From the Bookshelf...Sister Pact

Ali and Ros are sisters who are as close as they are different.  Ali married the first boy she ever loved. Ros tried to remember the name of hers the other day and gave up and had a chocolate bar instead.

Ali thinks everything will work out. Ros thinks everything will get found out. But for all their differences, they are fiercely close and desperately proud of each other.  Nothing feels real until it has been spoken aloud to the other. They both love to talk, laugh and write, preferably over a bottle of bubbly and something coated in chocolate.

Ali also writes for Harlequin Medical and RIVA lines as Amy Andrews.

Ros Baxter has a law degree and a PhD, neither of which taught her anything  about how to parent three small children. She is a senior public servant in Indigenous policy and is currently cooking bub number four (proving book learning don’t buy brains!). 

Title: SISTER PACT
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia.
Release Date: 1st May, 2012.

Heroine bio:
Frances (Frankie) has only ever slept with one man – her lawyer husband.  She’s into pearls and her charity work and has a pathological aversion to profanity.  She’s utterly miserable after discovering her perfect life wasn’t so perfect after all and she has money problems that go way beyond the costs of maintaining her sleek blonde bob.

Joni has green hair, a ferret for a best friend, and thinks monogamy sounds like a particularly nasty STD. She runs an animal shelter that’s almost as down on its luck as she is. And then there’s the record shop she recently inherited. It seemed great, until she discovered it came complete with bad debts to guys with no respect for her knee-caps.

Hero bio: This book is essentially a sister story but with the firm belief that no book is truly good without a little bit of loving there are also two wonderful men.

Nick – a bronzed Australian farmer who’s good with his hands and especially good with his mouth.

Lex – the big-name Shakespearean director who has some demons of his own but finds a kindred spirit in Joni. 

Interesting feature/s of this book: SISTER PACT is a book about sisters written by sisters. It’s a tandem novel, that is the story is told through alternating POV chapters – Joni and Frances. The book is a bit of IN HER SHOES meets DEAD FAMOUS.

It will appeal to all women who love to laugh and cry in the same book, and who realise that only those who know you well can hurt you like you never imagined.  And to everyone who likes a really happy ending.

There’s also a very cute ferret called Des who hitchhikes to Australia inside a bra high on rodent Valium.

SISTER PACT
Two very different sisters. Once inseparable, they have long been estranged after an unimaginable betrayal.
Organised and uptight Frances married the only man she’d ever slept with. But no one told her that seven years later she’d be having sexual fantasies about everyone from the pizza delivery guy to Denis Thatcher.
Scatterbrained animal-lover Joni never knew she was so attached to her kneecaps until she thought she might have to say goodbye to them forever.
After their beloved grandmother – a game-show addict – dies, they discover that they have each been left one million pounds in her will. The kicker is that they can only inherit if they participate in a gruelling reality TV programme, Endurance Island, as a team.
They can survive the jungle. They can survive the humiliating challenges. But can they survive each other?

TOPIC: An Author's Life...with Sue McKay

Being a published author is an ... involved ... process, and I take my hat off to those who've been in the business more than a few years now.

As a pre-pubbed author I was always curious about what happened once you received THE CALL and stepped into the world of publishing.

What did it involve? How did they handled the day to day pressures? Did they developed routines, set goals etc.? What did they like/dislike about the process?

So I asked my special guests these questions and many of them have offered some intriguing insights into their lives. Maybe they'll even give you a heads up on what to expect if you're thinking of entering the world of "getting published".

Please welcome my next guest... 

SUE MacKAY lives with her husband and a retired hunting dog named Boss in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds at the top of New Zealand’s South Island where she can indulge her passions for the outdoors, the sea and cycling.

As a medical technician she’s worked in haematology and biochemistry laboratories in Auckland and Nelson. Combining this medical background with a love of the romance genre, it is no surprise that she writes medical romance stories. An avid reader all her life she wrote her first story at age eight, about a prince of course. In 2000 she submitted her first book to HM&B. Ten years later she finally sold them her sixth submission and has gone on to sell five more so far.

