For a while (I am such a procrastinator!), I’ve been planning to create a paranormal quiz, based on the characters that will appear in my upcoming Kensington Brava releases. When I took the lovely Ann Aguirre‘s awesome Grimspace quiz, I became inspired and decided it was time for me to get my butt in gear.

The result? My new quiz:

Creature Feature:  Which paranormal character are you?

Check back tomorrow for a special post about this quiz–and how the quiz could possibly win you an ARC of WHEN HE WAS BAD.

Happy (early) Valentine’s Day!

Great news for writers! The folks at Harlequin/Silhouette have recently listed requirements for their new “Nocturne Bites” line.

Here’s a link to the complete guidelines.

And here’s a quick summary for Nocturne Bites:

1. Word count:  10,000 â€“ 15,000 words

2. What the editors are looking for:  “We’re looking for fast-paced novellas that hook the reader early by establishing a paranormal world and its conflicts. We are looking for stories of vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves, psychic powers, etc. set in contemporary times.”

3. Where to send your materials:   E-mail address:nocturnebites@harlequin.ca  (Note:  The site says only complete manuscripts submitted electronically will be accepted from unpublished authors.)

As a writer, I think my most important asset (or tool, depending on your perspective) is my imagination.

My mom has always said that I had a big imagination when I was a kid. I had an imaginary friend (Heggy)–we ate together, told secrets, and played for hours. I actually loved to play by myself when I was a kid. I could sit and imagine…well, just about anything. Even when I played with my best friend (the boy next door), imagination was key. Luckily, B. had a great imagination, too, and when I’d say things like, “Hey, let’s go dig for dinousaurs!”  Well, he was ready with a shovel. (True story:  To my mother’s horror, she did walk into the backyard one day and discover that B. and I had vanished. Closer inspection revealed that we had just dug a hole about twelve feet into the ground and were in the middle of discussing the merits of continuing to dig for dinosaur bones or changing our plans and using the new “hole” as a secret room. That was one unhappy mother…)

Anyway…back to present times…my son turned two in December, and, since then, I’ve noticed that his imagination has kicked into serious overdrive. The boy can pull a magic key out of his pocket any time, any place. He creates entire cities–complete with a library, Bruno’s (grocery store) and all of his friends’ houses–out of his wooden blocks. He builds castles, he phones his friends, he has dog parties. (Yep, I said dog parties–I blame Dr. Seuss for that one. )  I love watching his imagination develop–it’s a really beautiful thing. Each day, I wonder…what is he going to do next?

That wonder…that’s the feeling that I like to have when I read a book. I like to wonder–what is the author going to do next? Because when an author makes me wonder…well, I’m sure appreciating her/his imagination!

I must be off now–got a cake baking in the oven. (Can’t have a  dog party without a cake, now, can you?)

February is agent month over at Magical Musings.    Here is the scheduled line-up:

9 February: Kevan Lyon of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency
14 Febraury: Tamar Rydzinski of the Laura Dail Literary Agency
16 Febraury: Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency
18 February: Pam Strickler of Pam Strickler Author Management
21 February: Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Literary Agency
23 February: Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency
27 Febraury: Holly Root of Waxman Literary Agency

If you’re looking for an agent, check out the posts over at Magical Musings.

When the doorbell rang at 11:30 a.m. today (ahem, by the time most folks read this, it will have been “yesterday”), my husband and I both raced to the door (and, um, had a small scuffle as we each fought to be the first to open the door). Nick was hoping the FedEx truck he could see from the window was there to delivery his much anticipated camping tent. I was hoping to get my grubby hands on the ARCs that the Magnificent M told me would be coming soon.

Guess who the delivery was for? 🙂

Yep, that’s me in the picture, my previously mentioned grubby hands holding an ARC of WHEN HE WAS BAD (featuring Shelly Laurenston’s Miss Congeniality and my Wicked Ways). Oh, and, hey–that’s my new haircut, too! I know–you don’t care about the hair so much, but aren’t the ARCs cool? Jeez but I love getting those.

By the way, wanna read an excerpt of Wicked Ways? I’m in the process of updating my site–I’ve added excerpts for Wicked Ways and Blood Hunt, and on Friday, I should add more new info.