Michele de Winton stops by for a guest post! And some cake...

Today, the talented Michele de Winton is guest posting! Yay!!   I'm so excited... her July Indulgence The Boss and her Billionaire is out. A must read. Don't you just love her cover?

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Michele de Winton :)

Chocolate. Cake. – Michele de Winton

Now those are two words that go together well don’t they? Just like tall and handsome, fair and fey, dark and swarthy. Me, I like my heroes in all sorts of combinations, but chocolate colored eyes, man they’ll get me every time.

Hi, I’m Michele de Winton and I believe that chocolate can solve almost everything. Okay, so maybe not world peace, but it would make a dent in world hunger, and it would certainly help if you were fainting from seeing Johnny Depp in person.

I wrote a post a while ago about chocolate brownie and despite the fact this might label me a baking junkie, I’m going to talk about cake.  Chocolate cake.

I’m not sure what it is about those two words that make most people smile, maybe it’s the thought of the moist crumbling texture of the sponge, or the creamy buttery spread of the icing. But chocolate cake is something that every girl (and boy) needs. At least once in a while.

This is actually a Vegan Chocolate Cake recipe. My husband laughed at me when I told him he’d like it. But then he ate it. And he loved it. Don’t write it off because of its lack of butter – you can add that in the icing if you want ;-)

You’ll need:

1 and three quarter cups of flour

1 and half cups of sugar

2tsp baking powder

2 tsp arrowroot powder (this is to replace egg – so you could use and egg instead if you wanted just add less milk later on)

Half a tsp baking soda

Half a cup of cocoa

Mix

Add three eighths(ish) of a cup of oil, 1 tbsp golden syrup and 1 cup of soy (or ordinary) milk.

Cook for 40 minutes on 180/350.

Devour.

In The Boss and Her Billionaire Michaela isn’t tempted by Mr. Chocolate. Not so her BFF Felicity:

“It helps having an Adonis to keep all the ladies happy,” Felicity drawled. “Poor guy.”

Michaela spotted Dylan. “He’s hardly suffering. Look at him playing the crowd. I don’t think we need to worry about him.” He was dancing with an elderly woman, her face flushed and her hair a frizz, but the smile on her face said she was having the time of her life. The two of them were surrounded, a circle of women looking on eagerly. “Jesus, they look like they want to eat him.”

“They probably do. It’s the same downstairs. Mr. Chocolate has his very own fan club crushing the purser desk. It’s causing a bottleneck, ’cause no one wants to be served by anyone else. We might have to throw some acid at his face or something.”

Michaela snorted. “Maybe you need to take him off the desk and put him on backroom duty.”

“Now you’re talking. He could be my paperwork slave.”

What about you? Do you like your men dark and swarthy or fair and fey?

xMichele

Bio

Michele de Winton loves sunshine, chardonnay, (preferably together), beaches, trees, great vegetarian food, steamy writing and happy endings. She’s been known to be an all round arty type and it's no wonder that her first romance has a little sparkle of the stage tucked into its pages.  Being a writer was not was she was supposed to be when she ‘grew up' but then neither was being a dancer. Sometimes her performing past jumps out of the dress up box and requires attention. But most of the time she’s content to stay in her PJs. All day. And she also thinks that chocolate can solve pretty much everything. You can get in touch with her at

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/michele.dewinton

Twitter https://twitter.com/MicheledeWinton

Drop her a line or post a comment on her blog through www.micheledewinton.com

The Boss and Her Billionaire

Cruise director Michaela Western has everything she wants—everything except a sex life. But there are no secrets on cruise ships. She risked her job once for a dalliance with the Captain, and won’t do it again for a few minutes of toe-curling pleasure. Until a devilishly handsome new staffer with a body made for sin tempts her to walk on the wild side...

Investment billionaire Dylan Johns always gets what he wants. He is used to giving orders—not taking them—until he’s forced to go on hiatus from his investment company. To bide his time and carry out an old dream, he takes a job on a cruise ship—and ends up taking orders from his gorgeous, but uptight, new boss. He is determined to loosen her up with a fun onboard romance, but their no-strings fling turns serious and Dylan is forced to confess his lies.

