Chasing the Happily Ever After: Guest Author Angi Morgan

A Texas Ranger with unfinished business…

Cord McCrea was the man of Kate's dreams, but their life together ended like a nightmare. Both proud and stubborn, they believed there was no way to repair the damage done to their family. All Kate has now is the reminder from one last night of passion.

The crazed gangster who shattered Cord's life is a free man wanting to settle old scores. Cord will do anything to protect his ex-wife, but once she's safe, they'll go their separate ways again. But didn't the baby change everything? If they can survive the perils of a West Texas winter while outmaneuvering danger at every pass, they might have a second chance. Because with a traitor in their midst, they had no one to trust except each other.

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The Happily Ever After Dream… is not only the reason I write romance, but also the reason I read it. I started with the book blurb from PROTECTING THEIR CHILD to talk about my heroine--Kate Danvers McCrea--and her dreams.

She'd met the perfect guy who happened to be a Texas Ranger. He requested a transfer to be near her, but it put him in constant harm's way and brought the war on drugs into their living room. Many things happen to Cord and Kate and this is the story of how they don't give up on their happily ever after.

Is there a but? Should real people believe and want a 'happily ever after'? A young friend recently broke up with her boyfriend of over a year, this is a loose summary of our conversation three weeks later--just after he'd asked if it was okay to talk to her, apologized, let her know that he finally understood what the argument was about.

FRIEND: "He asked if I had expected him to follow me after our fight. I told him, yes. Is that wrong? Have I seen too many romantic movies or something?"

ANGI: "Did you ask why he didn't come after you or call?"

FRIEND: "He was respecting my wishes. Now he knows that he's supposed to fight for me. I mean, isn't he? I don't know. I love him, but I don't think we can get back together. I don't trust that he feels the same way as I do."

ANGI: "Well, you need to talk with him again. I know you. And you're not going to let this go. You'll spend too much time wondering if you did everything possible to make it work. Did you do everything? Did you share how you feel?"

FRIEND: "No. But I've said everything before."

ANGI: "I don't think you were completely honest before. You never told him about the problems you've had or the sacrifice you make in order to see him. So how's he supposed to appreciate that…if he doesn't know?"

In case you're wondering about the outcome: she called with a list of the good and the bad and then ended by asking what HE HEARD this time and also asking if he'd been completely honest with her.  They're taking their relationship one day at a time, dating again with no pressure. The point of my story is that real people seek a happily ever after all the time. Is it a fairy tale story? No. Real life is full of the good and the bad. It's what makes us stronger. It's how we keep growing--separately and together. "AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER" indicates the end. Life is a series of stories, segments which come to a close, but it ain't over 'til it's over.

So don't stop until you've done everything in your power to keep your 'ever after' within your grasp. Exactly like Kate & Cord.

"Littered with double-crosses and violent twists, this isn’t an easy (emotional) read. Morgan tightens the coil until it springs forward in an explosive finale." ~~Romantic Times Magazine

Thanks so much for having me here today, Alexis. I'd love to hear about your happily ever after moment? Have you had more than one? PROTECTING THEIR CHILD is on shelves in May and like my backlist, always available on-line.

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Angi Morgan writes “Intrigues where honor and danger collide with love.” She combines actual Texas settings with characters who are in realistic and dangerous situations. Angi's work has been a finalist in the Bookseller’s Best Award, Romantic Times Best First Series, Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence and the Daphne du Maurier.

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FIND ANGI

Website   Facebook   FB Fan Page   Twitter @AngiMorganAuthr

A Picture ADay   Goodreads  Book Trailers on YouTube

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LEAVE A BLOG COMMENT. Angi will draw from blog commenters for a free electronic book from her backlist (she'll need your email addy--which you can always send to her directly).  AND ENTER ANGI'S May contest: register at Rafflecopter through May 31st.

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CHAT WITH ME: Have you found your Happily Ever After?

Life...Things that make you go, "Huh?"

Well, I’m again stumped for something to write about, so I’m sitting at my computer at midnight the night before my post is supposed to hit the internet. What a slacker! But I have an excuse (sure, everyone has one of those, right?). No, I do…I really do…I’ve actually been writing. You know, that thing that drives us to do all those other things like editing, querying, summarizing, promoting, distributing, blogging and whatever else we can be shamed into putting on our “writing” to do list. Okay, that’s enough stalling…inspiration has got to strike like NOW!

Since the title of this little blog is things that make you go “Huh?”, let’s talk about what I saw the other day. I was driving down a road I travel quite frequently when I noticed something new at one of the local businesses. You know those banner poles you sometimes see out in front of a business? The ones with a tall white pole and an advertising flag run lengthwise down the pole, to proclaim for all passersby the wares and services offered by said business? The ones you never really read? The ones that flap mindlessly in the wind and end up shredded like a mummy’s bandages after a few months in the Arizona sun? Yep, those are the ones.

