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We have moved to a new website

After much cursing I'm now over on Wordpress. It's hard moving from something you know really well, but over on the new site I have greater control over style and substance :)

To find me just go to rjscott.co.uk.

I also have a fancy new events calendar over there that you can connect to your calendars so you don't miss new releases.

This blog site will remain here, with all the content, BUT, all of this content has actually been transferred over to the new site, so you won't miss anything from the archives.

Come visit and have a look at coming soon and the new events calendar and all the visiting authors. :)

Go to: rjscott.co.uk for the new site. 


RJ XX

Travelling in the US of A!


When we travel on holiday in the UK we plan our journeys meticulously to include a break. Sometimes the journey can take up to three or four hours, and we HAVE to stop somewhere for a cuppa. If a journey is going to be any longer we might even consider staying overnight somewhere halfway through. 

A couple of my US friends laughed at me, one said that driving 5 hours wouldn’t even get her out of her state (Texas). So when this cool thing popped up on my timeline measuring the UK against other things I was fascinated. The UK is tiny compared to US as a whole, and Texas is god knows how much bigger.











The small blue covering is Pennsylvania - I can handle that state, it’s small like us!

Do you live in the US, is your state super huge, or petite like we are? Are you in the UK, do you plan your journeys to account for a tea break?

All About Ellery Mountain...


In September 2012 I attended a writers retreat thingamy for a publisher I used to be with in a beautiful place in Tennessee. There I met Amber Kell and Carol Lynne for the first time, and Tennessee became the place where they encouraged me to spread my wings.

Anyway, armed with encouragement—and not a small amount of excitement—I sat down and imagined a series of six books, six couples with lives that interconnected. I knew I wanted to write the first book about two first responders who in one way or another saved each other. Also I wanted to set the whole series in the mountains of Tennessee.

Book 1 was The Fireman and the Cop, at just over 30,000 words it was a new departure for me, a series each one 30-35k where I decided they would be delivered pretty regularly (one a month). Book 1 flowed, book 2 flowed and became The Teacher and The Soldier, Book 3 was The Carpenter and The Actor, followed by The Doctor and the Bad Boy, and it was all still flowing even to The Paramedic and the Writer. I loved my Ellery books, but book 6 was a hard one to write. Writing my SEAL with PTSD was the kind of story that rips you inside when you write it. I found myself in tears so many times when I was writing the pain that the character was going through.

Who could a man with PTSD talk to if he struggled talking to friends and counsellors? I threw it open to my group of FB friends and they suggested that he may talk to someone who listens without judgement – a barman. Perfect. I had my foil for the tortured hero. Avery, my barman, listened and said things in the right places, and most of all he told Travis he loved him but that he would under no circumstances back down or leave.

The Agent and the Model. Book 7, is Mikey’s story and came completely out of the blue.

See, this was supposed to be just six books. But… Mikey was hurt so badly in book 5, and I sent him off to the City for a wonderful new life, but what if memories of the horrific hate crime he was a victim of made his new life one that was fragile and open to hurt? When Alex, the man he loves, proves to Mikey that all he is seen as is a helpless victim he decides he needs to go home to Ellery and confront ghosts and make peace.

Which is very difficult when Alex follows him.

And then... I got all the books back from a new publisher and suddenly I realized I want to write a book 8...

The Sinner and the Saint will be out late spring... :)

I love my Ellery boys...




Focus On...The Agent & The Model (Ellery Mountain #7)

Mikey's story.

Michael comes home to Ellery to face his past, only his present keeps intruding in the form of his agent Alex Casey, who won’t take no for an answer.

Michael Hardin is back in Ellery to face his past. The victim of a hate crime, he has memories that lie just out of his reach and nightmares that won’t leave him alone.

Alex Casey loves Michael but he completely ruined everything by treating Michael like someone who needed to be wrapped in cotton wool.

Can Michael discover more about his past and find love with Alex?

Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes

Ellery Mountain Series

Book 1 - The Fireman and the Cop
Book 2 - The Teacher and the Soldier
Book 3 - The Carpenter and the Actor
Book 4 - The Doctor and the Bad Boy
Book 5 - The Paramedic and the Writer
Book 6 - The Barman and the SEAL
Book 7 - The Agent and the Model

Hump Day Interview - Anna Butler


It's Wednesday, it's Hump Day and this week we have Anna Butler in the Hot Seat, welcome Anna...


