Good Morning! Great News!

Faith will be hanging in a bit longer and drawing a lucky winner who will receive a free download of her book, Kensington's Soul, today! So come on out and get involved. I know there are many vamp loving lurkers out there. Why not join in the conversation.

If you haven't read this book, you have no idea what your missing:) For all the dirt and details, see Faith's post and the ensuing conversation below.

D~

The Art of Creating wonderful Imagery through use of the Senses.

Welcome to my portion of the April Blog Event: A Tisket, A Tasket, Put Romance in your Basket. If you just dropped in and have no clue what is going on you can backtrack to the beginning by visiting Silver James' blog and following the links from there. This way you'll be in the running for so many more great prizes:) I've included the blog event's details at the bottom of this post as well.

Anyhoo...

Since Easter is behind us and Spring is in full swing, I thought I'd like to talk about the importance of imagery in writing. What does one have to do with the other? Well, I can't talk about the beauty of the season without painting a picture with imagery using the senses can I?

The idea of imagery is to pull the reader into your story. Creating and stimulating sensory responses so the reader can actually see, smell, taste, hear, touch--in essence, make the reader feel part of the scene.

I love to use imagery every chance I get in writing. I want to pull the reader into my scenes. The whole purpose of reading is to escape 'real life' if not for just a little while. To do this effectively you need to choose the perfect words and descriptives to paint your scenes. I'll tell you how I attempt to accomplish this in my own writing.

Below, I'd like to begin with a couple of examples. The first a simple description of a scene and the second, a more detailed sensory-stimulated painting of the same scene.

Example 1:

Colorful flowers were pretty along the tudor mansion's walkway. In back, the roses and gardenias smelled nice. We sat on a bench and rested in the shade.

Example 2:

Purple pansies, red and white tulips, sunny daffodils and forsynthia burst a riot of color along the two-story English tudor mansion's walkways. As we strolled around back, the heady scent of roses and gardenia perfumed the air, and we soon found ourselves surrounded by statuary and gurgling fountains beneath a canopy of century-old oaks. We settled down on a garden bench and rested in the coolness of the shaded sanctuary.

For all intent purposes, doesn't example two take you into that garden? Can you not see the Tudor mansion, smell the roses and gardenia, see the yellows and lush greens of the daffodills, forsynthia, and aged oaks, feel the coolness of the shaded bench? Doesn't the imagery of this scene almost melt stress away and help you to forget reality for a minute?

This is what writing is all about, at least in my mind. When I read a book, I want to be carried away, experience what the characters are experiencing. If they are in an Italian restaurant, I want to see the Chianti bottles dripping with colorful candlewax, feel the warm, cozy romance of candlelit tables, and smell the garlic and tomatoes. I want to here the scraping of cutlery against stonewear and the low rumble of conversation with the clink of glassware.

If you are depicting a couple walking on a beach at sunset, you want to describe the palette of colors splayed across the horizon as the sun sets. The violets and grays of twilight moving in. The sound of the surf crashing or rolling onto the beach. The feel of the warm sand between the toes of bare feet.

See what I mean? All this works to enhance the experienc of the reader as he/she ventures through your story.

A great way to practice this is to go outside, sit quietly, and just listen. Try to describe your surroundings in the most vivid words you can. Next time you're in a restaurant, try to jot down your sensory observations, or in a forest taking a walk, describe the scuttle and scurry of small animals startle as you pass by, the birds darting about above, the whisper of the wind through the leaves. All this will help to create the perfect sensory and imagery in your scenes.

Please pipe in on this subject. If you are a reader tell us what you like most when you are caught up in your favorite authors work. I'd love to hear from you. And one lucky person will win a Spring gift bag filled with goodies(my contribution to the April Blog Event Grand Prize).

As promised contest blurb and all pertinent information below.


A TISKET A TISKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Grand Prize:
To enter to win prizes from the authors donating treasures to the grand prize (see each day's post for what an author is donating to the grand prize), find the four Easter eggs in the A TISKET A TISKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET blog event.
You will be searching for the pictured egg. Just visit all of the authors' websites, locate the 4 eggs, make a list of their locations by pasting the urls to the website pages in an e-mail, then send the entry to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd at Skhye Moncrief's Blog. Tip #1, subscribe to Skhye's Blog to learn if you're the winner! And don't worry. If you start in on the blog event late, just head back to Silver James' blog on April 1st to begin your website search for the Easter eggs. Don't miss the fun!

