Writing Wisdom from Stephen King

I pulled this quote from a very interesting article in The Atlantic about why Stephen King spends months, even years, writing opening sentences. If asked, I'd have said because SK is a writing genius...but Mr. King gives a much better explanation :) 

SCORE!

Woot! So finally saw the RomCon Reader rating for A Tale of Two Djinns

  And it is...

 Yes, that's out of 10...so very thrilled!!! 

 And you can check out all the other 2013 RomCon Readers' Crown Winners!

Dragons, July Fever, New Adventures, oh my!

Happy July! So this is going to be a month of trying new things for me...which is uber cool because we have so many fun options!

First up, I was lucky enough to snag an arc of Luck of the Dragon from Entangled Press...

Isn't the cover absolutely scrumptious? Well, the story inside is just as delicious....(I LOOOVE dragon shifters)

Luck of the Dragon BCC:

Luciana de Luca has a PhD in sass and gemology—and a problem. Her twin brother’s gambling debts have gotten out of hand, and a mob enforcer is blackmailing her to rob the latest, greatest mega-casino on the Strip. Although Lucy has worked her whole life to get away from her family’s grifter past, to save her brother, she dons three-inch heels and a sluts-r-us dress and struts into Alec’s Gerald’s casino, determined to put her long-forgotten thieving ways to the test again.

Alec Gerald, a shape-shifting dragon, has built the Crown Jewel casino to provide sanctuary for his people amongst the flash and awe of Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the sexy little thief trying to rob his gem exhibit turns out to be his mate, and he must woo her before he loses his dragon form forever. With enemies in every corner, and the all-important mating ceremony looming, Alec and Lucy must learn to trust each other, before time runs out for Alec and the rest of the dragons.

Luck of the Dragon buy-links:

Amazon

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

I also get to help author Susannah Scott with something called a "serial" blog tour. The post here begins the story and then stretches across 12 other blog posts for the entire tour. You'll have to hop along to get the rest of the story and to snag the awesome prizes: a dragon scale necklace and earring set with a $25 Amazon Gift Card!!!

So here's Susannah's post:

Hello Mina!

Thank you for having me on your blog today to start my cautionary tale of how I went off-track trying to purchase an eight-foot tall dragon sculpture.

I’ve always loved dragons.

I love that they are fierce, and powerful, and loyal... I love that they breathe fire and have kinky, shiny-object obsessions that derail their best plans.

I love that they can fly.

Here is a short excerpt from my upcoming release, LUCK OF THE DRAGON, in which my dragon-shifting hero is in flight.

 ~~~~~~~

The desert air thrilled the dragon’s senses with the scent of brimstone and heat lightening. The black beast coasted above the Las Vegas strip, hidden to desensitized human eyes by bright bursts of neon and an overabundance of flash and awe.

Lightening fractured the horizon, sending a web of electricity through his scales, shaking him like a fist. His heart thumped and he stroked his powerful wings through the electrified wind, feeling the reverb of thunder rattle his bones…

~~~~~~~

Can you tell that these powerful, albeit imaginary, creatures mesmerize me?

Several months ago, I heard about a scrap-metal artist, in our area, with an eight-foot dragon sculpture. I had just signed a contract with Entangled Publishing for the first three books in my Las Vegas Dragons series, a perfect reward I told myself!

Sight unseen, I planned to buy the sculpture, not even knowing if it was for sale, or how much it might cost. I’m a stubborn that way, a single-minded amalgam of my hardy Scotch ancestors, with a liberal dose of OCD and French whimsy.

A little world-building here, we live in the Ozark Mountains amongst trees, and fresh streams, and rolling hills of limestone. While scenically beautiful, it is fair to say that this is a very isolated and rural area—with less people than livestock—especially on Tuesday—sale-barn day.

We also get our share of end-of-the-worlders. Cagey folks from far distant places who move here to hunker down on the cheap land. Apparently, the sculpture artist was of this variety. My husband cautioned me that he had also heard the man was more than a little odd, and drank beer all day, from a coffee mug. I was undeterred; my Mom used to “sip” MMs with this same ploy when we were kids.

I could handle a little beer-drinking oddness—to have my very own dragon.

What I didn’t anticipate, was how drastically my ill-fated quest would affect my creativity, and hence my writing. Dragons, once the fanciful stuff of my imagination, embodied from someone else’s hand… or welding torch in this case, turned out to be disastrous for my peace of mind.

How about you all?

Have you ever gone on an artistic pursuit to gain a possession, or knowledge, only to find acquiring it hurt more than it helped? Please feel free to share them in comments section below!

All my best,

Susannah Scott

P.S. You can check my website (www.susannahscottbooks.com), for more excerpts and a schedule of my tour stops, wherein I will continue my tale. You can also follow me on Facebook and Goodreads as Susannah Scott, or on Twitter @Susannah_Scott.

SUSANNAH SCOTT lives in the Missouri Ozarks and is the lone female in a very loud household of males ranging in age from 4 to 40. While she jokes that the extreme levels of testosterone inspired her to write romance, it is really the love of creating an excellent story, and the occasional dreams of twenty-foot dragons, that wake her and send her to the laptop before the chaos of daily life ensues. Susannah loves to hear from her readers. Please visit her website at www.susannahscottbooks.com or follow her as Susannah Scott on Facebook and @Susannah_Scott on Twitter.

NOW, leave a comment to welcome Susannah and enter for a chance to win her great prizes!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

MINA here again! :) I'm also participating in a "Reverse Blog Hop" with Author Sofia Grey called JULY FEVER. How does this work? Instead of readers having to hop from blog to blog, they visit Grey's blog every day for the blog term to read new posts and snag awesome giveaways! I hope y'all enjoy trying these new kinds of blog hops with me!

1 blog + 31 authors = 31 Days of Hotness

Sofia Grey is hosting July Fever, with giveaways every day during July, AND weekly prize bundles too.

Look who’s featured for the first 6 days:

1-Jul    ALLYSON LINDT    $20 Amazon GC, Holding Her Close & Toeing The Line (ARC)

2-Jul    JENNAH SCOTT       Ebook – Scrap Metal & swag

3-Jul    ZOE YORK   4 copies of What Once Was Perfect (ebook)

4-Jul    LAURA KAYE         Copy of South of Surrender

5-Jul    MINA KHAN            a signed paperback copy of A Tale of Two Djinns, a book tote, & some swag

6-Jul    LISSA MATTHEWS an ebook from my backlist

Everyone who comments goes into a draw for the giveaway that day, AND also a draw for the 6-day gift bundle:

Remember, the more you visit, the more you might win J Check out this video for all the participating authors.