Posted by
Leslie on
April 25th, 2007
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1 Comment
Yes, there are many ways to have a thrill, but today I’m talking about one in particular. Seeing my friends’ books on a bookstore shelf. See, it’s one thing to recognize an author’s name because you’ve seen her (or him) at a conference, heard them speak, or perhaps had a private chat during a booksigning.
But when I know someone for years and I’ve been through their ups and downs, it truly is a THRILL to see that book on the shelf. There are many friends whose manuscripts I’ve critiqued or proofread. Pals who I’ve talked to on the phone about the latest disappointment or most recent contest win. I’ve read their emails about finalling in the Golden Heart or getting so close to being published but then that particular editor leaves the house.
But after all of those trials and tribulations, they have their dream come true. They are published. And the result of the efforts is there on a shelf for purchase.
Last night I picked up DOUBLE DARE by my pal, Tawny Weber, at my local grocery store. I nearly cried while standing in the aisle. I have a copy of MUSTANG WILD by Stacey Kayne and will be out hunting for her newest release. There are other friends who published last year or the year before. Or those who are due to have books out later this year or next. Each year, more friends have their dreams come true.
And to me, that’s a huge THRILL!
Posted by
Leslie on
April 24th, 2007
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I must write Victorian novels because I love Victoriana so much. What is that, you ask? 
It’s basically all of the clothing, knicknacks, and other cool stuff that was used during the Victorian Period. My favorite website and catalogue company has the neatest stuff. My pal Betty actually bought me a beautiful shawl/scarf from them last year.
The range of items you can get go from furniture to clothing to greeting cards to clocks to books. I’ll admit my husband isn’t a fan of much of it, especially the furniture, but I think just the stuff listed under Hodge Podge can make my boring, modern home a bit more antique!
Posted by
Leslie on
April 24th, 2007
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for the Samhain Spring Shower Contest!
More, more, more.
More excerpts are now up on the Samhain Spring Shower forum contest,
More chances for you to enter and win one of three fabulous prizes.
This weeks prizes:
> One print copy of With Nine You Get Vanyr by Jean Marie Ward and Teri Smith
> One Beth Williamson ebook download of choice (from Samhain Publishing)
> One ebook download of Strip Tease by Kate Davies
So come along and make a comment, any comment (though the nicer ones would be more appreciated) and get your entries into this free draw.
Winners of last’s week’s draw will be announced here and on the forum, tomorrow.
Good luck to everyone.
Posted by
Leslie on
April 23rd, 2007
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At this website you can vote on the most amazing galactic images. There’s some really cool stuff out there in space, let me tell you. The above image is described at the site as:
Here, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope turns its infrared array camera onto the Ring Nebula, which appears to be surrounded by intricate flower petals nestled in its outer shell. Its namesake ring is formed by a thick cylinder of gas and dust encircling the core star. The nebula sits about 2,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Lyra. One light-year is about 5.88 trillion miles (9.64 trillion kilometers).
Posted by
Leslie on
April 22nd, 2007
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No Comments
I thought I’d never get a review of SECRET INTENTIONS! Perhaps people just don’t like roses! LOL! But, lo and behold, after doing my egoogle (that’s “ego” + “google”) I found one! Yippee! And not only that, I got 4.5 hearts (out of 5). The Romance Studio had this to say:
Leslie Dicken wrote a wonderful story about the pros and cons of life as part of the ton versus country living. She examined characters from both extremes and how each interacted with others while living in each place…This is a very good story which, I promise, has surprises all the way to the very end! You will be glad to have read this story, I guarantee!
Champagne is on me today!!! 
Posted by
Leslie on
April 20th, 2007
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1 Comment
According to BBC, in order for a planet to be habitable, it must have the following:
Close enough to its sun to receive enough energy
Not so close to its sun that it’s too hot for liquid water to exist
This region around a star is known as the ‘habitable zone’.
Did you know that 170 planets have been found outside our Solar System? And in 1995, two astronomers found a planet circling a distant star?
THE PRICE OF DISCOVERY is about an “alien” who lives on another planet and visits Earth. His people did not evolve on this distant planet, but were taken from Earth many years ago and resettled there. He is actually human, but has adjusted to his new surroundings.
TABOO is actually set on another planet, but again, with people who were left there, not who developed from some sort of primordial soup there.