And one more chance to win. I will personally choose a winner from all of you commentors on Sunday, April 19th. I will be giving away a copy Curse of the Marhime in .pdf format to one lucky person. Hope you love to die for Alpha males:) Because I know you will love Niko. Good luck!

The next leg of this journey is tomorrow at Phyllis Campbell's blog so don't forget to drop in and hang with her for the rest of this bloghopping tour and so many more chances at great prizes.

Thanks for dropping in. I hope you've enjoyed you visit:)

D~

April Blog Event coming April 1st to a blog near you:)

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET

Spring is in the air! Bees are buzzing. Children anxiously await the big morning where they can graze on candy all day. What about mom? We've got a treat for you! Come join a group of romance authors in celebration of spring. Enter to win a prize a day as well as enter to win the grand prize. All you need do is begin at Silver James' blog on April 1st. Silver will host the day's contest and provide the link to the next day's location. Don't forget to enter to win the grand prize! Here's the dirt...

A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET Grand Prize:
To enter to win prizes from the authors donating treasures to the grand prize (see each day's post for what an author is donating to the grand prize), find the four Easter eggs in the A TISKET A TASKET, PUT ROMANCE IN YOUR BASKET blog event.



You will be searching for the pictured Easter egg. Just visit all of the authors' websites, locate the 4 eggs, make a list of their locations by pasting the urls to the website pages in an e-mail, then send the entry to happyendings2007@aol.com by midnight CST on May 1st, 2009. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced May 2nd at http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com. Tip #1, subscribe to http://blog.skhyemoncrief.com to learn if you're the winner! And don't worry. If you start in on the blog event late, just head back to Silver James' blog on April 1st at http://www.silverjames.com/ to begin your website search for the Easter eggs. Don't miss the fun! See you next to the burgundy tulips.

Christmas Sleigh Ride Contest is now running...

JUMP ABOARD OUR CHRISTMAS
SLEIGH RIDE!

SEE THE SIGHTS.

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC OF THE SEASON.

AND NAME THAT CHRISTMAS CAROL!

This is your chance to win a prize a day through Christmas Eve and one grand prize...
a $75 Wild Rose Press gift card.

Are you getting an e-reader for Christmas?

Well, what better than to fill it with e-books from sweet to erotic and contemporary to darkest sensual paranormal!!!

How do you begin this incredible journey?

Each day, the link to the next blog destination will be posted. But, hey! you want to enter to win the grand prize, and you're late to the game? We've experienced a few bumps since the start. So, I've posted the blog locations from day one:

Nov 29 http://plparker.blogspot.com/
Nov 30 http://lynnreynolds.blogspot.com/
Dec 1 WRP at http://thewildrosepress.blogspot.com
Dec 2 http://michelehart.blogspot.com/
Dec 3 Two blogs today!-- http://www.freewebs.com/teriwilson/terisblog.htm and http://www.elainepcantrell.blogspot.com
Dec 4 Roni Adams at http://thewildrosepress.blogspot.com

To enter to win the grand prize, you make a list of all the Christmas carols and submit the list as instructed. With 28 prizes, what have you got to lose? So come on jump on the sleigh and take a fun-filled sleigh ride right up to Christmas. The hot chocolate and cookies are free as well the great prizes.

Have fun!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Dayana

The Week in Recap and a chance to win a FREE download of Curse of the Marhime:)

Good Sunday Morning All!

Hope everyone is well and anticipating next week's array of interesting guests after the very informative week we've had this past week. I don't know about you, but I've had an absolute ball.
To recap:
We've reminisced about what has influenced the paranormal genre through the years and one of the main things we've discovered universally is that Dark Shadows has played a large part in most author's motivations towards the paranormal. Other movies and shows, such as, Dracula, Forever Knight, UnderWorld, Moonlight-which is a recent show that no one has mentioned but I think belongs here on the list. Books like Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and for me the Witch Series-The Witching Hour, Lasher, etc. have gone a long way to locking my muse in the Paranormal mode.

