sweet-ecstasies-by-carolina

Passion's Sweet Ecstasies

Tears Of The Dragon

Portal To Darkness

View From The Top

Lure

In Passions Thrall

Silk Stealth

Where Vesuvius Sleeps

Sweet Chocolate Ecstasy

Dark Stranger

Monday, May 26, 2008

RESPONDING TO "PLOTTING MADE EASY"

An article on "Plotting Made Easy" appears on my web site at http://www.carolinavaldez.com now. If you read it, I invite you to post your comments here on this particular blog post. Or email me at keen3839@mypacks.net with BLOG on the subject line. Either way, I'll respond and see that your ideas appear here on this particular blog.

Comments made on any post here are emailed to me for approval. I'll keep checking that box - which isn't the one listed above.

My Spam filter's set at the highest level, so if it blocks you, just request you be added to my address book. I'll add you.

This is a solemn day for America, with thoughts for those who have given their lives for their country and the families affected.

Carolina

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 12:47 PM 0 comments

Saturday, May 24, 2008

CHECK OUT THE EYE CANDY!

Yesterday I posted photos of some gorgeous studs at http://www.aqpauthors.blogspot.com. This morning (although the date is incorrect on the site), I posted them at http://www.theromancestudio.blogspot.com.

Do take a peek. They're fun! There are more comments right now on the Amber Quill Authors blog than TRS's. Being a holiday weekend in the US, I suspect they'll be slow to come on TRS.

Carolina
keen3849@mypacks.net

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 10:14 AM

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I'VE BEEN MEMED

Linda McLaughlin tagged me for this. Meming, roughly translated, is the transfer of information from blog to blog. The rules are: A. On your blog, list six things most people don't know about you. B. Tag six other people who have blogs. C. Notify the person who tagged you that you've memed on your blog.

THINGS ABOUT ME

1. Dr. Pepper's the only soft drink I like. Mother told me that as a toddler I wouldn't let the barber cut my hair...until they put Dr. Pepper in a baby bottle and gave it to me. I've loved it ever since.

2. I was born in Wichita Falls, Texas. What is the birthplace of Dr. Pepper? TEXAS!

Daddy sold gasoline pumps, and sometimes Mother and I would go on his rounds to his customer's gas stations. (Later, we were advised that "gas station" was a hick term. The more cultured one being service station. Ahem.) At any rate, I'd lift the lid of the soft drink chest and, standing on my tiptoes, reach in to pick up a bottle of Dr. Pepper from the icy waters. Daddy would pay for it.

3. I love jewels. Seeing the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London was a fabulous experience. Subsequently, Lance Davison, my wizard-knight hero in PORTAL TO DARKNESS, has a special affinity for gems and can hear the "songs of the stones."

4. In Edinburgh, my husband and I saw the clan pipers present a tattoo as night fell over the castle towers. When the sound of the pipes rose and the bands came down from the castle, it brought goosebumps. Kilts and flashes flipped and pipes whined as white spats caught the light when the men marched in cadence. Beautiful. Sadly, budget cuts have reduced the number of regimental bands, and we witnessed the final performance with the historic Clan Donald. The evening closed as a soft spot highlighted a single Donald piper playing on the battlements. Haunting.

5. This inspired my best selling novella, WOMAN IN BLACK LACE. Phebe is sent from Washington, D.C. in 2008, back to the Highlands before the destruction of the clans by the English in the 1700s. She participates in a Scottish ceilidh, a folk celebration, similar to the one below.

6. In Ireland, at Bunratty Castle, I enjoyed an Irish ceilidh. Those of us from the tour bus ate dinner together. We ate, among other foods, potato salad, boiled potatoes and baked potatoes (celebrating prosperity after the historic potato famine, I think) while being entertained with dancers and singers moving to the music of penny whistle, elbow pipe, fiddle and drum. The potatoes were delicious, unlike anything I'd tasted in the U.S. I was invited to dance with a handsome Irishman, and, in heels, I tried to keep up with his steps as we danced over the rough, ancient stone floor.

