In April, my Hill Country Heroes story TAMED BY A TEXAN will hit stores. So I thought before then that I'd share a couple of fun excerpts! (BTW, if you buy the current release One in a Million, which has both Susan Mallery's classic romance One in a Million as well as a reprint of my A Dad For Her Twins, there's a coupon for Texan in the back of the book.)
TAMED BY A TEXAN was inspired by some of the really incredible meals and wine tastings I experienced in the Texas Hill Country. Chef Grace Torres is desperate to save her family restaurant, preserving her heritage now that her father's deceased and she's slowly losing her mother to Alzheimer's. Chef Ty Beckett is a man desperate to forget his past and the hungry, poverty-stricken boy he once was. The two of them go head to head in a televised cooking competition that will mean success for one of them and heartbreak for the other. But they soon discover losing the competition isn't the only risk to their hearts.
MEET GRACE...
Chef Grace Torres had inherited her Irish mother’s fiery nature and her late father’s impressively thorough knowledge of Spanish swear words, both of which were about to boil to the surface on this gloomy February morning.
“I can’t believe you two!” Grace gripped the edge of the stainless steel work station so she wouldn’t do anything stupid, like start throwing plates. The restaurant had enough financial burdens without having to replace dishes.
Her older brothers' nervous expressions might have been funny under different circumstances. They both towered over her but that didn't stop them from exchanging alarmed glances.
“Now, Graciela.” Victor was the oldest, and his tone bordered on patronizing.
Her already simmering temper began to bubble and pop.
“We know you love this place,” Ben quickly interrupted. “We all love it, but--”
“Ha! You love eating here, trying out new specialties before I put them on the menu and bringing your dates to woo them with the nostalgia factor. But you don’t… The two of you have never--” She broke off, eyes burning, and spun abruptly, putting her back to her brothers. I will not cry in front of them. It would be such a clichéd girl thing to do.
She battled the threat of tears with a stream of accented words that would have caused her dad to grin.
“Guess I should brush up on my Spanish,” Victor said behind her. “I consider myself bilingual, but I only understood half of that.”
"I got it all," Ben said. "Trust me, you're better off not knowing."
When Grace calmed down, she faced them again. "I know the restaurant's in trouble, but this competition could be my big chance to save it. The prize money, the publicity. Let's not panic and do something we regret.” Like sell the restaurant, her heart and soul. My home.
MEET TY...
Sunlight rippled across the surface of the water. Not a single cloud marred the expanse of blue overhead. Country music piped through discreet poolside speakers, and the shirtless man drifting lazily on an inflated lounge chair grinned. It was a damn good day to be Ty Beckett.
“But then,” he drawled aloud, “every day is a good day to be me.”
That hadn't always been the case, but Ty was changing his reality. Nathan Tyler, a scared, scrawny kid from a South Texas trailer park, no longer existed. That kid wouldn't have believed a house like this Barton Springs mansion, which belonged to one of Ty's grateful clients, even existed.
From the nearby patio table came a grunt. “Don’t get too comfy,” his business manager Stephen Zigler cautioned. “We have to clear out soon. You have an interview at three-thirty and that restaurant opening tonight.”
"Got it. I was just making the most of Cody's generous offer to enjoy the place while I still had time." Cody was a country music superstar and just one of the celebrities who had hired Ty as a personal chef. It was a start, but Ty wanted to be a celebrity in his own right--one of those chefs with his own cooking show, books and endorsements. Every new deal took him one step away from the past he'd managed to keep secret from everyone but Stephen. A cable network had expressed interest in letting him host a show--he knew how to be just as charming on camera as in person--but they wondered if he was well known enough to anchor his own program. What he needed to seal the deal was to win the upcoming cooking competition sponsored by the Hill Country Food and Wine Association.
Sticking his hand into the water, he paddled toward the edge of the pool. He climbed the stairs, glancing around at the sculpted yard and Cody Black’s million dollar Barton Creek mansion. “Someday I’ll have a place like this.”
Stephen turned, raising an eyebrow. “I don't think I've ever heard you sound so serious about anything.” Ty was known for a playful sense of humor and devil-may-care persona.
"I'm serious about winning." The future he'd always dreamed of was almost within his grasp, and he didn't intend to let anything stand in his way.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
In Which Tanya Compares a Writing Career to Solving a Criminal Case
During the many episodes I watch of Castle and Psych, I couldn't help noticing the investigating officers talk a lot about nailing down a suspect's means, motive and opportunity. Have you nailed down yours?
Oh, not for committing crimes! I like to give my readers the benefit of the doubt and assume you're all upstanding citizens (well, except possibly for YOU over there. You have kind of a shifty look.) I think that any time you set out with a goal, you should consider how you're going to accomplish it, what your motivation is (which could help you stay on path to that goal) and what opportunities might arise along the way so you can be ready for them!
