Tuesday, June 30, 2009

An Enduring Love - A True Story

Picture of my mother and father on their wedding day - 1937
Lately I have been thinking more and more about my dear mother. Is this because she will be 93 years old in August, if she lives that long, and is most likely reaching the end of her days here on earth? Or could it could be because I am getting older myself and find that I am wondering what my mother was like before she was just "mother" in my mind?

What was her life like besides her life as my mother? it is hard for me to think of my mother as being young. Was it love at first sight when she met the young man who would become my father? Did she experience the passions and desires of a young woman in love with her man? Did her heart go pitter-patter and tingles run up and down her spine when she kissed him? Did she long to make love with him and couldn't wait for their wedding night to "become a woman"?

Did she regret marrying him when he decided to answer the call of God and become a preacher? She certainly hadn't signed on for being a preacher man's wife when they married and it changed the entire course of her life. Even if she didn't want to be the wife of a preacher man, divorce wasn't an option to her. People of my mother's generation didn't "do divorce." You made your bed and you lay in it, for better or worse.

My mother and father married in 1937. They had 6 children, one a little daughter who died when she was 2 years old. They lived, they loved, and they grew old together. They may not have had a bed of roses (who ever promised us a rose garden?) but they stayed together until "death do us part" when my father died in 1996. At the time of his passing, my mother and father had been married for 59 years. My father has been gone for 13 years and my mother still considers him as her husband and she is still his wife.
An enduring love story if I ever heard one.

















Monday, June 29, 2009

Author Kiki Howell coming this way! Get ready!

Author Kiki Howell will be guest blogging here at Sizzling Hot Romance on Wednesday, July 1. Mark the date on your calendar so you'll be sure not to miss this event.

Kiki describes herself as an author of magical erotic romances. She is multi-published with Whiskey Creek Press.

"Kiki’s use of words and descriptions is indescribable and weaves a kind of magic around the reader." -ParaNormal Romance Reviews

Kiki's latest book is The Witch's Beast.
A Torrid Twisted Tale

A witch rejected…a few spells for revenge…an arrogant Prince turned into a Beast…a beautiful woman taken captive …

And, that is just the beginning of this tale of a Beauty and a Beast told by the Witch who cast the spell that began it all. A dismal castle, possessed candles, and a little mangy fur will be the least of the Beast’s troubles as the Witch goes into a jealous rage over the Beauty he now holds captive. A magic mirror…desperate sex spells…magical seductive dreams…orgasmic punishments in a dungeon…

This time, the Beast will be caught between a Beauty who has caught his eye but rejects his proposal of marriage, and the Witch who allows him moments in his human form to fulfill his every sexual desire.

For whom will there be a happily-ever-after?

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Memories

What makes a writer an author? My dear 92-year-old mother, who is now in a nursing home, was never published but she did write in her own way. Does this make her an author? Maybe not but it does make her a writer in my mind. I was recently cleaning out her house and found this little piece that she wrote about her childhood days as I was going through some of her things. I think I'll make her a published author by publishing it here in my blog. Congrats, Mama! You finally made it to the published author status!

My Old Tree
By Augustine Robinson Kennon

If this old cypress tree could talk it would have some happy tales to tell.
And a few sad ones too.

This old tree grows on the bank of the Ouachita River about five miles up the river from a little town called Harrisonburg, Louisiana where I was born.

This old tree was my fortress and my refuge. A good place to while the day away under its roots. A good place for me and my sister Ethyl to play house with our dolls.

I would sit on the roots of this old tree and read a book in the early morning hours while waiting for the school boat that carried me to school. Sitting on its roots watching my Mama washing our clothes with her tub and wash board and the water we carried from the river. Sitting on its roots watching my Papa run his trot lines in the river.

But it stands there proudly now all alone. With no one to play around its roots or to call it home. But Jesus must have been watching over it all these long years. It still stands there proudly on the banks of the Ouachita River.

