Monday, October 29, 2012
Love Scenes and The Pain behind the Pleasure
To spice up Monday, I’m blogging about writing love scenes on the Indulgence blog. Hop on over and join the discussion! :-)
http://www.indulgencebooks.com/2012/10/29/love-scenes-and-the-pain-behind-the-pleasure/
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Meet Carmen Falcone
Hi, folks!
Come join us! The talented Maria Perry Mohan has a new blog, and I'm her first guest!
We'll be doing a giveaway, too!
Maria's Book Blog: Meet Carmen Falcone: I'm very happy to welcome author Carmen Falcone, from Austin, Texas, USA, to my blog today. Carmen's debut novel A VENGEFUL AFFAIR...
Come join us! The talented Maria Perry Mohan has a new blog, and I'm her first guest!
We'll be doing a giveaway, too!
Maria's Book Blog: Meet Carmen Falcone: I'm very happy to welcome author Carmen Falcone, from Austin, Texas, USA, to my blog today. Carmen's debut novel A VENGEFUL AFFAIR...
Friday, October 19, 2012
Four stars from RT Book Reviews!
I realize shameless self-promotion can get annoying really quick, but this is more than that.
I've been reading RT Book Reviews for years, even went to the RT Convention in Chicago, last April. Soooooo to see my name printed on the December issue makes my heart sing. It makes me sing too, and neighbors, I'm sorry about that.
Anyway, A Vengeful Affair got a great review! YAY!
I am so grateful to Entangled for believing in my story, and for being such an awesome publisher.
Okay, I'm done. Go back to reading the funny posts now :)
Monday, October 15, 2012
Gym Confessions: Week Four
I know what you’re thinking – you never thought I’d
get this far, did you? Well, get in line. Even my hubby was surprised at my
willingness to get sweaty with something other than, well…you get the picture,
right? I worked out four times last week to celebrate my fourth week. Which
means I got out of my comfy house on a rainy day and worked out on a SATURDAY,
folks!
Yep. A Saturday.
To my surprise, the gym was almost deserted. I
should like that, but actually I like it when people see me working out – it’s
like having witnesses. I still hate to stretch in front of people, though, so
that’s why I get these awful back pains the next day. My trainer always asks me
if I’m doing my stretches at home, and I always say, of course, yes. She
already knows too much about me – more than it is legally allowed: she knows my
age, my weight, and next week that bitch will have my cholesterol level in her
dossier. Basically, even my former therapist doesn’t know all these things
about me. These things are personal,
damn it!
So yes, this week I’ll be doing a health screen
test. Suggested by whom? My trainer. (I love the way it sounds, as if I train
every day!) She had to add that little twist when things were going so well. (All’s
relative.) So not only did I find out sometime ago I have the body of a 63-year-old, I’ll also get more depressing
news this Friday. I hope they’ll have paramedics on standby. And don’t worry,
I’ll tell you all about it. :)
I must vent to someone. I could never tell these
things to my mother or sisters, for instance. My mom is very fit for her age
(which remains a family secret, and people have disappeared under suspicious
circumstances while trying to find out); my three sisters are all painfully
skinny. Meh. I still like to think if we ever fought for world dominance, I
totally could take them down. Not that I think about doing these things to
them. Ever.
Well, if you think I’m more muddy and bitter than
normal, you’re right. After all, this is Week Four. :)
Someone please throw a carb-filled calorie bomb
treat at me. Right now.
There. Much better.
Take care and until later,
Carmen
We have a winner!
Drumroll, please…
We
have a winner!
Thank you to everyone who helped me spread the word.
I really appreciate your support!
And the winner is… Maria
Perry Mohan! Congratulations! Let me know if you'd like your $25 gift card from Amazon, iTunes or B&N!
Please email me your info at carmenauthor@yahoo.com
Have a great day,
Carmen
Friday, October 12, 2012
Writing is not for weenies
My first truly meaningful sadness was losing my
father when I was six. I didn’t know much of what went on…just that all of a
sudden, everyone at school was asking me how I was doing and how my mom was
doing. Then my male cousins broke the news the worst way possible, telling me
my dad actually wasn’t returning from his trip to Europe. Ever.
Anyway, don’t reach for the Kleenex just yet, folks.
The worst is over – or I hope it is, as I try to make this about writing. Yet
flashes from my childhood keep coming back.
I found a picture of mine when I was five or six, a
time in between the sweetness of the forbidden candies and the harshness of
real life. I frown at the camera and my hand covers a piece of paper. That’s Exhibit
A I’ve always wanted to be a writer.
Fast-forward well over two decades to the present,
and I’m happy to say I’d be smiling if someone took a picture of me at my work
desk – as long as I looked decent…which means, of course, out of sweatpants and
into a slimming black dress, with my hair blown out and a hint of make up on my
face. J
Wouldn’t that be swell?
The publishing business sometimes brings us candies,
and other times, bad news. For me, it has a lot to do with giving up control.
The minute you write a book, it’s yours. Then, when you share it with the
world, it’s still yours, but you’ve given everyone the right to criticize it –
some will like it, some will hate it, some will love it, and some won’t even
bother to read.
