Despite the lack of perfection, I enjoyed the adventure. Considering how many times I’ve read the same words long before it became available, that’s amazing.

Share the love, do you re-read or is once enough?

While writing, my own conflicting goals drive me nuts.

I want to write fast. I want to write riveting tales. I want them polished to seamless smoothness.
For reasons that don’t seem truly adequate, I can’t manage all three at the same time.

Then there’s the problem deciding which one to give up on….lately speed has slowed to a crawl. I wish I could be sure it was because the manuscript was riveting and smooth.

No, I didn’t write it. The wonderfully talented Ms. Katz created this tempting treat.

Widowhood agrees with thirty-eight-year-old Claudia Sabina. Her husband and father left her wealthy, but her most prized possession is their gift of independence. She enjoys a freedom few women in male-dominated Roman society will ever know.

The slave, Damon, is part of her father’s bequest. Intelligent, resourceful and educated beyond the norm for even a Roman citizen, Damon’s many talents make him one of her most valuable assets. The fact the young Greek is also a pleasure to look at only adds to his value.

For months, Damon hides the fact he’s fallen in love with his new mistress. He convinces himself he can be satisfied with her nearness—until the night he walks in on her bath, and his rigid control deserts him. Consequences fail to matter as he offers her full use of talents that, until now, he’s never revealed.

In a moment of weakness, Claudia crosses the line laid down by Roman law and custom, immersing herself in an illegal and dangerous love affair. A choice that threatens both their futures.

Since I’m so special and all, I read an arc of this story last week. Oh my dears, Damon is simply delicious, the story moved me seamlessly into the decadent world of an ancient Roman country estate. My only complaint was that the novella was over much too soon.

Run your mouse right over to My Bookstore and More to get your own copy of Damon’s Price by Ali Katz.

They look so impossibly young, sigh

1) Calyxia’s Capture, Book three of the Enyo Chronicles–this is a good thing since it’s the one I’m actually writing

2) Slave Market, a Cafrimal Legend

3) Wicked Desires, the third wicked book

4) Another twisted fairy tale

5) Another Paranormal romance

6) Pirate Games

Since I’m writing an erotic futuristic story at the moment, the whole TBR collection is fair game. I picked three romantic suspense titles that have been handing around for a while. The first was a reissue of a Suzanne Brockmann title, Bodyguard.

OMG, I fell in love all over again. Now, I want to read nothing but Brockmann (another addiction symptom). I think there are still a few of her titles I haven’t read….

Share the love. Have you ever rediscovered an author?

I think that’s what’s happening now. Being a techno weenie, I don’t know. Once again, the scheduling feature is not working consisently. This means I have to copy, paste and manually publish each day. Or wait and see if I get the dreaded, missed schedule notice.

I miss reliable scheduling.

Share the pain, technology–friend or foe? How’s your day going?

Whether or not any of this character background winds up in the finished manuscript, it’s part of my process. While I’m keen on improving my craft, I’m slow to change what’s working.

Once past this initial stage, an actual story begins to emerge. Action, dialogue, and lots of gaping holes. It’s a breathless rush of pounding on the keyboard recording the excitement. Almost none of the details that bring the characters to life and make a well-told adventure are included.

This is how it works for me, at the moment. Process is always fluid changing whether or not I even notice the dynamics.

While fact checking, I got hooked and wound up reading one of my own stories. My own nerdy geekiness makes me smile.

Eventually, I got back to work and thought about the all important story questions. Such as, why can’t this set of lovers simply fall in love and live happily ever after?

I love a satisfactory ending and do my best to create one for each story. But, characters are complicated and things happen. True love lasts and deepens, but it doesn’t prevent life or new problems from developing. The continuing story, with little snippets about what happened next to favorite characters is part of the appeal of a series, at least it is for this writer and this reader.

Share the love, do you read series? Should they be limited or opened ended? Favorites?