Welcome Brooke Moss

Today, it is my pleasure to welcome a fabulous author to the blog: Brooke Moss. Her new book, The Carny, is a must read for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance!

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Hi Meggan, thanks for having me here on the blog today. A little about me? Well, I’m a happily married mother of four kids who lost herself in her roles of wife and mom, but found myself when I started writing again. Now I’ve got an amazing career in which it actually pays to be a drama queen!

What is the most romantic thing your significant other or anyone has done for you?

 Once, when my husband was traveling for work, I’d just had a baby and got a horrid case of mastitis while he was gone. I was sick, tired, and calling him at 3am to cry because of how awful I felt. He actually sent someone to our house to help me with the kids, and had my favorite Chinese food delivered for my dinner. He did it all from 2000 miles away. What a guy…

That is a nice guy! Wow! It’s so nice to have a supportive husband So, tell me, do you ever write in your PJs?

Is there something else I could wear while writing? Why has no one ever explained that to me?

I guess it’s a secret. I’m wearing capris right now. 🙂 

What are your pet peeves?

Liars. Oh, and those snarky women who gossip and back bite. I avoid high school like behavior with all of my might. I’m 36 now. No more Mean Girls drama for me!

Just because I want to know: Cats or dogs? And tell us why.

Dogs. Always dogs. I’m allergic to cats…plus, I’m pretty sure they’re Satan’s Minions.

I love my cat, but I’m pretty sure she’s Satan’s minion, so you might not be that far off. Vanilla or chocolate ice cream?

 Chocolate, always chocolate.

What are 4 things you never leave home without?

iPhone, lipstick, a notepad, and pants. Never forget your pants, people. It’s embarrassing as hell.

It is rather unfortunate when you forget your pants—or when for some reason, they mysteriously fall off. Speaking of pants falling off (like my segue there?)… If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?

Um……Gerard Butler. You know, just to look at. Jillian Micheals, so she could whip me into shape so that Gerard would want to make out with me by the end of the time on the island. And then…Bear Gryllis. That dude could survive anywhere.

Bear Gryllis is insane. He seems to enjoy the brackish water/salt water enema a little TOO much. (TMI? Sorry. I watch the show) And to continue with the newfound no pants theme, tell me an actor you have a crush on?

I have to pick just one? Probably Gerard…because…well, duh.

Let’s talk about your writing. What made you decide to be an author?

It’s the perfect job for someone who is melodramatic and imaginative. This is the way I use my powers for good and not evil.

Are you a pantser or a plotter and why?

I am a pantser who is also a closet plotter. I get a ways into a story, and then I have to stop and LOOSELY plot where the story is going, otherwise I will make it into a 300K word saga.

Is there a particular author who may have influenced you?

 Kristan Higgins. All the way.

What is your all time favorite book?

Of all time? Silas Marner, by George Eliot. In the romance genre? Probably Catch Of The Day, by Kristan Higgins. How’s that for a leap?

Good calls. What is your favorite sentence or quote in your new release?

“We’d only known each other for a total of seven minutes.”

I liked that, too, for the depth of feeling present after just seven minutes. Love it. How much trouble did your characters give you while writing your new release? Which one?

Charlotte gave me a lot of trouble. I had a hard time not making her too wishy-washy.

Where do you get your ideas from?

All around! Every couple has a love story to tell…

Hm. Next time, I’ll tell you mine. I’m pretty sure the hubs and I are a Rom Com waiting to happen. So, tell me, how did you choose your title?

 Vincent works as a carny for a living, so naming it The Carny seemed simple. J

How do you cure writer’s block? I ask, because I need to know.

Music…lots of it! The louder the better!

Do you have any advice for an aspiring writer?

Never give up. Keep writing. Write 60 books if you have too. And go to conferences. They are priceless.