Maybe it’s my hesitation to ponder what a new creature would look like evolving with a different history than we’ve had here on Earth. I can have my people adapt to their surroundings, but to have them actually start out as a life-form there is just too much for my wee little brain to comprehend. At least, right now. My hat is off to those who accomplish this in their writing.
Any thoughts on if there is life somewhere else in the galaxy – the universe?
Posted by
Leslie on
April 20th, 2007
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1 Comment
Romance Readers at Heart had a great post on their blog last week about stereotypes, especially in the historical romance genre. She starts out the post with this list:
The innocent—but feisty—virgin.
The scary old wise woman.
The wisecracking sidekick.
The money-hungry father/mother/brother, etc…
The overbearing, drop dead handsome—but secretly sensitive and deeply wounded—hero.
Many of my own stories, have these in them. SECRET INTENTIONS has the “innocent but fiesty virgin” and the “money-hungry father/mother/brother.” MARK OF THE MONSTER is all about the “overbearing, drop dead handsome-but secretly sensitive and deeply wounded-hero.”
In fact, MONSTER was rejected by one editor strictly on the fact that dark, wounded heroes are the “bread and butter” of the historical romance and she wanted to see something different. Personally, I don’t think she read the whole 100+ pages I sent her, but that’s for another post.
I write what I want to read. And if I want to read it, chances are that others do too. It’s all in the execution. If the author can make a stereotyped character unique then we aren’t reading the same thing over and over. After all, hasn’t it been said that there are no new plots?
Do you have any thoughts on this?
Posted by
Leslie on
April 19th, 2007
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4 Comments
It’s nothing new in the romance genre really. The subject of rape in romance stories has been raging on and on over the years since the Kathleen Woodiwiss’ “The Flame and the Flower.” Can a hero who has raped the heroine (or any other woman, for that matter) be redeemed enough to be considered heroic?
While Jennie Cruisie points out at Argh Ink that the notion many woman have “rape fantasies,” she makes a strong point for whether we like the idea of rape or not, the bottom line in publishing is money. If those books sell, the publishers will continue to buy them and put them on bookshelves.
Jo Beverley at Wordwenches comments that it doesn’t make any sense that rape would “fit” more in a historical romance than in a contemporary one. What is terrifying and degrading now to a woman would be just as much so in the past.
Sarah at Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels said that while some authors purposefully put difficult topics into their books for examination by the reader, this wasn’t one of them:
That said, some of my favorite romances are those that made me think deliberately and with some difficulty on larger themes, particularly issues of sexuality. This book could have been one of those, but wasn’t.
While I have not yet read the book which has started this swirl, I do know the author. We were both finalists last year in the Golden Heart. She is a very sweet woman, who as over-the-moon excited with her sale to Avon. I’m sure she never ever expected to have the kind of backlash going on in the romance community right now. The plain fact remains: an editor loved her book and bought it. They believed in it.
The questions that remain are: Will readers buy it? Will they forgive the hero for his transgression? Can a rapist ever be redeemed for his actions?
Personally, I don’t think this controversy will ever go away in the romance community or in the books themselves. And that is a true shame.
Posted by
Leslie on
April 19th, 2007
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2 Comments
Betcha didn’t know that women are just as interested, if not more, in visual stimulation as men are. If you want proof just check out Lisa’s post today on her blog. Tell me that watching that video doesn’t stimulate you in *some* way…. 
Here’s a few excerpts from the heroine’s point of view in TABOO to show just what I mean:
Ariana pulled her gaze from the hard curves of his chest, where virtually no hair covered his bronzed skin. He fascinated her. Her fingers itched to touch the long length of his legs, the broadness of his back.
She glanced at him sleeping. His chest rose and fell evenly, his eyelids fluttered. She scanned the length of him. The brawny shoulders and arms, perfect for swimming. A hard, chiseled chest and stomach, honed from years of activity and vigorous work. His legs were long and powerful, covered in fine hair.
Posted by
Leslie on
April 18th, 2007
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I like Science as much as I like English. I was actually a double major in college: English and Anthropology. Yes, it got me no where really, but I had fun while I was in school. So, I came across this photo and just had to post it. After all, both THE PRICE OF DISCOVERY and TABOO take place or relate to other worlds somehow!
Here’s the description from the Hubble Telescope website:
Rising from a sea of dust and gas like a giant seahorse, the Horsehead nebula is one of the most photographed objects in the sky. The Hubble telescope took a close-up look at this heavenly icon, revealing the cloud’s intricate structure.
