Taking a Break

I realized something important recently: aside from writing and my family, I no longer had any hobbies that "take me away" from the stresses of everyday life. Reading used to be my go-to, but nowadays it takes a very talented author to pull me out of the analyze mode that kicks in when I pick up a book. I'm a professional author and editor, a double whammy when it comes to enjoying a story. But I still love stories. So what's a writer to do when they want to take a break from work?

Lately my daughter and I have turned to stories in another form: movies. Maybe because the visual is distracting to the analytical part of my brain, or maybe because there's often so much fabulous eye candy (!), I can enjoy movies despite issues that might otherwise turn me off a book. Besides, it's hard to judge someone's comma usage when you can't see the commas. :)

Next week we have fall break here. It's pretty much spring break in the fall, a midsemester week off for the schools in this area. In honor of our upcoming "break," here are some movies I've enjoyed in the past year. Maybe you can take a break and enjoy one (or all) of them too.

1. Red Dawn

The new one, not the original. I mean, Chris Hemsworth. Need I say more?

2. Tomorrow When the World Began

This little gem got stumbled upon by my husband recently, and we've enjoyed it so much we've moved on to John Marsden's books (on which the movie is based). Basically Red Dawn in Australia.

3. The World's End

I have a hard time finding comedies I enjoy, but this one... It's just so out there, so completely overdone that I can't help but laugh. A f*ckton of language, but still, Simon Pegg is hilarious.

4. Jack Reacher

Can you tell I like hero-centric movies as much as I like hero-centric books? And in that weird "six degrees of separation" connection, Tom Cruise starred with a much more serious Simon Pegg in Mission Impossible 3. :) Just don't spend the movie trying to find all the ways they made Tom Cruise look tall.

5. Hotel Transylvania

I have kids; so sue me! But even if I didn't have kids, this movie would be a hit. My husband and I have made it our mission in life to find family movies that have enough adult humor that it keeps us entertained as well as the younger members of our family. "Look at me! I'm a Frankenhomie!"

6. World War Z

I am a sucker for zombie movies. I don't care what anyone says about WWZ; I can successfully separate the movie from the book, and this movie rocks. Besides, Brad Pitt -- yum!

7. 47 Ronin

Being a martial artist, I can't get enough of the sword play and the beauty of the fighting in this movie. Dramatic, fantastical, 47 Ronin brings the legend to life, in all its glory and pain. If you don't like unhappy endings, however, skip this one. The legend makes no concessions to our desire for an HEA.

8. Catching Fire

I had a very hard time watching Hunger Games; I'll admit it. The things children were forced to do, the things others did to them, were difficult to see onscreen. Catching Fire was easier, and in some ways the inevitability of death was easier to accept because the participants were adults. I enjoyed the emphasis on alliances in this one, and thought the ending completely unpredictable. (I haven't read the books.)

9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

I watched this classic for the first time recently when it came available on Amazon Prime. Although leaps in logic and storyline were rife, I enjoyed seeing a movie I'd heard about for so long but never actually took the time to watch. And the cultural changes between then and now were an interesting comparison as well.

10. Clue

An oldie but goodie! I enjoy rewatching movies as much as I do rereading books, and this is one of my faves. Again, comedy not being easy, I love the over-the-top acting here -- Tim Curry in one of his greatest roles. :)

So how about you? What's your favorite way to rest your mind from the stress of the day? Do you have a go-to movie you enjoy, or are there new one's you've added to your must-see-again list?

Don't forget, I have a very good reason to need a break -- my new release comes out soon! Want to be one of the first to read the blurb, see the cover, have access to exclusive content? Then sign up for my newsletter before you miss out on all the fun. Oh, and hotties, don't forget the hotties!

~ Ella

Tech Hubby

I've been married since 1995. I've always known my husband and I were opposites: I love books; he loves science tomes. I love rock 'n' roll; he loves Rush and trance. I like Big Bang Theory; he likes... Okay, we both share that one. The point is, my husband is very different from me, but I never realized just how valuable that could be until I started plotting stories that needed believable technology.

See, Tech Hubby keeps up with all the latest trends in science and technology. Part of that is necessity; he works in engineering in a city chockfull of engineers, so he's expected to know the latest advances. But he also just loves knowing the latest about computers and security and engineering and space exploration. As a long-time NASA employee, he knew astronauts, met with them daily, helped monitor space flights and experiments on the space station, and even now, many light-years from Houston, he craves information about Mars and the Hubble telescope and even commercial space flight. He builds his own computers and is always reading some new development in tech or communications or whatever makes my eyes glaze over. His degrees in physics and material sciences means he actually understands that information too, and when I ask him about satellite usage or how to fool computer programs or how to hack someone's phone or whatever, he can usually tell me. It's like having my very own expert right here at my side, except I get the added benefit of cuddling at night. :) Whenever I'm stuck, he's right there. It's awesome.

