MISS ISABELLA THAWS A FROSTY LORD is a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest, novella category!

I am so very happy about this! After not entering any contests since being published in ‘05 (I confess to entering many before then, for the judges’ critiques and feedback) I decided to enter two contests this year. Deceived by Desire I entered in the erotic romance category of one (who hasn’t yet announced finalists) and my traditional Regency Christmas novella, Miss Isabella, I entered in the above mentioned contest.

Gayle Wilson has the distinction of being an author I’ve long admired. One of her novellas, published by Harlequin Historical, has long been in my keeper pile. Interestingly, it wasn’t until completing Miss Isabella, that I realized while my heroine is blind, the hero is blind in the story by Ms. Wilson. Quite a coincidence.

Anyway I’m delighted! This contest is open to all published authors, whether electronically or in print, and to know that the judges thought my story worthy of being named a finalist — Tom T. Terrific!

FYI, I know I’ve been playing least-in-sight lately when it comes to blog posting and other things, but I’ve been working furiously on Jonah and Suzy’s story (Bottoms Up Book II) and expect to be submitting it to our editor in just the next couple of days. Whew! I’ve been working on this one since last May…that’s a long time to spend with two characters. I’m happy to report that I just completed reading the entire manuscript, and just this morning Mr. Lyons finished his “proofread”. Both of us found the emotional and physical journey of these two very satisfying.

More soon! Larissa

PS, Miss Isabella Thaws a Frosty Lord can be found in this book:

The good news is — it’s Bottoms Up, Book 2. I received it from Alyssa in January, 6000 words (bringing the total to over 120K!) and one sex scene richer. Now I’m going through the entire story and doing my “final” thing. I know I’m a slow writer. I know much of that has to do with physical limitations and my computer stamina. When I push, my body screams at me and it takes days, sometimes weeks, to get back on track. Ergo, I’ve learned not to push!

But I had a revelation over the weekend that helped explain to my highly analytical brain the other reason I write so slow. Check out this post. It’s one of the absolute best summaries I’ve ever seen on self-editing. Cutting the flab (unnecessary words, paragraphs, etc.) out of your manuscript so that your story reads as swiftly and flawlessly as you can make it.

That’s always been a goal of mine–to make every book the absolute best I can. Are there things I would do differently on my first couple of historical releases? Heck yes! But clarity comes with time, and I’ve learned do the best I can at the time then let it go.

So I know it’s taking a while but I can promise Jonah and Suzy’s story covers a lot of emotional ground, with plenty of surprising laughs sprinkled throughout. I hope everyone waiting for the second book in the series will love it, and I’m happy to report we’re definitely closing in on “The End”. (well actually, I’m closing in on “the middle”, but the end won’t be far behind! )

Stay warm! Larissa

We’d really appreciate your vote!   Just click here: http://theromancestudio.com/ 5heart_form2009. php scroll about 3/4 of the way down & select “Restrain Me by Alyssa Brooks and Larissa Lyons 8/17/09” and enter your name & email. That’s it – and THANK YOU!!!
Larissa

Bottoms Up, book 1 – Restrain Me

Alyssa’s been reading over Bottoms Up book 2 the last several weeks — and laughing a lot, judging from the feedback I’ve been receiving. That makes me a very happy camper. Stay tuned for more writing updates, contest announcements, and other goodies. Meanwhile, if you haven’t given Restrain Me a try, go see for yourself, there’s a lot to love — sexy cowboys especially! Larissa

First up is author Barbara Miller…

LL: What draws you to write Regency romance?

Barbara: I wonder that myself.  Every time a Regency market dries up, I think, well that’s that. There’s no point in writing any more Regencies, yet I do anyway. I think it’s because characters are allowed, even expected, to be witty.  That can lighten even the darkest moments in a story. No matter how much I rant against the constraints of the Regency in women’s dress and social customs, I realize they form a comfortable structure on which to hang a story. I also like that the period was the heyday of the horse.

LL: “heyday of the horse” — I like that. Droppings aside, I often wish we all still rode horses instead of drive cars. Do you have a particular favorite story or Regency author?

