Jordan Summers

I feel like I’ve been running around with my head cut off today. For some reason, the day has a frantic feel to it. I’m just now getting back to edits. Tomorrow, I’ve scheduled a massage. It’s been a very long time since I’ve gotten a massage. I love them SO much. I can’t wait.

Went to a Pilates workout on Monday and I’m still sore. It’s sad when you go to the gym three days a week and still get sore during a stretch workout. Can we say out of shape? I think we can. There’s nothing exciting happening on this end. I’d better get to work. Hope everyone is having a good week. Oh, if you want to learn more about the publishing business follow this link.

Isn’t it odd how some authors seem to be overlooked, while others draw attention automatically? Due to this strange phenomena, I decided to point out a fabulous author who I think has be given the short stick. If this entry is popular, I will make it a regular part of my blog.

I originally had two authors lined up for this entry, but one has recently changed the way she writes and has upset her reader base. I think she’s getting ready to transition out of romance. Pity, since she wrote such delicious heroes. Oh well…

My first choice is an author by the name of Michele Albert. I’m not a big fan of many contemporary novels, but I LOVE this lady’s writing. She’s smart, sexy, and tells a good story. When I first encountered Michele, she was writing under the name Michele Jerott. Her books included such titles as ‘Absolute Trouble’ (sexy cajun cop), ‘All Night Long’, ‘A Great Catch’, and ‘Her Bodyguard’.

She changed back to her real name, Michele Albert, and came out with ‘One Way Out’, ‘Getting Her Man’, and ‘Off Limits’. She has a new book, ‘Hide in Plain Sight’ coming out in April 06. Why do I like her books? Well other than for the reasons I mentioned above, she does a great job at blending romance with action-adventure. The sexual tension between her characters sizzles off the page. You will be thoroughly invested in the characters and want them to find their HEA by the end of the first chapter. When you’re reading her work, you are reminded of what storytelling is supposed to be. She leaves you satisfied, while yearning for more. If you haven’t done so, check her out. You won’t be disappointed.

Do you know of an author that you think has been overlooked? If so, who? And why?

We’ve been talking about tastes in heroes and heroines in the past few days. I thought it would be interesting to list some of your favorites. With that in mind, name your top five heroes and heroines. I’ll start.

My favorite heroes are: Gian in Mine to Take by Dara Joy, Jack in Captain Jack by Stephanie Laurens, Devil Cynster in Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens, Callan Lyons in Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh, and Dayan in Dark Melody by Christine Feehan. (Bonus heroes Rafael De Santos in Fur For All by Christine Warren and Rejar in Rejar by Dara Joy)

Now for the heroines. This is SO much harder, but here it goes. My top five favorite heroines: Elena Michaels in Bitten by Kelley Armstrong, Amber in The Hunter by Gennita Low, Lily Yu in Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks, Jac in Atlantean’s Quest 2: Exodus by J.S. (wg), and Destiny in Dark Destiny by Christine Feehan. (Bonus heroines Anita Blake in Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton, Corinne in Fighting Faer by Christine Warren, and Beryl St. Cloud in Blood and Kisses by Angela Knight.) Now it’s your turn. Who are your favorites?

Vivi Anna mentioned below in the comments for my ‘Holding Out For a Hero’ post that she needed to relate to the heroine in a book in order to enjoy it. I tend to go for the hero. Yet, dh brought up a good point. He said my writing doesn’t reflect my opinion. Interesting…

I thought about this for a few minutes and realized I do make an exception. I will read for the heroine if she’s kick-a$$. Otherwise, I can’t relate to most heroines in romance novels. And no, I don’t go around kicking butt, but those are the women I admire and want to be like. So if the heroine is an average gal (and there’s nothing wrong with that), I have difficulty getting into her head. I simply ‘replace’ her during my excursion into the novel.

I find it extremely difficult to write regular heroines, even though I’ve done so on many occasions. My natural tendency is to create a larger-than-life heroine (think Lara Croft of Tomb Raider fame) or a bit of a quirky/snarky heroine. I know this about myself and try to ‘tone’ down some of my characters. Sometimes it works, while others it’s a bust.

To me, heroes are much easier. I write alphas in all their various incarnations. I’m not interested in beta men for the most part. I always imagine how the heroine would walk all over him. *ggg* We couldn’t have that, now could we?

What is your favorite type of heroine?


Please go wish one of my critique partners and friends, Sylvia Day a Happy Birthday! May there be many, many more to celebrate. (((Hugs)))

I’ve seen a few blog entries lately talking about what readers look for in a romance book. Several people said they want to like the heroine, so they can put themselves in her place. For me, unless the heroine is an idiot, I don’t care what she’s doing. I’m reading for the hero. I want to get done with the first couple of chapters in a book and have a serious crush on the leading man. In fact, I can always tell how my books are going (the writing) by how I view the hero. If I have a crush, then I’ve succeeded.

I automatically see through the heroine’s eyes when I write (and read). I want there to be that punch you get when you walk into a room and see a guy who’s the equivalent of a walking pheromone ad. I want your heart racing, your pupils dilated, your palms sweaty, and the temp suddenly too warm. If I can make you squirm in your seat, all the better.

To me, a heroine can’t do that. I mean you should like her and be rooting for her because you want them to have a HEA. But somewhere in your heart you need to have fallen in love with the hero. Even if it’s only a little bit. I think that’s what makes a romance. That lovely sensation of falling in love repeatedly. What makes a romance for you?

This is from MJ Rose’s blog.

On a separate less scary note, I thought those of you looking for an agent might be interested in this link.

