Be sure to come and meet me. I’ll have copies of Circle of Desire, Circle of Danger and Circle of Deception available to sign. For the people who are in my Readers Group or purchase a copy of my book, I have swag to give you. So much fun!
For those who already have the books, take a picture of yourself holding the book and show me the picture and I’ll give you swag!
For everyone else, I have book marks and excerpts (and possibly candy) to give out.
See you there!
You know what I like about romance books? Of course, the hot sex, but truthfully, the layers my favorite authors weave into their stories. For romances, there should be two main plots in the book.
One, of course is the mystery of romance. You know, the mystery of how they come to understand they should be together (not just because they are compatible in bed, though that is important as it is in relationship) and how they work out their happy ending. A lot of this is internal conflict because love is emotion. Like duh, right?
Second, what is going on in their lives that pull them together? Or make sure they are at the same place at the same time? It can be a missing child, a failing ranch, a killer on the loose, etc. You get the idea. This is the external conflict.
Then you can layer on more. Maybe the two main characters’ families are mortal enemies (Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel), or hero has a problem with being touched (Full Heat: A Brothers of Mayhem Novel), or heroine reappears after disappearing years before (Circle of Deception: The Circle series). That’s right. The hero and heroine should never be perfect. One can be a little less perfect than the other, but both should have faults. That makes them so much more interesting.
Just be careful with the layers and plots. As an author, it’s important to keep up with
them. The plots need advancement throughout the book, and certainly need to be solved completely by the end. The layers need to show up along the way too. Usually, those faults need to be improved or a promise of improving. Not all of them, but the major ones. At the end of the book, the characters have to be better for knowing each other.
The only exception to solving a plot or improving a fault or more within a book is when it’s part of a series involving one main character. Such as Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series, Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson series, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series, etc.
Personally, I’ve quit reading series with a same main character. I get bored, and after awhile, the hero/heroine gets on my nerves. Maybe because they do not seem to grow and learn from their mistakes. Don’t get me wrong. The series above and many others are great series (they wouldn’t be NYT best selling books if they weren’t) but it’s just not my thing, my taste.
My series have a couple threads that run through them to connect, but nothing major. That’s why most can be read as standalones. The Southern Crime Family series is 
currently the only one that will need to be read in order. Only book one (Jake) is out. Book two should be in the summer of 2020. The series is about three brothers and their
journey to find love and the true killer responsible for their father’s death. Each book is about a brother.
Another thing about plots. In my books of 60,000 words or less, I try not to throw in a complicated plot(s). Simple is best. If you didn’t, you would limit the romance in such a small book. And no, geez, that doesn’t mean putting in more sex. Romance is emotion. Getting to know each other’s personality traits, understanding why they do the things they do, often learning to trust each other, they are all part of a romance.
For that matter, I write for entertainment. The only place I teach a person something is through my blog posts here (or the workshops I do on occasion).
RT BookReviews closed it operations on May 16, 2018. It was a sad moment for many including myself. I read the magazine from the time it was actually a newspaper (1980s). At least, my dream of having a review of my book(s) done by the magazine came true. Plus my name was mentioned a few times in the magazine.
Before the website goes dark next year, here are copies of the reviews and such. Side note: The highest star rating you could get at RT was 4-1/2 stars.
By the way, my first book came out 7 years and 17 days ago.
(Out of the Shadows was the pre-published title. Now it’s Circle of Desire)
You can find the video at the bottom right of this website.
Here we go. Starting June 12, 2018, one book a week will be re-released with a new cover. I’m so excited and hope if you haven’t read them, you’ll give them a try. Click on MY BOOKS above to see the back blurb on each.
Be sure to check back on May 1 for a month long contest with a big giveaway of a mini iPad. Plus I plan to have several more giveaways throughout the month from my author friends.
This is my fourth anniversary of receiving an offer for publication from HarperCollins. On May 4, 2011, I received an email from an editor at Avon offering me a two book deal that later turned into another contract for one more book. That’s how Circle of Desire, Circle of Danger, and Circle of Deception came about.
In the last year, I’ve released two novellas, Circle of Dishonor and Circle of Defiance. Be sure to check them all out.
During the month of May, Circle of Dishonor will be free at Barnes & Noble, All Romance Ebooks, Kobo, and several other book sellers. Hopefully, I can get Amazon to play along too.
(The mini iPad will be for U.S. participates only due to postage and restricted laws on electronic equipment being shipped overseas.)
Well, I say I’m just chilling, but really I’m writing and writing. With a lot of staring off into space wishing my brain would work faster. You know it’s kind of funny, when I wrote CIRCLE OF DANGER for Avon, I expected to have anxiety problems like most debut authors have with their second book. But no. It was one of the most painless books I’ve written. For some reason, it fell together so easily. Though I’m sure in the middle of it I hated the book . . . I always hate a book midway in my writing. It’s natural.