Author Facts

Marlborough Sounds, NZ

Pseudonym or Given Name on the cover? Why a pseudonym? Sue MacKay. I don’t use a pseudonym.
Location: I live in the Mahau Sound, Marlborough Sounds.
Published Genre: Mills & Boon Medical genre. 
Website: www.suemackay.co.nz 
First published in: 2010
Number of books published: 4

The Nitty Gritty
List up to 5 significant events in your journey to publication:

1. My very first rejection would have to be the most significant thing that’s happened in my writing career to date. That rejection was a huge shock. Being told my book wasn’t good enough made me very determined to do whatever it took to write a selling story.
2. I discovered Romance Writers of Australia and through them Romance Writers of New Zealand. Wow. What an eye opener those first newsletters were. Until then I didn’t know anyone else who wrote books and suddenly I had access to people and information. Unbelievable.
3. My first RWNZ conference blew me away. Everyone I met was so friendly and willing to share information. The speakers and workshops were fantastic. I didn’t sleep much for fear of missing out on something. Every conference I’ve attended since in New Zealand and Australia has still held that magic and excitement of being with like-minded people dedicated to their careers.
4. Getting a revisions letter for the second book I submitted. At the time I thought if you got one of these you’d made it as there’d just been a succession of writers who’d sold fairly quickly after revisions. My excitement was huge. I didn’t sell, instead I got a second revisions letter – did they really do that? Yes, and they still rejected me.
5. My husband rolling his eyes and asking if I was going to join him watching boring TV whenever I told him I was giving up writing after yet another rejection from the publishers.

What resources/techniques/events did you find useful to develop your writing skills/craft?
How-to books, courses and conferences were helpful as I learned more and more about my craft.

But I think my biggest asset (at times) is my determination to succeed and my pig-headedness whenever things got tough as they seemed to do with monotonous regularity.

Looking back over your writing career, how have you grown as an author?
Apart from my expanding backside from sitting too much, I guess my writing has improved heaps with every book I’ve written. After that first rejection I found the more I read about writing the less I seemed to know, but finally it all came together. Not that I’ve stopped learning. No way.

How important is it to set career goals?
I set daily, weekly, yearly and five yearly goals. Without them I doubt I’d be published. Goals keep me focused and on track. If I’ve got a year to write a book then I’ll take a year, but if I’ve given myself a six month goal then I’ll do it in that time.

Can you share the special moment when you received THE CALL/THE EMAIL?
February 2010. After three lots of revisions on my current story I was beginning to despair of ever selling when my husband said early one morning that there was an email from my editor. Did I really want to get out of bed to find it was another rejection? Of course I did. Hope never completely disappears. And the hope scale shot through the roof when I read that the editor would be phoning at ten pm that night. What a long day.

I desperately wanted to tell my writing friends but a part of me kept whispering, What if the editor feels bad after all these revisions so is phoning to tell me ‘Thanks, but no, thanks.’  As if. I was so relieved to hear her  say that HM&B wanted to buy my book it took a moment to realise she’d actually said they wanted to offer me a two book contract.

My husband had had no doubts about what the call was about and brought out the expensive bottle of bubbly he’d apparently bought eons ago. It had to have been a long time ago because when he cracked it open it had gone off. Never fear, we had a back up.

What a moment, what a night. Well worth the wait. It was everything I'd dreamed of and yet better – because it was for real.

Can you describe your writing process/timeframe from when you start a new book to handing it in at deadline?
My story ideas usually begin with a very clear opening scene. Then I work on characters to suit the situation and grow the story from there. I spend a lot of time on my hero and heroine’s conflicts, backgrounds, needs and careers. Nowadays I do a very basic plot outline which does my head in as by nature I’m a pantser, but I got tired of writing myself into a corner about the middle of the story so try to have some idea of where I’m going.