When the affair threatens to shatter Michaela’s own career dreams, she finds herself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

The Boss and Her Billionaire is available now from

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Boss-Her-Billionaire-ebook/dp/B008LQ78UK

and Barnes and Nobel http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-boss-and-her-billionaire-michele-de-winton/1112120207

Thank you for the lovely blog post, Michele. Time for some chocolate cake as I finish reading The Boss and Her Billionaire :)))

To Blog or Not to Blog…

Dear friends,

I’m sorry for neglecting this blog. I’m starting to feel like that aunt who you only see at a family gathering every four years or so. Well, hopefully I will be cool Aunt Emma, with an iPad and a string of former lovers, and someone you want to meet for lunch. I’ll try not to be like Aunt Bertha. You know – the one who complains you never write or call or email, even though she doesn’t own a computer. Yes. Let’s pretend I’m Aunt Emma.

Truth is, I’m worried I’ll run out of subjects to blog about. As it turns out, once you are a published author, people invite you to guest blog on their sites. It’s super cool, but also a huge responsibility. After all, I don’t want to bore readers to tears.

                So basically, I will try to come up with some cool, totally original things to blog and write them down, to be one step ahead of everyone. *snorts* One step ahead…who am I kidding?

            Let’s start with last week. I went to Vegas for a couple of days and met with other Entangled authors and editors, and it was such a positive experience. How lucky was I to be amongst such high-caliber authors and professionals? There were networking and presentations, and I even attended Annie Seaton’s book signing.

            I met Annie Seaton through New Voices last year, and since then I’ve been bugging her. She’s helped me as an editor, webpage designer, friend, virtual soundboard…and in person, she’s even nicer. :D I also loved meeting Ann Harrison, who is a lady full of spunk and charisma. Both very talented Aussie authors.

            Liz Pelletier’s presentations are always sharp and funny. She probably thinks I’m an Aunt Bertha for sure, because I think so highly of her that I act nothing like Aunt Emma around her.

            Well, that’s it for today. I just wanted to drop by and say hello. J

            Stay tuned – the talented and lovely Michele de Winton will guest blog on here this week!

           Until later,

           Carmen :)

             

Having dinner with authors Kate Evangelista, Ann Harrison, Mary Lindsey & Annie Seaton :)

Five Reasons Curvy Women Make Great Writers

 Disclaimer: Skinny writers, easy on the hate mail and harsh words – remember that you rock yoga pants, will probably live longer, and if you are good looking, you have it all. Peace.

Curvy writers, unite! There are many words to describe us, and sincerely, we don’t like any of them. But let’s embrace our rolls and remember there’s a reason why God and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups made us this way. And celebrate it – with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, of course.

Here are five reasons curvy women make great writers:

1-     Pressure – We understand pressure and can handle tight…deadlines. Only someone who, inside a Macy’s fitting room, has pushed her love handles into a MiracleSuit swimsuit or wears one-size-too-small Spanx to a cousin’s wedding knows what I’m talking about.

2-      Conflict – You want conflict? We’ll give you conflict. To be yourself in Western society and be happy with your figure can be a conflict in itself. Some people don’t understand it. Others envy it. Or sometimes you are completely uncomfortable with your curvy writer status yourself. You try to tip the scale a bit, bargaining with it. Oh! The pain, the guilt, the possibilities. You have conflict in every single inch, and since you have more inches than a skinny writer does, you obviously are packed with more conflict.

3-      Time management – When skinny writers are busy working out, cycling, running, swimming and all that nonsense, we can use that time to write.

4-Creativity – We are great at creating excuses. Some sample expressions we know and love: “This dress makes my ass look like a planet,” “It’s the Pill,” “It’s my PCOS medicine,” “I’m PMSing,” “I’m pregnant,” “I just had a terrible breakup/horrible argument with my boss,” “I had bag of chips within my reach.” We always look for a great way to explain why we are the way we are.