Let's look at a writing career, for instance.
For aspiring authors, there are lots of resources to help with the "means" (i.e. your ability) to write. There are how-to books and craft lectures and educational organizations and, uh, scintillating blog posts. Somewhere. But too often the motive and opportunity aren't given enough thought.
What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? Do you want to make money? (If so, are you thinking full-time income or supplemental funds? Those require different strategies and levels of commitment.) Do you want to simply see your name in print, preferably as soon as possible? Do you want to make people laugh? (Some of my favorite blogs for making me laugh have become so popular that they've spawned actual book deals.) We live in a world where you can reach people with your words almost instanteously. You can tweet everything from motivational sayings to political diatribe (as long as you segment your diatribe into 140 character chunks). In a single day, you can post a poem on your facebook page, mail a book to an agent in New York City, self-publish an e-novella, blog about a favorite show, and tweet about your dog. (And if you actually did all that in one day, you would have totally earned a nap.) Share your words with people in whatever way you're comfortable with, but occasionally stop to ask yourself whether the methods you use (and subject matter you're sharing) is furthering your overall goals.
It's easy to get distracted. Just last week, I had to turn down a fun but completely random opportunity because of a book deadline. It would have been great to take that side writing project, even though the pay would have barely made a dent in the pricetag for my children's braces and the potential audience for that niche piece of work would have been pretty small. It made no career sense for me to anger my editor or fans with rushed, subpar work so that I had time to dabble with something with few long-range benefits. That's not to say that, at a different time with a different schedule, I wouldn't have leapt at the chance, but try to think through the consequences of your actions. Remember that things you put out there personally and professionally are OUT THERE and difficult, if not impossible, to take back later.
As far as opportunity, writers can go for years feeling like they're beating their heads against a brick wall. Maybe you've faced a lot of rejection. Maybe you've published but have suffered lots of negative reviews. Maybe you've had a lot of positive feedback but been told your work just isn't quite right for someone's current needs. Hang in there. Times change, opinions evolve, and almost all successful writers have had to overcome rejection. Even though it may be difficult to imagine when you're in a down period, opportunities will arise. (Sometimes, at really inconvenient times.) But while you're waiting, do the best you can to create opportunity. Know your market, get to know other writers. Be pleasant! If someone scheduled to fill a short story slot in an anthology cancels and editors need to call someone to pinch-hit (pinch-write?) they're not going to dial the most difficult person they know...the one who whines constantly about hating her titles and misses every deadline. Remember that everything you do in the public eye (including your tweets) is creating your reputation. And if you have a rep for being savvy and entertaining and not actively evil, you're also creating opportunities, even if they don't manifest until somewhere down the road.
So to recap: hone your means, consider your motives thoughtfully, and plant seeds for opportunity that will blossom later. To ignore any of these aspects of your budding career would be practically criminal.
Oh, not for committing crimes! I like to give my readers the benefit of the doubt and assume you're all upstanding citizens (well, except possibly for YOU over there. You have kind of a shifty look.) I think that any time you set out with a goal, you should consider how you're going to accomplish it, what your motivation is (which could help you stay on path to that goal) and what opportunities might arise along the way so you can be ready for them!
Let's look at a writing career, for instance.
For aspiring authors, there are lots of resources to help with the "means" (i.e. your ability) to write. There are how-to books and craft lectures and educational organizations and, uh, scintillating blog posts. Somewhere. But too often the motive and opportunity aren't given enough thought.
What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? Do you want to make money? (If so, are you thinking full-time income or supplemental funds? Those require different strategies and levels of commitment.) Do you want to simply see your name in print, preferably as soon as possible? Do you want to make people laugh? (Some of my favorite blogs for making me laugh have become so popular that they've spawned actual book deals.) We live in a world where you can reach people with your words almost instanteously. You can tweet everything from motivational sayings to political diatribe (as long as you segment your diatribe into 140 character chunks). In a single day, you can post a poem on your facebook page, mail a book to an agent in New York City, self-publish an e-novella, blog about a favorite show, and tweet about your dog. (And if you actually did all that in one day, you would have totally earned a nap.) Share your words with people in whatever way you're comfortable with, but occasionally stop to ask yourself whether the methods you use (and subject matter you're sharing) is furthering your overall goals.