Where can your readers stalk you?

www.brookemoss.com, or on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brookemossauthor

Tell us about your new release:

“At a town fair on the coast of Oregon, handsome Native American carny, Vincent Youngblood, bestows an unforgettable kiss on shy, awkward teenager, Charlotte Davenport. Then he disappears without another word, leaving her baffled and enamored.

Ten years later, Charlotte is still living in the small fishing town of Astoria, while being trained to–reluctantly–take over for her philandering hotelier father when he retires. After all, who else will do it? Her two perfect sisters are busy being married to their flawless husbands and having cookie cutter children, while Charlotte remains single, childless, and every bit as mousy as she was a decade ago.

As Charlotte struggles to climb out from underneath her judgmental parents thumb, the carnival rolls back into town, and Charlotte finds herself face to face with Vin again. He’s back to run his father’s carnival, walking away from a promising career in medicine he started in Chicago. Will her biased and judgmental family accept her relationship with a man who is not only a Native American, but works as a carny for a living? And what unsavory secrets bind the well-educated and seemingly superlative Vin to that ramshackle carnival?

After all, you can’t judge a carny by its cover.”

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sisterhood-of-world-blogger-award

I was nominated for this award by Roberta Gordon of Gemini Witching. This is a pretty easy award–my favorite kind. All I have to do is tell you seven things about me, and then nominate seven others. My kind of award!

1. I hate rats. They’re awful little vile creatures.

2. I’m branching out into yet another new genre with my latest book. It’s a paranormal with young characters that I’m reluctant to call a YA, so I guess we’ll see what I wind up doing with it. It’s got witches (and not witches like me–real ones).

3. Overall, I’m a pantser when it comes to writing. I don’t really plot unless I have to (Incidentally, for the book mentioned above, I had to plot.)

4. Autocorrect on my computer just changed “pantser” to “panther.” Woo hoo! I’m a writing panther! Roar!

5. For most of my life, I’ve had really long hair. I now realize that I hate it. And probably did then, too.

6. I drive a Honda CRV, and husband and I have discussed not getting another new car (it’s three years old) for another ten years. Which means his Envoy will probably qualify as a classic.

7. I spent the first eight years of my life in Alabama. I still get the accent if I’m a) pissed off or b) really drunk.

There’s my seven things. In turn I nominate:

1. Casey Wyatt

2. Brooke Moss

3. Elizabeth Hinds of Attorney at Large

4. Rita Monette

5. Ann Montclair

6. Callie Hutton

7. B.J. Scott

**Also, I’m blogging over at SMP Authors today. Stop by if you get a chance!**

Think About Your Life

So, I’m listening to my goofballs. Monk (7) says to Chewy (5): “Wanna play a game?”

Chewy: “No.”

Monk: “We should play Simon Says.”

Chewy: “Ugh. Fine.”

Monk: “Simon says, Go in the corner and think about your life.”

Chewy goes to the corner and yells: “Luke, I am your father.”

Monk: “Simon said, ‘Go in the corner and think about you life.’ You’re not thinking if your mouth is moving!” (Good Lord, she sounds like me!)

Chewy: “I did think about my life. Was done by the time I got here.”

Well played, boy. Well played.

The Random Writing Post

So, I’ve been “working” (yes, you can read that as having finger quotes) on a YA. Actually, if you ask me, it only qualifies as a YA because the characters are young–I’m not even sure I’m gearing it toward younger readers. After all, I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer for ages (and when I catch it on TV, I still watch it). Just because the characters are young doesn’t mean the audience has to be by necessity. After all, in movies we have Stand By Me, which I think we can safely say was not a movie geared toward a young audience.

Which brings me to my point (egads! I actually have one!): I find the labeling of genres to be quite arbitrary. And pointless. I mean, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say, “But I don’t read romance.”

My first thought generally is, “You don’t?”

It’s been ages since I’ve read a story  I really enjoyed that didn’t have romantic elements. Shoot, if we’re delving into just romantic elements, husband now has a legitimate argument for why Terminator is a romance (honestly, it really is his idea of a romance. And sometimes, when the mood hits me just right, I actually see his point).