Do you ever abandon a draft partly written and just move on? Do you keep a file of plot ideas?

Yes to the first question, but I have a very thrifty mind—nothing is ever wasted! The 18k contemporary story set in a London coffeehouse, where a young man falls for an archaeologist working at the museum, was abandoned and left on the hard drive for years, but never entirely forgotten. Three years later, I went back to it. But the things that had held me back from continuing it then were still there. I mean, just how many contemporary coffee shop m/m romances are out there? What could I do with it to make it different?

The answer was make it steampunk. Not goggles and corsets, but an alternative world where aeroships and laser guns are just part of the scenery. So the coffee house owner became an ex-aeroship pilot and the archaeologist an Aegyptologist, mixed up within a society where the government is run by powerful, oligarchical Houses and assassination is common… and the steampunk, coffee house, adventure/mystery m/m romance Lancaster’s Luck series was born.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?


I almost always have a high-level outline of some kind. The mental process is usually: I’m starting here, I need to get over there… this has to happen and this, in that order… but oh, look, suddenly I’m taking a diversion around this plotty thing that my characters have decided to do and I wasn’t expecting… ooh, now that’s interesting, let’s see where we go with it, but we still have to get to our destination, so here’s how we work it in…

So a bit of both. I like to describe it by quoting something I saw on LiveJournal years ago, written by a fanfic author. Sadly, I can’t now find the post so that I can give proper credit where it’s due, but this sums up my process beautifully—“I have started my story. I have ended my story. I just haven’t middled my story.”

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

Oh, I love, love, love research!

Partly for its own sake. It’s satisfying to learn when women athletes were first allowed into the Olympics (the second modern Olympiad in 1900 in Paris, as it happens) or who discovered and excavated the Osireion at the Temple of Seti in Abydos, or how interferometry might be warped to make a dispersion shield, or what is the deal with wormholes and faster-than-light technology? Mostly, though, I love it because it helps me visualise and describe the worlds I’m building, and because those worlds are stronger and more vivid from the details I’ve been able to add to them. I write mostly speculative fiction – pure sci-fi with the Taking Shield series, and steampunk with Lancaster’s Luck. Both need a lot of research to give me the telling details that, I hope, make the worlds both more realistic as well as more fantastic. Not to mention that it gives me masses of background material for my website and for blog posts. Terribly useful stuff, research.

So, I do a lot of research in advance, and always do more as I’m writing, although usually that’s shorter and more focused on a single issue that the writing (or editing) has thrown up. For instance, during the editing last autumn of the second Lancaster’s Luck book, The Jackal’s House, I had to do some fast research into the history of locomotives to come up with a name for a fairground ride.

What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?


Killing off my inner perfectionist, which likes to go obsessively over and over the chapter I just finished before moving on to the next. I am an appalling ‘tinkerer’ and I just cannot leave well alone. So it takes me months to draft a new book. I’m already a month late with the final Taking Shield book, it’s nowhere near finished and I’ve spent three weeks polishing and polishing one ruddy chapter. I really need to get that tendency under control, and if anyone has any tips for doing it, let me know!

Fanfic - Yay or Nay, if yay which is your favourite fandom? 

Oh, yay! Very definitely yay. There are some fanfics I reread more often than their original source.

It’s sad that fanfic is often sniggered at and derided, thought to be nerdy and for people who can't write their own worlds and must steal the work of real writers. That’s nonsense. At its best, fanfic is creative, transformative and inclusive, often far more inclusive and tolerant of difference than the original canon ever was (or could be, given the commercial restraints within which publishing, TV and film companies operate) and is a hugely important way for fans to express love of their shows/books or whatever.

Fanfic is written and enjoyed by countless thousands of people. True it’s sometimes done badly, sometimes very badly indeed, but is sometimes quite incandescently brilliant.

I still read in Harry Potter fandom (mostly Harry/Draco, but I do like other pairings depending on the writer) and some of my all time favourites are McKay/Shepard stories from Stargate Atlantis. My go-to comfort reads when I’m tired and cranky, though, are some of the many variants on Pride and Prejudice. You can’t get more romantic than Mr Darcy!