It's easy to get distracted. Just last week, I had to turn down a fun but completely random opportunity because of a book deadline. It would have been great to take that side writing project, even though the pay would have barely made a dent in the pricetag for my children's braces and the potential audience for that niche piece of work would have been pretty small. It made no career sense for me to anger my editor or fans with rushed, subpar work so that I had time to dabble with something with few long-range benefits. That's not to say that, at a different time with a different schedule, I wouldn't have leapt at the chance, but try to think through the consequences of your actions. Remember that things you put out there personally and professionally are OUT THERE and difficult, if not impossible, to take back later.
As far as opportunity, writers can go for years feeling like they're beating their heads against a brick wall. Maybe you've faced a lot of rejection. Maybe you've published but have suffered lots of negative reviews. Maybe you've had a lot of positive feedback but been told your work just isn't quite right for someone's current needs. Hang in there. Times change, opinions evolve, and almost all successful writers have had to overcome rejection. Even though it may be difficult to imagine when you're in a down period, opportunities will arise. (Sometimes, at really inconvenient times.) But while you're waiting, do the best you can to create opportunity. Know your market, get to know other writers. Be pleasant! If someone scheduled to fill a short story slot in an anthology cancels and editors need to call someone to pinch-hit (pinch-write?) they're not going to dial the most difficult person they know...the one who whines constantly about hating her titles and misses every deadline. Remember that everything you do in the public eye (including your tweets) is creating your reputation. And if you have a rep for being savvy and entertaining and not actively evil, you're also creating opportunities, even if they don't manifest until somewhere down the road.
So to recap: hone your means, consider your motives thoughtfully, and plant seeds for opportunity that will blossom later. To ignore any of these aspects of your budding career would be practically criminal.
Friday, February 03, 2012
In Which Tanya Admits to Being a Giant Scaredy-Cat
So the other day I saw a picture on Facebook that made me jump. And possibly shriek. (A very small shriek, you understand.) The picture was of a sunny living room with nothing particularly scary--except a person unexpectedly hiding behind a throw pillow. Since I was in no way anticipating that, my being startled could be forgiven. Then I walked downstairs and there was a silhouette of a man right outside the window. Aaaaah! Followed by the realization that, duh, it was the general contractor who'd called ten minutes before to tell me he was on his way to take some measurements outside the house. Tanya, you dummy.
Let's not even talk about how unnerving I find throw pillows now.
I might as well embrace the undeniable truth. I am a big chicken. My vivid imagination is helpful when I'm working on a manuscript. Slightly less helpful after I've read a suspense novel by Leslie Tentler, Jeanne Adams or Rita Herron and am lying awake at two in the morning, odd sounds creaking throughout the settling house, wind howling outside our second story bedroom... I'm happy for Daniel Radcliffe that he's already got a new movie out (big fan of Harry Potter but can appreciate that actors don't want to be pegged as one thing) but I will not be seeing The Woman in Black. The commercials literally give me goosebumps.
Those of you who know me may be surprised I can't handle scary movies because it's well known that I watch the TV show Supernatural. What you may not know is that I watch it through a tiny crack between my fingers, both hands clapped across my eyes. (True story, just ask award-winning author Trish Milburn.) I also used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that was more funny and action-packed than scary. Well, except for the episode "Hush." That was creepy as all get out. Plus I shuddered at the one where Anya let loose a spider demon. And I will admit to nightmares after the Kinderstod episode in season 2, with the demon targeting children in the hospital. And...what was my point again?
I'd like to think of my innate fear as an evolutionary tool, a survival mechanism. For instance, I know never to buy one of those bathroom medicine cabinets with a mirrored door. If you were foolish enough to make that mistake, at least promise me you won't OPEN the darn thing, temporarily pushing aside the reflection of what's behind you. Because when you close it, something evil will be standing there! And if at all possible, when driving alone at night, try not to make eye contact with your rearview mirror. (See aforementioned: something evil is behind you.) If you have to get up in the middle of the night, I also highly recommend leaping away from the mattress, so as not to give the Thing Under the Bed time to grab you. Trish Milburn, my very tolerant roommate for many a writing conference, might scoff at my habit of placing extra pillows on either side of me (zombie protection) but you can't argue with success. No zombie has ever gotten to me in my sleep.
Right about now, you may be thinking I'm the biggest coward on the planet. But the way I figure it, I used up all my bravery in one area: writing. It's terrifying to put yourself out there on paper in the first place, to say nothing of submitting it to editors or agents who hold your potential career in their hands. Rejection is very scary, but it's also an inescapable fact. Then when you do sell (oh, happy day!), that story you slaved over goes out into the cruel world where faceless strangers with internet access can put up scathing one star reviews thither and yon. Heck, even if all the reviews are glowing, sometimes sales still fall below the mark and your publisher drops you, forcing you to start all over again but this time with the added perk of having failed once. Yet I risk all this every day. So, apparently, newfound phobia of throw pillows aside, I kick-ass.
