Gina let herself into Zac’s hotel room and stood looking around in the dim light. It looked like a typical bachelor pad, with clothing randomly strewn about and papers littering the small desk. She reached for the light and hesitated; was it a good idea to turn it on?

She chided herself. Darkness was rapidly falling; what could she possibly hope to find if she couldn’t see? She flipped a switch and headed for the desk.

It felt odd to be poking through Zac’s things, especially when she wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking for. The papers on the desk were almost all shooting scripts. She checked the drawers of the desk; nothing but his computer and a jumble of napkins and wet wipes.

What next? The drawers? It would really feel odd to go through his underwear…

She needed more light. She went around the bed and reached for the bedside lamp switch. The halo lit up the area, and she gawked at what she saw. “It can’t be,” she whispered.

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The person watching a band or enjoying a song on the radio (or iPod) experiences only a few minutes or hours of polished music – NOT the hours of practice to get it that way. The play attendee or movie goer doesn’t realize how many hours of memorization and rehearsals the actors put in.

And the book reader seldom gives thought to how much time was required to create that story and get it onto paper (or e-paper).

I’ve never stopped to figure out how many hundreds (thousands?) of hours my first two novels took. I’m also not one to get hung up on the number of words I’ve written per day or week. But I got curious, so for the past month I’ve been monitoring my writing time and comparing it to word count.

What I’ve found is that 1,000 words takes me about three hours to write. That includes visualization, character building, and actual BIC (butt-in-chair) writing time. It does NOT include research time. (Heck, for my first novel, I went all the way to Idaho and rode along with a medevac team for two days.) It does NOT include those unfortunate times when WRITERS BLOCK strikes. And it does NOT include editing time.

I have no idea if this is considered typical. As any writer will tell you, there are as many ways to write as there are writers. But it’s an interesting window into the creative process. If you are a writer, I’d love to hear how long 1,000 words takes YOU to write!

We went to see Wadaiko Ensemble Tokara, a taiko drum performance group that originates from Japan (although, as we learned, their six members are from five different countries). The venue was a tiny arts stage in St. Paul (MN) about 50 minutes from our home – and we were front and center.

Taiko Drumming has taken many forms, from traditional Japanese taiko to more “Westernized” taiko, which is often fused with other musical instruments and even dance choreography and martial arts movements. Tokara tends to do a lot with changing rhythms and fast, hard playing, often in physically demanding body positions. They also do their fair share of dramatic arm and body movements (which happens to be one of my favorite aspects). Their lead player was one of the Taiko Grand Champions in 2005, and they just produced their very first CD/album.

It was over all too quickly (80 minutes or so) but who could blame them? Theirs is a seriously HIGH ENERGY type of taiko playing! I couldn’t keep that kind of energy even that long! On the way home, the show was rated “The best show I’ve EVER seen” … by my son! (Guess that means MY taiko recitals don’t rate…)

If you’d like to see some cool taiko drum playing – without leaving your home – I recently posted some of my favorite taiko drumming videos on my Taiko Drum page.

Aaron Bricewick wakes up in a strange place after being imprisoned by terrorists. His memories are of bad, disturbing things and he can’t shake those feelings away. But Aaron is now home in America, free, and he’s in for a long ride ahead because he has to adapt to his new life.

A major in the Army, a man like Aaron is used to being independent, strong, and capable. Now he’s not so sure, and his desire to not allow anyone in to help deal with his pain is slowly eating away at him. My heart went out to this man, and though he’s only a character in a book, there are many men like him out in the real world that could be and possibly are going through the same thing that Aaron did. That’s what makes him such a character to relate to, and his strong emotions pulled me into this book and never let go.
Holly Rossiter is a widowed mother of a wonderful little boy. What Holly doesn’t expect when she goes into work one day is to come face to face with a man from her past, and have to deliver some startling news to him. She loved Aaron long ago, but their different paths in life caused the pair to drifted apart. What matters now is Holly is here for Aaron, and wants to see him through this difficult time. Not many could go through such a traumatic experience only to meet up again with someone they never thought he’d see again. This is a new beginning for Holly and Aaron, along with Holly’s young son, Nick.