For your chance to win an ebook of The Gilded Scarab (Lancaster's Luck #1) answer this question...Fanfic - Yay or Nay? If yay, which is your favourite fandom?

The Jackal's House (Lancaster's Luck #2) - OUT NOW

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK

Something is stalking the Aegyptian night and endangering the archaeologists excavating the mysterious temple ruins in Abydos. But is it a vengeful ancient spirit or a very modern conspiracy…

Rafe Lancaster’s relationship with Gallowglass First Heir, Ned Winter, flourishes over the summer of 1900, and when Rafe’s House encourages him to join Ned’s next archaeological expedition, he sees a chance for it to deepen further. Since all the Houses of the Britannic Imperium, Rafe’s included, view assassination as a convenient solution to most problems, he packs his aether pistol—just in case.

Trouble finds them in Abydos. Rafe and Ned begin to wonder if they’re facing opposition to the Temple of Seti being disturbed. What begins as tricks and pranks escalates to attacks and death, while the figure of the Dog—the jackal-headed god Anubis, ruler of death—casts a long shadow over the desert sands. Destruction follows in his wake as he returns to reclaim his place in Abydos. Can Rafe and Ned stand against both the god and House plots when the life of Ned’s son is on the line?

Anna was a communications specialist for many years, working in various UK government departments on everything from marketing employment schemes to organizing conferences for 10,000 civil servants to running an internal TV service. These days, though, she is writing full time. She recently moved out of the ethnic and cultural melting pot of East London to the rather slower environs of a quiet village tucked deep in the Nottinghamshire countryside, where she lives with her husband and the Deputy Editor, aka Molly the cockerpoo.

Website and Blog
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The Butler’s Pantry (Facebook Group)
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Sign up for Anna’s quarterly newsletter

Focus On...The Barman & The SEAL (Ellery Mountain #6)

A Navy SEAL with PTSD and a Barman starting a new life. Maybe they can find love in Ellery.

Travis Baranski, Navy SEAL, is the first veteran to attend the Ellery Mountain Veteran Center. He is having a hard time coming to terms with what he had seen and what he has done. When he has a very public meltdown in Ellery stores it is Avery Gideon who steps up to the plate and helps him.

Avery Gideon, a man cut off from his family for being gay, runs the only bar in town - The Alibi - and listens to many a person's problems whilst trying to forget his own.

He sees something in the wounded warrior who needs a friend and very soon finds himself falling in love with Travis.

Nothing will deter him from helping Travis, or from making Travis see he's still capable of loving Avery in return.


Buy Links - eBook


Ellery Mountain Series


Focus On...The Paramedic & The Writer (Ellery Mountain #5)

Paramedic Jamie Llewelyn moves to Ellery to start a new life away from the City. Attached to the hospital and working for his friend Liam Wolfe he's happy—even if he has to keep coming up with excuses to miss the Friday meet ups. He had peace and he could finally make a difference in a community that needed him.

When he and Max rescue John Doe from a crashed car balanced on the edge of a ravine Jamie didn’t know but his life would never be the same again. John opens his startlingly violet eyes and suddenly Jamie is falling hard. If only John didn’t have a gun and could remember why he’d shot the passenger in the car. Then maybe passion could change into something else. Love.

Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes


Ellery Mountain Series

Focus On...The Doctor & The Bad Boy (Ellery Mountain #4)

No one has every understood Mitchell Askett. The bad boy. The alcoholic. The loser. Buying into the Ellery Mountain resort and placing down roots in the community for himself, his sister and his niece puts him on the radar of the Fridays and Dr. Liam Wolfe.

He realises he has friends in his new home that don’t judge him for what happened before and finally begins to escape his past. When he falls hard and fast for the Doctor he even sees a future for him in Ellery.

When his new happiness is threatened by family and by disaster he begins to lose faith, until Liam shows him it’s okay to ask for help..

Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Kobo | Barnes and Noble | Smashwords | iTunes

Ellery Mountain Series

Book 1 - The Fireman and the Cop
Book 2 - The Teacher and the Soldier
Book 3 - The Carpenter and the Actor
Book 4 - The Doctor and the Bad Boy
Book 5 - The Paramedic and the Writer
Book 6 - The Barman and the SEAL
Book 7 - The Agent and the Model

Childhood Christmas Memories


It's nearly time to take down the tree and pack away the ornaments for another year, there's always a huge build up to Christmas then it seems to fly by...

Crepe Paper always brings back memories. A couple days before Christmas mum and dad would remove all the ornaments and so on from our large sideboard and then would put down swathes of this soft crinkly paper in all different colours. Then on top of that would go Christmas nuts and sweets and some decorations. This to a young kid was Christmas heaven!

When we woke up in the morning we would have a pillow case at the end of the bed, normally with a Rupert annual and bits and pieces from Avon like talc (Brits will get that). We still do this for our kids and even more special is that Matt still believes in Santa.

Christmas TV was a highpoint in our house when I was a kid, not so much now. We only had a couple of TV channels and there was always the afternoon film (after the Queen’s speech). I remember the excitement when one of the channels showed Star Wars. Then there was Morecombe and Wise, The Bond film, and The Coronation Street Christmas episode. Oh and which Brit here recalls Angie being served the divorce papers by Den? ROFL.

What is your best Christmas memory from childhood?

Focus on...The Carpenter & The Actor (Ellery Mountain #3)

Jason is running from tragedy, hiding in Ellery, but it’s only when he meets Kieran that he finds love.

Jason McInnery, hounded by the paparazzi after his brother’s death, runs to the one place where he hopes people won’t sell him out. The place where he was born. Hiding in the tourist cabins at Ellery Mountain Resort out of season, he thinks he finally has room to breathe.

Kieran Dexter is a man who knows what he wants; gorgeous actor Jason tied up and begging. When the hottest sex he’s ever had turns to feelings of love, he’s faced with convincing Jason to give them a try and stay in Ellery.

Buy Links - eBook



Ellery Mountain Series

#RainbowSnippets - December 30


Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (snippets are 6 sentences long–one for each colour in the Pride flag). You can find all the snippets by clicking here.

This week's snippet is from The Fireman and The Cop, the first book in the Ellery Mountain Series.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

The cop lifted the mask with shaky fingers. “I like firefighters,” he whispered and coughed.

“Sorry?” Max leaned in to hear him over the noise and chaos outside the rig.

“Firefighters… I can never find a gay one.”

Well, I like cops, Max thought.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

The Book - OUT NOW

Rescuing a cop from a burning precinct is in Max’s job description; falling in love was never part of the deal.

Max Harrison moved from the city to take up a role as assistant to the mayor, while also a volunteer firefighter. When he meets Finn Ryan in Ellery, he falls in lust that burns as hot as the fires being set in town.

Finn Ryan is a cop, and somehow he’s attracted trouble. Going back into a fire to rescue the town drunk is just the start. Now he has to rely on the man he’s falling for to make sure it doesn’t end with him dying.


Buy Links - eBook

Focus On...The Teacher & The Soldier (Ellery Mountain #2)

Soldier, Daniel Skylar, falls hard and heavy for school teacher Luke Fitzgerald. How can he make him stay in Ellery?

Luke Fitzgerald left Ellery Mountain for college and vowed never to come back. When his abusive father is murdered he has no choice but to return. Luke only goes home to sell off his share of the Ellery Mountain Cabins, but everything changes when he meets the son of the other owner. Daniel Skylar lives every day to the limit and sees a future in Luke.

It doesn’t matter what Daniel says, or how much he needs Luke. Luke isn’t staying once everything is sold off. Surely Daniel can understand that what they have between them is just a two-week fling; there is no way it could be love.

Can Daniel persuade Luke that they are in love, and they can build a future together?


Buy Links - eBook

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iBooks

Ellery Mountain Series

Focus on...The Fireman and The Cop (Ellery Mountain #1)

Rescuing a cop from a burning precinct is in Max’s job description; falling in love was never part of the deal.

Max Harrison moved from the city to take up a role as assistant to the mayor, while also a volunteer firefighter. When he meets Finn Ryan in Ellery, he falls in lust that burns as hot as the fires being set in town.

