Paperback Writer

I've never held a book I've written in my hands before. As much as I felt accomplishment and pride with my ebooks when they were published, there was something special about seeing The Violin with its beautiful cover resting in my hands. It felt--- soul-satisfying. Not to get all sappy over it but it was a momentous occasion for me and I just wanted to share that with you.
I'm having a contest celebrating the release of The Violin over at my website. www.sarahmcneal.com I'm giving away a wonderful basket of delicious goodies and a violin pin in its own case. Check out the picture on my website. It is so cute. In the meantime, here's a little excerpt from the book.
THE VIOLIN
by Sarah J. McNeal from Amira Press www.amirapress.com
Unedited Excerpt

When he arrived at the small porch at the front door of the Douglas home, he called out. “Jimbo, come and open the door.”

Jimmy came running from around the side of the house with Guess padding along behind him. What happened to Evie?” he asked breathlessly. “Did she pass out again?”

Jimmy ran to the door and opened it. His dog followed him, both of them darting around John almost knocking him and Genevieve off the porch before John could enter the house with his arms full of Genevieve along with her packages, shoes, shawl and hat.

Matilda came running into the parlor from the kitchen. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she exclaimed, “My goodness is she alright?” Then she smoothed her apron and seemed to get hold of her emotions when she took a closer look at Genevieve's face. Genevieve was certain her appearance was a sight, her face stained with tears, her disheveled and her belongings in her lap.

“Sit her down on the couch, John,” Matilda directed. She hastened to Genevieve’s side as John carefully sat her on the couch. “What happened?” Her hands busily moved setting Genevieve's belongings aside and brushing Genevieve's hair out of her face.

John choked down a chuckle and said, “She tried to stuff her grown up feet into some little girl shoes.”

Jimmy laughed and said, “Why that’s just stupid.”
Genevieve was so mortified she couldn’t speak.

“Mind your manners, Jimmy,” Matilda scolded. “And you, too, John. The two of you aren’t so big I can’t take a switch to you.”

“Yes Ma’am,” they replied simultaneously.

Genevieve had to let out a giggle at that. A half grown boy and a fully-grown man were no match for a mother like Matilda. She was a self-possessed, determined and loving woman who would face an angry mountain cat to save her child and give her child a sound thrashing if he misbehaved. Genevieve respected and loved her already.

“Fetch the foot tub from the back porch, Jimmy,” Matilda commanded taking control of the situation. “John, get two buckets of water from the pump.”

As soon as the two males left the room, Matilda kneeled on the floor beside Genevieve and gently took her feet one at a time in her caring hands. She shook her head and clucked with her tongue. “My, my, this must truly hurt.”

Genevieve nodded her head. Her bottom lip trembled as she tried to hold back a flood of tears. Unable to find mastery over her feelings and her pride weakened by such caring attention, Genevieve found her tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

It wasn’t just about the pain of her blistered feet that made her weep. Genevieve was touched by the way this family so kindly received her and the gentle attention they bestowed upon her. She could handle pain, abandonment and neglect, but not this.

John was real.

Genevieve’s heart filled with a peculiar kind of joy. It was the joy that comes from feeling safe and secure. She had never felt that way her whole life. She looked down at the graying auburn hair of John’s mother and love flowed through her like warm liquid. She never wanted to leave any of them again. She wanted to stay in this world, in this time forever.

Then, like a dark cloud deflecting the sun, she remembered. John was going to die and the family she felt so safe with now was going to fall into chaos.

New Contests and WIP's on my website...

Well, I think that Pat and Kayleigh said what I would want to say regarding Heath Ledger's death, so I will leave it at that. May he rest in peace. He was loved and he will be remembered.

On a brighter note, I've added a new contest to my website. If you missed out on getting your copy of Destiny's Holiday the holiday sequel to Destiny's Choices, be sure and check out my website for how to win a copy.

I've also added a Works in Progess or the more popularly known WIP section to my website. It's not complete as I still have to add a couple of books but you can go there and get an idea of what I'm working on now and what my hopes are for 2008 when it comes to publishing.

You can check out my website here.

Heath Ledger and a Pain Resurrected

By Pat Cromwell

Earlier this week we lost a great actor, Heath Ledger. Message boards are overflowing with comments about his death. For the most part, the people leaving comments are expressing their heartfelt sympathy which is admirable and in my opinion, very American.

Unfortunately, there is that small minority of individuals who take situations such as this to exploit their own personal agendas. I’m speaking of the Westboro Baptist Church, an organization that, in my circle of friends, is considered the most backward, ignorant group of non believers ever. They are like a cold sore that pops up the morning of an important meeting.

They’re like an acute pain in my side that refuses to just go away. You know the type of pain that lays dormant and at the worse possible time reminds us that it is there and emits an ache so deep that a strong dose of Morphine can’t get rid of it. Regrettably, this throne in our side is a catalyst for yet another round of Anti-American post written by people around the world. Already, I’ve read several comments about how disrespectful the Americans are and many of the post that I have read reference the Westboro Baptist Church’s planned attack to protest Heath Ledger’s funeral.

