I met Joely Sue Burkhart through one of Lynn Viehl’s Left Behind and Loving It ‘online conferences’ and began stalking reading everything she wrote. Over the years we became friends: cheering, crying, supporting, and giving the occasional kick in the arse to each other. It is with extreme pleasure I welcome Joely here today.
Take it away Joely!
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Surprises
It never matters how much plotting I do — the characters still manage to surprise me before I hit “the end.” When I started planning and writing Yours to Take, all I really knew up front was that Vicki wanted a menage. I didn’t know who the men were or what brought them together at first. So here are a few surprises that she sprung on me as I started writing…
- Vicki’s a switch. I suspected, given her family history (Victor, Conn, and Mama Connagher are all dominants) that she’d be dominant too. But until Elias walked in, I didn’t know that she’d also play a more submissive role. Granted, she makes him work for it…
- Jesse’s so submissive he’s scary. He’s willing to do absolutely anything Vicki tells him, which petrifies her (and me!).
- But Jesse’s also got a very strong core. I knew he was a survivor and he’s certainly seen a lot in his life, but it surprised me when he stood up to Rodgers and even Elias when it came to Vicki’s welfare. Jesse may be putty in Vicki’s hands, but if she’s ever threatened or upset, he’s a strong shoulder for her to lean on.
- Elias can be an alphahole. I love alpha men, don’t get me wrong, but he can be a jerk too. His pride is a problem that gets in the way of him reconciling with Vicki after they separated three months before. He recognizes when he’s being a jerk, but he’s not a warm and fuzzy sort of guy. He’s certainly not going to quote poetry like Conn! Luckily Vicki doesn’t take any of Elias’s shit. She’s more than strong enough to smack him down when he’s being too arrogant.
- Vicki’s favorite pastime (other than designing her own line or loving her men)… zombie movies. I love zombie stories, don’t get me wrong, but I haven’t seen too many zombie movies that I could watch more than once. She loves them all, from the old black and white Night of the Living Dead
to Zombieland.
If you’re a writer, what’s the biggest shocker your characters have pulled on you?
Readers, what has surprised you in a favorite book?
One commenter will win a free eCopy of Yours to Take: The Connaghers, Book 3
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All fire and gunpowder need is a stray spark…
The day one of her old clients gunned down a cop, former defense attorney Vicki Connagher lost everything—her passion for justice, and her lover, Detective Elias Reyes. The dead cop’s partner.
Even though she’s following her dream to start her own fashion line, it’s tough with heartache as her only companion. Until she brings Jesse, a wandering street artist, in from a freak Texas snowstorm. His submissive flirting brings out dominant tendencies she never knew she possessed, yet she hesitates to let him take her as far and as hard as she wants to go.
Some homeless junkie in Vicki’s house? Not on Elias’s watch. Pride kept him away, but as long as Jesse is staying in Vicki’s downstairs shop, he’s staying with Vicki. On the couch, but it’s a start.
As the days go by, the three work out an uneasy alliance. But Vicki’s joy at having Elias back in her life is tempered with a growing desire to have it all. Elias in her bed, and Jesse under her command. The only question remaining is if her tough alpha cop is willing to embrace all that she is…
Bio: Joely always has her nose buried in a book, especially one with mythology, fairy tales, and romance. You can find her on her website, Twitter, and Facebook. Be sure to check out her free reads!
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And because I love you guys the recipe is below.
. Nadja is 
by Corrine Kenner, the Ace of Pentacles was considered the most favorable card in the deck, suggesting people “have the resources they need to pursue their dreams and manifest their spiritual, emotional, and intellectual ideals.” I see a story weaving all the elements together in that statement. How about you?
by Joanna Powell Colbert from Llewellyn Worldwide
by Tracy Kidder, I’m not talking about soul in that way. I mean a soul like what we assume humans have. If humans have a soul at all, which hasn’t really been proven scientifically. So, we quickly get into some pretty muddy water with this question.
In Newcity, everyone is content. Bad feelings are not allowed, because your monitoring chip will alert the police to bring you in for treatment. Getting better is mandatory. Unchecked emotions made the world outside Newcity dangerous, unruly, and violent. At least that’s the official story in Newcity. Keith knows something is wrong. Strange visions lead him to become one of the few who escapes Newcity. He finds freedom and companionship outside, but pressure building to revolt against the city’s insidious regime of social control. Leadership is thrust upon him, with only his visions for guidance, only a small band of friends for support—and the fates of both Newcity and the outside world at stake. Cathedral of Dreams is a compelling tale of a dystopian future and personal heroism.
An archetypal American story of self-discovery, set against the turmoil of post – Civil War America, Sweet Song tells the story of the mixed race son of a white landowner and a black house servant. Leon, raised black but an outcast from both cultures, finds himself suddenly on his own — and passing for white. Wrestling with a divided heritage in a world where honesty, even with friends, might prove fatal, he falls in with dispossessed thieves, mill workers, saloon keepers, musicians, businessmen, thugs, freedom loving idealists and malevolent racists — a vivid panorama from America’s past. This tender, raw, provocative novel speaks from the heart about where we’ve come from and who we are.
. His published works also include six novels through small, independent presses.