A place I once called home with my Papa, Mama, three brothers and three sisters.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson



Such different icons and personalities who are now linked together forever by having the misfortune of dying on the same day.

Farrah Fawcett, of the beautiful hair fame, lost all her hair to the invasive procedures of trying to eliminate the cancer from her body. I remember the "Farrah look" very well. I wanted my hair to look just like hers when I was younger and to a degree it did. Farrah fought the good fight to the end. She was a very strong and brave lady but the cancer was unstoppable and it got her in the end. So sad. She wanted to live so bad. She was an icon. She was an "Angel."

Michael Jackson, of the freaky plastic surgery and child molestation accusations and King of Pop fame, was a different story. He was famous from the time he was a mere child, never had a childhood, and never grew up. He seemed to be a child in an adult body. Maybe he slept with children because he thought he was a child himself and saw nothing wrong with sleeping with "friends." Who knows? I certainly don't. He was famous the world over for his music, his dancing, and his freaky ways. He was an icon ... but he wasn't an angel.

Both will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Farrah and Michael.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Talking about romance ...


I just finished watching the tv show The Batchelorette. Jillian, the gal from Canada who got rejected on last season's The Batchelor, is the gal of the season this year.

On tonight's show, she took 8 guys on a train trip through the Canadian Rockies (a trip which, by the way, I would LOVE to go on). She left 1 poor dude standing by the railroad tracks in the middle of the Canadian wilderness when their one-on-one date didn't work out. He looked so forlorn standing there by the railroad track as the train pulled away without him. What the heck did he do? Hitch a ride on the next train that came along? Stay there and freeze to death?

After romping their way through the Canadian Rockies on the train, with stops along the way to play in the snow and smoochie-smoochie with the rest of the 7 guys, Jillian had to let 2 more guys go. The remaining 5 get to take Jillian home to meet their families.

The poor girl must be delusional because she chose to keep Wes, the guy from Texas who is there to promote himself and his music/band and let 1 guy go that really seemed to care for her and her well-being. I think his name was Jake. Anyway I felt totally sorry for him when he was let go. The guy with the foot-fetish, Tanner, I was glad to see gone. I was so sick of seeing him suck toes or whatever one does with a foot-fetish. Never been into feet myself. Feet are made for walking in my opinion.

Which brings me back to the topic of romance. Yeah, this is a reality show ... or an UN-reality show really ... but what is romance and love all about? What makes romance? What makes one person fall for another over someone else? How the hell does Jillian go about chosing 1 guy out of the 30 that started the show with her?

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Sizzling Hot Romance now available on KINDLE!


I am very happy to announce that I have finally gotten with it and entered the KINDLE age for my blog, Sizzling Hot Romance from Kristie Leigh Maguire. For a limited time Amazon is having a 14 day trial subscription so it will cost you NOTHING to subscribe. If you don't like it you can cancel. If you do like it, then it will only cost you $1.99 per month to get my blog downloaded to your KINDLE. I am not the one who set the price. Amazon does that. But I really don't think $1.99 a month is too much to ask if you prefer reading from your KINDLE.

Now that I have entered the KINDLE AGE with my blog, I am determined to be more diligent in posting...and in having interesting articles for you to read. I have some great thoughts running through my head as to how to improve my blog.

BUT...I would like to hear what YOU want to read. Would you like for me to have guest authors blog here? Would you like for me to do interviews with other authors? Would you like for me to suggest books for you to read in the romance genre?

YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE HERE! I am very open to suggestions.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

It's great when someone you don't know recommends your books!

It feels great when anyone recommends your books to others but it feels even better when it's someone you DON"T KNOW.

Today I was doing a Google search on my name to see what's out there about me. I do that from time to time just out of curiousity's sake. Yeah, I know what they say, "Curiousity killed the cat!" But as an author it is good to do this ever so often. You never know what you are going to run across out there on the internet.