5-      Inner (and outer) strength – If there were a reality show where we had to fight skinny writers for food or dominance, we could easily bring them down. In fact, we still can *evil grin*  – reality show or not!

There you go! Let’s celebrate ourselves, and we’ll chat again about that reality show.
Until next time, take care! ;)

My debut romance is out!!!

I'm proud to share with you....

And here's the blurb:

Rich people get away with murder every day, but Vivian Foster intends to make billionaire Javier Rivera pay for what he did to her best friend—and how better to destroy a money-grubbing bastard than to sabotage the merger that means everything to him.

Javier Rivera would never hurt a woman much less kill one. But when he catches a gorgeous corporate spy in his office, he knows he can’t let her go—not when even a hint of scandal could ruin his career. Until the merger is signed, he’ll keep her close, even if he has to shackle her to his wrist. Literally.

But the closer Javier gets to Vivian, the more he wants her, and the more time she spends with him, the less she believes he could ever be a killer. Now Vivian and Javier have to discover the truth...and Vivian has to win the trust of her worst enemy.

Available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/A-Vengeful-Affair-ebook/dp/B008LIBHEG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1342348901&sr=8-4&keywords=Carmen+Falcone
and Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-vengeful-affair-carmen-falcone/1112117583?ean=2940014622141

Revenge was never so sweet... ;)

I'm back :D

Dear friends,

I have completely neglected this blog. Guilty as charged.

The past weeks have really overwhelmed me. I traveled to South America for both work and pleasure, but the pleasure bit lacked a lot, as work went on and on… Still, it was great to spend time with my family and see friends. Really, see is the keyword here. Not necessarily spend time with them and catch up – who has time for that? J

I was able to squeeze in some research for my WIP. Oooh, yes. On my current book, the heroine defends a Brazilian Indian tribe from eviction from its land. It has a great premise, and I’m excited about this project. As soon as I nail her motivations and conflicts, I’ll send a partial to my editor. By the way, if you need help with conflicts, Susan Meier’s Conflict and the Category Romance online workshop is wonderful.  I believe it’s available from time to time on SavvyAuthors.com.

And now, the big news… Let the drum roll! My release date has moved up to July 15! YES! I just found that out yesterday, and I’m excited, happy and nauseated at the same time. I mean, really, in less than a week, the cat will be out of the bag. And it will purr.

I still haven’t wrapped my head around the idea of friends and family reading my work. I come from a Catholic background, and my book is spicy, so it should be interesting. That wouldn’t keep me from writing hot love scenes. Actually, I don’t think anything can… hehe.

Anyway, I will stop by more often. I hope all is well.

Please, let’s catch up. Tell me what you’ve been up to lately.

Have a fantastic day!

How Motherhood Has Improved my Writing Journey

     I have been a mother for three and a half years, and I have been a closet writer for much longer than that. However, it was only after Scarlett had been born that I felt the urge to send my material to publishing houses, to write actively, and most of all, to ask for help. Coincidence? I honestly don’t know.

    I can’t help but think motherhood has empowered me to go after my dream. Perhaps because life became so chaotic that I needed an outlet more than ever. Perhaps it was due to happen anyway. Either way, motherhood has taught me these things about writing:

·         Asking for help – I have always tried to fix what was wrong myself—or maybe fix what I had broken before anyone noticed. Whatever. Having a preemie baby (my daughter was born at 31 weeks and stayed at the NICU for 41 days—yep, I use that card whenever I can) really opened my eyes to my limitations. I could only do so much on my own. I had to start listening to doctors, nurses, friends, and even my mom—which I tried to avoid, having been a lifelong victim of Catholic Guilt and all. But moving on … whether I agreed with them or not, I had to stop and listen, ponder, and decide, which is not much different from writing. If we write for ourselves and never plan to share with the world, we can be the dictators of our keyboard. But if we want to have a chance at getting published, we need to get out of our comfort zone and reach out to critique partners, writing companions, editors, writers groups, on-line classes, workshops, and conferences. We need to show our work, regardless of the outcome.  

