Writing a series

I love reading series. I love seeing characters from the other stories make an appearance and continue to be a part of the back story. I get to see them after the happily ever after and continue to grow into the relationship.

So when I set out to become an author there wasn’t any other choice for me other than write a series. Oh I wrote a single stand alone story. It was my 1Night Stand for Decadent Publishing, Ravished Before Sunrise.

Although I had a blast writing my 1NS, I enjoy my series because I’m in the world longer. Not only do I get to hang out with all that sexiness, I get to explore the world and uncover secrets and twists as the characters reveal them to me.

I especially love writing a series like Ashwood Falls where sexy shifters roam. I’m a nature lover so I get to incorporate my love for the outdoors and the mountains into Ashwood Falls. And did I mention that there are sexy shifters involved? Oh, yeah. Tee hee. Big strong shifters are always a plus. The mix of human and animal just takes romance to another level for me. There’s an element of danger, and possessiveness surrounding my felines and wolves.

However, writing series isn’t all about the characters and the romance. It takes a great deal of organization to get the desired outcome. Before I can start writing the first book in the series, I plan and plot.

First I have to find my characters and their GMC (goals, motivations, and conflicts). My next step varies. Sometimes I have to plot out the big bad side of things to see how it will affect the main characters. Other times I can plot out the main love story first. Either way, I have to organize everything. I keep everything in an excel workbook, with a tab for the list of character descriptions, another for the series timeline, and a tab for each book with notes that I add as I write. I’ll get ideas for a future book as I write the current one.

Once the main plots points are down and the series, or at least the first few books, are mapped out, I start outlining that first book. Now, if you follow me you’ve heard me say this before, but my muse has ADD so the outlines can’t be too detailed. She’ll toss them out and will always deviate from the outline more than once. I let her because, one, it keeps her happy and writing, and, two, she is usually right.

Even with all the hard work and planning that goes into a series I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love everything there is about my job.

What do you love about reading a series?

A Mating Dance, Ashwood Falls #2

Senior enforcer, Cameron Nickels has found her perfect mate. Blaine Andrews, leopard Pack Marshal, is strong, dominate, loyal, and passionate. He knows all her strengths and weaknesses—not to mention her pleasure points. Cam’s known Blaine most her life, but she’s always felt like something was missing and her jaguar refuses to fully accept him. Yet, she can’t walk away from him. When architect and sexy mountain lion shifter, Graham Griffin, comes to town to design the new den nursery and school, Cameron finds herself in a mating dance that throws her and her jaguar into flight mode while Blaine must decide if he cannot only share his mate, but welcome another.

After his lover walked out on him a year ago, Graham has no intentions of entering another relationship any time soon. But he realizes that the fates have other plans for him when he meets Blaine and Cameron. When his ex-lover’s children are chased into Ashwood territory by a group of rogues, he discovers the male he shared a life with had died freeing the kids from the Onyx Pack. Graham must work side-by-side with the two enforcers to uncover lies from the past while his heart opens to his true mates.

Warning: Contains one-hot headed leopard, a man who thought he’d lost it all, and a woman who is about to rub up against both in the best possible ways.

Other Ashwood Falls books:

Winter Eve (prequel)

A Tiger’s Claim (book 1)

Excerpt:

Cameron sat at Dani and Nevan’s dining table with Max balanced on one knee as she helped him cut his waffle, dip it into the syrup, and bring it to his mouth. When he dropped the fork and stuck his hand in the syrup, she squeaked and grabbed his wrist. Graham came over with a wet cloth to clean him up. Max grunted his frustration then gripped Cam’s hair with his sticky fingers, tangling his fingers around the strands. “Oh, Max.” Cameron stood, only to come nose-to nose with Graham.

Her skin heated and her heart skipped a few beats. His blue eyes darkened slightly, then a flash of bright blue told her that his puma wasn’t far from the surface.

Graham gripped Max’s hand and tried to unwrap her hair from his sticky fingers. Cameron laughed, trying to ignore the heat blooming between them. “You’re making it worse.”

Graham drew his brows together, making him even more handsome. She let her gaze travel over the masculine lines of his face. His skin was tanned, as though he worked long hours in the sun. He had high cheekbones and an average size nose that was just right for him. When her gaze fell on his lips, she wondered what they would feel like against hers. His lips were slightly full, the bottom one begging for her to bite it. When his blue gaze met hers, a wash of desire rushed through her, heating her skin even more.

