Tags: Modesty Blaise | spies | suspense | inspiration

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I just finished a novel (a sexy espionage thriller) and experienced once more the incredible relief and joy that typing the very last words of a book brings.  There's such satisfaction in finally reaching that point after the long haul of chapters.  This was a relatively short process, about two months (some novels have taken me years), so the beginning was still fresh enough in my mind to feel a genuine sense of wonder that I had reached the end.

It's satisfying to have created something out of nothing.  That's the magic of writing.  

I find it especially gratifying when it's on the scale of a novel.  You're conscious of juggling narrative threads, characters and locations with manic energy throughout, so when you can finally set them all down neatly in a row, the sense of accomplishment is worth savouring—and celebrating.

But then comes the inevitable sadness; with luck, you get to enjoy the happiness for a while before you realise that the people with whom you've spent so much time have gone away.  You miss them.  They've been talking in your head for so long and now the voices are silent.  Fortunately, I will in all likelihood be seeing many of these characters again.

However, the only real solution is to find yourself typing those other words that have as much thrill as "The End"—those words, of course, are "Chapter One" or any other start up phrases. Think of the thrill inherent in the phrase "Once upon a time".

Begin again—writing is an endless cycle.  Stories only end so new ones can begin.  The magic is always waiting to be reborn.

 Make some magic today.

Tags: inspiration | composing | writing | magic | suspense | characters

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So it's been excrutiatingly cold the last 24 hours. Brutally cold. Below zero overnight. Time for warm socks and sweaters and leopard-print fuzzy slippers. Time for fires in fireplaces, kitties curled on a pillow, soft blankets and softer music.

And I've found another way to keep warm. And that's reading Ravenous Romance novels and short stories by some of the other grand authors on this site. Jesse Blair. Lisa Lane. Inara Lavey. Sephera Giron. Ryan Field. Hot stuff, all! Just right to help thaw out a frozen winer's night.

I'm also warming by writing scenes for my upcoming novel, Mad Mistress of the Mountain. Witchcraft, superstition, clan mentality, a beautiful misunderstood young widow, a handsome, brooding official who has come to the mountains to investigate dreadful mining disaster. The sparks fly, in more ways than one!

But until that is finished, check out my newest offering, Man of the Shadows, or my first Ravenous Romance novel, Haunted Seduction. Both involve frightening, supernatural events that sweep up ordinary people and thrust them into terrifying worlds where they must find a way to survive. And in doing so, they reach out to those trapped with them. The results are passionate, fiery, sensual, and emotionally satisfying.

And check out the works by the other authors here. Quite a variety of approaches and voices, but each offers some damn sexy stuff!

Love,

Morgan

Tags: sex | fiction | ghosts | witches | witch | lust | horror | suspense | mining | Appalachian Mountains

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What it is about a man in a tri-cornered or cocked hat that stirs such passion for me? What makes that so freakin' hot? I don’t think I could really put my finger on it. But when I’m in Colonial Williamsburg and a young man with dark hair and broad shoulders…or even an older man with steely gray hair and a square jaw…goes galloping down Duke of Gloucester Street on his horse, cape flying, black leather boots secure in the stirrups, eyes blazing, I feel absolutely faint in the knees. Is it the sense of power the man projects? The self-confidence? The aura of duty and determination and strength? The idea that a man who exudes such command would command me in all the best ways? Maybe it’s none of those or all of those. I just know that a tri-corn hat is a first step to getting me hot and bothered and willing to meet the man in stable loft or behind the oak tree in the lily garden. Every Revolutionary hero needs a willing woman to help ease his mind and his soul and his body.

My novel Man of the Shadows (debut Jan. 16) throws a frustrated contemporary woman into a terrifying time fold with a handsome, dedicated, yet troubled Revolutionary War officer. Together, in the wilderness, they must find a way to survive. Is this my fantasy? Well, of course it is! And I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed imagining and writing it. 

And I’d love to hear what you think. Thanks! And thanks, also, to those who have helped make my first Ravenous Romance novel, Haunted Seduction, a best seller. If you haven't read that one yet, check it out!

Love,
Morgan

Tags: tri-cornered hat | Colonial | Revolutionary War | officer | sex | pasison | mystery | suspense | love | romance

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