·         Sometimes, it is what it is – You can only do so much. A part of me always tries harder, and that’s a part I want to encourage (sadly, that doesn’t include dieting harder. Or dieting at all. Boo.). But when it comes to writing, to get that “thanks, but no thanks” letter or email just really sucks. While it may be a good eye opener to question your proposal or ideas, at the same time, it may also be that you didn’t have the right project for the right publisher at the right time.

·         Prioritizing skills – Any mother knows this. Should I take a shower or enjoy fifteen extra minutes in bed? Should I go to sleep early or have sex? On which project should I focus? What should I do today—edit, write, read, critique, pull my hair out, or all of the above? I struggle with prioritizing a lot, especially when I have more than one project at hand.

·         Time is not just money, but words … and naps – I believe that the #1 advice I got throughout my pregnancy was sleep when she is sleeping. Yeah, right. Most of the time, I was doing laundry, making food, checking emails, making sure my three dogs were fed and going outside (and remembering to bring them inside), breast pumping, and trying to make long calls to the insurance people (who from time to time send us a Mickey Mouse bill for 60,000 dollars) when she was sleeping, especially during the day. I gotta say, though, I got a lot done in those two or three hours. Most of it was boring and chore-like but, hey, it had to be done. It taught me to make the most of my time. Nowadays, I don’t wait for that perfect time to write. I take notepads everywhere, in case ideas strike when I’m least prepared. I squeeze in 200 words while cooking spaghetti, which explains a lot about my cooking skills. I even feel a degree of relief when my doctor says she’s running late and I have twenty extra minutes with my IPad in the exam room.

     Learning never stops, be it about motherhood or writing. I feel like I’ve learned a lot, yet at the same time, I’m at the very beginning and there are so many delightful and exhilarating emotions that I still haven’t savored. They say that every phase is different and that it gets easier with time. Well, let’s see about that. J

Days 3, 4 & 5 at the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago

Since the last days were so hectic, I decided to write one blog post and highlight my favorite moments.

·        I enjoyed the Name that Vampire game. The room was filled with vampire-loving readers, and Entangled’s Lissa Kessler, Caridad Pineiro, and Laura Kaye were amongst the hosts. At the end, there were tons of prizes and I had to brace myself. For the first time in twenty-nine (okay, thirty!) years, I won something—a bouquet of autographed black flowers and a shirt that read World’s Biggest Vampire Fan. I felt like an imposter, but it looked cool so I’m happy! I guess I have to stop saying I never win anything in raffles.

·        A high-powered panel of accomplished authors, such as Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Louisa Edwards, and Jodi Thomas, delivered a great presentation titled Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary. It focused on contemporary romance, which I liked. They talked about how hard it is to make a good contemporary romance work without lots of external plots involving werewolves, vampires, serial killers, etc. Everything must come from the emotions, the inner conflicts that make us who we are. I really enjoyed Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ sense of humor and how she told us she likes to have male characters who act like typical males (not like women trapped in men’s bodies). I can’t wait to read The Great Escape, which comes out in July.

·        On a personal note, I met my senior editor for the first time on Day 3 and that was, well, kind of awesome.

·        Freelance editor Rie Langdon had everyone on their toes with her presentation on point of view (POV). She has over 25 years of experience in the field and said most publishers she works with are adamant about having only one POV per scene. To some extent, I agree. As a reader, I don’t like head-hopping. However, sometimes in the first chapter I’m okay with two POVs, as long as we see one, then the other. I feel this is when I most want to connect to the hero and heroine. A lot of the time, especially with short contemporary romance novels, they can’t disclose their motivations or goals to each other. The POV (or any foreshadowing) helps me to understand them and relate to them a bit more.

·        One thing I feel needs to improve for next year is tech support. Most of the time, there were no microphones or screens for Power Point presentations. Microphones, people! Even my three-year-old has one. I felt bad for people who sat at the back during very interesting workshops and missed out.

All in all, though, I had a great time. I can’t wait to go to next year’s convention in Kansas City :)