Month of a Lifetime!

So much going on this month. Black History Month, of course, (Lori Tharps has some excellent suggestions about how to celebrate). I have a guest blog post at The Divining Wand. Please check it out.

Sade's new CD will be released!

Valentine's Day!

My niece Candace's 21st birthday!

What would have been my late mother's 63rd birthday!

And February 21st, which is not only the world premier of "Sins of the Mother," but is also the anniversary of my mother's death and the late great Nina Simone's birthday.

If that wasn't enough to keep me excited, several Girlfriends Cyber Circuit authors are touring this month! First up is Judi Fennell, with a great contest to promote her book Catch of a Lifetime!


About Judi:

Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she’s received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at www.JudiFennell.com for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to “dive in” to her stories.

Contest

To celebrate the release of each of her books, Judi Fennell and the Atlantis Inn and the Hibiscus House bed and breakfasts are raffling off three romantic beach getaway weekends. All information is on Judi's website.

Now on to our Q&A:

Tell us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.

Catch of a Lifetime is the third book in my Mer series, this time about middle sister and Human-loving, Angel Tritone. She's determined to convince her brother Rod (hero of Book 2, Wild Blue Under) that she's perfect for the Director position of the Mer-Human Coalition he's establishing to help curb the pollution and global warming issues facing the entire planet. Things don't go quite as planned when she has to outrun a shark and ends up on Logan Hardington's fishing boat and is seen by his six-year-old son, Michael.

Logan Hardington, who ran away from the circus as a teenager, wants Normal in his life. But when a surprise son he never knew about shows up, Normal starts falling by the wayside. Then a beautiful naked woman shows up on his boat and it's all he can do to keep Normal part of his vocabulary. But when she proves to be a mermaid and his son goes missing, Logan realizes that Angel definitely is not the catch of a lifetime.

Or is she?

Which do you most like writing--dialogue, action, or description? 

I write mostly dialogue first then go back and layer the rest in. I can hear the characters talking, so that's the easiest for me. It directs the scene for me, so once I have that down/know it, I know the rest of the scene.

Do you think about writing series or do you prefer stand alone titles? 

I think in series, mainoy because I like reading them. I like getting to know the author's world and meet the characters before their stories. As a writer, it's nice to use the world you've created - you don't have to go back and create a whole new world and world rules, just some new scenes and build on what you'd already created. It's nice for the readers to become invested in your series, too. I have people emailing me, asking about Mariana and Pearl's stories - stories that aren't contracted yet, but are definitely in the "churning in my brain" stages.

What's next for you? 

I've turned in book one in my next series, pitched as "I Dream of Jeannie meets Indiana Jones." And it was a blast to write! I Dream of Genies hits the shelves January 2011, followed by Genie Knows Best, and Leave It to Genie.