Well, here’s what I saw. Previously I had noticed only one sign that read “Fun morning to night.” Now, since this is a cabaret type club (affectionately known as a boobie bar…you get the gist), I can see where this banner is solid for representing the kinds of services being provided. It tells the casual traveler that this establishment is fun and that the only time the fun stops is when everyone is asleep…good information to have.

But the next time I drove by, there was another sign added to the first. This one said, “Tattoos”. Huh? Okay, I’ve known a few dancers in my time and I don’t think I’ve ever known one who didn’t have a tattoo or three, be it a rose or a butterfly on her ankle, a skeleton on her shoulder, or a pair of lips on her butt. So how convenient is it to be able to get a tattoo at work? So convenient that I might consider it if I actually worked at work, but I don’t and this banner wasn’t in front of my house, making it much less convenient than just going to work and getting inked. But I’m thinking if I suggested it to my employer, there would be a meeting with HR somewhere in my future.

So, who actually gets the tattoos in a cabaret? Is it the dancers? The customers? The bouncers? Or do random strangers drive by and think, “Oh, hey, there’s a boobie bar with a tattoo artist…I think I’ll stop in and get me one of those”? And is it a real good idea to combine tattoos with women dancing virtually naked and alcohol? Don’t get me wrong…I’m not picking on the dancers. Most dancers are hard-working women supporting a family and my hat’s off to them for finding a way to support themselves and their families, and they probably make more in a month than I do. So no nasty letters, please, if you are a dancer or are married to one or your mother dances. I have a great deal of respect, and a healthy dose of jealousy, for someone who can look so damn hot while climbing a metal pole.

No, my concern is over the kind of tattoo some poor soul might choose to get while intoxicated and turned on. Maybe it would be a picture of Wile E Coyote, or (in my case) a picture of Sam Elliott, or maybe it would be a skull and crossbones on the forehead, or a zipper across the mouth. In any case, I’m betting it wouldn’t say “Mom”. Maybe they should add another banner that says “Tattoo Removal.”

Okay, I’ve wandered a bit off the beaten path with this, but I’m still not done. The next time I drove by this establishment, I noticed yet a third sign. This one said…wait for it…it’s really good…no, you won’t guess…it said “Daycare.” Now that one is a triple “Huh?”!! Daycare? Daycare for whom? Now, I’ve mentioned this sign to a number of friends and invariably the first thought is that it is employer-provided daycare for the children of the dancers. Well, yeah, that would be a nice perk because kids need a place to stay while mommy works and employer-provided daycare is handy. But wouldn’t it suffice to just stick a note in next week’s paychecks to let the employees know there’s daycare in the back room? Why advertise on a busy highway? Are there lots of travelers who drive by and think, “Hey, there’s a boobie bar with daycare…I think I’ll take little Johnny in with me for a little parent-child bonding time”? Maybe…maybe not.

And who is the target demographic for the sign? Stay at home moms? Stay at home Mr. Moms? School bus drivers? And what do the kids do at this daycare? Draw pictures? Of what? Play card games? Old Maid or Poker? Again, I ask, is this really a good idea? What if you take the kid in with you and he squeals to the significant other? Maybe the “Daycare” sign should read “Adult Daycare”…now there’s a service I could get behind!

Now, as fascinated as I was by these three signs, I had to Google the business and see what their website looks like. What I found surprised me. They have two VIP areas, the tallest poles in the valley, the hottest girls, the best drinks, happy hour, no cover for ladies or military or fire, and a café with specials. All that and the only thing they could think to advertise on the banners out front are fun, tattoos, and daycare?

Well, regardless of whether or not this marketing tactic is a good idea, I applaud the management of this fine establishment for finding new and creative ways to stay competitive in the current marketplace, especially with all of the steep competition for a dwindling number of customers.

That’s my story, strange but true, and I’m stickin’ to it. Hang on real tight now ‘cuz we’re gonna go real, real fast!

Love ya,

Kayce

Rate A Story

     You’ve just finished reading a novel and you loved it. Marvelous doesn’t begin to express how good this story is. So, if you were going to recommend it to a friend, what would you say? How would you rate it? Would you give it five stars? Or five roses?

      I rate the stories I read a little differently. There are no teacups (with five being the best). There are sighs. If a story has made me sigh while reading, it’s worth its weight in gold. There are no pairs of lips….there are chuckles. A book that makes me laugh out loud is definitely worth my time (and yours). There are no lightening bolts, but there are tears.

     A book that makes me cry is a book I’ll read over and over again. Cathy Cash Spellman’s Paint the Wind comes to mind. I’ve read this novel probably ten times (or more…I’ve lost count) and yet, I still cry in the same place EVERY time….even though I know the scene is coming up, even though I’ve cried over it before. Heck, I’ll head for the box of tissues long before I hit that chapter because I know I’ll end up in tears anyway and I might as well have that tissue handy. Believe it or not, this is a GOOD thing…but I digress so let me finish my rating system.