My writing day starts with a ten kilometre walk which is great for nutting out plot problems and thinking through the scene I intend writing that day. I do four hours writing in the morning, aiming for 2000 words minimum. Afternoons are taken up with all the other things connected to a writer’s life – proofs, ironing, blogs, dinner, revisions on the previous book as per my editor’s comments. Once the book is written I then spend almost as long on revising – again and again and again.

I’ve made my deadlines on my latest contract tighter than previously in an attempt to stop wasting time. I’m a great procrastinator. Since when did vacuum cleaning seem so attractive?

One of the things I found challenging about being a published author is the constant juggling of tasks ie. writing a book, editing another, planning promotion, writing the prosposal for another (and usually this all happens while holding down another job or dealing with family/life etc.). 

What do you enjoy the most in the publishing process?
I love the whole publishing process, though opening the carton and taking out that first copy of my book is always the most thrilling.

What do you least in the publishing process?
The only area of this business I struggle with is the internet side of things. Blogging still gives me nightmares. But thanks to some very patient women at the Love Cats DownUnder blog I’m getting there.

What's the most memorable fan-mail you've received?
Most memorable fan-mail is one I’ve had often. Apparently I made the readers cry. I love that I’ve touched people’s emotions.

Is there anything you think pre-publishers writers need to know about the business/industry before they're published?
Pre-published authors need to know that selling your first book makes all the hard yards, the rejections, the “I’m going to give up days”, the many lonely hours spent in front of computers well worth it.

The other side of receiving the call is another learning curve but, hey, it’s a lot of fun and more hard work. But the reward is that you get to see your book in print. What can be better than that?

A Bit of Fun
Favourite colour: red.
Hunkiest hero ever: Sean Connery's Bond. The voice gets me every time. 
Most daring thing you've ever done in your life: first solo airplane flight. 
Greatest love: my man.
Timeout/relaxation for me includes: reading, being with close friends, travel.
Special quote/saying you like: What would you do if you knew you could not fail? (Don't know who wrote this)

GUEST AUTHOR: Lynne Marshall

Today my guest is LYNNE MARSHALL, please make her feel welcome!

Lynne used to worry she had a serious problem with daydreaming, then she discovered she was supposed to write the stories in her head. A late bloomer, Lynne came to fiction writing after her children were nearly grown. Now she battles the empty nest by writing stories which always include a romance, sometimes medicine, a dose of mirth, or both, but always stories from her heart.

She is a Southern California native, married for almost thirty years, has two adult children and is super proud of them, is a dog lover, a cat admirer, a power walker, and fellow traveler on this wild road called life!

She writes Medical Romances for Mills & Boon, and contemporary romance for Harlequin Special Edition and The Wild Rose Press. The first book in the Grady family trilogy, COURTING HIS FAVORITE NURSE, is a March 2012 Harlequin Special Edition.  Also coming in March in e-book only is, AN INDESCRETION, a contemporary romance with strong medical elements, from The Wild Rose Press. 

About the book... 
Title - COURTING HIS FAVORITE NURSE (Harlequin Special Edition, March 2012 #2178)
Setting - Southern California – rural Ventura County.
Hero - Jack Lightfoot, a math teacher and voluntary firefighter, and the big crush of Anne Grady’s life since the time she was sixteen. 
Heroine - Anne Grady, an R.N., and the oldest sibling in the Grady family.  She is the rock of the family who is occasionally blunt to a fault. 
Scene you would never cut - The hot air balloon scene where the Jack and Anne share their first kiss. 
What do you think the readers will like about this book? It’s a reunion story full of complications, twists and surprises, where you really want this couple to finally admit they can’t live without each other.

COURTING HIS FAVORITE NURSE
(Harlequin Special Edition, March 2012 #2178, US)

Anne Grady knew better than anyone that love was complicated. When she’d left her hometown, she thought she was leaving her past heartbreak behind for good, as well. But practically the moment she returned to care for her injured parents, she stumbled headlong into their confidant—her first love, Jack Lightfoot.
Jack had been unable to deny his feelings for Annie when he was a teenager dating her best friend, and he certainly couldn’t muffle the spark twisting between them now—even if memories of the past kept threatening to push them apart. This time Jack wasn’t going to let history repeat itself—he was going to show Annie that the two of them were meant to be much more than best friends!