True Surrender has an outstanding plot that holds on tightly to the readers emotions, strong characters that you won’t be able to forget, and intense situations that will either make or break it for this couple. It’s a contemporary romance with light inspirational aspects. Aaron must come to terms with life and God and accept what has become of him even thought he fails to understand why. And Holly, despite the things she’s lost, embraces life as a blessing. As light and dark join forces, it’s only a matter of time before love finds its way into their lives once again.

I enjoyed this book and was glad to be able to read it. The author takes a story that could be part of someone’s real life and keeps the reader engaged the whole while. Readers, if you’re looking for a sensual contemporary story to captivate you, then rush on out and get a copy of True Surrender, and in no time, you’ll surrender your heart to these inspiring characters.

Read more reviews!

I try to write scenes with sexual tension rather than actual sex - which I find more difficult than an actual sex scene in some ways … but so much more powerful! I also like to place that tension in unexpected places or situations. Here is an example from my novel Last Chance Rescue:

He sank to his bed when she went to the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the overhead light. He fumbled with the clasps on his leg brace for a few moments, then lay propped on his elbows—uncomfortable, exhausted and frustrated.

“You really don’t feel good, do you?” She was at his side.

He shook his head. He reached for the brace again, but she laid her hand on his.

“Let me,” she said softly.

Slowly he reclined.

One by one she released the clasps on his leg brace. She moved with slow deliberation, as if she were undressing him. When she’d removed the brace she let it fall to the floor, one hand still resting on his leg. She sat on the bed next to him and reached for the ankle zipper on his workout pants.

He couldn’t take his eyes from her as she unzipped his pants from his ankle to above his knee. He found himself wanting her touch…anticipating it…needing it.

I don’t plan to change the way I write. But, it will be interesting to stretch myself (I have a couple ideas in mind) and maybe get a little more, er … graphic with my descriptions!

The setting that Shane finds himself in after running (er, riding) away from home is somewhat exotic in that most readers will never have heard of the Micmac tribe – and that they spend summers as their ancestors did. There are some mystical qualities to the storyline, which some readers may not care for, as well as healing elements (which I especially liked).

As far as characters go: Shane was an authentic and real biker with an interesting and believable past and personal issues. The heroine (Tia) was less interesting to me; it seemed she didn’t have any bad qualities. The antagonist could have been quite interesting (what made him so angry and mean?) but the author did not take the time to flesh him out. The minor characters – biker friends – were well done (like people I’d meet in my own motorcycle club, not gang members).

I especially liked that the focus was on Shane’s personal transformation (a male point of view), as I tend to write that way myself. I found the plot and conflict compelling, except for one thing: I couldn’t quite seem to get past the fact that Tia was a potential new romance for Shane so soon after losing the love of his life (and hers, although not as recent). To the author’s credit, this is a delicate balance and she does not take this idea too far; the characters are friends but with attraction! In that sense, this is not your typical romance novel – but I like that.

I had to keep reading to see how the ‘competition’ between Shane and the antagonist turned out. There is an excellent ‘karma’ twist as well. All in all, I enjoyed this biker novel more than others I’ve read and would like to read more of Ms. Laudan’s biker fiction. My rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5).

True Surrender (Use code RQ55Z)
Last Chance Rescue (Use code FU45S)
If you prefer an author-signed copy, visit My Store

(offer expires January 20, 2012)

Last Chance Rescue is about two search-and-rescue team members who must fight their own defenses to let down the walls that will allow them to rescue each other. It’s a story with a lot of action and a lot of heart. And P. McNeill’s comments pretty much confirm what I’d hoped readers would get from the book:

This was the most satisfying romance book that I have read in a long time. I think the main reason for this was, at least in my opinion, that the romance was almost a secondary theme in the book. The main theme of the story was how the characters helped each other grow emotionally. Most of the time neither character would realize the effect they had on one another. The spiritual connection between the two leads was awesome. As a reader, I hated to see the story end. I can’t wait to see if the other books by Tracey Cramer-Kelly are as captivating as this book.

See more about Last Chance Rescue – including character interviews and a book excerpts!

The song, “The Rose (Surrender Version)” – so named for the companion music video featuring scenes from my novel True Surrender – is now available for download at a number of Web sites – most notably, CDBaby.com and iTunes!

If you like the song (or the singer, ahem), please Download it at CDBaby.com (or search for it on iTunes and download direct to your iPod).

Listen to a sample of The Rose (Surrender Version) (.mp3 format)