Anyway today I found an interesting thing about me while doing the Google search. It was from something called Yahoo Answers. I didn't even know there was such a thing as Yahoo Answers. Now that I know, maybe I'll ask Yahoo something and see if they can answer. (laughing)

Someone had posted asking if anyone could recommend Good Adult Romance Books. I guess people answered although I couldn't see the answers. This question was marked as resolved. Evidently the asker posted a list of books they wanted to get based upon the answers received. My novel, Affairs of the Heart, was included in the list! Yeah!!

------------
Good Adult Romance books!?
hii!i love love love to read, and im going to borders tomorrow.SO okay, i like books about bdsm, or submissive women.they must be romance, you no happy endings loli like raunchy sex scenes, and descriptive sex.thankkss for your answers.
4 weeks ago
by deb
Member since:
June 29, 2006
Total points:
34934 (Level 7)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
Hands: An Erotic Romance by W.H. Bossert
Forbidden: The Awakening by Samantha Sommersby
Private Games: Tawny Taylor
Pleasures of the Night (Dream Guardian, Book 1) Sylvia Day
Affairs of the Heart by Kristie Leigh Maguire
Getting Wild by Josi OlsonWild
Wicked, & Wanton by Jaci Burton
Naked in the Rain by Debra Markowitz
Broken by Megan Hart
Tempted by Megan Hart
Something More by Amanda Young
Surrender by Kimberly Zant
For Her Pleasure by Maya Banks
Body Moves by Josi Lynn Copeland
Nicholas: The Lords of Satyr by Elizabeth Amber
The Burning by Susan Squires
If you like to read try Zane.....

Friday, June 19, 2009

Author Page and Amazon.com




Did you know that you can now have your very own author page at Amazon.com? And I don't mean just the individual pages where your books are listed for sale either. This is a page that lists your bibliograpy (all your titles) together on one page.You can add your picture and your author bio. You can set up a blog through Amazon or import a blog that you are already doing by using the RSS feed feature. There is even a place for a forum where your readers can ask you questions or you can have discussions.

This is a pretty neat feature that Amazon has added for its authors. If you are not aware of this, you might want to check it out. It is currently in Beta stage but I have mine up and running and it looks great!

Check out my Amazon Kristie Leigh Maguire Page and see for yourself.

To set yours up, go to AUTHOR CENTRAL at Amazon.com.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Do you Facebook?

For a long time I resisted joining Facebook. I already belonged to several online groups, mainly writing oriented, and these groups took up enough of what spare time I wanted to devote to online social interaction. I didn't need or want to spend even more time online.

Finally I broke down, at the urging of some of my author friends who already belonged to Facebook, and signed up for my very own Facebook account. It was like joining a secret society where I didn't know the secret handshake. I stumbled around the site trying to find my way.

I joined a couple of groups that looked interesting to me...writer related of course since that is my main interest. I discovered a few people that I already knew from other online groups that I belonged to (not Facebook groups) and invited them to become my Facebook friend. I searched for other people at Facebook that I might know, found some, and invited them to also become my FB friends. One thing led to another and first thing you know I had people inviting ME to become THEIR friend.

I created my very own group, Fans of Kristie Leigh Maguire, and invited people to join. I finally figured out that I could have my very own Official Public Writer Page and created that and invited people to join that.

I now have 109 fans at my Official Writer Page, 463 friends at my regular FB page, and 74 members at my fan page. AND I am enjoying Facebook! Wonders never cease. :)

I have a goal of having 1000 people join my Facebook Official Writer Page. Would YOU please help me reach my goal by joining?

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Digital Age and RWA: A Call for Change


Hi, Kristen Painter, ESPAN president here. After RWA president Diane Pershing’s letter in the June RWR, I had a conversation about RWA’s stance on epublishing with my good friend, talented author, and owner of The Knight Agency, Deidre Knight. She had so much wisdom and industry information to bring to the topic that I asked her to guest blog here at ESPAN. This is what she had to say…

Many of you know me as founder of the Knight Agency, which represents a powerhouse roster of bestselling authors of fiction and nonfiction. Some of you may also be familiar with my romance novels, such as the recently released RED KISS (Signet) or the e-book, BUTTERFLY TATTOO (Samhain, 4/09). Since I come from the perspective of dual publishing careers, I’d like to address some of the recent issues and discussions within RWA concerning digital publishers.

Do you Kindle?


To Kindle? Or not to Kindle? That is the question.

Unless you have had your head stuck in the sand for the last couple of years, you know what a Kindle is. For those of you who HAVE had your head in the sand, a Kindle is Amazon.com's e-book reader.

The Kindle is different than other e-book readers. You can order a book from Amazon's Kindle Store and it is downloaded automatically to your reader through Whispernet. Whispernet is wireless coverage through Sprint's 3-G high speed data network. Your reader does not have to be connected to your computer for Amazon to download your book. It is all automatic once you place your order. You do not pay extra for Whispernet. It is included in the price of the Kindle.

The Kindle can hold over 1500 books. It is as thin as a pencil and weighs only 10.2 ounces. The look of the printed page of the book on the Kindle is great! It looks like reading a "real" book ... a paperback book that is. Kindle books ARE "real" books.

Can you imagine carrying 1500 books with you when you go on vacation? It would be an almost impossible feat to lug that many paperbacks with you on that trip to the Carribean or whatever exotic port of call where you are traveling but you can do so with your Kindle.

The Kindle is expensive, or at least I think so. It costs $359.00 and if you want a cover for your Kindle, that is a separate purchase. I do recommend getting the cover though. It not only protects your Kindle but makes it easier to hold while reading. The cover that I have is the Amazon Kindle Leather Cover for $29.99.

Yes, I finally broke down and purchased my very own Kindle after they came out with the Kindle 2 version. And guess what? I LOVE it! My husband calls me Ms. Kindle because my Kindle has become one of my treasured possessions. I don't leave home without it!

I have 4 of my own books published in the Kindle version which you can purchase for download to YOUR Kindle: Desert Heat, Cabin Fever, No Lady and Her Tramp, and Emails from the Edge: The Life of an Expatriate Wife.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Amazon.com rankings - does anyone understand the system?

I have never understood the sales rankings that Amazon.com posts for books. I know that the lower the number the higher the ranking. I use to think it was the other way around, the higher the number the better the ranking but that is not the case. I don't know what it means when there is no ranking at all posted by a book. Does this mean that the book hasn't even sold 1 copy on Amazon?

I have also never understood how Amazon comes up with their list of best-selling books under genres and even sub-genres (i.e. romance, then with the sub-genre of sensual romance which is the category that I write).

Just today I did a search under Amazon Kindle books (I have 4 of my titles released in the Kindle version) for sensual romance. My novel Desert Heat is listed as Number 15 and my novel Cabin Fever is listed as Number 21 out of 119 books on the BEST SELLING sensual romance books list.

This is copied and pasted from the Amazon site:
Kindle StoreKindle Books › "sensual romance"
Showing 13 - 24 of 119 Results Sort by Bestselling
15. Desert Heat (Affairs of the Heart) by Kristie Leigh Maguire (Kindle Edition - Jan 15, 2009) - Kindle Book
Buy: $3.19
Auto-delivered wirelessly
(10)
Other Editions: Paperback
-------------------
21. Cabin Fever (Affairs of the Heart) by Kristie Leigh Maguire (Kindle Edition - Jan 15, 2009) - Kindle Book
Buy: $3.19
Auto-delivered wirelessly
However when I go to the Amazon Kindle pages for Desert Heat and Cabin Fever, there are no sales rankings listed. Does this mean that NO copies of those books have been sold? If that is the case how are they Number 15 and Number 21 on the Best-Selling Sensual Romance Books at the Amazon Kindle Store?

When I did the same search but had it sorted by RELEVANCE instead of BEST SELLING, my Cabin Fever book came up as Number 1 and my Desert Heat book came up as Number 6.

This is copied and pasted from Amazon:
Kindle StoreKindle Books › "sensual romance"
Showing 1 - 12 of 119 Results Sort by Relevance
1. Cabin Fever (Affairs of the Heart) by Kristie Leigh Maguire (Kindle Edition - Jan 15, 2009) - Kindle Book
Buy: $3.19
Auto-delivered wirelessly
-----------
6. Desert Heat (Affairs of the Heart) by Kristie Leigh Maguire (Kindle Edition - Jan 15, 2009) - Kindle Book
Buy: $3.19
Auto-delivered wirelessly
(10)
Other Editions: Paperback

As I said, it is all a mystery to me. I have never found anyone who understands the system. I have an author friend who knows someone who works for Amazon. According to the friend of my friend, even Amazon doesn't understand how their system works. Do YOU?


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Why book tours are passé


Author readings and signing sessions, once the staple of publishing publicity, are being usurped by virtual encounters and promotional videos.

By Teresa Méndez Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor


The author tour, with its accompanying readings and signings, has come to be the quintessential tool for promoting books. It is a chance for writers to charm their readers and for readers to glimpse the person behind the words. At its best, the meeting can be electric. (At worst, nobody shows up.)

But in the past five years or so, observers say the traditional author tour has been in decline: Fewer writers are being sent out, and those who do tour make fewer stops. Among the many reasons for this shift are marketing tools that have made it possible to orchestrate a virtual encounter, without the hassle or expense of travel. Publishers and authors are now touting books through podcasts, film tours, blog tours, book videos, and book trailers. In fact, it's unusual for a book not to have some sort of Web presence. (Blue van Meer, the fictional main character in the 2006 novel "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl, even has her own MySpace page.)

Publicity departments used to be places where wacky ideas originated but languished, says Carol Schneider, executive director of publicity for Random House. Now, with the Internet, she says, "they are really able to carry [those ideas] out."

Each is a small experiment, an incremental move, as the publishing industry has begun to embrace the Internet and other new media. It's hard not to wonder, though, whether their cumulative effect will one day render the face-to-face bookstore meeting between writer and reader obsolete.


BOOK COVERS AND MORE can create a customized video book trailer for your book for only $50.

Emails from the Edge and KINDLE



My book, Emails from the Edge: The Life of an Expatriate Wife, is having a great ride down the Amazon.com River. Since its rebirth as a KINDLE edition, Emails from the Edge has been experiencing a new life and has found many more readers. This is very heart-warming to me because this is my memoirs book which went out of publication as a paperback a few years ago. This just goes to show that you CAN teach an old book new tricks! You go, Emails from the Edge!







Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 282 KB
Publisher: Blue Leaf Publications/Indigo Blue eBooks (February 1, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
9 Reviews
5 star: (5)
4 star: (1)
3 star: (1)
2 star: (0)
1 star: (2)› See all 9 customer reviews...
3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,888 in Kindle Store

Emails from the Edge (The Life of an Expatriate Wife)
When friendship spans the oceans… -It seemed a fair exchange to share the exotic experiences in the Land of the Rising Sun in exchange for hearing of life in the real world. A rare glimpse into the life of an American woman in a foreign and alien land – read her journal. Based on a true story.