Good Lord, what the hell was wrong with her? She had a mate, or could have one if she’d get past her commitment issues. She damn sure didn’t need another.

The front door opened, drawing her attention to Blaine as he walked in and shut the door behind him. Cameron immediately met his glare with one of her own.

Damn possessive male.

She stepped away from Graham and went to the kitchen sink to wet her hair and untangle Max’s hands. A moment later Blaine was at her side, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and then took Max from her. Her heart lurched as the little guy started crying and kicking his feet.

Graham appeared and took the wailing child from Blaine, and Cameron swore she heard a growl come from one of them.

Drying the ends of her hair with a kitchen towel, Cam stepped between them, giving Blaine a narrow-eyed glare. “Are you done?”

His leopard flashed in his eyes, and he leaned in to growl, “Not with you.”

About the Author

Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and two very special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, a paranormal romance author, graphic designer, and co-owner to Fated Desires Publishing, LLC. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it’s her home and she loves it!

An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very activity imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing and designing are stress relievers that allow her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.

Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.

Author website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | G+

GIVEAWAY!

As part of the tour-wide giveaway, TWO lucky commenters will be chosen to win $10 Amazon GC and a swag pack. Just follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter. Giveaway ends 8/03/13.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post & Giveaway with Lia Davis is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Bookworm Brandee:  Set 5

Justine: Set 6

KellyM: Set 4

Kimh: Set 3

Kaetrin: Set 1

CrystalGB: Set 2

Winners is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Hello everyone! Huge thanks to the Book Pushers for having me as a guest today! I’m thrilled to be here to celebrate the release of my new Bliss book, KISSING THE MAID OF HONOR.

 The Art of Banter

In my new release from Entangled Publishing, KISSING THE MAID OF HONOR, my hero and heroine do a lot of bantering. Which really is the DBA for flirting, but because they both believe they’re supposed to stay away from each other (he’s her best friend’s brother), they pretend to ignore what it really is. I had the best time writing the sexual tension between them while slowly showing the build-up to something more.  Luke is charismatic, the hometown hero who doesn’t mind attention, and is helpless to stop the growing feelings he has for Sela. Sela is the small town sweetheart, hates attention, and the last person she wants to get up close and personal with is Luke.

Yet… they’re drawn to one another. The fact that she’s the maid of honor and he’s the best man doesn’t help matters. So they tease each other…

“Close your eyes and feel the movement. Let the music guide you,” the dance teacher said softly.

            Luke waited for Sela to shut her eyes. Christ, she was pretty. The woman made scrubs look sexy. But it was what she had on the inside that suddenly made his mouth drier than the Sahara Desert.

            Her eyes fluttered open. “You can wipe that smug look off your face. You’re not that good of a dancer.”

            “No?” Without missing a beat, he spun them around, their steps in perfect tandem. An invisible string kept them in harmony. The flush of Sela’s cheeks kept energy humming through his veins.

            Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed, and Luke imagined she’d much rather have a sword in her hand so they could fence instead of move with each other.

            “You know what they say about show-offs, don’t you?” she said.

            “Tell me.” He twirled them away from the others, his fingertips increasing the pressure on her shoulder blade.

            “They’re compensating for something else. Usually something small.” Her gaze dipped below his waist as they both stepped back.

            He laughed. For the second time in the last hour she’d done what few women could—raise his hackles in the most engaging way.

            “Sweetheart, there’s nothing small about me,” he whispered when they came together. “And if you need proof, I’d be happy to show you.”

The thing with bantering, I think, is that it catches on like wildfire and once you start with someone—someone you’re attracted to—it’s hard to stop. Joking and quips are fun, exciting. The mind has to stay sharp and thoughts swirl through your head on the best response.

“I think I may have snorted frosting up my nose,” Sela said.

“Is that what that sound was? I thought Mrs. Witt’s pig had gotten loose.”

Sela gasped. “You did not just compare me to a pig.”

“No. I compared your snort to an oink.”


“And you’re an expert on pig sounds because?” She squared her shoulders, ready to spar with Luke until she won. He might think he could best her like he had so many times in high school, but she was older now. Wiser. Less intimidated when she wasn’t thinking how gorgeous he was.

He leaned closer. “Because I like to play dirty,” he said, his voice low, husky.

