Monday, April 23, 2007

I have news about upcoming books, and would like to share information on all of my romance novels with my readers. Here are updates and links. Please join my MySpace as a friend, and I'd love to be your friend too! "Sweet Surrender" has come out in paperback! Please take a moment to check me out :) The first chapter of all of my books, and how to purchase them or win free downloads, is on my site. Shortly, I will be running a contest for a few autographed paperback of "Sweet Surrender," which got excellent reviews (I'm so excited!). You can read the reviews on my site also.
To check out more news, and see pictures of me, my family, and all my wonderful friends, please go to my MySpace.
I hope you're all well. Blessings to each of you.

Pam Marshall/Nicole L. Pierce

SWEET SURRENDER (bestseller for Linden Bay and 4 Angels from FAR) Pam Marshall

www.LindenBayRomance.com

out in paperback!!!

LOVE GAMES (new release by Nicole L. Pierce—my alter)

www.mardigraspublishing.com

INSATIABLE PASSIONS (release date to be announced) by Nicole L. Pierce

Just sold to Whiskey Creek/Torrid

http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com/

Just completed:

Kidnapped and Spanked by an Alien

Except on webisite

http://www.myspace.com/piarshall (Sign up as a friend!)

http://pammarshall.blogspot.com/

http://users.solarus.biz/~pammarshall/

Monday, February 5, 2007

What makes a book erotica?

It seems that every book I write has hotter and more explicit love scenes. I love to write them and it seems like readers like to read them. The publishers, however, seem to vary in what they consider erotica. I've been told by one publisher that one of my books were "too erotic for us" and told by other publishers that the same book "is not erotic enough." I have to learn how to do this right! I think I want my characters to have sex at the right time, so that maybe some of my books don't jump in the sack early enough for certain publishers. At any rate, I never want my h/h to make love before they feel it's right for them. Once they do, well, I write the scenes steamy :)

Hey, I have a contest for Valentine's Day. Anyone who wants to win a one pound box of Fannie Mae Chocolates (fresh from the store--my daughter is a store manager for a Fannie Mae), go to my website, read the blurbs about my books, and if you can write one sentence about either SWEET SURRENDER or LOVE GAMES, and if you send that to my e-mail (wordsmythe@gmail.com) you qualify for the drawing on Feb. 14th. I'm also offering a download of LOVE GAMES, which is a good read for Valentine's Day.

Now I need to ask you a question. What types of covers attract you to a book? Do you like:
1/ ripped torsos
2/ ripped torsos with a hot male face attached to it (this is my choice)
3/male and female
4/Other

Have a good day and visit my sites. Be sure to get in on the candy contest!

SWEET SURRENDER by Pam Marshall

Out now at Linden Bay (#3 on the LB bestseller list at Fictionwise and 4 Angels from FAR)

www.lindenbayromance.com

LOVE GAMES by my evil twin, Nicole L. Pierce (my evil twin)

www.mardigraspublishing.com

Check out my website and blog:

http://users.solarus.biz/~pammarshall/surrenderexcerpt.html

http://pammarshall.blogspot.com

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

LOVE GAMES will be out Feb. 3rd

And I'm on Novelspot today to let people know about it. It's my first novel as Nicole L. Pierce (a name I created by combining all five of my children into one--yep FIVE). A little background on Love Games: the story evolved from the real life experience of somebody I know. It didn't happen the same way as it unfolded in my book (actually THAT guy was a jerk, and my hero isn't, of course), but I got the idea from real life. I don't think I've ever seen this in a romance before. I love to make my h/h work HARD for their HEA :) Since I'm afraid something is going to happen to this post, like my LAST post just *poof* disappeared), I'm going to cut my losses, post it, and hope all of you have a great day and keep checking out NovelSpot :) If anyone wants to write to me for that yummy box of candy, you can go thru my website or just send it to: wordsmythe94@gmail.com

Have a good one!

I think I got cut off from my other post

The internet. Gotta love it. It has a mind of it's own!!!