Buy Links:
Amazon                 Amazon UK               B&N              Book Depository 

What's next for you? I have an e-book, AN INDISCRETION, from The Wild Rose Press available beginning March 2012 – it is a contemporary romance with medical elements.

AN INDISCRETION
A doctor… A nurse… An indiscretion…
Paul Valverde is stretched to the limit, caring for an elderly relative while running a business and maintaining a fulltime medical practice at St. Stephen’s Hospital—with no time for a relationship.
RN Carrington Hanover leaves her money-hungry fiancé at the altar and moves on to a new job at St. Stephen’s Hospital in Los Angeles.  The next man in her life must love her, not her money.
All Work and no play has made Paul an unfulfilled man, and the resurrected redheaded crush from his youth is driving him to distraction.  Can their complicated past become untangled by their newfound attraction—or will their love be doomed by mistrust and long-held resentment?


About you...
Favorite movie of all time – The Wizard of Oz. 
Favorite fairytale – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 
Favorite story to disappear into – anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. 
Favorite TV program – Currently – Modern Family (sitcom). 
First book you remember reading - I read a lot as a child, but I distinctly remember my 12th summer when I read To Kill a Mockingbird.  I woke up every morning eager to get back into that book, to see what Scout would be up to, and to solve the mystery of the carved toys in the tree stump. 
Dog or cat person (or other) -  I’m a dog lover and a cat admirer (how’s that for diplomatic!). 

Author (living or dead) you'd most like to meet - Mark Twain and C.S. Lewis.
A romantic retreat for you would be... A rustic lodge in any of several US National Parks surrounded by pristine vistas of mountains, lakes and rivers.
What do you do to unwind or relax? Walk, read, cook with a glass of wine close by, laugh – that’s the best way to relax of all. 
What era would you like to time travel and visit? When dinosaurs roamed the earth. 
And why? There is so little we really know about them.  I’d really love to see them from a  Jurassic Park standpoint, though in a safe, absolutely-no-chance-of-harm-to-me way. ☺ 
What does love mean to you? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says it best for me.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In keeping with the theme of Lynne's book - two friends who become lovers - can readers share a favorite movie or book where this happens? Barring that, a movie with a love story that brought you to tears or gave you that *sigh* factor.

Everyone who answers will go into a draw - Lynne has a 2012 Affair de Coeur wall calendar to give away to one lucky person. Share your answer by midday, Sunday 12th February (Aussie time) and the winner will be announced that evening (just in time for Valentines Day!). Quite appropriate, don't you think? 

If you'd like to know more about Lynne and her books, check out her website or RomanceWiki, or keep abreast of her news on her blog or author page, or even follow her on Facebook or Goodreads.

Who's That Girl? interview with Tyree Connor

We're headed to the beautiful Waikato region in New Zealand (think LOTR Hobbiton-like country side) to grill...umm, my latest guest. 

Name? Tyree Connor.
Where do you live? In the North Waikato regions of New Zealand.
How long have you been a member of RWNZ? Since 2008.
What genre/s do you write in? Paranormal/Urban Fantasy and Medical (weird combination but it works for me lol).
What's your current writing project? A gladiator UF (urban fantasy) and a shapeshifter paranormal.
Have you entered any writing competitions? Yes. RWNZ and RWA comps.
Have you found them to be helpful? They're brilliant for straight-up feedback (both positive and negative). I've finalled in a few and placed first in a couple. The other bonus is if you make a final you tend to end up on an editor or agent desk. That's why I presently have a full paranormal ms under scrutiny at Berkley.
Apple, PC, longhand or other?  I use an Asus Eee PC - it fits in my handbag and goes everywhere.
Name your top 5 authors you like to meet, have lunch with and ask questions of about writing - Stephen King, Patricia Briggs, Cassandra Clare, Joanne Rowling, Christine Feehan.
Do you have any routines or things you do to keep motivated when writing? I keep up with writer blogs that inspire me and, if my typing is stilted, I get in the spa and think about my characters for an hour or more. If I could find a waterproof computer I'd be in heaven.
Name one hobby you love doing and would be unlikely to ever give up - RnR Dancing. I've competed, judged and coached nationally for over 20 years and dancing with my husband to a bluesy tune is the most romantic thing I know.
And lastly, finish these statements...
The actor I would most like to see play one of my heroes is...Mr J Depp.