She faltered for a second, her body reacting to his nearness and words with uncharacteristic need. The more time she spent with Luke Watters, the more she couldn’t fight his pull. “Or it takes one to know one.”

Friendly verbal sparring ups the tension between characters. It gives the reader a glimpse into their personalities, and for me, it escalates the will they or won’t they? The when will they? How will they? Will they get to it already? LOL

So what about you? Do you like the long, drawn out passion between characters? Or do you prefer they start with a bang?

Enter Robin’s Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win one of 5 Bridesmaid Gift Packs, all full with lots of girly swag!

Guest Post & Giveaway with Robin Bielman is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Contest #10: If Snow Dancer and Dark River were competing in a Tough Mudder who do you think would win?

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party Contest #10 is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Contest #8:
Which story had excerpts from the PETROKOV FAMILY ARCHIVES? An excerpt of one is included below.

Dearest Matthew,

It’s Christmas Eve, but the world is strangly hushed. Normally, the changelings would be playing their yearly tricks – I always half expect to find a tiger sitting on my porch come midnight, as I did once when I was a child. He’s brought me a fresh bough of holly, can you imagine?

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party #8 is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Contest #6: Who is your favorite pairing and why? Limited to stories through Wild Invitation.

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party Contest #6 is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Contest #4. Leave a comment answering who said the following quote”

“You don’t ever have to fear anything from me, [REDACTED].” It was a rough murmur, a verbal pet of her senses. “If you want me to stop anytime, anywhere, the only word you ever need to use is ‘No.’ Okay?”

She jerked her head up and down, her throat as dry as the shimmering sands of the Mojave.

“But,” he continued, “I don’t intend to go away until you tell me to do so. I’m planning to court you.”

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party Contest #4 is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Contest #2:
Leave a comment with your favorite quote from this series and the title of the book. Remember Heart of Obsidian to include Nalini’s small countdown quotes are off limits!

Good luck!

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party Contest #2 is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Thank you Nalini for providing the prizes for this party.

Thank you Vi Dao for her instigation of this party.

Thank you Lou for creating the banner we have used for all of these posts

Thanks to my fellow Book Pushers for their assistance helping me plan this event.

Event starts at 2pm PST with the first contest held on twitter.

No spoilers from Heart of Obsidian to include the 2 chapter excerpt posted by Nalini or the Ghost twitter interview.

Open world-wide.

Each contest will be open for 1 hour.

You may enter each contest as many times as you want but you can only win one contest.

Prizes cannot be replaced. Winners will be notified via email when their prize has been mailed.

Blog contest entries will only come from comments on that specific blog post.

Twitter contest entries will only come from tweets.

Twitter entries must have the specific hashtag for that contest included in your tweet to count.

Winners have 24 hours to respond via email with the information required once notification has been sent or they forfeit their prize.

Twitter contestant winners must be following The Bookpushers twitter account, @thebookpushers. They will receive a DM containing the email address. If the DM is rejected because they are not following The Bookpushers a new winner will be selected.

Blog contestant winners will receive an email addressed to the email address used on the comment entry form.

Email address to send the following information will be included in the notification of the winner.

Email must contain the following information:
Subject line: Heart of Obsidian Pre-release Party Winner Contest #
Body must contain:
First and last name
Full mailing address
Rank order each prize listed at the bottom of this post 1 – 10

Prizes will be by random selection. Contests will be ordered using random number generator. In that order each contest winner’s rank order of prizes will be used starting at 1 and going down the list to find the first unclaimed prize. For example if you won contest # 8 and that happened to be the first number picked by the random generator then you would get your #1 choice. If you won contest # 8 and that was the 4th number picked by the generator then if your #1 choice was already picked I will look at your #2 choice and continue until I found the first one unselected which would be no greater than your 4th choice.

Prize list:
Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling #5)
Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling #6)
Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changeling #7)
Bonds of Justice (Psy-Changeling #8)
Hardback Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling #10)
Hardback Tangle of Need (Psy-Changeling #11)
Archangel’s Consort (Guild Hunter #3)
Archangel’s Blade (Guild Hunter #4)
Archangel’s Storm (Guild Hunter #5)
Angels’ Flight (Guild Hunter Collection)

May the Netmind be with you!

Heart of Obsidian Pre-Release Party: The Fine Print is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

Congrats Justine! Check your email.

It Had To Be You Winner is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter