I like most to read and I hate to say it but I am extremely influenced by a cover. I just can’t help it and I know its wrong.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?

Like I said I have no real job besides taking care of the family so when everyone is off to school and work I get to blog and I do most of my reading at night before I go to bed when everyone else is sleeping. I have many late nights especially with good books sometimes I’ll be up until 2:00 in the morning then get up at 6:00 and start all over but it’s a labor of love truly.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult to deal with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)

Honestly, I find most writers to be very delightful, corporative and generous.

You will be attending the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us what you've planned for the event.

I am very much looking forward to the Indie Romance Convention next year. Some of my favorite authors are attending. I don’t have a lot planned besides taking pictures, getting books signed and meeting authors. I may be planning to bring along some goodies to hand out from my blog but we’ll have to wait and see. I am also planning to donate a gift basket for the charity raffle that we’ll be having.

Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz

Favorite TV series: I don’t watch TV ever so I don’t have a favorite series.

Favorite singer/band: Fergie with the Black Eyed Peas

Most beautiful male celebrity: Brad Pitt

Sexiest fictional hero ever: Gladiator (Russell Crowe)

Best fictional villain ever: Snow Whites Stepmother in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman

Best fictional heroine ever: The Queen in the movie 300 she was kick ass

Your secret beauty tip: Wash your face everyday with Olay Regenerist

Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)

Dump Cake

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can chopped pineapple

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick buttler

Grease your pan then pour in your cherries and pineapple evenly. Top with yellow cake mix then cut butter into slices and layer on top of cake mix totally. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes and your done. Yummy and simple.

Thank you for your wonderful and interesting answers, Danielle! ;-)

Indulgent Blog Hop: Book Giveaway, and a Cake to Indulge in!!!

Dear Readers,

since I'm part of the big anniversary Indulgent Blog Hop, hosted by the awesome book review site Guilty Indulgence, I am giving away three copies of "Bound to the Prince", "Virgin Dancer" or "House of Pleasure" (your choice) today, in any e-book format. To enter, please share the link to this blog on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ - just use the buttons below this post, and leave a comment with your e-mail and which book you'd like. Good Luck!

Visit Ndulgent Bloggers by clicking on the logo. There is also a list of all the sites participating in the hop at the end of this post, so make sure to check them out. Aditionally, Ndulgent Bloggers are hosting a GRAND PRIZE of $100 GF from WINNER'S CHOICE of Barnes & Noble or Amazon - you can enter to win below.


The Indulgent Bloggers also asked the participating authors to write about something they love to indulge in. Now this is a topic I love! ;-) Well, apart from reading books or watching my favorite tv-series/period dramas on TV (especially if they contain Benedict Cumberbatch or Alexander Skarsgard), I love baking cake - and naturally, eating it afterwards. *lol*

Today I'd like to share the recipe of a very popular German sheet cake called "Fanta Cake" with you. Yes, it's actually made with Fanta, and it's delicious. I swear everyone loves it! It has such a fresh, light taste (although it's not "light" at all if we're mentioning calories). And the best thing is, it's very easy to bake, and it's almost impossible to do something wrong - which is like chicken soup for the soul if you, like me, burned a lot of cakes before, or if your planned cheesecake turned out a wobbly, yellow mass even your cat didn't like to eat. Now here's the recipe:

Fanta Cake (Fantakuchen) - A Popular German Cake

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups sugar (if possible, try use vanilla sugar)
3 cups flour
1 cup oil (Sunflower is best. Any "light oil" like vegetable oil. Please don't use any of the "olive" oils beca)
orange, flavour
1 1/2 cups fanta orange (or other orange soda)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla (you don't need this if you used vanilla sugar, but if you REALLY like vanilla a lot, go ahead and ad)
1 can sliced peaches, drained
1 cup sour cream
1 cup whipped cream
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
cinnamon

Directions: 

1. For the cake: mix together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Add flour and then Fanta and mix well. At the end, mix in the baking soda then turn immediately into an ungreased 9 X 13 inch pan (use baking paper). Bake at 180°C (~350°F) for 30-45 minutes (time can vary depending on the oven) until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.
2. For icing: Whip cream until stiff and then fold in the soured cream and powdered sugar and "Whip it". Cut peaches into tiny pieces with a mixer and mix them carefully (using a spoon) with the whipped cream, then top the cake with the icing mass. Serve chilled. Shortly before serving, sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon.

xoxoxo
Deborah

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wonderful Reads of the Month (September Issue)

Check out author Eri Nelson's wonderful book magazine, "Supporting Authors One Read At A Time" - Wonderful Reads of the Month. It features lots of information about writers and new releases, and it's free! The September issue is now online.

http://wonderfulreadofthemonth.blogspot.de/

New Feature: Favorite Blogger of the Month!