     For the occasional spooky thriller, there are shivers and lastly, there are gasps. Yes. I wrote gasps….because there are stories out there that have made me suck in my breath and whisper “Oh my!” while my heart pounded in my chest. Sometimes I’ll be laughing at the same time. Or crying.

            So, how do you rate the stories you read? Roses? Daisies? Or do you just hand the book to a friend and say, “You gotta read this!”

    
As always, happy reading!

Marie

Sweet Somethings by Lee McKenzie

The romance novel has come a long way since I read my first Harlequin in the ‘60s, but I have to confess I loved those early stories. They transported my small-town teenage self to exotic locales, from London to the Mediterranean to Africa to the Australian Outback. They portrayed young, inexperienced (in every sense of the word) heroines, many of whom were only several years older than I was at the time. Best of all, they introduced me to handsome heroes, men who were business tycoons, doctors and sheep farmers, although they’re probably not called farmers in Australia.

Back then no one called them sweet romances, they just were. There was no sex, not even behind closed doors, but every story ended with a kiss and a promise of happily ever after. I suspect a little alcohol may have been consumed, at least by the men, although I don’t specifically remember that. I do recall some sardonic, cheroot-smoking heroes, though. And while plain old cigarettes were just plain nasty, the teenaged me imagined cheroots were the epitome of elegance.

In the ‘70s I stopped reading romance and when I got back to them in the ‘80s...well, times had changed. The focus was still on the romance but it seemed to me that every book I read included a love scene. So in the late ‘90s when I decided to try my hand at writing romance, that meant I had to write love scenes, too. In the very first rejection letter I received for my very first manuscript, the editor said the love scene was clichéd, and she was right.

My first published book, The Man for Maggie (Harlequin American Romance, 2006), was the sixth complete manuscript I’d written and, interestingly, it did not have a love scene. If I had tried to include one, it would have been forced and, yes, clichéd. Many readers have told me they loved the sexual tension between the hero and heroine, and for them it was enough to fuel the love story.

Last year I was thrilled to get a call from Senior Executive Editor Marsha Zinberg at Harlequin, saying they would like to revise and reissue The Man for Maggie as part of their new Heartwarming line of wholesome tender romances. Of course I said yes, and Maggie’s Way  was released on May 1^st.

Marsha says, “Our Heartwarming stories, which have enjoyed growing success, give readers a novel very well-developed in terms of conflict and plot, so that it satisfies on multiple levels and does not necessarily depend on the romance to move the story forward.  The romance is present and satisfactory, but the readers’ ultimate satisfaction derives from all the other elements we usually attribute to great story-telling, as well as an upbeat ending, of course.”

 

As a writer, I find it gratifying to know that many readers want romances that exclude sex and profanity. Inspirational author Merrillee Wren  supports this by saying, “I have many readers write and tell me they like my stories because there aren't any swear words or explicit sex scenes.”

Debra Holland, USA Today bestselling author of western historical romance, says, “Historically, women needed to remain chaste (to use an old-fashioned term) in order to avoid a pregnancy outside of marriage and to keep their reputations unsullied. Having premarital sex meant they risked being socially ostracized from the community, which in turn, could impact their survival.” So along with meeting readers’ demand for sweet romance, there’s also a cultural authenticity to her stories.

According to Marsha Zinberg, “there is a growing niche readership of women who really enjoy a wholesome romance...they may have just become weary of love scenes that to them become repetitious after overdosing on them, or simply be more private people or no longer interested in a depiction of the physical aspects of the relationship...and they do not necessarily want to have to rely on faith-based romance in order to read this type of story.” For writers who want to explore this niche, the guidelines for Heartwarming are on

Harlequin’s website. 

Merrillee says, “Many readers don't want sex scenes in their books, and others like all different kinds of heat levels--from sweet to spicy, as long as the story is a good romance.”

I’m one of those readers who enjoys the full spectrum of sweet-to-spicy romance but as a writer, I’m thrilled to have moved away from the expectation that every romance novel should include a love scene.

I want to thank Happily Ever After Thoughts for hosting me on their blog today. I love to hear from readers and can be reached through my website, where you can also sign up for my monthly eNewsletter, Life in the Slow Lane.

I’m also offering a copy of Maggie’s Way to blog readers today. To enter the draw, simply leave a comment and share your reading preferences. Sweet? Spicy? Sweet, spicy and everything in between?

And to all the mothers out there, I wish you a heartwarmingly happy Mother’s Day!

Lee McKenzie…writing fifty shades of pink!

Bio:

From the time Lee McKenzie was ten years old and read Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, she wanted to be a writer like Anne and Jo. In the intervening years she’s written everything from advertising copy to an honors thesis in paleontology, but becoming a Harlequin author is her proudest achievement yet. She’s written seven books for Harlequin’s American Romance line and now she’s excited to be writing for Heartwarming, too.