I want to go to the tallest building in the world and scream “All Americans are not this ignorant and heartless!” I would also say to them that while I firmly believe that everyone has a right to their opinions and a right to protest (that includes Westboro), that I take issue to lack of judgment and the respect of others when practicing the right of freedom of speech and assembly. That is why this group is such a pain. Not only do I disagree vehemently with their philosophy and biblical interpretations regarding homosexuality, but their methods are despicable. The Westboro Baptist Church total disregard for the bereaved is not what this country is about. I’m not just speaking of their intent to “picket” the actor’s funeral, but every single funeral that they have intruded on and the anguish that they inflicted on the families and friends of our fallen soldiers is beyond reprehensible.

In my opinion, that makes them no better than a terrorist. The fact that they perform this inhuman action in the name of God is a slap in the face. I don’t know what bible they are reading, but it definitely is not the same as mine. As far as the people leaving comments about Americans as a whole, hey you guys, Westboro is not, and never will be a representative of the mentality of Americans. I’d go so far as to say that the majority of Americans view them as I do: a nasty little sore that festers and refuses to go away.

Pat Cromwell
http://www.freewebs.com/patcromwell/

No title today, folks, and few words.

I was set to bitch and moan about writer's block and various and sundry other things.

Then I learned that actor Heath Ledger, 28, was found dead in his apartment today, this on the heels of last week's news of Brad Renfro's passing. I've been a fan of Ledger's since A Knight's Tale and The Patriot. I'm reminded of how I felt when River Phoenix died.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Winter has come, even here in the South. There is a raw wind blowing, snow falling and ice on the streets. No worries. Just relax by the warm fire, open the pages of THE VIOLIN and let me take you back in time to the warm spring of 1927. I want to tell you about an improbable love that will warm your heart and make you believe that anything is possible. Read a blurb and an excerpt at my website, www.sarahmcneal.com and, while you're there, enter my contest. There are only 3 easy questions to answer from the excerpt. Email your answers to me with VIOLIN CONTEST as the subject either from my website or by my email address starcriter@yahoo.com . I'd love to hear from you. The prize is a basket of wonderful goodies and a tiny violin pin in its own little case. There's a picture of it on my website. In the meantime, stay safe and warm. All good things to your corner of the universe. Sarah McNeal

A New Award

This week I learned that I had been given the Reviewers' Choice Award from Cataromance for my book Forbidden Lady/Anne Herries/Harlequin Mills & Boon. This is a historical story and the first of a trilogy. The first book came out in USA last April and was given a good review by Cataromance. The trilogy will come out later this year in the UK.

I have two Regency books coming out earlier in the year and then the early Tudor series.

On Friday 25th Jan. Nineteen friends from various publishers and I will be posting at ebooklove . There will be lots of prizes, contests, excerpts and chat. Please come and join us if you wish.

Cassie's Sheikh came out last week in ebook format. I have just learned that A Shameful Secret/Anne Ireland/Amira Press will be out this month and in March it will go into paperback.

My last piece of news today is that I have a new website. Please visit

http://www.lindasole.co.uk/ and let me know what you think through the contact button.

What is the IR / MC List?

By Pat Cromwell

I belong to several Yahoo and MSN groups for readers and writers. Earlier this week I posted an announcement that I had updated a List that I host on my website. I received several responses (in my personal email and as a thread to my original post) asking what the IR List was. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce or re-introduce what the list is all about, my thought process behind implementing it, and how the reader and the writer can benefit by accessing and taking advantage of this free tool.

In a nutshell the IR List, or more accurately “The IR/MC List” is a collection of books, electronic or print, that have an interracial or multicultural theme. The genre can be of any type, historical, modern, paranormal, etc. It can be M/F, M/M, M/M/F, etc. The only criterion for a book to make the list is that it is an IR or MC.

I update the list weekly, usually on Saturday mornings. I indicate name of book, the author’s name, and a link to the publisher of the book or where the book can be downloaded.

There are two parts to the list.

The first section lists all the new releases for the week. The second section is the Special Request list. This group of books is populated by contributors who would like to see a particular book that was previously released appear on the list. I receive the information for this section through email, post on various Yahoo or MSN groups, individuals who leave information via my website’s guestbook, etc.

With that said my thought process for hosting the list is two fold. First, as a writer of IR romance, this was a way for me to show my support to my fellow writers of IR/MC romance. Second, way before I had my first book published, I spent a lot of my spare time just reading; my favorite type of book was and still is IR and MC books. Oftentimes the IR/MC Junkies - a term I coined for readers such as myself - spend an enormous amount of time just trying to locate these types of books.

Using eBooks as an example, I would rely on the cover image or name recognition of the author because many publishers do not put these books in the category for IR / MC. That really does make perfectly good since. Why limit your audience? I certainly don’t want to limit who reads my books. The goal is to make it easy for the IR / MC Junkie to be aware of those hidden treasures that are put in more specific categories.

What better way to do so then to list them all – regardless of who the author or publisher is – and provide a link to a site where more information can be obtained. The list is maintained by me free of charge to the reader, author, and publisher. So always feel free to contact me with a book that you would like to see listed. Stop by my website and take a look at the list. You just might find something there that you missed.

Happy Reading!

Pat Cromwell
http://www.freewebs.com/patcromwell/
Behind Blue Eyes available at Amira Press (http://www.amirapress.com/)

When Dreams Come True coming soon to Red Rose Publishing

Email me at: pacd97867@cs.com