Sasha White

Starting tomorrow I’ll be giving a three day online workshop on Candace Havens Write Workshop loop.
This yahoo loop is for lectures and such only, with a separate Chat loop that makes it a great place to read and learn, but it doesn’t flood your inbox. Plus, Candace always has great workshops on there. The one I’m doing is on Writing Dynamic Scenes, and if you’re interested the blurb is below!

Do you ever worry that your story is boring? That the pacing is off, or things might be dragging a bit. The sagging middle so to speak? Well, quite worrying, this workshop will help you tighten any slack, get rid of any sag, and make every scene in your story a Dynamic one.

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Only 2 more episodes left in season 2 of Sons Of Anarchy. I blogged about my love for this show at the GenReality blog a while back, and it hasn’t changed. Season one hooked me, and season 2 is digging in. Drama, family, loyalty, violence, hot bikes, hot bikers, tough women with hearts of well tarnished gold….this show has it all. And so far this season it hasn’t pulled any punches. We’re getting more in-depth with each character as the tension for the whole season builds. There is no doubt in my mind that at the end of season 2 I’m still going to be loving this show…and hating that it has to take a break.

I wonder what it would take for them to do this show year round?

Meanwhile…take a peek at tonights episode!

The Culling
Season 2 | Episode 12
The entire SAMCRO family goes on lockdown inside the clubhouse as Jax and Clay prepare to battle The League. A.J. Weston learns the truth about Ethan Zobelle’s business dealings in Charming. Applying what she has learned from Gemma, Tara ensures her position at St. Thomas Hospital.

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My bathroom makeover is almost done. YAY! The biggest issue has been sort of a lack of planning /communication one. My mom said she’d do all the work. (she’s a renovation fan-loves to do the work) if I bought all the stuff. I loved that idea, but it hasn’t worked so well simply because my mom doesn’t live with me and she seems to thinkI overestimate how large my bathroom is.

example: I said I needed 30 square feet for the new flooring, she brought 26 square feet.

Then, once the work was started I got sick, then she got sick, so my poor dad has been stuck coming over on his days off doing a lot of the work, and I’ve been living with a half done bathroom. In all honesty I’m okay with the half done bathroom. Hey, I can still shower, and the toilet works so I’m happy.

However, I’m not so happy with the cans of paint, multitude of paint rollers/brushes/trays, hammers, screws, floorboard, trim, and assorted tools laying around my entryway. I thought we could get this bathroom done in two-3 days as Mom had 5 days off work last week, and I had 3…but with both of us getting sick, this shit has gone on too long.

Today was to be the last day, it was almost done. Then when I was painting the new floorboards/trim, I discovered that once again, 4 feet short. Not too big a deal, the main walls are done, and I can easily put the final piece in, after I go to the store and buy more. Then Dad went to hook up the plumbing in the new sink/vanity only to discover the pipes are 4 inches too short! GRRR!!

The place looks beautiful, and is almost functional. But I’m so sick of it being “half done”I might attempt to hook up the plumbing myself later tonight, after a run to Home Depot. Shhh, don’t tell on me…and pray I don’t fuck it all up. Please?

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I’ve tried to become part of RWA a few times. I like the promotional opportunities they give authors (RWR and Romance Sells) I t’s encouraging that most members of RWA love it and think it rocks.

Me? I’ve never been a huge fan. Maybe it’s because I write erotic fiction and erotic romance, and that holds a certain stigma to them. It was a battle for RWA to finally accept it’s own Erotic Romance Chapter when YA and Inspirational had no such problems. But the biggest reason is because I never really got anything out of it. I live in an area with no local chapter, and I found the online ones I joined to be nothing but gossip loops and promotional opportunities that I could get elsewhere. That’s just my opinion, my experience. Others love the organization and get plenty from it. For me it was simple, *I* wasn’t getting anything out of it so I cancelled my membership and never looked back.