We've learned that the Alpha males are very important and desirous of the female psyche. Whether it be the motorcycle bad boy or a dark-hearted, sexy man who turns furry at the full moon, or dons fangs at will, women get all moist between—well, you get the picture:) To tame the beast within is every woman's desire and to bring him to his knees quivering with the need to own her heart, mind, body and soul the ultimate reward.

We’ve met new authors excited about their first releases, and we’ve met seasoned ones who continue to hone the muse and share their knowledge with the newbies so that they may enjoy the sensation of publication. We’ve seen how family and friends play such a large part in our motivation to get our stories down on paper and then all the support and encouragement from our loved ones for us to actually get those stories out there for others to enjoy.

We’ve met Rhonda Penders, Editor-in-Chief/Owner of The Wild Rose Press and learned what makes her tick.

Some of you have won prizes and will continue to have chances at other great prizes. Please let me know what you thought of all the activities over the last week. I would love to know if you’ve had as much fun as I have.

And speaking of prizes, who’s up for a chance at winning a free download of Curse of the Marhime? I do think a little scavenger hunt is in order. Take a little trip over to my website, Roma Wolf Tales, and take a gander at the sample story, “A Mid Autumn’s Nightmare,” then tell me what Darius does that Aliese really “hates.” Place your answers as a comment to this post. I will take all the correct answers and enter them into a drawing to announce the winner next Sunday, October 19th.

Happy Hunting and good Luck!

Hey, while you’re there, take a look around. You never know what question I might ask next for a great prize:)

Have a wonderful day!
D~

Halloween Mini Tales Contest: Exciting New Information!

Great News, Everyone!

I have been invited to host The Wild Rose Press' Paranormal Month, which runs October first through thirty-first, for the Black Rose line right here on my blog. As you know, TWRP is my publishing house and Curse of the Marhime is a Black Rose. This is an amazing honor, and I am proud to participate.

As many of you know, as well, this is my favorite time of year, so I am very excited about this opportunity to celebrate with TWRP and so many talented authors and editors.

I would like to take a moment to update you on the rules of the contest for the entire month of October.



Halloween Mini Tales Contest and The Wild Rose Press Paranormal Month Celebration
Guidelines and Basic information:

The primary activity will be the Halloween Mini Tales Contest. Guidelines are as follows:

Contest begins October 1st and runs through October 31st.

Submit, to me, a mini Halloween romantic tale on any spooky entity or subject via email to gothscribegirl@aol.com inserting "Mini Tales Contest" and "your story's title" in the subject line of the email by October 31st. (These stories should be geared specifically to the TWRP Black Rose guidelines.

The story must be complete with a beginning, middle, and end.

The tale must be no more than 500 words.

The added bonus is that since I am sponsoring Paranormal Month for the Black Rose Line at TWRP, any entrant has a chance at being asked to expand your tale into a longer piece for--get this!--possible consideration to submit your tale for review for a chance at publication! Can't get any better than that, can it?

I will choose three winners: two runners up, who will receive special Wild Rose Press Blossom Bucks to be used on the site for book and story purchases. The First Prize Winner with receive a free download of my new release, Curse of the Marhime.

In addition to the main contest, I will have spontaneous Tricks or Treats activities and giveaways the entire month. I will also have many interesting blog guests as well who will be offering their own prizes. One of my surprise gift donors is Skhye Moncrief author of Ancient Musings and He of the Fiery Sword! She has donated free downloads as well, so stay turned to find out how you can win a copy of Skhye's wonderful stories. Thank you, Skhye!



I'd like to take a moment to invite you all to the Paranormal Ball that will run for twenty-four hours on the Wild Rose Press main Chat room October 31st. Meet authors and editors alike. Come as you are or whoever you wish to be. Just click 'Chat' on the top tool bar of the main page and drop on in. Ask editors questions, win fun prizes from the authors and read excerpts from their upcoming releases.

Stay tuned to my blog for contest updates and by all means, if you have any questions post a comment or email me at the above mentioned address. By the way, I will hold a drawing at the end of the month for an additional surprise gift for anyone who posts on this blog between October 1st and 31st.

You really have lots of opportunity to win something, so please keep posted and join in the ghoulish fun.

Happy Halloween!

Dayana~