Barbara: Georgette Heyer is my inspiration, and I think she reached her greatest form in The Infamous Army. It is actually more historical fiction than a simple Regency romance, but I read it over and over.

LL: I have to admit, the Heyer regencies I’ve tried have! been! so! sprinkled! with “!!!!!!!” I haven’t been able to make it past the first few pages, despite numerous attempts. I’ll try again with The Infamous Army if I run across it.

Do you have a favorite holiday recipe or memory you’d like to share with readers?

Barbara: This is my version of Lemon Curd.

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cornstarch

Three eggs

¼ cup canola oil

1 cup lemon juice

Mix sugar and cornstarch. Cream eggs into these dry ingredients to encapsulate the corn starch and prevent lumps. Then add the oil and lemon juice. Cook on medium high heat until it bubbles.  This can be eaten plain, used as a topping for cake, spread on toast, or stuffed into cream puffs.

LL: Cool! I love recipes made from scratch and this one is brand-new to me. I look forward to giving it a try!

What can you tell us about your story in Cotillion Christmas Spirits?

Barbara: I’ve always been fascinated by the Dickens Christmas Carol story in any of its many forms. In Dreams of Christmas I invented my own spirits of past, present, and Christmases yet to come to bring together a man and woman who almost met and just missed a chance at love. Lord Vance knows he can become a better person if only Sarah Pelham consents to marry him. She isn’t so sure, which puts them at odds. I had fun writing this story and hope readers enjoy it.

LL: How long have you been writing Regency? Do you have a favorite story of your own?

Barbara: I started writing Regencies in 1990. I did seven for Harlequin, four for Pocket and now four for Cerridwen. It’s like choosing between your children, but I have to say Music Master is my recent favorite since it took the most research. Of course I write other things: cozy mysteries, paranormal and YA, but I am so happy there is a still a market for Regencies.

LL: I confess to being something of a book miser. When we moved from the city to the country and I had to leave my favorite used bookstore behind, I started stocking up on regencies and historicals. I have a stack of those Harlequin regencies and now I want to dig through and see if you’re in it!

Do you have any other tidbits you’d like to share with readers?

Barbara: I live on a hundred and fifty acre farm that has inspired many of the outdoor settings for my Regencies. All I have to do is take a walk and I am transported to Amberly, Homeplace, Talltrees, Gaites Hall, Dorney Park, Byerly Hill, and all the other estates that fictionally reside in England.

I want to thank Barbara for spending some time here at Larissa’s Lair. I knew I was in great company when my story was selected for this anthology, and that’s only been cemented as I discovered more about Barbara and her writing. I encourage readers to visit her website and learn about her current projects.

Until next time!

Larissa (who hasn’t forgotten about posting more baking tips and recipes…but who  just completed her second Bottoms Up story– yes, Alyssa is thrilled–and who needs to rest away from the computer!)

On the writing front, in between skunk shoo-ings (which has become my responsibility… guiding them into the cage — have only been sprayed once!) I’ve been working on incorporating all my scene additions to Jonah and Suzy’s tale, the second in our Bottoms Up Western series. No easy feat, as I’ve dictated three files’ worth of new stuff.

I’m just about done with this endeavor and will update the word count meter on the right once it’s complete and I’m ready to move on to my next phase of composition…blending and smoothing everything together.

Currently Reading:

Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind

A Lady’s Pleasure by Renee Bernard

The Magician’s Way by William Whitecloud

Keeper of the Swans by Nancy Butler

(well check it out…my reading list reads much like my “works-in-progress” list!) Larissa

Very happy to report progress continues steadily on Jonah’s story, the second Contemporary Western in my co-authored Bottoms Up series. In the handy word meter tracker to the right, you’ll note nearly a 20,000 word increase since last month, which is mighty fine indeed. That will likely start slowing after the next couple of weeks as I start piecing together several scenes and plot-point additions, and doing judicious deleting where necessary, to form a fabulous, cohesive and fast-paced story. (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

Health-wise, my voice has been giving me trouble and not letting me dictate — or talk! — as much as I’d like. Friends are being super patient as I forgo phone calls in order to dedicate myself to studly, swaggering cowboys. (We all have to make some sacrifices…)

Keep enjoying the remaining days of summer, and I’ll be back later this week with the next installment on Collaborative Writing. Larissa

I spent most of the spring working on a Regency story that’s a mite different from anything I’ve done before. This one was both started and finished without any interruptions (go me!) and I hope to have positive news to announce soon.

