Tess Quinn

Yeay! Today author and friend Kathleen Coddington is stopping by to tell us a little bit about her book and the beauty of sleep. Welcome Kathleen!



Thanks for allowing me to visit, Tess and talk about my new book, Palace of Dreams.



Tell us a little bit about your story Palace of Dreams
The story is a futuristic erotic romance set in a dream dome on the planet Cereus Prime. Of course before you can reach REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and dream you first need to fall asleep, a real problem for many people. Here are a few tips I picked up as I researched sleep and the dreaming process that might be of interest to your readers.



Getting a good night’s sleep isn’t always easy. While it may seem like a steady state, studies of brain waves show that we go through 5 stages in order to get to the REM (rapid eye movement) state where dreaming takes place. It’s at this stage that true restorative sleep occurs. If falling asleep has become a nightly problem, here are a few tips that might help.



Develop a sleep routine. Send your body signals that it’s time to sleep. About 2 hours before you plan to hit the hay, take a bath, turn off the television, put away that exciting thriller, put on some soft music and turn down the thermostat. Keeping your bedroom a few degrees cooler at night promotes sleep.



Sip a cup of tea or eat a carbo-rich snack. A cup of chamomile or other herb tea can help you relax. Stay away from black or green tea unless you drink the decaffeinated varieties. Because they release tryptophan, which has been shown to make people sleepy, eat a light snack of rice cakes, pretzels or a potato about an hour before bedtime.



Aroma therapy works. Spray your pillows lightly with lavender or light a lavender candle to induce drowsiness.



Consider the pet quotient. Sharing your bed with your pet can be part of why you can’t sleep. But banishing them from the bedroom can be almost as stressful. Consider giving your pet his/her own bed on the floor next to you. If constant scratching seems to be a problem, schedule a visit to the vet to check on things like allergies, ticks and fleas. Play with kitty and take fido for a walk. If they are tired at the same time you are, they’ll be more likely to sleep through the night.



Or visit a dream dome. In my latest book, Palace of Dreams, dream dome guests never have a problem falling asleep. And when they do, they have the most incredible dream adventures led by their own telepathic guide. For a deep, restful and completely fulfilling sleep, you can’t go wrong scheduling a visit to the Crystal Palace.



That sounds great! Thank you for all the helpful tips on getting a goodnight sleep! For those of you who are interested in learning more about Kathleen’s book, check out the information below:



Book release date: March 5, 2010
Ellora’s Cave: Aeon
Novel. You can purchase the book at http://www.jasminejade.com/ps-8218-50-palace-of-dreams.aspx



Visit her at: www.kathleencoddington.com or www.kathleencoddington.wordpress.com



Check out her book blurb here:



In the dream domes of Cereus Prime visitors can fulfill their deepest erotic fantasies in sessions led by telepathic guides. Among the guides, Inari Rau is a living legend. On her final night as a guide, she receives a request to lead one last dream. During the session she loses control and is drawn into a fantasy of raw, sexual pleasure with her mysterious client.



Kastel Fane has a mission to complete—give Inari the dream of a lifetime as a farewell gift from her friends. If he succeeds, he’ll receive a hefty reward. What neither expects is the passion that ignites between them or the new psi talent that is born out of their first encounter, an ability that leads to dangerous consequences for both of them. As they fight for a future together, can Kastel prove he is the man who can finally fulfill all of Inari’s dreams?



Thanks again for joining us, Kathleen! Best of luck with your release!

Kathleen Coddington has been writing romance on and off for 15 years. She has three books, a paranormal romance and two historical romances, published by Cerridwen Press and one erotic futuristic through Ellora’s Cave Publishing. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Pocono Lehigh Romance Writers and the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, where she served at various times as VP, secretary and treasurer.



A retired school librarian, Kathleen enjoys reading and travel. Members of two Civil War reenacting units, she and her husband are frequent lecturers at schools and historical societies. She has also published several articles about the fashions of the mid-19th century. She and her husband and two cats live near their son in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania where she teaches a novel writing course at the local community college.

Today’s Writers on Writing author is Clare Austin. Check out the great info Clare shares with us today!



Thank you for joining me today for my Writer’s on Writing series! I hear you have some great news to share.



Hello Tess,
I am thrilled to be a featured writer. Thanks for having me.
This is a very exciting week for me. My publisher just sent an email saying my novel, Angel’s Share, is now available. Waiting for my box of books is an incredible feeling. This is my second novel to be published and the thrill has not dulled one bit.



I’ll try to stick to the questions here, though my mind tends to wander.



I know the feeling. Congratulations on your latest release! Let’s start with the basics. What is my brainstorming process?



My brain is constantly in a state of turbulent weather and stories have always come to me in the oddest places and times. I once wrote, in my head, an entire plot while having an MRI.



One of the most difficult things I’ve had to learn is to channel the whirlpool of my ideas. When I start a new novel, I see my characters quite clearly and generally have a beginning and fairly solid ending. Those are the easy parts. I know where I would like my characters to end up. Honestly though, sometimes they have different ideas about where they are going. When that happens I go with them. So far, my characters, if I allow them enough freedom, have never left me hanging. There have been times, however, when a character captures my imagination but I find she or he is simply in the wrong story. When that is the case, I can write the other story right away or in the case of the book I’m working on now which is the third in a trilogy and therefore the characters are a bit more confined to fitting into a structure already well set, I have to save that character for later.



Tell us about your typical day.



My typical writing week is not set in stone. It’s more like set in gelatin… firm but wiggly. It has become more amorphous since my first sale as I have had to include marketing and promotion in my day.



I try to drift off to sleep every night thinking of the scene I plan to work on the next day. This seems to mean it is still fresh in my mind when I awaken.



I write in a chair next to my bed, my laptop on a board across my lap. So, I literally roll out of bed in front of my computer. I check emails and then try to go directly to writing. Usually I write until mid morning and then go out to the barn to ride one of my horses or I’ll go for a swim. Doing something physical is a great way to energize my muse (dark chocolate is the other way!)



I write again in the afternoon. I find that taking mental breaks…playing my violin or harp, taking a walk or reading…helps keep me nourished and fresh.
When did I make the decision to write? I really remember that moment very clearly, almost to the day! For years I had been telling myself stories in my head, characters where talking in there and sometimes out loud!



Do you have any advice for authors?



One day a book came across my desk with the title No Plot, No Problem. I believe all potential writers or “writers in their own minds” should check this book out. It gave me a “no excuse” plan to write one of my stories, simple strategies to get started and a realistic word count goal. I set aside October 2005 to write my first book. I went completely over the top; I threw everything in, my characters head hopped their way through four hundred spectacular and confusing pages. I had such eye fatigue my face went numb! Just to prove to myself it wasn’t a fluke, I wrote three more full length novels in the next six months.



I really had little idea what I was doing, but I knew I could learn. The fourth book was written specifically for a market: romance. That book is Butterfly and was my first sale in the spring of 2008.



If I had one suggestion for someone who had never written anything but thinks she wants to be a writer, I would say “just start writing.” Don’t worry that it might be terrible. If you wait until you only write perfectly, you might have to wait a terribly long time. Next, if you are serious about being a published author, pay attention to the market for your genre. Remember your book is a product and if it won’t make the publisher money, they do not care if you are the most brilliant wordsmith since James Joyce. I know I’m talking about your baby here, but you have to be willing to let go, step back and think like a business person because, like it or not, that’s how the publisher is looking at you.



Tell us what you’re working on now.



What I’m working on now? As I mentioned above, Angel’s Share is now available. That means the pressure is on to finish the third book in the Fadό Trilogy. I’m calling this story Selkie’s Song. I’m excited about this story for many reasons, but mostly because I get to take the reader to my favorite place on earth…west Ireland. The first two books, Butterfly and Angel’s Share, take place in Boston, which I absolutely love as a location for my stories. But, when I started getting feedback on my first book, readers were intrigued with the Irish born characters: Flannery, Kerry and Tynan Sloane. I started to imagine what would happen if Tynan, the hero in Selkie’s Song, found himself back on his home turf and confronted by a strong, willful and mysterious heroine. Murran Murphy is going to make Tynan’s quiet life very interesting for the next three hundred or so pages.
I also have a novel set to release in July which is not part of my trilogy. I wrote Hot Flash during a time when I was working out at an all women’s gym. I looked around and there we were, beautiful, smart and oh so much wiser, older women. We needed a story for us. The heroine in Hot Flash is fifty, but she still gets the hot guy and doesn’t have to take the cougar route to do it! It’s a story that encompasses two extended families, three countries and a barn full of horses. I love what award winning author Deb Stover wrote about this story. “Sexy but sensitive, powerful but poignant–HOT FLASH is not your daughter’s romance! This is a story for real women. Savor every word!”



Sounds great! Thank you so much for sharing a bit of your life with us today, Clare! For those of you who want to know more, you can check out her website at www.clareaustin.com for more information about my books and upcoming events. Thanks for stopping by! Stay tuned in for next week!

Thank you for joining me today for my Writers on Writing series! Today we have Lily Stone talking about her writing life. Check out what she has to say.



What is your brainstorming process for a new book?



I like to sit and daydream until I have a movie running in my head and I can picture the events happening. Once I have it all vivid and can see, smell, taste it, I’m ready to start writing. If I hit a bump or a snag, I do a lot of what-ifs to keep the momentum going.



Can you explain your typical work week day?



I sleep in as late as I can (which is usually until my husband starts banging around or running the vacuum cleaner—unfortunately, that’s often at 8 or 8:30 a.m.) I eat breakfast, maybe go for a walk if the weather’s nice, and check my email. By that time I’ve frittered away most of the morning. In the afternoon, I work on writing (for pay, not my fiction) or on my latest college course (I’m always signing up for classes). After dinner & another email check, I get down to serious writing. I do my best work after midnight—usually from 1-4 a.m. (the witching hour).



Tell us about when you made the decision to write.



I’m not so sure I made the choice. I think writing chose me. It’s always been more of a compulsion than a conscious decision.



What suggestions do you have for aspiring writers?



Exercise, travel, have fun. Don’t take life too seriously. Let yourself play. It’s the fun times that let the ideas flow. The horrible, sad, and overwhelming stuff will flow onto the paper more easily afterwards. Not sure why that is, but something about playfulness releases the flow of words.



If you get writer’s block, forget about the book. Stop trying so hard. Take a nap, a nice long one, even if it’s the middle of the day. You’ll wake up refreshed and ready to write. If that doesn’t work, ask yourself what you fear? What is it that’s scaring you about writing this particular part in the story? What don’t you want to face?



Tell us about what you’re working on right now and what we can expect from you in the near future.



I’m working on a YA set in Ming China. The book’s written, but the research is taking forever. I tend to get sidetracked and just enjoy myself as I learn about other cultures or ferret out details of professions or other areas of interest.



Wow that sounds great, Lily! So exciting to hear about a YA in Ming China. For those of you who want to know more about Lily, you can check out her info here. Thanks for joining me on Writers on Writing! Stay tuned for next week!

Yeaaaay!!!!! Break out the bubbly, have some cake, enjoy the great dance music, because it’s a book birthday party!! My debut novel, “The Bewitched Cowboy” has been released by “The Wild Rose Press!” You can check it out here.



Here’s the blurb for my book:
The last thing Matt expected his twin to tell him was that he had to marry the woman of his parents’ choice or suffer the loss of his powers.



Destiny, a PhD and successful parapsychology writer, certainly did not expect her mother to tell her that she would die if she didn’t get married to a man chosen for her in infancy.



The collision of two hardheaded, anti-marriage witches makes Destiny and Matt’s first encounter explosive. Now they have to figure out a way to get along for the two weeks they can’t be separated without doing the one thing that could change their fate forever…falling in love.



And here’s a never before seen excerpt! Something brand new for all of you to check out!!!



“Why is she here, Gabe? I told you I didn’t want her to come.”



“Matt, you know our parents have arranged this…we told you about Destiny already. We didn’t know where she was to let her know you weren’t exactly, uh, receptive to the idea.”



“And it’s not like I had a choice.” Destiny crossed her arms over her chest. “At least you get off easy. If you don’t want me, you lose your power. But me? I die. You get off easy, cowboy.”



Matt watched the woman’s face. She really did glow. And her eyes. People had told him his eyes were eerie. Strange. But on Destiny Snow, he felt compelled to stare. He was drawn to her and he hated himself for it.



“I’m taking a shower.” Matt walked by the woman, brushing against her. He bit down on the shock of electricity coursing through him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Destiny shiver.



“We’ll talk about this over dinner and then we’ll figure out how to get Ms. Snow and me out of this mess so someone can escort her back to town.” He pulled off his sweat-stained shirt and stormed off to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Once he was alone, he didn’t bother hiding his doubt as he stripped out of the rest of his clothes. After all, he didn’t want anyone to see him wonder whether or not there was truth to his brother’s claim. Was there no other way out of this other than losing the one gift he had come to depend on? The one gift he was cursed with?



I hope you’ll like the book! I read it for the first time in its “official” format yesterday and I saw two parts that could have been written WAY better, I saw four paragraphs where I repeat a word a gazillion times, and two grammar errors. I shouldn’t be telling you that stuff, of course, but it’s not like you guys aren’t going to find it anyway. Alas, my great friends informed me that they were too into the story to really catch them. I hope you’ll feel the same way!



Now, to the good stuff. To celebrate the release of my first book ever, I’m hosting a contest! Yeaaaay!!!! In order to enter the contest, you have to leave a comment on my blog answering these three questions:



1. What is your favorite part of the story?
2. What is the name of Matt’s horse?
3. What happens when Destiny is sad/upset?



In order to understand these questions you have to read the book, of course. So, I’ll be picking three lucky winners! The first winner will be chosen on Friday, the second on Monday, and the third next Wednesday.



What’s the prize, you ask? *drum roll please* Friday’s winner will get five awesome paranormal books from some of my favorite authors who have inspired me. *Cheering ensues* Monday’s winner will get a book about different wines and a guide to Napa Valley. *more cheering” Wednesday’s winner will get a 10 dollar gift certificate to Starbucks! *screams*



I’ll put names in a hat for all the people who comment and I’ll pick one lucky winner on each of these days. So don’t forget to put your name in for a chance at getting an awesome prize!



Thanks again for being a part of my release day. Let the partying continue!!!