That’s when you worry it will be boring. When I may even become bored with the whole storyline. When all the doubts of being a decent writer comes to head. Of course, it makes me work harder to ensure the reader doesn’t fall asleep.
That’s where I’m at, at this point. I’m in the middle of the first book of a new series for Loveswept. That’s when the evil doubt-demon picks at me saying, who are you kidding? Maybe your husband is right and all of this is a lovely pipe dream. Maybe I need to give it up. (He actually said that a few months before I was offered my first contract. And I bet he still thinks that when he hears me moan about my dwindling sales and my vanishing dreams of becoming a NYT best selling author.)
So many authors worry about the second book slump where the next book contracted (and often in a series) doesn’t do as well as the first. Strangely, I didn’t worry about that. Maybe I should’ve. It’s just that I loved the second book of my first series as much as the first and the same for the third book. Though all three books are in the same series, they are all different and can be read in any order.
The first had a kick-ass heroine, the second had a heroine wanting to be kick-ass but finding out that wasn’t her talent, and the third was a laid back kick-ass, not high maintenance like the first one. She worried more about her past and how she could move on. I admire all three of those women. Maybe if someone were to ask me which one was I most like, I would say the wanna-be, Marie, in the second book. Though I would’ve preferred to be like the other two.
Back to what I’m doing now.
The new series is a contemporary set up in the world of motorcycle clubs, the 1%ers. Should be a piece of cake, right? New series, new start. But even so, you still have to meet the players, immerse yourself into their lifestyle and see what problems they’re in the middle of and running into before they can solve them to our satisfaction. So then they can have that beautiful, happy ending.
Yes, folks, I write romance, and I’m proud of it.
So I guess I’m having my second series doubts. The SSDs. Does sound like a disease. The cure is to keep writing. It’ll wear off. One day.
Okay. Back to work . . .
Excerpt
Jack stepped out of his Silverado and hesitated near the truck’s front end, keeping the thick engine block between him, the house, and anyone who might shoot. Besides, he wasn’t sure what mood Kat would be in.
The place appeared to be deserted. Not that anything looked different from last evening. Early morning sun reflected off the windows and exposed peeling paint beneath the eaves. The overgrown bushes near the long porch needed to go. Too easy for someone to hide behind and attack when entering the front door.
No birds chirped nearby. Something didn’t feel right. Kat wasn’t inside the house. A heavy sensation ran down his spine. Who was watching?
He stepped back and opened the crew door on his truck and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. In the South, it was the weapon of choice against thieves and burglars. Using rock salt, the spray would cover anyone heading his way, and he didn’t worry about his aim, or killing anyone. Rather ironic considering the field of work he’d been in so long, but he was tired of people dying around him.
YAY! I received some wonderful news today. CIRCLE OF DECEPTION is a finalist in the Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggies! This is a lovely big contest. Sure. Not as big as the Ritas (those are like Romance Writers of America’s Oscars). They’re more like the Golden Globes of romance. LOL!
That’s four for DECEPTION.
(2013 GDRW’s Booksellers Best, 2014 SMRW’s Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, 2014 HODRW’s Aspen Gold, and now 2014 GRW’s Maggies!)
[corrected 8/6/14)
My third book in The Circle series, CIRCLE OF DECEPTION, is a finalist in the 2014 Aspen Gold Published Writers Contest!
They gave me a nifty website medallion to use.
This is the third contest in two years that it has been a finalist. (The e-book came out in December 2012 and paperback in January 2013.)
I usually avoid talking about the day job except for the occasional remarks about working overtime and it kicking my butt. But today I’m in the mood to talk in general about it.
A few years ago, I started the current job after an old one sold out and moved away. Freaking stressful. See, I’ve realized over the years, I’m a slow starter. At first I don’t know for sure what questions to ask. I mainly soak in as much information as my brain can handle. Then I work through the areas I need improvement. Along the way, I either make bad choices or good ones. Then I work out the kinks.
I’m not much for tooting my own horn, though you may say differently if you read my blog regularly. But really, this is my place to make all kinds of noise.
Anyway, the point I’m getting to is even though I’m slow, I catch on and it sticks. My job reviews are always great. And I feel my books are that way.
Thankfully my critique partner and my beta readers say my books get better and better. That is so satisfying. I know I love each book I write, but the last one is always my favorite. LOL! Maybe one day will come that I have an old favorite. We’ll see.
So I hope everyone will give each of my books a try. Remember they’re along the lines of James Bond or Nikita, but way hot! They’re a little out there in adventure, but they are written for pure entertainment.
Wait until I finish Jack’s story (Rex’s brother in CIRCLE OF DECEPTION). He has a few surprises. At times, he can be an asshole, but can’t we all? Katerina (CIRCLE OF DANGER) will certainly straighten out his butt. I hope to have this story completed and published by August.