Finn Ryan is a cop, and somehow he’s attracted trouble. Going back into a fire to rescue the town drunk is just the start. Now he has to rely on the man he’s falling for to make sure it doesn’t end with him dying.


Ellery Mountain Series


Book 1 - The Fireman and the Cop
Book 2 - The Teacher and the Soldier
Book 3 - The Carpenter and the Actor
Book 4 - The Doctor and the Bad Boy
Book 5 - The Paramedic and the Writer
Book 6 - The Barman and the SEAL
Book 7 - The Agent and the Model

#Rainbow Snippets - December 23


Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (snippets are 6 sentences long–one for each colour in the Pride flag). You can find all the snippets by clicking here.

It seems fitting to have today's snippet from The Christmas Throwaway...

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

"I..." Zach stopped, assessing the lies he could spin, thinking of the stories he had used to persuade people to leave him alone. Nothing crystallized as right for this moment in time. There was something about this cop, a man who seemed not much older than he was, an officer who wasn't a city cop, but a small town cop. He wouldn't be part of the system the same way as the cops in the city who said he should go home. I don't have a home. Maybe...maybe he should tell him the truth.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

The Book - OUT NOW

Christmas is a time for giving - what do you do when no one gives a damn?

For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go. Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn.

Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?

Feature Friday - Charlie Cochrane - Writing a Mystery


Welcome to Charlie Cochrane, today's guest for Feature Friday, Charlie is here to talk about writing a mystery novel, take it away Charlie...

How do you create suspense in your stories?

There are all the well-known techniquey things to draw on - shorter sentences, fast paced action, cutting down on description etc - but I think in the end it comes down to good plotting and good writing. I've just read two of the British Library series of classic mysteries and you couldn't have had two better examples of what to do and what not. One of them was so slow, even in the supposedly tense bits, because the author had the habit of never saying something once when he could say it four times. The other was really gripping, with a great climax where the reader was allowed to get into the head of the person-you-thought-was-the-killer-but-actually-wasn't and depicting their emotions and muddled thoughts.

Do you start with the crime/mystery then work the story around it or do you wing it?

Wing it, wing it, wing it. You see, when I write a mystery it's like I'm watching the story unfold on the television or hearing it on the radio. In half hour instalments, maybe, each of which corresponds to a chapter or two. I see the body being found, the characters being introduced, the clues lining up, and as I follow all of this I start to wonder who might have done it. This may sound totally ludicrous, but it works for me.

What are the ethics of writing historical figures?

In my humble opinion (as they say), I believe you have to make them act in line with what is known of their character. I know in historical fiction any and everyone is seen as fair game, so you can have the fictional Horatio Hornblower rubbing shoulders with real life admirals like Pellew or Nelson, which is fine so long as they do what the real Pellew and Nelson would have done. However, particularly in fanfiction, I've seen both of these gents acting in a way that would be called libellous if it were written about a living person. Frankly, it can be insulting. (Ooh, I got all cross there.)

In fiction anything is fair game, do you like finding obscure ways of bumping people off?

In a word, no. I'm not a writer whose mysteries focus on clever methods of despatch or highly complicated denouements. I'm more interested in the why someone was killed than the how, so my victims tend to be bludgeoned or poisoned or something straightforward, leaving the reader's mind uncluttered so they can concentrate on the characters and their motivations.

Have you ever had to go back and *hide the keys*? (stealing cues from Bill & Ted)

To my shame, I confess I had to look up that reference. If you mean do I have to go back through the manuscript when writing to plant clues/red herrings, then yes, I do sometimes, but it's a risky business. If you don't have a light touch and a sure hand, it can scream "Look! Look! Clue!" Funny thing is that usually the references I need are in the story already, so when I go back for a first review I'm amazed at how things hang together. Like my sub-conscious has been far more effective than I have at subtly seeding the story with what I'd need.

What part of the process do you find the hardest?

Writing sex scenes. Which is why it's great writing the Lindenshaw series and the recent Cambridge Fellows novellas, all of which are fade to black.

About Charlie

Because Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice—like managing a rugby team—she writes. Her mystery novels include the Edwardian era Cambridge Fellows series, and the contemporary Lindenshaw Mysteries. Multi-published, she has titles with Carina, Riptide, Endeavour and Bold Strokes, among others.