Dear Readers,

As a reader who loves romance of all genres, I am addicted to the many awesome book blogs I found on the internet. When I started to publish my own books, I sent my work to bloggers and began to correspond with them. I found that they are not only crazy about books, but also invest a considerable amount of love, time and effort to keep their blogs going (most of them without any financial gain). They read and review books, publish interviews, author spotlights and giveaways and are very helpful when it comes to bringing writers and readers closer together. Readers love to hear something personal about their favorite authors, and we writers enjoy nothing more than comments from book lovers who enjoyed our work. 

This is why I decided to start a new feature: The Favorite Blogger of the Month. We read so much about authors, I think it's about time that we also learn something about the bloggers. Starting this month, I'll interview the people who are responsible (in a good way ;-)) for some of the best and most informative blogs out there. Many of them will also be a part of the first Indie Romance Convention 2013, so I hope they'll tell us a bit about their plans for this event (I am very happy to be one of the attending authors). My Favorite Blogger of September is my friend Laurie Garrison, owner of Bitten by Paranormal Romance. Welcome to my blog, Laurie! 

Please tell us about yourself and your blog.  
I have a wonderful husband, one daughter, three cats, two dogs, three rabbits and a host of all kinds of birds and squirrels I feed in my back yard. I love baking and trying new recipes. I’m an animal lover that won’t buy any products tested on animals. I also love playing video games. The Sims PC games are my favorite but I love Need for Speed, so I love getting on my Ps3 and playing race games with all of my friends.

I started reading again after Twilight came out. It wasn’t long before I hit authors like Sherrilyn Kenyon and J.R Ward. After that I started up a blog just to keep my reviews. My blog is a modest compared to a lot of others but I want to keep the paranormal romance first and far most, so that the PNR authors have a place to show themselves.

Which genres do you read in private? What are your most favorite books of all time?  
Anything I read is wide open so everyone can see. My top favorites are, Pleasures of the Night by Nina Bangs, Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Grave Sins by Jenna MacLanie, Thief Anitra by Lynn McLeod, Blackmailed by Annmarie McKenna and Wickedest Witch by Eve Langlais

With all those books being offered to you, you surely must be a bit picky about what you read. What intrigues you most in a story? Are you influenced by a good blurb or cover?  
ROFL. I wish I could be picky the sad fact is I take what the reviewers won’t take, or if I don’t have enough reviewers I’ll take almost anything. Reason is I hate to have an author miss out on being featured on my blog, even if I don’t like the book because I know someone will. The surprising fact is, I end up likening a lot of them, but if I would have read the blurb or any reviews beforehand I would have passed the book up. Sometimes I think people can be too picky and miss out on something wonderful because it’s hard to give you the whole take on a book in just a few words in a blurb.

What intrigues me the most is how the romance is carried out! I am a sucker for a couple that can come together against all odds, fall in love and have a HEA. It’s amazing but some authors can’t do this they, either focus more on the story or action and lose focus on the romance.

No, covers and blurbs doesn’t influence me one bit. I do like some covers better than others but I have never bought a book just for a cover.

How on earth do you find the time to manage such a busy blog besides your job and family life?

Let’s just say some things goes undone LOL. I have been lucky over the last month though because I have had an inflow of some wonderful reviewers that are enjoying reviewing, so I getting a bit of free time, yay me!! But I it’s just a little, I still don’t have enough to play my video games. I think my Ps3 friends things I dropped off the face of the earth, as a matter of fact, one even messaged me asking if I did. LOL.

Be honest: Is it easy or difficult dealing with us writers? I know that we can be an unorganized, sensitive lot sometimes. (You don't need to tell names …)

Over the last four years, I have only had to deal with two authors. One was fine after I took off her review. The other well that was a different story she pissed me off so bad that I wrote a post on my blog about it. Yea, no one calls my reviewer the devil and gets by with it, even if she was referring to all reviewers being the devil. But the thing was that woman was all over all of the blogs causing problems. Other than that all of my authors are wonderful, they’ll work with me in any way that I need them. Heck some will even come up with a post for me at the last minute. So, I feel very fortunate to have my great list of authors that comes to my blog all the time.

You will be hosting the first Indie Romance Convention next year! Please tell us how this awesome idea originated, what you expect from the event and how readers can attend.

How it originated is rather a long story because this is something that I had been toying with for years. My thing was I didn’t think I could pull the authors, so I kept pushing it back until this year. I did write a long post on the Indie Romance Convention blog about how I came about the idea so everyone is more than welcome to read it.

http://indieromanceconvention.blogspot.com/2012/07/about.html

The 2013 convention is going to be on a small scale because I want to get a feel of what these authors needs are. Yes, I have and will always say Indie authors are different and they need to have their needs met. I am someone who is going to meet those needs and make this an event every year where they feel comfortable to come get the help they need and spread the help and be able to meet their readers in a different level that they never could before.