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve read a book of literary fiction and thought, “But this is a romance.” Or the number of times someone in my family has whined about how I need to “write in a genre people want to read,” while she is reading what I would label as a romance. But don’t call it a romance. Those are read by little old ladies with blue hair and lots of cats, right? Right?

So many books these days are cross genre. Only some genres seem to me to be more socially acceptable than others. To me, there is often little difference between a historical romance and historlcal fiction. Love and relationships often features prominently in both. And while I understand the differences in genres, and I understand the subtle differences between those two genres, the distinctions seem somewhat arbitrary to me. Especially once people start telling me they won’t read romances but they just love historical fiction. Quite frankly, I can’t remember the last time I read a book of historical fiction that didn’t contain romantic elements. In fact, I recently read a delightful Regency that blurs the lines between historical fiction and Regency romance–and you know what? Just because I couldn’t peg which one it was doesn’t mean I didn’t love it, and that fans of both genres wouldn’t, either.

So, I ask you: Do you read a book according the genre it falls in? Are there certain genres you avoid? If so, why?

Additionally, if you do, I dare you: Pick up a book in a genre you don’t normally read. Hey, maybe you’ll discover a new and exciting author!

Muscle Cars

Hudson Hornet Club Coupé 1951 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I meant to start this out by writing about, well, writing.

See, as a writer, I feel like I should occasionally write about craft. You know, on occasion, so people think I’m a real writer and not just some crazy hack with a blog who happened to publish a book.

But hey, not today, because all I can think about today are muscle cars. (Check out that Hudson Hornet. Is that not completely awesome?)

The pseudo-hippie in me is mortified by my fascination with muscle cars. I’ve never been all over the convertible BMW, even in my younger years, even though I think they’re darling, and I like going fast. As a teacher  married to a cop, with two kids and two dogs, I drive a Honda, and my goal is to one day own the minivan. (The hippie in me argues for a Prius, but the two kids and the 100 pound dog won’t all fit in there at the same time, so… Sorry, hippie. Them’s the breaks. Minivan it is)

But the dream car? Muscle car all the way, baby.

The Dodge Charger is my favorite, being honest:

I do harbor the “but it’s  not green” guilt, but dammit, that car is purdy. And when it’s turned on, and it makes that deep, purring sound… Ah  hell, there’s really nothing better.

There’s just something about putting your hand on the hood of one of those cars and feeling all that horsepower that’s, frankly, awesome.

Granted, a car like that doesn’t really fit into the suburban soccer-mom lifestyle, and, on our salaries, is definitely a luxury we can’t afford.

But they sure are nice to look at.

Five Year Olds

I’ve discovered the futility of giving orders to a five year old with a mind of his own.

“Don’t get wet,” I said.

“Whoops, I fell.”

“Okay, don’t get your jacket wet.”

“Oops! Sorry, Mom.”

“Try to stay cleanish.”

“Look, a sand devil!”

All right. I give up. You win, child.

Happy Fourth!

So, I’m listening to angry German music from many moons ago–yes, yes, on the Fourth of July–and thinking of what was, perhaps, the oddest Fourth of July celebration of my life. (Being honest, I’m surprised I remembered all the words to the song…It’s been a long time. Hence the reason I found German romance authors on Twitter and follow them… To see if I can still make out what they’re tweeting!)

In any case, it was the Fourth of July…a long time ago. I was 21. I was dating a British guy at the time, Dave. I didn’t have a car, so I asked him to go buy me some sparklers. I don’t know where he got them from, and to this day, I question their legality, but whatever. He had a friend come to our makeshift celebration. Jan, I think his name was. Anyway, so there I am with a German guy, the British boyfriend, and I’m carrying an American flag. I’m sure we made quite the trio.