Currently I’m working on the second Bottoms Up story. Alyssa sent me her 46,000 word “draft” (I put the word draft in quotation marks because her drafts are a lot more polished than mine!). I usually double — or more — whatever she sends me on our joint work and that’s what I’m focusing on now. No distractions allowed! If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I sometimes have issues getting projects FINISHED. Made a promise to both myself and Alyssa, any time I’m working on one of our joint stories, nothing else will cross my mind (if it does, I have to spank it into submission, ha!).

After I finish Jonah’s story, I’ll be completing my third Roaring Rogue. Phineas, darling, I haven’t forgotten you! I have the entire story drafted out and dictated (I hand write everything first). It came to over 62,000 words which I think scared the peewadiddly out of me because that’s my longest draft to date. I usually add 40-50% more to my own stuff during the polishing phase which means the sucker could easily be 90,000+ words and I want every single one to shine, sparkle and set readers on fire! So I’m feeling the pressure. GULP.

To the right, I updated the word count meter do-hicky thing for July. My goal is to refresh that at the beginning of each month as well. [And fooey-looey--I've just learned that my blog isn't displaying properly in Internet Explorer browsers. It looks fabulous in Mozilla Firefox, so use that if anything on the side is looking wonky, and please know that I'm working to get it fixed!]

So there you have it–what Larissa’s been up to & how I’ve been staying out of trouble!

Meet a real cowboy… We’re talking the kind of tough, sexy-voiced cowboy Sam Elliot and Tom Selleck have portrayed in the movies.  A rugged, hard-working real West Texas cowboy–Boaz “Bo” McKenzie.

If you’d like to learn how this one really knows his ropes–and how to use them,

if you want to know how he heats things up in the bedroom, complements of his brand…

Join the Alyssa & Larissa newsletter loop where we’ve been sharing excerpts too hot to post! (Members can access prior excerpts.)

And remember, you can always read my latest blog entry simply by typing in: www.LarissasLair.com!

Is it:

a) A hint of the type of naughty sexual escapades you’ll be indulging in throughout our contemporary Western stories?

b) A bar in remote West Texas, where cowboys go to wet their whistle and shoot pool and listen to Elvis loudly crooning “Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love” on the old-fashioned jukebox?

c) A mostly-organic restaurant, where the head chef makes the best Women Pie [dictation mistake! That was supposed to be Lemon Pie, but was too funny not to share!!] west of the Pecos?

d) A ranch running mostly Hereford cattle, a tiny herd of sheep (Grandpa loves lamb chops, you see) and the sexiest cowboys you could ever imagine?

e) A two-word book title Alyssa came up with years ago that just needed the “perfect” story to go with it?

f) The name of a co-written Western series (when I insisted that her title idea was too catchy for a single book)?

g) All of the above, after the two of us got together and did our patented phone brainstorming, amid me sneaking chocolate morsels out of the bag & Alyssa telling her dog to hush (so we could talk) and her daughter to go back downstairs (so we could talk about the sexy parts)?

My quizzes are so tough, I know.

If you answered “G”, consider yourself awarded a sparkly, glittering gold star! Below is a visual map of the fictional Sweetwater County we created to showcase our Bottoms Up series.

It kind of helps put things in perspective (because I’m sure any faithful reader will surmise that the “Lucky Lady” dude ranch must mean the ladies staying there get lucky!), but more than that, it shows the really cool mountains.

And now, good little writing partner that I am, I’m heading back into Storyland so I can keep working on the second Bottoms Up title that Alyssa recently sent my way.  The first of the series, Restrain Me, comes out next week on July 1 and you can read all about it here: http://www.larissalyons.com/restrain.htm.

For grins, share your favorite two-word title that you’ve seen or heard & I’d love to receive some recipes for that Women Pie.  >^..^< Larissa