Where did it cut me off??? Ok, my day. My day will consist of working out, the library, volunteering at my daughter's school, and checking in at NovelSpot where MardiGras authors are posting today. I also have to continue checking over my NEXT release "Insatiable Passion." I want to make sure it's in great shape before I submit it, and I'm very anal...lol.

Have a nice day :)

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Thoughts and my author chat tonight

Yikes! I have my first author chat tonight from 5-11! HELP!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LindenBayRomance
I'm such a virgin to promotion. I just hope it goes well. I'm nervous, not sure what to say. I guess, talk about myself and my book and my upcoming book and my books in progress...lol. I hope at least one soul shows up...lol. It's hard when you're new, but the only way to NOT be new is to actively market and get your name out there. And that's what I'm trying to do.

I spoke about the hero of SWEET SURRENDER. I fell in love with Matthew while I wrote him. His name was Damon at first, but I changed it. At any rate, now I want to talk about how Rachel was created. After all, a romance hero is nothing without a suitable heroine. I needed somebody who could bring out Matthew's goodness and strength and make him feel worthy, however Rachel, first named Ally, really wasn't that person. At least not at first.

I thought of Rachel by taking bits and pieces from a real woman I know well (no, it's not me). She has been through so much, and is the strongest person I know. Her strength came from forcing herself to overcome her own demons. She was perfect fit physically--petite and beautiful with dimples and blond hair, but she never felt pretty on the inside. Her first husband had literally kept her hostage from others and abused her. Rachel's story evolved from that, but I gave Rachel a more positive slant. In spite of her rotten relationship with her ex, she'd had a good home life until her parents had died, leaving her feeling lost and alone. She had more to work with than Matt because she knew how it felt to be loved. She was feisty, bright, energetic and also vulnerable. So how could I link up two people who didn't trust relationships and didn't want love? That was my big challenge. I had my hero and heroine. I basically had filled in my story. I had to put the right emotion into my book. I had to make both of them characters that a reader would cheer for. That was the challenge. That was the fun. Lots of angst and laughter in the book, and some real bumps in the road. Rachel is pregnant from her ex--he raped her--Matt never wants to be a father, and this isn't even his baby. The more challenges I put before them, the more fun it became to help them deal with their problems.

They got their happy ending and it made me feel good. They deserved it. Until the end, though, it was a hard fought battle. Tonight I have to discuss this book. Tonight I have to see if I can get some readers to buy it, and love it as I do. Not an easy job, but I hope my enthusiasm wins over a few. In other news:

My son has already come up to me with the first "I'm bored" of the day. He will likely repeat it all day long. He is on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum and is just a delight. This kid is so even-tempered and sweet, I'd take ten of him. However, he can be obsessive and, outside of school and swim team, he prefers to be alone. "I'm bored" means he wants me to either take him to rent a videogame or drive him to the gas station, where he can get his favorite treat, "Flaming Hot Cheetos." On the other hand, my daughter, Nicole, will want to visit her friends as soon as she opens her eyes. It's a challenge to keep her home. She's so social.

I'm an adoptive mom. I have five kids in all. I'll tell you about them, because they all came to me in unique ways, and our loving family is not run-of-the-mill at all.

M. is my one biological son. However, his father is not his birthfather. My first husband had a very rare neurological disorder and could not father children, so my son is a donor baby. He's a lot like me, but sometimes I wonder about "the other side." He doesn't. He claims to have no interest. Knowing him well, I believe it. He is married to a wonderful girl and works in sales, which is hard for him as he is shy.

S. was adopted from Hong Kong at age six. I expected a scared little boy to join his brother M., whko was also six. S. danced off the plane like he owned America. I did find him crying in bed that night, but, for the most part, he didn't cry. He learned the language quickly and seemed to adapt well. He was brilliant, very independent, and not as attached to us as Mark, which makes sense. S. started building computers very young and has made his fortune in computers. We don't see him much since he got married. I miss him. He has become a very strict Christian (beyond most Christians) and his wife is Chinese. I think he's trying hard to reconnect with his roots.

J. was adopted from Korea at five months, my little spitfire. She was always beautiful and sweet and insecure. She gave me all my gray hairs when she was a teenager, but we are best friends now and I can't imagine my life complete without her. She is wonderful. J. is very creative and smart, but more street-smart. She has been in a relationship for three years and I like her bf very much.