And no, I won't answer the question of what else he's an expert in. Pull your mind out of the gutter!

;)

I won't share inside knowledge about hubby's antics, but I will keep you up-to-date with all the exciting things I've got going on these days (outside the bedroom, you naughty readers!). To get in on the action (haha! that just totally came out there; it really did!), be sure and sign up for my newsletter. I promise not to hold back any sexy PUBLISHING details -- or (not my husband) man candy. ;)

*Photo courtesy of Robert McGoldrick.

Finding Hotties

I've been looking at a lot of stock photos lately -- a LOT. Why? Because I'm currently in the process of commissioning covers for my Southern Nights series of books that release this October, December, and next January. (No, you can't see them yet, although I can tell you book one, Teach Me, is done -- but you have to wait to see it. :) ) In the process, I've learned something very important: Not all stock photos tagged "sexy muscular man" are of the same...shall we say...caliber.

You might be expecting this:

But you get this:

*

Um...really? (You might also get a whole slew of women, but somehow I thought putting "man" in the search terms would kind of, I don't know, exclude those pictures?)

For "sexy man with long hair" you might be expecting this:

*But you get this:

*For"athletic man at beach" you might be expecting this:

But you get this:

*See what I mean? Needless to say, that old "needle in a haystack" analogy is making more and more sense lately. :D

Want to keep up-to-date with my adventures in cover land and all the other exciting things I've got going on these days (including new releases and fun contests)? Then be sure and sign up for my newsletter here. I promise not to hold back any sexy details -- or REAL man candy. ;)

*Hotlanta Voyeur, Georges Biard [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, Richard Riley, Paul Jones

Write What You Know

I’ve recently been reading Stephen King’s On Writing. The first half relates King’s memories of his life “so far” (I say that because the book was originally written on 2000, so it falls fourteen years short, so to speak :) ), and the second half involves King’s thoughts on the process of writing. It is a privilege to learn from the great writers of our time. The thing I find interesting about this particular book is that it focuses so much on what is, essentially, the making of a writer. In so many ways you can see the elements that pushed King to become the author he is now. You can see the determination every writer must have as he recounts rejection after rejection, writing—and submitting—from a uniquely and honestly, unbelievably young age. His childhood, his young adult friendships and family life and even a life-threatening car accident—each and every experience informed his writing, and it wasn’t because he was a teenage girl being rejected by her high school peers and using her psychic powers for revenge.

No, what he experienced was emotion.

Every beginning writer has heard the advice: Write what you know. It’s well meaning. It’s even true, but not in the way you think. If each of us had to experience the things we write about, we couldn’t write about a character being shot unless we had been shot. We couldn’t write a character with a terminal illness unless we’d had a terminal illness. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have no desire to go that far. Writers research every day, what it’s like to be shot, what living in different places entails, the details of technical and medical and historical advances and events. What we don’t have to research is the universal human experience of emotions.

Write what you know? How about loss? I might not have lost a parent, but I’ve lost a child. The emotion is the same, if in a different context. Same with anger. Happiness. Love. Desire. Need. Writers delve not just into their minds for knowledge, but into their hearts and souls. We pour what we find out onto the page, baring ourselves to our readers. We haven’t necessarily shared an experience we’ve had, but we have shared an emotional experience. It hurts and it’s scary and it takes a kind of courage many people don’t have, but we do it because we have to. Because who we are demands it. Because that’s what it takes to be a writer.

Write what you know.

Good advice. :)

~ Ella

Funny Friday: Spank Me

;)

*This is a Pinterest find. To see the original pin by kris16LE, just click the pic.

It's the Just a Little More Release Party!

Double the pleasure and double the fun -- wait, that was the Doublemint twins! But I do have double the releases -- and double the prizes! -- for you today, and it will be fun. My twin, Dani Wade, has a release today, Striking a Chord. And as you know, I have a release too. Just a Little More is OUT TODAY!!!

In honor of sharing a release day (as well as a womb for nine months!), we're having a release day party and giveaway -- a $30 gift card to Amazon or B&N PLUS copies of the first book in my Secrets series and Dani's Backstage Pass series. We're talking serious hottie goodness here, people! Be sure to check out the giveaway at the end of our blogs. And don't forget, the more you participate -- on my blog and Dani's -- the more entries you get to the giveaway.

So, what is Brad and Angel's story all about?

Six weeks ago Angel had it all—a brand-new master’s degree, an apartment with her best friend, Brad, and the chance to take their friendship to a whole hot new level. But on the night of their first kiss, a would-be rapist ripped her bright future apart. Stuck in a never-ending cycle of fear and depression, Angel is determined to find herself again, even if it means putting herself at risk.

