Have Yourself A Glowing Holiday

Happy Holidays!

Wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful, safe and relaxing holiday season.

Take it easy on yourself and give yourself a chance to slow down, maybe read a little. ;-)

All my best,

Belle

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AND THE WINNERS ARE!

First, I want to thank everyone who entered my contest! I really appreciate you all taking the time out to charge around the net to do so. It was fun to hear all the different venues, and experiences you all had with your proms.

Here is a list of the different venues:

~~~The American Hotel, NYC

~~~The Fairmont, San Francisco

~~~Mexico City, with the pyramids a backdrop

~~~local colleges

~~~Epcot Center

~~~County Clubs

~~~Knights of Columbus Hall

~~~Officers Clubs

~~~Bahamas, Hotel

~~~High School Gymnasiums – which I have seen turned into magical places. My daughter’s high school actually managed to hide/disguise the bleachers. That was amazing.

And the winners are:

Alane of OKC/OK won the box of Godivas

Melissa of Washington won the free copy of Sweet Charity

Congratulations, ladies! I so hope you enjoy your prizes. J

I’m hard at work on my next erotic historical, set in Tombstone, AZ. Lucas and Cara are dying to get at each other, but I need to work out a way that is reasonable while still titillating. I’m almost there. I think the setting is totally fun. Hope to get that out to you all ASAP.

Till next time,

Belle

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***Sweets From The Sweet***

I’m excited to announce my contest celebrating the release of my erotic historical romance, Sweet Charity, at Red Sage Publishing, Inc. Since sweet is in the title I decided to go with a prize that is totally sweet, a box of Godiva Chocolates. The actual contest page with the entry blank is at FreshFiction.com --http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=2868 , and will run through October. Here is a question you need to answer to enter. ==> In what type of venue was my high school prom held? Don’t worry the answer is in the next paragraph. J In fact the answer is in the photograph.

I grew up in a town in Germany known for romance—Heidelberg. The title of a local old favorite song is kind of a trademark for the location. “Ich hab mein Hertz in Heidelberg verloren,” which means “I lost my heart in Heidelberg.” Being an army brat and one who attended high school in Heidelberg, I was privileged to attend prom in a most wonderful and unbelievable place, the Heidelberg Castle which is pictured here. Talk about your fairy tale experience. So head on over to http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=2868 and fill out that entry blank for your chance at a box of Godivas!

ALSO: Leave me a blog post telling me about where you prom was held. Make sure you include your email address with your post, because I’ll pick one lucky commenter on October 31^st and send her/him a free copy of Sweet Charity.

Good luck!

Belle

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Sweet Charity is available now at www.eRedSage.com .

Sweet Charity Was Released on 9/1!

Sweet Charity is officially released!

It’s such a great feeling. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out over time. My next project is to get busy with a website. I’ve got my domain name. I’ve got my color scheme and of course I can’t wait to pick out those inspirational photographs of heroes and their heroines, etc.

I’ll be the guest blogging at http://www.loveromancepassion.com/ tomorrow.

I’ve got a reader contest idea that involves a small but tasty box of Godiva Chocolates. I need to work out the details, but I’ll have that up here soon.

So in the mean time, head on over to www.eRedSage.com and take a good peek at Charity and Dillon. I think you will find those two more than worth the effort.

Belle

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*** RWA National Post Conference Thoughts***

The RWA national conference was once again an amazing adventure. I had the wonderful opportunity to have dinner with my publisher, Alexandria Kendall, of Red Sage Publishing, Inc., and an incredible group of other Red Sage authors. The food was excellent and the company ever better.

I came away from the conference this time, not with any grand epiphany, but with the solid, comfortable knowledge that I'm moving in the right direction for where I want to go. It's a nice feeling.

I picked up some great info from the few workshops I managed to attend, (I know I'm bad. };-) The one on writing fight scenes presented by Angela Knight, (one of my idols) was so helpful, and as she spoke the information made such perfect sense, things just fell into place in my head. Can't wait to put that info to use. My current WIP is set in the 1890s Tombstone, AZ. I'm sure I'll have at least one fight scene in there. I found it interesting that a lot of the same concepts are employed when writing love scenes, as when writing fight scenes. I guess it has to do with the high degree of physicality.

So looking forward to next year's conference already. New York City! Time Square, here I come!

Until next time.

Belle

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Hello Fellow Readers and Writers,

Once again I’m gearing up for the Romance Writers of America conference, this year held in Orlando Florida. Never been to Orlando before. The last time I went to Florida was a wayward and crazy trip to Key West for spring break, years ago.

Every year when I go to the RWA conference, I learn many things, but usually come away with some sort of specific epiphany. So looking forward to the special writing gem I’ll glean from the experience this time.

The summer is progressing nicely. Though my writing time has been a bit stunted by our new family addition--a curious and immensely enthusiastic black lab puppy. Practices in patience have been VERY important with the whole canine situation for sure. {Breath in, Breath out--Relax}

I am now officially a listed author at Red Sage Publishing, [ www.eredsage.com ]. Got my own link and everything. J I’m looking forward to a release date, and trying to come up with some clever promo item to sell the story with. With the word sweet (Sweet Charity) in the title, chocolate comes to mind, but I’m not sure. If anyone has ideas they would like to share for promo items appropriate for a western historical erotic romance entitled Sweet Charity, PLEASE leave me your ideas in a comment on this entry. I’d really appreciate it.

Belle @}--{---------

My Cover Is Done!

Well, Hello!!!

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted. I survived the revision process which was difficult, but total GOLD in the learning curve department. Also the cover for Sweet Charity has been finalized and here it is! I love it! I couldn’t have hoped for more. I told my editor, the image of Charity is more like Charity than the image I had pictured in my head. I love the fact that Dillon’s face is in shadow. Mystery is WAY more sexy.

No word on release date yet, but I’ll have it out as soon as I get it.

Stay cool,

Belle @}-{-----

~~~ The Tombstone Bordello-B&B ~~~

Hello All~~~

I have been a bad, bad, blogger. And, after I promised readers and myself I’d post at least once a month. Sheesh! Well, I’m back on track. YEA!

My writing buddy Tami Sinclair and I took a fact finding trip to Tombstone, Arizona, in late January. It was a blast. While there, we stayed in the Tombstone Bordello (B&B), which was actually a working bordello in the late 1800s. The proprietors were wonderful. The breakfasts were tasty, the conversation great, and the beds totally comfy. I recommend it highly if you ever decide to visit Tombstone.

While there I learned all I need to know for my next erotic novel. It’s set in Tombstone, in a bordello of course. I know bordello life was often harsh and difficult. But the bordello that I’m writing about is one where the Madam is a shrewd business woman, fair minded, and careful with her employees. She also has an empathetic heart.

I’ve got the story in my head from beginning to end. Now I need to hit the keys, and flesh (ha) it out.

Onward, to the computer!!!
Belle***