And so should you. Whether your dream is writing or something more sane, I encourage you to pursue your goals without fear. Trust me, if Tanya the Cowardly Libra can do it, you can too!
Let's not even talk about how unnerving I find throw pillows now.
I might as well embrace the undeniable truth. I am a big chicken. My vivid imagination is helpful when I'm working on a manuscript. Slightly less helpful after I've read a suspense novel by Leslie Tentler, Jeanne Adams or Rita Herron and am lying awake at two in the morning, odd sounds creaking throughout the settling house, wind howling outside our second story bedroom... I'm happy for Daniel Radcliffe that he's already got a new movie out (big fan of Harry Potter but can appreciate that actors don't want to be pegged as one thing) but I will not be seeing The Woman in Black. The commercials literally give me goosebumps.
Those of you who know me may be surprised I can't handle scary movies because it's well known that I watch the TV show Supernatural. What you may not know is that I watch it through a tiny crack between my fingers, both hands clapped across my eyes. (True story, just ask award-winning author Trish Milburn.) I also used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that was more funny and action-packed than scary. Well, except for the episode "Hush." That was creepy as all get out. Plus I shuddered at the one where Anya let loose a spider demon. And I will admit to nightmares after the Kinderstod episode in season 2, with the demon targeting children in the hospital. And...what was my point again?
I'd like to think of my innate fear as an evolutionary tool, a survival mechanism. For instance, I know never to buy one of those bathroom medicine cabinets with a mirrored door. If you were foolish enough to make that mistake, at least promise me you won't OPEN the darn thing, temporarily pushing aside the reflection of what's behind you. Because when you close it, something evil will be standing there! And if at all possible, when driving alone at night, try not to make eye contact with your rearview mirror. (See aforementioned: something evil is behind you.) If you have to get up in the middle of the night, I also highly recommend leaping away from the mattress, so as not to give the Thing Under the Bed time to grab you. Trish Milburn, my very tolerant roommate for many a writing conference, might scoff at my habit of placing extra pillows on either side of me (zombie protection) but you can't argue with success. No zombie has ever gotten to me in my sleep.
Right about now, you may be thinking I'm the biggest coward on the planet. But the way I figure it, I used up all my bravery in one area: writing. It's terrifying to put yourself out there on paper in the first place, to say nothing of submitting it to editors or agents who hold your potential career in their hands. Rejection is very scary, but it's also an inescapable fact. Then when you do sell (oh, happy day!), that story you slaved over goes out into the cruel world where faceless strangers with internet access can put up scathing one star reviews thither and yon. Heck, even if all the reviews are glowing, sometimes sales still fall below the mark and your publisher drops you, forcing you to start all over again but this time with the added perk of having failed once. Yet I risk all this every day. So, apparently, newfound phobia of throw pillows aside, I kick-ass.
And so should you. Whether your dream is writing or something more sane, I encourage you to pursue your goals without fear. Trust me, if Tanya the Cowardly Libra can do it, you can too!
Monday, January 30, 2012
In Which Tanya Resumes Blogging
Since I'm so often on Twitter and Facebook, I fell into the habit of posting there rather than blogging. (With 5 books coming out this year, I was also a little short on time.) But let's face it, I cannot be contained in a mere 140 characters! So I have returned, Blogverse. Brace yourselves.
What can you expect to see here? Sneak peeks of books 2 & 3 in my Hill Country Heroes series (Book 1, CLAIMED BY A COWBOY is still in most stores and available online in both print e-book). Tales of me trying to stay one step ahead of my too-smart-for-their-own-good children. Posts about what I'm currently reading (Moloka'i by Alan Brennert and The Goblin King by Shona Husk) or watching (Big Bang Theory, Top Chef, Castle, Once Upon a Time). And updates on my speaking schedule. I have writing workshops on the calendar for April, June, July and October, with more to come!
So check back soon for new posts and, for now, let me know what you're reading and watching! (Extra brownie points if you happen to be reading a book of mine *g*.)
What can you expect to see here? Sneak peeks of books 2 & 3 in my Hill Country Heroes series (Book 1, CLAIMED BY A COWBOY is still in most stores and available online in both print e-book). Tales of me trying to stay one step ahead of my too-smart-for-their-own-good children. Posts about what I'm currently reading (Moloka'i by Alan Brennert and The Goblin King by Shona Husk) or watching (Big Bang Theory, Top Chef, Castle, Once Upon a Time). And updates on my speaking schedule. I have writing workshops on the calendar for April, June, July and October, with more to come!
So check back soon for new posts and, for now, let me know what you're reading and watching! (Extra brownie points if you happen to be reading a book of mine *g*.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)