And though I’m obviously barely a freshman at being
published, I’m certainly a senior in dreaming about it. It might have taken
time, but don’t we value things more when they don’t come easily? Well, that’s
why I try to tell myself, anyway. :)
So when you don’t place in contests, or when you receive
rejection letters, one-star reviews or discouragement from the people who
should do the exact contrary – such as your family members, spouses, kids,
cousins, or the old lady next door who keeps asking you to babysit her cat when
she goes out of town – remember: Writing
is not for weenies. It’s a craft, it’s a dream, it’s a business. Work on
your craft, keep on dreaming, and turn it into a profitable business.
Allow yourself to feel bitter, jealous, insecure,
and pissed off for no longer than an hour. (Okay, a day, if you got really bad
news.) Then, bring your chin up and your fingers on the keyboard. And if all else
fails, you can always turn to candy.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
A Vengeful Affair Giveaway Extravaganza!
***UPDATE: even if A Vengeful Affair doesn't reach the minimum goal, I'll still give away one $25 gift card on Monday, October 15th. So please help promote anyway and leave a comment below! Have a great weekend! :)***
I’m
celebrating three months since A Vengeful
Affair was released, and it’s still a Top 100 bestseller on Amazon Kindle’s
Romance Series list! Thank you to my readers!
If A Vengeful Affair continues to climb, I’ll
be giving away up to five $25 gift cards (Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes—winner’s
choice!). That’s up to $125 worth of prizes, and your help will dictate how
many gift cards will be given out.
So get
your sneakers on and let’s climb! A Vengeful
Affair is currently at #73, but we can do better!
How can
you help?
ü Copy and paste this post on your blog, and promote it on
Facebook or Twitter.
ü Buy the book if you enjoy sexy romances. J
ü “Like”
my page on Amazon. Tagging would be nice, too!
ü Leave an honest review on Amazon,
Goodreads
or Barnes
& Noble.
ü Scream from your window! Well, I’m grateful for the yell,
but please be social media savvy. J
Prizes:
If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #60, I’ll give
away one $25 gift card.
If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #50, I’ll give
away another $25 gift card.
If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #35, I’ll give
away an additional two $25 gift cards.
If/when A Vengeful Affair reaches #25, I’ll give
away one more $25 gift card.
Please make
sure you enter a comment below when you’ve done any of the things listed above for a chance to win :)
The
contest will close on October 15th, 2012 at midnight CDT.
Let’s get
the word out!
Until
later,
Carmen
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Gym Confessions: Week Three
Gym
Confessions: Week Three
I knew there was something off when I went to the
cardio area and the other thick-boned girl was still there. Why was she still hanging
around? We had this unspoken agreement for one of us to leave whenever the
other arrived, as neither of us wanted to draw attention. Yet, there she was,
and with a shake of my head I got on with my day suspecting – no, knowing – the third week was going to
suck.
Boy, was I right! My P.T. showed me a machine that could
have a supporting role in a James Bond movie and asked me, “How do you tuck in
your stomach?”
“I wear Spanx,” I said without delay.
She sighed. (Yes, poor thing.)
I asked her if there was a way I could keep my butt
and just lose weight in my problem areas (stomach, arms, thighs). This might
come as a shock, but there are parts of my body I’d like to keep as is – my
derriere, for instance. Wouldn’t that be swell? I visualized myself as a Latin
version of Jessica Rabbit.
As it turns out, I have to lose weight ALL AROUND,
and tons of it, first. THEN I start to tone EVERYTHING. Phew. That’s a lot of
work, folks. I could be writing, working, talking to someone on the phone, or
fishing. I’ve never fished a day in my life, but if it kept me from working
out, I’d be happy to give it a swing…although I doubt I’d be quiet enough.
Okay, so with that in mind, I decided once again to give this workout torture a
try.
By the way, I noticed on my stats page that a large part of my blog audience (yes, all ten
of you) is from Russia. Isn’t that awesome? I actually got this email from this
Russian girl, Anna, who was looking for American workout tips and somehow ended
up on my blog. Is that ironic or what? Anyway, she read my stuff and liked it,
and was sweet to say hi. So since Anna was so nice to go through all that
trouble, I thought it’d be only fair to share the only thing I’ve learned so
far about working out. Are you ready?
If
it’s not hurting, it’s not working. This is from someone
who did stretches today with something called foam rollers. They look like
those colorful, cute spaghetti-shaped floaters kids play with at the pool. But
once you slide them underneath your knees and start rolling (slowly, of course),
they become a nightmare. J Pretty much every time I’m stretching
my arms and legs and it seems too easy, I know it is because I’m not “pressing
enough” or “stretching enough.” When I stretch the right way, yes, it hurts.
Just when I work out the right way (not slacking and actually increasing the
speed and incline on the treadmill), it hurts.
Now it’s time to go back to my writing, where my
characters will do another type of working out. J
Until later,
Carmen
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Have a heart, vote for me :)
A Vengeful Affair won a five heart review from The Romance Studio. YAY!
And that review is up for voting on The Romance
Studio site http://www.theromancestudio.com/5heart_form.php
If you like it, please vote for A Vengeful Affair.
It’s really easy and it only takes a few seconds. The winner gets their cover, buy link and a review snippet on their front
door page the following week along with promotion on all of our social media
outlets.
Voting will end next Monday, October 8th
.
Thank you in advance J
Hope you’re all having a fantastic
week!
Until later,
Carmen J
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