I have two terrific critique partners that I wouldn’t trade for anything. They have each taught me so much about the craft of writing and the gift of friendship. Both have recently landed multiple book deals (YAH!!!) and are about to become busier than cats trying to cover crap on a marble floor. This got me thinking. How many critique partners should a writer have?

I know people who belong to groups that critique together. Bless their hearts. I always wondered how they get anything done. I’d spend all my time reading manuscripts. (Slow reader here.) Then there are the folks who only have one other critique partner. That works well, IF you have the right kind of critique partner. What if you need another opinion? What if your critique partner is busy? Do you turn to an outside reader? I’ve only done that twice, but it made me REALLY nervous. There’s also critiquing styles to consider. My critique partners and I rarely go over a manuscript more than once, unless there’s a problem. We also tend to send the book in halves.

That’s why I’m wondering about the perfect number. In this business, it is SO hard to find people you can trust. Actually, I’d say in any form of the entertainment business that statement is true. I’ve been incredibly lucky on that front thus far. Will I be as fortunate if I go for a third? Hmm… Another problem is finding people at your writing level. And by that, I’m not saying that my writing level is so high that I can’t find writers with my skills. LOL! Believe me, I have a LONG way to go in that department. BUT, you don’t want to critique with someone who’s never completed a book and is still learning how to put together a story, when you’re working on your 13th manuscript. You’ll be able to help them, but they won’t be of assistance to you.

So that brings me back to my question, what is the perfect number? My guess is three, but I’d love to hear your opinion.

Beth Ciotta has a very interesting blog topic up today. She’s talking about the influx of hot work and how recently she came upon a book that had no love scenes taking place onstage. I actually purchased this book, but now that I know there aren’t any love scenes, I probably won’t read it. (Yes, I know that’s shallow of me, but it’s the truth.)

Her blog topic got me thinking about the whole hot thing. Contrary to what I write, I don’t need a graphic love scene in my book to enjoy it. I’ve read some books that were scorching without a single ‘colorful’ word mentioned or graphic detail described. BUT, and this is a big but, I really don’t care for books that close the door completely. For some reason, I feel teased–and strangely cheated. Why go through the trouble of describing a larger-than-life hero in such minute detail, then not make use of him? In my mind, taking the love scene off stage is not making use of him. *g*

I realize that some of the hottest scenes don’t show a thing happening, and that’s great. I just don’t want the whole book to be like that. And like I said, I’m not talking about erotic romance here. My all-time favorite romances aren’t considered erotic.

What do you all think? Can you be happy if a book never has a love scene onstage? Does it depend on the author/writing? Do you care?

Well the Academy Awards are over. Was it me, or did they seem extremely drawn out? I actually read during all the commercials and most of the speeches. I’ll admit I haven’t been that invested in who won since Peter Jackson took home the Oscar for LOTR Return of the King. (wg) There were no surprises other than best movie. (And I’ve heard great things about Crash.) I don’t know if I’m going to watch the awards next year.

Speaking of reading, I grabbed a few books while I was out the other day. Thanks to Maili they include Tokyo Babylon by Clamp (a Manga Action/Fantasy) and Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi. I also grabbed ‘The Desert Virgin’ by Sandra Marton because I want to see how Harlequin is doing Presents Uncut. On top of those three, I purchased ‘Devil in Winter’ by Lisa Kleypas (one of my favorite historical authors), Sexy Beast anthology by Vivi Anna et al (been waiting for this one a long time), ‘Deep, Dark & Dangerous’ by Jaid Black (I love her Viking world.). I ordered an old book by Mallory Rush called ‘Kiss of the Beast’. It is a Harlequin Temptation that was released in 95. I’ve heard a lot about this book, enough to believe it was before its time paranormal romance wise. I wanted to see what freaked so many readers out. *ggg*

There are ton more books I plan to grab this month. Most come out tomorrow (A Wolf at the Door by Christine Warren (one of my favorite old EC authors), Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward and What Price For Love by Stephanie Laurens). A few will be out at the end of the month (Dark Demon by Christine Feehan and then a few days later Master of Wolves by Angela Knight.) I can’t wait…says the person who has no time to read. (shaking head) It’s a sickness I’m telling you.

I should say a couple of things before I begin this review. First of all, I do like Milla. I own the Resident Evil movies on DVD because I thought they kicked butt. Secondly, I like, make that LOVE, big, dumb action/adventure monster movies. They are actually my favorite kind of film. Okay, now that we’re clear on my tastes I’ll begin.

Ultra Violet is the biggest caravan of tripe I’ve seen in a LONG, LONG time. Not only is the movie predictable, hired assassin with a heart of gold sets out to save the child who could destroy her and the world, but it was BORING. (Oh, SPOILER AHEAD, did I mention that she lost her child years ago? Yawn.) The fight scene special effects were second rate, the characters were underdeveloped so you didn’t care about ANY of them, and finally, the story had no point. It starts out with a semi-vampire race fighting extinction against the humans, then morphs into pharmaceutical megacorporation against all mankind. UGH!!! Make up your mind. The whole vampire thing could’ve been replaced with ANY mutation because it really didn’t come into play. It was like someone said, let’s make them vampires because they’re hot right now. Or an even better example, let’s add a sex scene and call it erotic romance. Yes, I know the latter comment was snarky, but I don’t care. It’s the truth.

Final thoughts on the movie, don’t waste your money or the ninety minutes of your life. I’m off to watch the Academy Awards and to dig into my new book purchases…Sexy Beast is up first. I can’t wait. I’ll let you know what else I grabbed tomorrow.