A member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Mystery People and International Thriller Writers Inc, Charlie regularly appears at literary festivals and at reader and author conferences with The Deadly Dames.

Links: http://www.endeavourpress.com/?s=charlie+cochrane
http://www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/two-feet-under

Charlie's Amazon Pages - Amazon US | Amazon UK


Have you read? New York Christmas - Currently only 2.99



The Book

Can a New York cop and a teacher find love in the city at Christmas?

It's been far too long since Christian Matthews has seen Daniel Bailey. In fact the last time they met was in college.

Seven years down the road, Chris is licking his wounds after being 'asked to leave' the private school where he was teaching. He has no job, no money, and has to rely on his friend Amelia for a job and a room to live in. He needs a freaking Christmas miracle to make this Season anything other than a total loss.

Then Daniel comes back into his life and suddenly everything seems possible. Not only is Daniel still the man Christian wants more than anything, but this time Chris may well actually tell Daniel how he feels.

  • Cover Art by BitterGrace Art
  • Edited by Erika Orrick
  • Word Count: 35,700

Buy Links - eBook


Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) |Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | iTunes

Buy Links - Print Book


Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK)

Audio Buy & Library Links


Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Audible (US) | Audible (UK) | iTunes

Translations

German | French | Italian

Reviews


Rainbow Books Reviews  -  "...This is a great Christmas story, from the slow build of a romantic relationship that is long overdue, through some very angsty territory, all the way to lives being threatened, and a perfectly adorable ending. And even though Christmas isn’t really at the heart of the story, Chris and Daniel's love is the focus, it is a perfect example of the Christmas spirit. Of course, the setting of New York in December and January may have something to do with it. Two of my favorite scenes ere the lighting of the tree at Rockefeller center and the two guys going ice skating. The latter was hilarious! ..."

Hump Day Interview - Charlie Cochet


Happy Hump Day! Today it's Charlie Cochet in the Hot Seat, welcome Charlie...

What book/s are you reading at present?

I’m reading Aimee Nicole Walker’s A Dye Hard Holiday. I absolutely ADORE the Curl Up and Dye Mysteries! I’m also reading Lucy Lennox’s A Very Marian Christmas, book 7 in another fave series of mine, the Made Marian series.

What part of writing a book comes the hardest for you?

The first 20% of the book is always the hardest for me because that’s where I know if everything I plotted out is going to work. It’s also what takes the most patience, because I want to jump right into the romance, but I know I need to write that buildup first. We need the development, the building of the foundation before we can get into the relationship.

How many unpublished and half-finished books do you have?

Um, probably about 15 to 20? All in various stages of completion. Only a handful of those I intend to get published.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

I tend to plot and work to an outline, though often things deviate from the outline. Sometimes it’s a very rough outline, and there are rare occasions when I just write and see where the characters take me.

How do you keep characters consistent through a story? Do you write out extensive character bibles?


If it’s a big series like the THIRDS, I keep notes and spreadsheets on character traits I’m likely to need to refer back to. I have someone who’s working on a huge story bible for me for the THIRDS that will include more than I’ve ever had the time to put together. For character consistency in behavior, I work out what a character is like before I start writing, and as I write they continue to grow and develop so it’s important to pay attention and make sure as the story continues that you’re staying true to your character.

For your chance to win a backlist ebook from Charlie answer this question...what are you reading at the moment? 

The King's Courage (North Pole City Tales #6) - OUT NOW!


Mending Noel (Book #1) Currently FREE


With the wedding of Jack Frost and Rudy Rein Dear only three weeks away, everyone travels to Jack’s palace in Svalbard, Norway, where the happy couple will exchange vows beneath the northern lights. Festivities have been planned leading up to the wedding, and Dasher eagerly anticipates not just the fun, but staying under the same roof as the blustering winter spirit who’s caught his eye—the King of Frost, Jack’s father.

A long-ago tragedy has left Eirik fearing to ever love again. As the King of Frost, Eirik maintains his distance from everyone, especially the young Christmas elf who insists on intruding on Eirik’s solitude. But Dasher is determined to find a way to show the lonely king that his heart still beats and he shouldn’t fear allowing it to beat for another.