"…a must read for women of all ages. It helps you to remember the true value of friendship and come to the realization that distance is nothing but space between friends…"
-- Tami Parrington, Women on Writing

"This is the one book that everyone needs to read if you or your spouse has a job which includes traveling in the good ole U.S.A. or abroad! A 5-star performance…!"
-- Epstein LaRue, author of "Crazy Thoughts Of Passion" and "Love At First Type"

"The relationship…was nothing short of a miracle in this clever, honest, and original book. …a truly a delightful read…that will leave you laughing and crying. Maguire's book is definitely a wake-up call… Military personnel and travel agents should recommend this book…"
-- Bobby Ruble, Author"

A true story, the friendship between these two women shines… The writing is real and down to earth, as only emails to good friends can be. An excellent read." -- Annette Gisby, author of “Silent Screams”"You will laugh and cry…as you read this story of deep friendship and understanding. I highly recommend (it)…"
-- Joan Moore Lewis, Southern Fiction Author, Georgia USA

"You’ll learn a lot about the Far East…and also learn what life is like for U.S. workers abroad…but what you will remember about this book, and would not find in any more conventional ‘travel story,’ is the friendship that prompted its e-mails. Highly recommended!" -- Nina M. Osier, author of "Love, Jimmy: A Maine Veteran's Longest Battle"

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

36MMM breasts scoop world record


Totally off topic of romance ... well maybe not! You gotta see this to believe it! How dumb can anyone be to do this to themselves????


Who says porn stars lack amb­ition? Maxi Mounds has made a huge name for herself – by having the largest breast implants in the world.


Her 36MMM bust – each weighing 9kg (20lbs) – finally made it into the record books years after she learned there was a category for natural breasts.


'I contacted Guinness World Records and asked if they had a category for implants, but they said no, so I let it go,' she said.


'Then they asked me if I was interested as they were creating a category. Eventually they told me I won.'


I was born without the writer gene!

When I was invited to guest blog at YouGottaRead I was told that I could blog about anything. Well anything covers a lot of territory. Trying to narrow anything down to a manageable topic was harder that I thought it would be.

I tried to think of something new that I could write about myself as an author. I’ve been in the business since the mid-90s. I have, at one time or another, pretty much told all anyone could possibly want to know about the author Kristie Leigh Maguire.

I started thinking about interviews of other authors that I had read and the interviews that I myself had done over the years. I thought about the differences between myself and some of those other authors. One major difference between myself and some of those other authors suddenly hit me right between the eyes.


Read the complete article at YouGottaRead.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Romance novels thrive in tough economic times ...

According to the Associated Press (and this is a direct quote from AP), "Love may not conquer all in real life, but its power in relatively inexpensive books is quite a comfort in this economy. Publishers are seeing strong sales in the romance genre as other categories decline and consumers cut back on spending."


This is excellent news for both authors and readers of the romance genre! We all need an escape from the gloom and doom of real life and what better way to do this than reading a good love story!


Laurie Parkin (Vice President and Publisher for Kensington Publishing Corp.) agrees with this. In the article she said, "....when business is bad or business is down, people want to escape a little bit. I think romance offers that in a wonderful, wonderful way."


According to the article , "For the week of May 10, romance book sales were up nearly 2.4 % compared to the same week last year, according to Neilson BookScan, which covers 75% of retail sales. "


What better time to be a romance author! I am so glad I am one! If you like to read romance, then check out MY titles. If you want to save even more money ... and help save the planet by going GREEN ... then purchase them in either ebook (at Fictionwise) or Kindle format (at Amazon.com). You can download FREE SAMPLERS of my books so you can try before you buy.

Friday, June 5, 2009

My current WIP is flowing for me finally ...


It is such a relief when a writer finally gets it together and the words start flowing. It can be a long hard and frustrating process when the words just won't come out right and the story won't 'go.'
When the right angle finally hits you though the words flow like water down a hill. I am doing the happy dance that I finally figured out the right angle for my current work-in-progress.
AND I finally also got the cover created that I want for the book. Here it is. Isn't it lovely?
This one I am writing under the name of Margie K. Tovrea instead of Kristie Leigh Maguire since it is not the right genre to be published under the Kristie name.
Oh, forgot to say the title. It's:
Sheila Anne MacKenzie: The Daughter of a Hell-Fire-and-Brimstone Preacher Man.