However, I want to give RWA credit and a big cheer for revoking Harlequins approved publisher status after they implemented the Harlequin Horizons Vanity Publishing line. They are looking after author rights here, and despite not being a member anymore, I want to say Thank You.

If you want to read a fabulous breakdown on the whole thing, visit Jackie Kesslers Blog and read THIS POST.

Shiloh Walker also has some great points about it in herHere’s Why I care post.

At GenReality best selling thriller writer Bob Mayer posts a You Tube video that sums up a few things in an interesting way..

And Mystery Writers of America is not far behind RWA with possible sanctions.

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The call for submission only went out last week, then Lauren Dane tweeted about being in it and Charlene Teglia blogged about being in it. So I guess I’ll announce that I’ll also be in The Mammoth Book of Hot Romance.

If you’re a writer of hot romance and like to play with short stories they’re looking for stories ranging between 6,000 and 10,000 words. Read the full call for submissions if you’re interested.

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It’s been a busy week. I’m not sure I mentioned it before, but I’m renovating my bathroom-the only bathroom in my condo. Last week I had huge issues with the guy I’d hired to retile the tub-surround, but it’s finally done. This weekend was rip up the floors, rip out the old vanity, prep the walls for painting and put in new lighting. I’m hoping that within the next 3 or 4 days it’ll all be done. And guess who’s doing the labor?
Nope, not me.
My mom.

Yep. my mom is into all that stuff, although she did have my dad over to do some heavy lifting and climbing today since she doesn’t do hights-not even a little bit.

I’m seriously excited, and I’ll be sure to share pics when it’s all done.

In other news, uhmm, yeah. Still not getting much writing done. Some, but not as much as I should. I’ve been fighting something flu-like all week and I’m just not feeling the pressure I’d need to push through it and write faster/harder. The reason for that is because even though the ‘deadline’ was today I still haven’t got a contract for the story. I know authors who’ve turned in manuscripts before they received their contracts, and everything has been fine, but I won’t do that. It’s not that I think anything shady is going on-I don’t. I did say I’d have the story done by the 15th -and I really want to keep to the planned schedule so that it releases when I want it to – but I’m very motivated by contracts and commitments. When I have a contract, it’s my promise, and my professional duty to meet it. But I also have to admit part of the reason I haven’t pushed through things as hard as I normally would is that I figure if I have to be professional and meet my deadline, the publisher should too.

What do you think?

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From Chaos Cat of Romance Junkies.

::: Permission to Forward to anyone you can think of ;-):::
I am here in hopes of helping Todd get toy donations for the Superior Fire Department again this year. :-)

We live in a small old mining town, population three thousand. My husband who helps me with all things RJ runs the local fire department in town. It’s a low income town and there are a lot of kids here that don’t get much for Christmas. Weeks before Christmas the fire department decorates one of the fire trucks with thousands of holiday lights, fire personnel and yours truly spend weeks wrapping every toy brought in with festive Christmas paper. On Christmas Eve Santa and Ms. Claus ride in back of the fire truck and, with Christmas music blaring, the fire truck weaves its way up and down every street in town. The sirens blare every few minutes and as kids hear it they scramble out of their houses. The truck stops and Santa gives each child a toy. The drive itself takes seven hours. It’s a big production and one that the fire department takes great pride in.

A few years ago I got involved in the toy drive. With the help of the Romance Community the Fire Dept has been able to give a toy to every child in town for 3 years straight. The toys are not expensive — small stuffed animals and 1-4 dollar toys, but it doesn’t take a lot to make it a magical night for the kids in town, especially when Santa is delivering the toys personally.

I know it’s been a bad year for everyone, but I am really hoping we can raise enough toys again this year. Last year we barely brought in enough, but we did it! ;-)

If anyone is interested in sending in some toys it would be VERY MUCH appreciated by both the fire department and the kids in town ;-)

I really want to thank everyone who has contributed over the years. I go on the drive every year with Todd and I can’t describe adequately how incredible the whole experience is. It chokes me up every year watching kids with huge grins on their faces, clutching tight to the toy Santa has given them.