Brad has loved Angel since he saved her from a playground bully in the fifth grade. But just as it seemed Angel’s eyes were opening to the true feelings between them, it all fell apart. When Angel disappears on the night of a freak snowstorm, Brad is determined to find her. And when he does, he won't let her hide any longer. It's time to wake her up—to a life without fear, and to a love that can heal the deepest wounds.

Sound good? Well, what are you waiting for? Get your copy of Just a Little More at Loose Id OR All Romance ebooks. And FINALLY on Amazon! You can run right over and get your copy of Angel and Brad's story just in time for the July Fourth weekend (and plenty of reading time).

But what else were we doing today? Oh, right! ;) It's time to PAR-TAY!!!

Dani AND I are celebrating today -- with a DANCE PARTY! I'm sharing the songs that played through my head while Brad and Angel's story flowed through my fingers. And when you've explored them all, guess what? Dani has her playlist over on her blog today! You can hop over there and get even more boogie on. ;)

If you've followed my releases, you know I have a theme song for every book. For Just a Little More, I have a heroine badly in need of protection, and I have a hero whose entire being is centered on protecting and caring for those he loves -- and he's loved Angel a long, long time. There was no more appropriate song than this little gem nestled on Daughtry's latest release: "I'll Fight."

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c2OpUfUsBM?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

As much as I love my hero and diving in to his pov, the idea for this book came to me not from Brad's side but Angel's. I didn't even realize she belonged to Brad until later; I only knew her name was Angel and that she needed help desperately. The kernel that became Just a Little More was sparked while listening to Nickelback's "Lullaby."

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OjiOn5s8s8?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

I had the Goo Goo Dolls latest album, Magnetic, on repeat for most of the drafting process for Just a Little More. One song in particular helped me envision Brad and Angel's relationship, the feeling that they were best friends, each other's worlds, and ready to face anything as long as they were together: "Slow It Down."

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWtrRfLEv3M?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

One more? Okay, one more! Though this book deals with some tough issues, by the end Angel has found her way back to who she really is, not the person fear made her. And because Thrice is such an important part of this series, of course I ended the book there. What was the ultimate dance par-tay song for Brad and Angel to dance to? From Magnetic, here's "Rebel Beat."

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUi8gQPsMdw?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

It wouldn't be a par-tay without some prizes, now would it? Dani and I have a joint giveaway going. What do you have to do to enter? Simply leave a comment, on my blog or hers, telling us your favorite party song. Your comment enters you into the giveaway. A comment on both of our blogs enters you TWICE. Like me on Facebook OR sign up for my newsletter and get ANOTHER entry (or TWO if you do both!).

What are we giving away? A $30 gift card to Amazon or B&N, and the first book in both of our series! You have until July 5th to enter! We'll post the winner July 6th.

And thank you! Joining us for our double release day makes it so much more fun than partying alone! Now get over to Dani's blog and boogie. ;)

~ Ella

**All ebook formats are available at Loose Id. All you have to do is download the format appropriate for your e-reader (or your computer, and they even tell you which format you need on their FAQs page), hook your e-reader to your computer, and drag and drop the file to your e-reader. Easy peasy, even for me, and I'm no technical genius. ;) I will update as new formats become available, so check back. As soon as Amazon, ARe, and Kobo go live, I'll have it here.

Funny Friday: The Craziest Places To...Um...Have Sex

We romance writers, especially those of us with an erotic bent, can have some pretty weird conversations among ourselves, conversations like...oh..."where's the craziest place you've ever had sex?" And yes, we give some pretty out-there answers sometimes. ;) Here's how a few erotica authors answered the same question from Buzzfeed's Arianna Rebolini. Enjoy! ~ Ella

The 14 Craziest Places Where Erotica Writers Have Boned

*Photo courtesy of Jon 'ShakataGaNai' Davis.

Inspiration: "If I Lose Myself" by OneRepublic

I've been working like a mad thing on revisions for the first Southern Nights book, Teach Me. Sometimes, when a book has been a part of you for as long as this one has me, you lose the inspiration that originally had you revved about the project. Since I wrote the original manuscript in 2010...yeah, it's been a while, and making sure the story felt as fresh and alive as it did the first time I opened a Word file and began to type was very important to me. And then came Christmas, and the gift that keeps on giving: music. Every book I write has a playlist; it's part of my writing process, and also a quick way for me to dive back into a book when I've had to put it on the backburner to meet deadlines on other projects (you can see a couple of my playlists for books here and here). Teach Me, being the first book I ever wrote, didn't have a playlist -- I was too new to know what my process was then -- so keeping it fresh has been a struggle. For Christmas, though, I received OneRepublic's new album, Native, and found the inspiration for Jess's story.