About Charlie

Charlie Cochet is an author by day and artist by night. Always quick to succumb to the whispers of her wayward muse, no star is out of reach when following her passion. From adventurous agents and sexy shifters, to society gentlemen and hardboiled detectives, there’s bound to be plenty of mischief for her heroes to find themselves in, and plenty of romance, too!

Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading, drawing, or watching movies. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.

If you’d like to connect with Charlie, just drop her an email at charlie(at)charliecochet(dot)com, or find her on: Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and Google Plus.

Check out Charlie’s website at: www.charliecochet.com


Christmas Wishes, RJ Scott


When Alex said she was organizing an advent calendar for Christmas stories I was there in a shot. This short story became more like a novella and I kind of got carried away.

To win a $10 Amazon gift card in time for Christmas simply comment below with your favorite Christmas story line in a romance.


* * * * *

And here is my story: Christmas Wishes

* * * * *

You can download Christmas Wishes in ePub, Mobi or PDF here: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/6kA8W

I was going to put the whole thing here, but it's 9000 words and you'd be scrolling a lot! So, this way you can download as you need to and read on your e-reader.

COMPETITION...


Come back here and tell me what you thought of the story, and answer this simple question - what is your favorite Christmas Movie... and you'll be in with a chance of winning one of three $10 Amazon gift card (or equivalent in your country).  Make sure you put your email address in the comment!

HUGS AND GOOD LUCK...

RJ XXXXX




Audible Romance Package - Like KU for audio books!

"... The Audible Romance Package is a new subscription plan that will include unlimited listening to thousands of romance audiobooks, including full-cast, Grammy(R) award-winning performances, celebrity, narrators and more. Under this package, there will be no need to use credits to listen to any titles in the Romance Package. ..."

The books of mine in the plan can be found here and are:

The Christmas Throwaway

New York Christmas

Texas
  • The Heart of Texas
  • Texas Winter
  • Texas Heat
  • Texas Family

Montana
  • Crooked Tree Ranch
  • The Rancher's Son

Sanctuary
  • Guarding Morgan
  • The Only Easy Day
  • Face Value
  • Still Waters

QRFFC Group Hop Updates!


Dates for Group Hop


These are the individual competitions that are now closed but don't forget to grab the *letter* from each post for the big Kindle Paper White competition!

 December 4 - Rj Scott posting in N.r. Walker group. 
December 5 - NR Walker posting in Posy Roberts group
 December 6 - Posy Roberts posting in Davina Jamison group
 December 7 - Davina Jamison posting in Keira Andrews group.
 December 8 - Keira Andrews posting in Jay Northcote group
 December 11 - Jay Northcote posting in Leta Blake group.
 December 12 - Leta Blake posting in Garrett Leigh group
 December 13 - Garrett Leigh posting in Annabelle Jacob group.
 December 14 - Annabelle Jacobs posting in A.m. Arthur group.


Live individual competitions ...

December 15 - A.M Arthur posting in Annabeth Albert group - closes December 19

 One of TWO copies of Wild Trail
 Any ebook from A.m's backlist.

Still to come...

December 18 - Annabeth Albert posting in Amber Kell group.

December 19 - Amber Kell posting in Sloan Johnson group.

December 20 - Sloan Johnson posting in Eli Easton group.

December 21 - Eli Easton posting in RJ Scott group.

Join all the groups here to participate:


N.r. Walker - https://www.facebook.com/groups/524674590970385/

Posy Roberts - https://www.facebook.com/groups/PosysLabyrinth/

DJ Jamison - https://www.facebook.com/groups/DJandCompany/

Keira Andrews - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1584923925093809/

Jay Northcote - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1444191399172292/

Leta Blake - https://www.facebook.com/groups/576447302455141/

Garrett Leigh - https://www.facebook.com/groups/garrettsden/

Annabelle Jacobs - https://www.facebook.com/groups/798663446914946/

A.m. Arthur - https://www.facebook.com/groups/300209733646247/

Annabeth Albert - https://www.facebook.com/groups/annabethsangels/

Amber Kell - https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmbersAwesomeFans/

Sloan Johnson - https://www.facebook.com/groups/sloansrangers/

Eli Easton -https://www.facebook.com/groups/164054884188096/

RJ Scott - https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rjscott/