The registration opens on October 1, 2012 which is now less than a month away. All readers have to do is go to the blog and click on register and go from there. But this will be changing in the coming months because we will be moving soon to indieromanceconvention.com. As soon as the designer is done, things will be moved but the blog will stay up and if you plan on attending please join the blog because this will be a good way to learn about authors you don’t know.

http://indieromanceconvention.blogspot.com/2012/07/registration.html

Just for fun - some quickies:

Favorite movie: Weekend at Bernie’s 1 and 2

Favorite TV series: Big Bang Theory and Once Upon a Time

Favorite singer/band: Stephen Tyler/ Areosmith

Most beautiful male celebrity: I always liked the guy that played Aries on Xena, Kevin Smith, his accident was very unfortunate.

Sexiest fictional hero ever: Devereux, from The Vampire Shrink by Linda Hilburn

Best fictional villain ever: I can’t recall the name of the villain but I remember the book he was crazy. Deadly Heat by Cynthia Eden, I have never run across a villain like him.

Best fictional heroine ever: Cin Craven from Wages of Sin by Jenna Maclaine. Her hero Michel would be my second pick of the sexiest fictional.

Your secret beauty tip: This is so not my department LOL.

Your secret favorite cooking/baking recipe: (full recipe or maybe online link)

I have so many, it’s would be hard to choose. So I’ll just pick the one I am stuck on baking at this time, even my daughter loves this. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-bread-recipe

This bread is really good hot and it’s great using it the next morning as French toast.

Tips for Aspiring Writers - Getting started isn't easy

Dear Readers,

Every week I receive wonderful, encouraging e-mails from readers telling me they enjoyed my work, but also from aspiring authors. Recently I read a lovely mail from a young writer, Skye, who asked me how I found the courage to publish my books, and if I could offer her any advice. You could easily tell from her letter how creative she is, overflowing with ideas, highly motivated but also a bit unsure about her own talent. She told me that she had written over fifty unfinished stories, a phenomenon most writers know only too well. This is what I answered:

*****

Giving any advice about writing and publishing isn't easy. There are many great books out there about writing, publishing and self-publishing, and check out author sites, they often have great advice about writing! I am not sure if this will help you, but I'll tell you a few things that, from my own personal experience, are most important:

From all your ideas, pick one genre you feel most passionate about writing. Most probably it's the same genre you love reading the most. Try to focus on one project at a time, and don't write anything else until you finished it. I know this is SO SO hard but you have to force yourself to sit down every day (and if it's only 10 minutes to start with), and simply write what comes to mind. I know that it takes a lot of discipline and courage. I have countless unfinished stories myself, buried somewhere in my desk and waiting to be written one day. 

Read, read, read. Reading not only improves your language and writing style, but also shows you how popular novels are structured. Try to write your book in a way that it will fit into one of the popular genres later - it can and should be original, of course, told in your very own voice. Sadly, most agents and publishers aren't interested in short stories (except erotica), so you should aim for a novel. Which, by the way, absolutely doesn't mean that I don't love a good short story! (Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are my personal favorites *bows to the masters*)

Write. Write. Write. You don't need to be perfect or even good right from the start. Writing needs a lot of practice, like learning to play the piano. You can always go back, revise and change things later. A great way to learn and practise your writing is publishing fan fiction or writing for public forums. You'll get a lot of valuable critique from the readers, but also encouragement. 

Writers need to develop a thick skin with time. You'll get rejected more than once - by editors, agents, and publishers, and you'll have to deal with some harsh and painful reviews if you plan to publish in any way. Now all writers I know are a oversensitive lot, especially when it comes down to our own stories, but we can learn to deal with (and learn from) critique if it's constructive, and ignore the haters. Personally, what keeps me going are mails like yours, and hearing from people who love my books. When I published my first book, I would have never, ever dreamed about such a reaction. My readers' feedback is incredibly heartwarming, and motivating. I know some dedicated, faithful readers who have become very dear friends to me, who have been supporting me since I started publishing my first chapters of Bound to the Prince on forums and fanfic sites. They kept pushing me to write more and more, and made me learn what readers want from a story.

Try to find some beta readers and someone who will proofread and edit your work if you have finished one project and want to get it published. A professional cover wouldn't hurt, either, if you want to go the self-pubbing way.

Sorry to say this, but most writers I know can't live just from the income their books provide them with. Many publishers pay a not-too-high sum in advance (and you may have to give some of it back if your book doesn't sell), and you might get your first money months later. The publishing process itself can take up to two years even if you found a publisher who will work with you. So until the day you'll hit the NY Times bestseller list, it's always good to have a day job.