The beautiful Waikato region, NZ

My favourite childhood toy was...a tape deck (I'd tape all my sisters records and listen to them in my room for hours).
The best thing about writing is...foreshadowing that looks clever and; worst - cutting a scene I love.
Two things I would pack if I were going to an isolated holiday destination...books and computer (that was an easy question!)
Three goals I've set myself for this year...two completed single title ms, one completed HMB medical, six short stories - and FIND an agent.

Tyree, thanks for being here!

Anyone interested in finding out more about Tyree, visit her blogsite.

Sharon Archer give-away winner!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by to share stories about their old books with Sharon and I. There were some fun references!

Thanks also to Sharon for offering to give-away her latest release.

Sharon has drawn the lucky winner. She says: "I'd like to thank everyone for coming to share their treasures and information.

Clare Scott 

has been chosen as the winner. I really enjoyed her snippet about wifely etiquette at the start of the 1900s."

Congratulations, Clare!

Please contact Sharon directly to arrange the details of getting the book to you - sharon(at)sharon-archer(dot)com - and happy reading!

GUEST AUTHOR: First Aid with Sharon Archer

I'm pleased to introduce and welcome a very special guest today - RWOz's own 2010 R*BY winner for the "Short & Sweet" category, Sharon Archer. She's kindly consented to a guest blog, chatting about a fascinating topic - first aid.

As a Community First Responder and first aid trained member of the NSW State Emergency Service, I put my skills into practice most times I go on a call out. So, reading about the forerunner techniques of what's employed today makes for amazing reading!
Take it away, Sharon!

I love old books - especially old medical texts!

On my book shelf, I have two first aid manuals – a silverfish-nibbled 1928 edition and a 1939 one. They are, more precisely, “The Authorised Textbook of the St John Ambulance Association being the Ambulance Department of The Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem” and they’re fascinating reading!

There are clues about the times in the framing of the sentences and the formality of the clothes worn in the drawings to demonstrate different techniques. Even a hint about acceptable mores of the day with the 1928 “Syllabus of Instruction” which comes with the warning, “It is contrary to the Regulations to hold Mixed Classes of men and women.” – an injunction that has disappeared in the 1937 edition.

I turn the slightly yellowed pages and wonder about the original owners. Did they learn their lessons well? Did they apply the techniques successfully? Were they nervous with their newly-learned skills or were they confident, eager to get out and practise the lessons on bandaging and resuscitation? What has changed over the years? What’s stayed the same?

I feel a bit like a sleuth as I comb the pages and give into my greatest temptation – procrastination by research!  So...

A PEEK AT SOME OF THE TECHNIQUES AND TREATMENTS THAT CAUGHT MY FANCY...
Specific Wounds
On page 131 of the 1928 textbook is a heading:
“WOUNDS BY POISONED WEAPONS, AND BITES OF SNAKES AND RABID ANIMALS”
Among other measures, the treatment was
·      Give alcohol, such as brandy (in the case of an adult two tablespoonfuls in a wineglass of water)
Perhaps quite pleasant for the victim though probably not nearly enough preparation for one of the suggestions which followed...
·      If it is quite impossible to obtain the services of a doctor, apply a fluid caustic, such as pure carbolic acid or nitric acid, on a piece of wood, such as a match, cut to a point to ensure the caustic reaching the bottom of the wound.

By 1939, the heading was merely:
WOUNDS CAUSED BY A VENOMOUS SNAKE OR RABID ANIMAL.
Apparently “poisoned weapons” had become less of a threat in the intervening eleven years. The treatment had become more specific for each injury.