Anyway, as night started to fall, Jan took out his zippo lighter and lit the sparklers. And holy shizzle, Batman, I am either the biggest bee-yatch on Earth, or my powers of persuasion are amazing. (It’s probably the former)

Because I handed the boys the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner and made them sing it with me. (Well, begged, cajoled, and flirted until they agreed. I think I even agreed to sing the German national anthem and God Save the Queen if they sang it with me. After my illustrious performance with The Star Spangled Banner, I was…ahem…not required to sing anything else.)

So there we are:  the German, the Brit and the American, singing The Star Spangled Banner as the sun set over Germany. Well, they sang when they weren’t mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like watermelon, watermelon under their breaths. It’s okay. I sang loud enough for all of us.

Then I broke out some Dutch beer, and we toasted “The Yanks,” and we broke out the bratwurst and ate. It was great. Weird, but great.

I Feel Pretty

The lovely and talented Casey Wyatt has nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award! If you don’t know her, you really should check out her book, Mystic Ink!

Rule #1 – I must share 7 things. Today, I’m going to be different and share fun facts about Edinor. Let’s face it, you all must be sick of hearing about me!

Rule #2 – Pass this award to 7 bloggers. More on that later.

As Casey’s suggestion, I’ve decided to do 7 things about Edinor:

1. Edinor is a stuffed tyrannosaur that I have stolen from my daughter (only occasionally) and anthropomorphized. It’s great. Here she is in all her glory:

2. Edinor likes dresses, but she’s not into the bling. Both Husband and Monk have steadfastly agreed that THERE IS TO BE NO BLING ON THIS ONE! (It’s all very Gandalf on LOTR, shouted from the mountaintop with staff in hand, long flowing hair billowing in the breeze. But wait, you ask, isn’t Husband a cop, and don’t they have regulations on hair length and shouting weird things from mountaintops? Well, yes. I never said the long, flowing hair belonged to him. **Waves at Husband stand in **).

3. Cowboys will not hold a stuffed tyrannosaur and allow their pictures to be taken. Something about being “ridiculous.” Humph. I bet riding bulls isn’t the only thing you can do for less than 8 seconds. Oh, snap! (No, seriously, I know it’s ridiculous. That’s the fun of it, right?)

4. Queens of the Renaissance Faire, however, have no problem with it. And bless them for it.

No, I don’t have any shame. Why?

5. Edinor has decided to go it naked. Apparently, the children aren’t the only nudists in the house (I think I’ve broken Monk of the habit of just randomly dropping trou when she comes home, but boy child….Nearly every day, he strips down to nothing but his underpants. I don’t get it, but I have a friend whose son is 14, and he apparently still does it.) So, the dress has been ditched. I’m actually a little sad. But, apparently, we didn’t want to get the dress dirty for the gun range, because…

6. Edinor likes gun.

7. And trains (Oh, just wait, pics are coming). So, apparently, Edinor was destined to be a Highwayman or something. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Tyrannosaur, robbing trains and stealing hearts along the way. And until I can convince a train conductor to hold Edinor (I’ve tried once, but he was busy, so no snarky comments about how long it takes him to get his train into the station… Oh, wait…), I will leave you with this image

My nominees are:

1. RJ Gordon of Gemini Witching

2. Janna Shay

3. Callie Hutton

4. Ann Monclair

5. Brooke Moss

6. BJ Scott

7. Raven Ray

Blogs…And Other News

Join me on the SMP Author’s blog today to find out how my Master’s thesis prepared me for working with an editor.

I blog other places, just apparently not here. **sigh**

http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2012/07/01/where-has-all-the-research-gone/

In other news, I just finished edits on Wandering Heart, my western novella, due out late this summer. And my steampunk, Jessie’s War, the first in my series War of Silver and Steam, is set for a January 2013 release. Yay!

Also: Edinor is going camping! Be prepared for pictures! Is there anything that wacky tyrannosaur can’t do?