Just do it! Write, and don't be afraid that you might not be as good as other authors. You will be, and even better, you'll soon find your own voice if you are patient and just keep writing. ;-)

xoxoxo

Deborah

*****

There is a new section on my website, www.deborahcourt.com, "For Writers". Check in regularly for some advice on writing and more information that might be helpful for aspiring authors.

Indie Romance Convention 2013

I am very happy to announce that I'll be an attending author at the first Indie Romance Convention in October 2013 - organized by my friend and well-known blogger, Laurie from Bitten by Paranormal Romance. You can bet there'll be lots of awesome people around - wonderful authors, cover designers and bloggers (you'll find the full list and more information here on the convention's website). For me, it's the long-awaited opportunity to talk to my readers in person. So if you can make it possible, head over to Lebanon, Tn (near Nashville), and meet me at the convention! I'm looking forward to seeing you there. ;-)

Love,
Deborah

A Word or Two about Fanfiction

Dear Readers,

Fanfiction, or more commonly, "fanfic" has recently risen from the internet underground and is on everyone's lips, especially since the success of former Twilight fanfic Fifty Shades of Grey and its two sequels, which dominate the book charts in many countries as I write this.

For you people out there who don't know what fanfic is, or have never read any: According to Wikipedia, it's "a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator." In other words, fans use the characters, worlds and settings of their favorite TV show, movie or book to write their own fiction. If you take a look around popular sites like fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.org, you'll find fics for nearly everything, ranging from Harry Potter via Supernatural, Twilight and Sherlock to True Blood (the latter two are my favorites, I'll admit).

Since these sites are almost completely uncensored and unlimited, there are stories from countless writers, many of them even underage. For people who love to read I can only recommend giving fanfic a chance. Some of them are surprisingly well-written, while others are painfully awful. Explicit erotic sex scenes (the gay-themed ones are called "slash") are quite common, but occasionally there are hidden gems among them, much better than some published erotica. Sometimes you can't help but wonder how a 16-year-old would know about some practices they describe so vividly. But in the end, it's a wonderful thing that such talented young people spend their spare time creating stories. Maybe some of them will become famous and successful writers later on, you never know.

Naturally, not every creator of an "alternate universe" is very happy about people who use copyrighted characters and worlds without asking, especially when erotic content is added (often between protagonists that were never meant to couple by the original writer, for instance Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy). J.K. Rowling publicly stated that she was ok with fanfiction as long as there was no pornography or racism. I absolutely agree with her opinion on racism, of course. But when it comes to sexuality, there is no limit to teenage fantasies. 

No matter what you do, they'll continue writing and reading it anyway. But maybe that's just their way of dealing with the chaos their hormones cause in their bodies, and this is not the worst way of coming to terms with it, don't you agree? Creativity can never be wrong, as long as you don't hurt anybody with it. Personally, I'd be very pleased if readers felt strongly enough about my books to write fanfiction. It's a great compliment for an author, and a sure sign that readers love to get completely immersed in one's fictional world. It means that you succeeded in the most important goal a writer can achieve.

Although I wrote other stuff before and have been working in the romance publishing industry for some years, fanfiction was what originally brought me the first spark of writing "Bound to the Prince". Originally, I wrote the first few chapters as a fanfic for Prince Nuada, the compelling tragic villain from the movie Hellboy - The Golden Army. But soon I felt that the character I imagined was so much more, and very different from the movie figure, and I felt like creating a fantasy universe of my own. So I kept writing, but didn't use any other characters or locations from Hellboy. At some point I renamed my prince Elathan (an old name from Celtic mythology, meaning "The Golden Warrior", which I found befitting for my hero. By the way, you don't pronounce the "t", the correct pronunciation is "Ela-han", just for those of you who read my book. ;-)).

A beautiful thing about writing fanfiction is the close relationship you have with your readers. They are people who share your passion about what you're writing, and they give you wonderful, invaluable feedback, helping you to improve constantly. I learned so much during that time. At the beginning, I felt a bit self-conscious about my own writing, but I kept posting more and more since those awesome friends asked me to - and I've kept all their precious comments until today. I encourage every aspiring writer to try fanfiction first, if you are afraid of beginning your own first novel yet. I promise it will be the best lesson in writing you'll ever have.

Yours truly,

Deborah

*****

Besides her published novels, Deborah Court wrote two True Blood fanfic novellas exclusively for EricandSookielovers.com. You can also find them here:

Piece of Glass (A vampire love story, set in the present and the Viking era)

The Dark Queen (Sequel to Piece of Glass, a vampire New Orleans murder mystery)