You can check out photos of the Santa Drive –

http://superiorfiredept.com/gallery/

If you would like to donate toys or gift cards you can do so by sending them into:

Superior Fire Dept Toy Drive

C/O Superior Fire Department
236 Golf Course Rd
Superior, AZ 85173

The Department is not set up to take Paypal. So anyone who would like to contribute via Paypal can send their donations into Romance Junkies and I will forward the donations onto the Fire Dept. RJ pal info is – info is webmaster@chaosdesigns.net

Cat Brown AKA Chaoscat
(Chaos – It’s not just a lifestyle, it’s a state of mind)
Owner/Operator Romance Junkies

http://www.romancejunkies.com

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I can’t wait!

With so much building in the past episodes you just know tonight is gonna blow it out of the water.
Jax and the nomad thing, Tig on the emotional brink, Jax and Clay,Gemma’s rape, Oppie dealing with Donnas death. So much…you just know it’s going to be edge-of-your-seat all the way.

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I’ve said it before and I”ll say it again. I can;t believe how fast this year has gone by. I had plans to do so much, and most of them are started, but not finished. It’s a new problem for me. I’ve always been someone who finished everything she started. I still will …maybe.

I’m saying maybe because I read something somewhere a while ago, (Can’t remember if it was a blog or a magazine article and despite trying I can’t find it again) about knowing when to let a good idea go. It was about how not all good ideas are the right idea for a story. That’s where I am now. After taking some time off because I couldn’t think of any ideas, I now have a multitude of them. I even have a scene or two for each of them, but which idea s the one I should be working on right now? That is a question that needs careful thought.

It’s easy to say you write the one that calls to you the strongest, but what if none of them are really calling to you? Or if all of them are? How do you decide which one to focus on first? I’ve tried thinking about the market, and thinking about which will have a better chance at getting me a new agent. Which one will readers want the most? None of that has helped so for me the answer is easy. I flip a coin.

Yes, I do. Seriously.

I’ve made a lot of major decisions in my life by flipping a coin. Sounds silly to a lot of people I know but it works for me. Sometimes I do what the coin says. Other times when i see what the coin says the bottom of my stomach falls out and I know instinctively that’s the wrong answer – so I do the opposite. So the coin toss acts as a “gut check” when I get too wrapped up in my own head to think straight.

What do you do when you need to make a choice and just can’t decide?

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This weeks Saturday Snippet theme is Weapons, and oh, I have to admit this is a subject close to my heart. With a shooter for a brother, a background in martial arts and personal security, I’ve been able to train with, and play with many different kinds of weapons. Most of my stories don’t have much use for weapons or big fight scenes, so when Anna Blair was born, I knew just what s her weapon of choice would be. Blades. Sharp, shiny, and versatile.

Anna’s story is NO ANGEL, in the Most Wanted anthology. She’s a demon hunter by necessity, as they’ve been hunting her for her whole life. In this snippet, she’s confronting one big bad demon lord whose come to take her to hell.