For snake bite, “alcohol should be avoided” – though if your patient could swallow you could “give hot drinks such as strong coffee, tea or milk.”

For the bite by a rabid animal, alcohol could still be given in the moderate quantity recommended in the 1928 edition and again the fluid caustic was suggested if a doctor wasn’t available.  But now with added instructions – to prove effective every tooth mark must be probed and cauterised separately, as only by so doing can the virus be destroyed.
I can only imagine the desperation of the aid-giver and patient to try to avert this awful disease with its shocking mortality rate.

I was fascinated by a note near the beginning of both books in the Principles of First Aid... some first aiders must have been enthusiastic with application of medicinal alcohol because there’s this caution:
Stimulants. It is incorrect to suppose that alcohol is the only form of stimulant. Far too frequent use of spirits is made to restore a patient after an accident, often with serious results. The administration of alcohol must therefore be withheld until ordered by the doctor.

Hysterical Fits
The introduction to this section on page 167 of the 1928 edition says: “the patient, usually a young girl, in consequence of mental excitement suddenly loses command of her feelings and actions.”
In the section for Special Treatment we’re advised -
1. - Avoid sympathy with the patient, and speak firmly to her.
2. - Threaten her with a cold water douche, and if she persists in her "fit", sprinkle her with cold water.
3. - Apply a mustard leaf at the back of the neck.

(As far as I’ve been able to determine, the “mustard leaf” would have been a “ready-made mustard plaster”. Mustard plasters needed to be used with care least they cause painful blistering of the skin.)

Artificial Respiration
These days, we all have at least a passing familiarity with the mouth-to-mouth method of artificial respiration but that technique didn’t come into vogue until the middle of the twentieth century.

The 1928 and 1939 first aid manuals give both the Schafer and Silvester methods.

In the 1939 edition, we learn that the revising committee has “discussed with the Royal Life Saving Society the subject of artificial respiration and are in agreement with that Society that no method is so effective as Schafer’s”

In the appendices at the back of the 1939 edition, there is additional information for the more advanced first aider. The introduction says “They will be of special value to members of the Technical Reserves for the medical Services of the Forces of the Crown”.

The first - APPENDIX 1 – states:
"Carbon-dioxide is recognised as a powerful stimulant to respiration and where available should be applied at the earliest possible moment to the mouth and nose, preferably through a mask. The gas is applied for three minutes and left off for three minutes until respiration begins. It may be used with air alone or in conjunction with oxygen, according to the apparatus available. It must be realised that the gas can be drawn into the lungs only while artificial respiration is being performed.”

Well, I had to research further, didn’t I?  From the abstract of a 1994 article in the medical journal, Anaesthesia, I learned that “the use of carbon dioxide in resuscitation was advocated in the 1920s and 1930s” And to administer? You could use the portable Sparklet Carbon Dioxide Resuscitator.

As I read these techniques, I can’t help but be glad for the advances in medical knowledge.  Though on the heels of that thought, I wonder how today’s first aid manuals will be viewed in another fifty or a hundred years. What clever techniques will the first aiders of the future take for granted?

For first aid advice, including information on the current manual, visit the St John Ambulance websites.  You can even get first aid advice as an iPhone app!
In the UK - www.sja.org.uk
In Australia - www.stjohn.org.au
In New Zealand - www.stjohn.org.nz

So with these book treasures in my possession, I’m ready to pounce as soon as there’s a Medical Historical Romance sub-genre!

In the meantime, I’d love to give away a copy of my last release to one of the commenters. So tell me, do you have any older books on your shelf? Perhaps a passion for a particular area of history?

A give-away, folks! Thanks, Sharon.

Sharon Archer

Don't miss out on this opportunity. You have a week to enter - the draw for Sharon's latest release will close midnight, Jan. 24th 2011.

The winner will be announced on Monday, Jan.25th 2011. (open to local & international visitors)

If you'd like to find out more about Sharon, please visit her website. You can read her bio here.