I didn't want to embarass my older kids so I didn't use their names. Their last name is different from mine because their father was my first hub. Lucas is 13 and on the autie spectrum. Anyone who thinks autie kids don't talk, don't love, don't show feelings, etc. hasn't met Lucas, adopted from foster care at age 2. He is African-American (and so handsome) and has something called PDD-NOS, which is autistic traits, but not enough to qualify as classical autism (the type most think about when they hear 'autism') or Aspergers Syndrome. We think of him as....just Lucas. Lucas tries hard at everything he does. He should be fairly independent as an adult, with a little help from us. When we're gone, M. is very close to him. He has promised to look after him. J. will help too, and I am guessing that Nicole also will help. Except for S., who has recently started pulling away, we are a close bunch.

Nicole, well, she's ten and my social butterfly. Her ears are glued to her MP3 player and she's just growing up too fast. She is a beautiful girl. I know her birthmother and birthfather. Her birthmother picked us to raise her because she knew we'd love her, although she is biracial. WE DO!!! We wouldn't care if she was purple! Her birthmother was gorgeous and let us watch Nicole's birth and it remains one of our best memories. She has my hub, Tom, wrapped around her little pinky. I swear, he never gets angry at her. He can deny her nothing. Ya think she's spoiled??? Just a bit!

Nicole's birthfather was also incredibly handsome. If I'd been younger, I would have had a big crush on him and I see why her birthmother was attracted to him. However, they couldn't stay together. He agreed to let us adopt his little girl. We are grateful to both of them, and know that Nicole will see them both again one day.

I have to plan this menacing "author chat." I never realized that marketing a book could take so much time. I thought you wrote a book and others just magically bought it. Hmmmmm...maybe I should write a book about an author who can sell her books that way, but it would be in an alternate reality :)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

The Life and Thoughts of a Romance Writer :)

It's 5am on Saturday. I stagger to the kitchen and fill my mug with strong coffee to wake me up. I like rising early, before anyone else is out of bed, but I need my coffee to get my brain in gear. After settling at my computer, I check my messages and look at my Yahoo digests. All of them have something to do with romance writing or reading. Sometimes my own posts are there, but most groups only let you post Promos certain days of the week. That makes sense, but I'm so anxious to scream to the world that I have a published book that patience isn't always my strong point these days. I want to shout about SWEET SURRENDER and draw people to my website so that readers can at least check out the first chapter. If they don't know that my book exists, they can't read it. Also, I'm proud of my website. The woman who did it for me, really made it beautiful.

http://users.solarus.biz/~pammarshall/surrenderexcerpt.html

When I was a child, writing stories all the time, my parents told me I could never make a living as an author, that even good writers couldn't get published. As I became known in school for my creativity, I was told to give up my dream. For a long time, I did. My parents are right. Most writer's never get published by a NY publishing house. At the time, that was the only way to get your book out there. My parents weren't the only ones who discouraged me, so I bought into the "you can't" mindset. Life flew by and soon I wasn't a kid anymore. At twenty years old, I married.

I concentrated on my new husband and, eventually, small kids. Life became busy with work and home. I kept writing, but just for myself. I wrote because, like some people crave ice cream, I craved writing. It wasn't a choice. I didn't think anybody would actually read what I wrote, but I still did it. After my oldest son was born, I changed my work hours to evenings, and, when he napped, I sat down and wrote. And wrote. And I wrote some more. I started bringing pages to work and passing them out to see what my co-workers thought. They were full of praise, but I thought they felt they HAD to say nice things." Still, I kept writing and eventually I heard about e-publications and the writer in me rejoiced. What a great way to start! In my next blog I will explain how the hero in SWEET SURRENDER came to me, and how I write. I hope you come along with me on my writing journey. Maybe I can give out some tips on how to write a book, at least from a "fly b y the seat of your pantser" (one who goes with the flow and doesn't plot the story in advance.) Matthew Steele, the hero, evolved one day while I was watching the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball. A particular player caught my attention and suddenly Matthew was born...stay tuned :)