Fifteen minutes later she came across a park. The swings and merry-go-round were empty and there was plenty of open space with no houses to close.
“Perfect,” she muttered. “Close enough so you can find your way back to Gabe if you survive this.”
She picked a patch of grass and pulled one of her knives, took a deep breath, and without hesitation, sliced it across her left forearm. It wasn’t a terribly deep cut, but her blood welled and flowed out of it.
She put the blade away and held her arm out she watched the dark crimson drops fall onto the dewy grass and soak into the earth. It looked like any other human’s blood, red and thick, and life-giving. Only there was so much more in her blood.
She felt him before she saw him. The cold chill that had all the tiny hairs on her body standing up, making her extra sensitive to the energy vibrations around her. She turned slowly, expecting to see nothing, surprised to see tall, golden, and winged Focalor standing ten feet away from her. He smiled at her, as if he’d just dropped by for tea.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “No invisible attack this time?”
“You were kind enough to call me, I figured you wanted to give yourself up, maybe make a deal to protect those new friends of yours.”
Anger stirred in her gut but she tamped it down. She needed a clear head in this fight to have any chance of surviving. “I don’t make deals.”
“You’ve no wish to protect them?”
“I have a wish to end this, here and now.”
“Come now, Anna Blair, you of all people should know there isn’t much on earth that can defeat the power of hell. Why do you want to fight me? If you come willingly, I’ll ensure you survive being stripped of your powers.”
“Survive? And then what? You’ll keep me in hell as a play-toy to be poked and prodded at every now and then?”
His smile widened. “You’ve been a worthy opponent, I wouldn’t do that.”
“Worthy, huh?” She stepped to the right, and watched as he stepped to the left, circling her. “I’m surprised I’m considered only worthy when it’s taken almost thirty years for you to get even this close to me.”
He flinched at that, just a small one, but she saw it, and she knew. He was worried. He didn’t like it at all that she’d evaded his minions for so long.
Reaching into her backpack, Anna’s fingers wrapped around the comforting handles deep inside and pulled. She tossed aside her backpack and unsheathed the lovingly crafted butterfly swords. The curved blades slid free of their leather sheath with a smooth hiss, and she stood facing Focalor with one in each hand.
“Enough talk,” she said. “This ends now.”
“Ah, yes.” His smile was benign as he eyed her swords. “Your blades have felled some of my best soldiers. But do you really think they’ll hurt me?”
“These ones will. Forged in my own hellfire, blessed by God’s servants, and wielded by me, someone who has mastered powers born of evil.” She bared her teeth as she moved to the right, watching him counter shift to the left. “Powers you gifted to a weak spirit.”
“The spirit wasn’t weak, the powers were.” His wings expanded behind him.
Preparing for flight, she told herself. Out loud she laughed. “Powers are as strong as those who wield them, you know that. And I am not weak.”
“Let’s find out shall we?”
He lunged and she swung. Expecting him to fly, she’d swung high, but not high enough. The shiny steel of her blade just missed his foot as he flew over her head. She spun and crouched, but still took a solid kick to the head. She rolled with it, and came up swinging.
Focalor was on the ground now, on his feet, and throwing bolts of hellfire at her. Deflecting the flames with her left blade, she stepped into the fight instead of away from it, and swung the right.

What people are saying about MOST WANTED:

“An angel with a demon’s powers describes Anna in “No Angel”. Anna has spent her life trying to keep one step ahead of the demons that want something from her. Gabriel might now know about the “other” side of life but he knows that Anna is something special and he wants her in his life. Finding out how to end the threat to Anna’s life and their budding relationship, leads Gabriel to understand his new family members. I especially loved the final battle and how it ended. “No Angel” is more than a battle of good vs. evil – it’s a battle of love that trumps all.” – Jo, from Joyfully Reviewed

“The stories in this book are all unique and exciting in their own way. Each character easily holds your attention, and the plots are just as captivating. I flew through this in one sitting, and that may be my only regret. I wanted to keep on reading! Ms. White is a fabulously talented writer, and purchasing any of her books is money well spent.” – Lototy, Coffeetime Romance & more.

“This isn’t your typical Sasha White book. Yes, all three romances have her trademark eroticism and blatantly wicked sensuality, but there’s also a touch of lightheartedness, humor, and the paranormal. I think that long-time Sasha White fans will love MOST WANTED. New readers will undoubtedly question why they haven’t read Sasha before.” – Laurie of Laurie’s Laudanum

Follow the links below for more snippets from some great authors.
Anya Bast
Leah Braemel
Jaci Burton
Vivian Arend
Ashley Ladd
Taige Crenshaw
Shelley Munro
Jody Wallace
TJ Michaels
Victoria Janssen
Elisabeth Naughton

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