"If I Lose Myself" is a song about looking out a window. Sounds simple, right? (Don't most songs? :) ) But it's not. It's also about life and deciding who and what is important, about risking and refusing to give up. Have a listen:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGx0rApSk6w?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

See what I mean? In case you didn't catch them, have a look at the lyrics:

I stared up at the sun, Thought of all of the people, places and things I’ve loved. I stared up just to see With all of the faces, you were the one next to me.

You can feel the light start to tremble, Washing what you know out to sea. You can see your life out of the window tonight.

If I lose myself tonight, It’ll be by your side. I lose myself tonight... (oh) yeah, yeah, yeah.

If I lose myself tonight, It’ll be you and I. Lose myself tonight...

I woke up with the sun, Thought of all of the people, places and things I’ve loved. I woke up just to see With all of the faces, you were the one next to me.

You can feel the light start to tremble, Washing what you know out to sea. You can see your life out of the window tonight.

If I lose myself tonight, It’ll be by your side. I lose myself tonight... (oh) yeah, yeah, yeah.

If I lose myself tonight, It’ll be you and I. Lose myself tonight... Whoooooooooo

Take us down and we keep trying, Forty thousand feet, keep flying. Take us down and we keep trying, Forty thousand feet, keep flying. Take us down and we keep trying, Forty thousand feet, keep flying. Take us down and we keep trying, Forty thousand feet, keep flying.

(Lose myself) If I lose myself tonight...

There are a lot of other great songs on the album, but this one in particular spoke to me. (And yes, for those of you who are familiar with my books, this will be the theme song for Teach Me, just like Dirty Little Secret and Naughty Little Christmas have their theme songs. :) ) Do you have a song that inspires you, a "theme song," so to speak? What is it, and what does it make you think about?

Veteran's Day

Bravery doesn't mean you aren't scared. It means you go anyway.

Weekly Web Search: Ode to Colin Farrell

Okay, y'all, I couldn't resist. With the exciting news yesterday -- title and release date for Damien's Christmas story -- I had to point you in the direction of my inspiration for Damien. Colin Farrell is TO DIE FOR!!! He's beautiful, and the perfect inspiration for my bad boy in the bar, sexy boy in the bed, and sweet boy when he's holding his woman in his arms. (And he doesn't dance bad either. :) ) So have a gander over at Colin's official website, and while you're looking at all those pictures, keep Damien in mind. He'll be available for your "pleasure" on Christmas Eve in his very own book, Naughty Little Christmas!

http://www.colinfarrell.org/

Weekly Web Search: For All You Writers Out There

I occasionally find links to posts by Chuck Wendig peppering Facebook. His blog, terribleminds, is often totally inappropriate, which might be why I like the articles of his I've read: no holds barred, totally irreverent, but usually so totally true as well. This past week someone linked to an older post of Chuck's about what we as writers should not do (as opposed to all the multitude of things we're told we should, every day, day in and day out--it's exhausting). So, writers, read this post and take a good, long look at your writing life. Are there things you need to change? Here's one of my faves: "Fear is nonsense. What do you think is going to happen? You’re going to be eaten by tigers? Life will afford you lots of reasons to be afraid: bees, kidnappers, terrorism, being chewed apart by an escalator, Republicans, Snooki. But being a writer is nothing worthy of fear. It’s worthy of praise. And triumph. And fireworks. And shotguns. And a box of wine. So shove fear aside — let fear be gnawed upon by escalators and tigers. Step up to the plate. Let this be your year."

Read more at "25 Things Writers Should Stop Doing."

Blog Visit: Get What You Want, Part 1---Are We Being Busy or Fruitful?

Kristen Lamb talks about getting a handle on the demon of time. Great blog!  

Get What You Want, Part 1---Are We Being Busy or Fruitful?.

Off We Go...

Forgive me a minute while I go all fan girl, not over a person -- although that's usually where I go with this -- but over a place. Ireland. Why? Because next week, for the very first time, I will leave the US for another country, namely Ireland. I can't tell you how excited I am, but I'll try. I!!!!!!!!!!!  AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I thought I'd share some pictures of things I hope to see on my trip. Oddly enough, looking at the countryside of Ireland reminds me of the countryside where I grew up in the Deep South, though it also holds a mystic quality that fascinates and amazes me. Maybe y'all will enjoy the beauty of this country as much as I do.

Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

O'Connell Street, Dublin, Ireland

Christ Church, Dublin, Ireland

Skellig Michael, Ireland

Blarney Castle, Ireland

Waterford, Ireland

*Photos by William Murphy, amerune, geographic.org.uk