In June, I’m planning to release a novella (short story) with Ice Takahashi (CIRCLE OF DANGER) as the hero. The heroine wasn’t in the previous books, but you will find out some truths about Ice’s past and his real name.
“Ice” Takahashi’s final job for The Circle has an unexpected hitch in it; he’s fallen for an innocent civilian. When his mission goes haywire, he’s determined to protect her and still come out of it alive. Maybe he can be an honorable man who’s worthy of her love.
Lena Matthews feels like she’s playing with fire by dating the mysterious Master J. He’s exotic, dangerous, and exactly what she needs in her boring life. With the bad guys bearing down on them, she discovers a whole new world of sensuality that binds her heart to his forever.
Guess what I found out today? My workshop with Lexi George and Heather Leonard has been picked for the Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Norcross, GA this October. We’re so excited. Twice we’ve presented it (and I was so freaking stiff – got to work on that – so unlike me) for groups of writers.
It’s called The Pitch is Back. Yeah, yeah. Not very original, but it works and I plan to play the Elton John song (appropriate considering he lives in Atlanta part of the time) The Bitch is Back while waiting for people to sit. Anyway, it will be a lot of fun to attend as we actually act out how to behave and not behave with an editor and agent. Not just telling you BUT REALLY SHOWING IT! HA! It’s a lot of laughs.
So come and join in the fun. Click here to find out more about the conference. It’s probably one of the three largest RWA chapter conferences.
And don’t forget I will be signing my book, CIRCLE OF DECEPTION, at the book fair October 11 there.
See you then!
I have something new to add to my website. Such a nice way to start the weekend. CIRCLE OF DECEPTION is a finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence!
If you want to pick up a (e-format or paperback) copy, click on a link below.
Beware – some spoilers mixed in.
Who doesn’t love a hero with a problem? It could be the trouble-making heroine he’s fallen in love with or it could be the garbage he brought to the story from years before. Sherrilyn Kenyon is great at making the hero suffer as a kid and young adult. I’m sure there are other authors who do the same. Personally, I believe I pick on the heroine more than the hero, but I thought I would go over the angst that came out of my stories for the men.
CIRCLE OF DESIRE
In his twenties, Collin Ryker was the lead operative of the internal group of deadly mercenaries called the OS (Onyx Scepter), the heart of The Circle. When he realized his guardian, Theo, the head of the organization his father built, was insane, he convinced most of the operatives in the OS to follow him and split off from The Circle. The decision had been a hard one as when his parents had died in a car bomb, Theo had been there for him.
He’d lost his whole family when that car exploded and had to deal with survivor’s guilt. He worked at being like the father he admired by being emotionless and cold in his decision making. To him, that was a sign of a great leader. But when it came to Olivia, he loved fighting with her. They argue and actually try to kick each other’s butts, not abusively, as they love testing each other. The end results brought about some great love scenes.
I have to say he’s the only hero of The Circle series who has the least angst.
CIRCLE OF DANGER
Arthur Ryker is the leader of The Circle, and mercy, he has some big time angst. Let’s start with the scar on the side of face and body, and the blind eye. They are reminders from when his life fell apart. He’d been near the car that exploded with his mother and father inside. He’d tried to save them.
Then there is the psycho old leader, Theo. He blackmailed a teenager Ryker, promising to not rape a young girl if he obeyed him in all things, including a despicable act that Ryker had thought to never experience again. He has to live with his decisions.
CIRCLE OF DECEPTION
Finally, Rex Drago’s angst has nothing to do with Theo. His is actually tied in with his height. You say, height? Yeah. His dad had the short man syndrome and resented a son who was taller than him by the time he reached high school. Even in elementary, he was taller than the other kids and adults treated him as if he was mentally handicapped. A child of that height should be older and smarter they thought.
He feels he’s not smart enough to be the second in command of The Circle.
Oh, and then there is the relationship between him and his bad ass brother, Jack. He tries to love his older brother, but with too much “water under the bridge,” it may be too late.
Side note about the series:
If you noticed in The Circle series, there is a thin string of the King Arthur legend references. The heaviest are in the first book. Psycho Theo dresses up like a knight, and he believes a sword proves he deserves to be a leader (feeling guilty much?). Of course, The Circle is in reference to the table that all the knights sat around. Last, but not least, Ryker’s first name in CIRCLE OF DANGER. Arthur.
There’s another reference to King Arthur’s legend in the books? Do you know what it is? I’ll give you a hint. It’s a name.
The other day, I was thinking how people may have questions about my books? Maybe you’re curious about how I choose the names and places? Why I matched up the characters the way I did? What do I plan for future books?
Well, if you have any questions, ask away.
Carla Swafford, Author 