here we go!...

Does one short erotic romance an erotic romance author make?

It does if writing that one short story was such an eye-opening experience, such a significant Ah-Ha! moment that it birthed a whole series of ideas yet to be written.

Let me set the scene for you...

There I was this past November. I'd joined National Novel Writer's Month as a way of motivating myself to finish the half-written 100K contemporary romance that had been in progress for way too long, in my opinion. Except I finished the manuscript at the 26K point in the month, leaving that book short and me not happy with it. In an effort to keep moving, keep putting those words on paper, I started its sequel. Didn't like where it was going. Picked up another project. Ditto.

Then I came across a short story idea I'd actually written years earlier and had been thinking about rewriting. It wasn't very good, but I like the basic plot of the story. The problem was, the main characters didn't interact until the very end of the book. I needed a way to get them together much earlier, and in a much more interesting way than I had the first time around.

Maybe my brain was fracturing that last week of the month. Maybe the pressure of writing more than I ever had before - I do have family, friends and a full-time job - caused something inside me to snap. All I know is the feeling was like cracking a glo-stick--there was a sickening crunch followed by a vigorous shake, and then... ah!... luminous. Deciding to put those characters together physically right out of the gate clicked in exactly the right way, I got a major second wind, and crossed that finish line, no problem.

The result of that 'fracturing' is Saving the Best for Last, my first Quickie with Ellora's Cave. Release date TBA.