Now I tag only the following for meme (because I'm having trouble locating blogs!):

Kacey Smith
Ciar Cullen
Rick R. Reed

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 3:24 PM 4 comments

Saturday, May 10, 2008

FOR ALL THE MOTHERS

Before I was a Mom

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the
hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and
happy.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure
all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Send this to someone who you think is a special Mom. I just did!

by:
Janet B. Swanson
Madison Wisconsin

And now I've shared it with you.

Carolina Valdez
First-time grandmother as of February 22 - twins, a boy and a girl

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 2:01 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

WHAT CONSTITUTES A PARANORMAL STORY?

"Paranormal" simply means "anything outside of normal."

Time travel belongs under the big umbrella of this category. Horror belongs here, too, if the pursuing evil fits outside of normal.

Fantasies fit here, but we call them fantasies because they have special attributes such as the inclusion of witches, wizards, warlocks, magic or witchcraft. They have mythical creatures such as vampires, shapeshifters, fairies, elves, and dragons.

Science fiction and futuristic, while dealing with things and ideas that might some day be possible, still fall outside of the realm of normal and so are paranormals. But their special attributes put them in the paranormal subgenres of sci fi and futuristic.

Publishers and review sites decide how they'll categorize their books and reviews. Romance Junkies, for instance, doesn't have a fantasy category. Those reviews appear in the Paranormal-Sci Fi group.

Amber Quill Heat doesn't adhere strickly to those categories. My erotic fantasy, TEARS OF THE DRAGON, is listed as Fantasy/Shapeshifter/Magic/Witchcraft/Action/Adventure/BDSM (Light)/Exhibitionism/Public Places.
PORTAL TO DARKNESS, also an erotic romance, is labeled as Time Travel/Dark Fantasy/Historical/Action/Adventure/Magic/Shapeshifter/Exhibitionism/Public Places.

Some readers love time travel, so instead of using fantasy as the opener for PORTAL TO DARKNESS, this publisher has chosen time travel instead.

Interesting, isn't it all? Sometimes confusing, too.

Carolina Valdez
keen3849@mypacks.net

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 12:47 PM 1 comments

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

BLOGS TO WATCH

Are you checking in on http://www.aqpauthors.blogspot.com
and http://theromancestudio.blogspot.com?They're great blogs with writing tips and promos from various authors.

If you have time, leave a comment. Authors appreciate them. It's awful to feel like you're blogging to air!

I'm scheduled to blog on April 6, on the aqpauthors site because WOMAN IN BLACK LACE will be released. However, one of my husband's brothers passed away yesterday. I may be out of town that day. Check in anyway. Someone will be there...or will have been.

Carolina

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 2:21 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

LISTENING TO MUSIC WHILE YOU WRITE

There are some people who listen to music all day...in the car, at home, and even when drifting off to sleep. My brain is too busy to add more busy-ness to it. Too, music demands my attention, and, most probably, my brain can't focus on more than one thing at a time.

Have I ever listened to music while I wrote? Yes, once. My first novel is set in early California and includes Native Americans. I found it joyful to put on this CD and type: FLOWERS OF THE DRUMS: NATIVE RHYTHMS AND RECIPES, released in 2000 by Talking Taco Music Company. According to oral tradition in my family, Cherokee blood runs in my veins, and I stumbled on this CD in my favorite music store. I have bagpipe music. Why not native drums? Great fun!

I hear more romance writers discussing this issue than mystery/suspense/horror writers. However, one horror romance author tells of putting on the music from horror films. Another novelist listens to the music of DRAGONHEART, music I love because it puts me in a cheerful mood. A third writer says she lets her brain tell her yes or no to music as she works.

As with everything else in the writing process, you have to find what works for you. Try music sometime. You might enjoy it.

Carolina Valdez - author of passions that unlock the sweet ecstasies of love

http://www.carolinavaldez.com
Contact Carolina at keen3849@mypacks.net

posted by Carolina Valdez @ 10:41 AM 3 comments

About Me

Name: Carolina Valdez
Home: Southern California, United States
About Me: See http://amberheat.com/bio_Valdez.html or http://www.carolinavaldez.com
See my complete profile