Steph's Books

~2008 releases~

Beyond His Control by Stephanie Tyler
Beyond His Control
Harlequin Blaze
March 2008

"Beyond His Control, by Stephanie Tyler, is wonderful. The tension and love between Ava and Justin is perfectly depicted, and the almost nonstop adventure makes the story heart-stoppingly exciting.
—Page Traynor, Romantic Times Magazine, 4.5 Stars

Unleashing The Storm by Sydney Croft
Unleashing The Storm
(Sydney Croft)
Bantam Dell
March 2008

"This erotic romance [Unleashing The Storm]delves deep into the paranormal world of ghosts and humans with special abilities...Each page is filled with attitude, danger and sex that heats up fast and goes well beyond the norm…
—Jennifer Madsen, Romantic Times, 4 Stars

Hot Nights, Dark Desires
Night Vision
Hot Nights, Dark Desires -
Anthology Novella
Bantam Dell
May 20, 2008

"Night Vision is an excellent read. Stephanie Tyler does an exceptional job in penning likeable characters that I simply fell in love with."
—Cherokee, Coffee Time Romance

Shadow Play
Hot Nights, Dark Desires -
Anthology Novella
(Sydney Croft)
Bantam Dell
May 20, 2008

"SHADOW PLAY is a fascinating paranormal romance that is as inspiring as it is sexy."
—Jennifer A. Ray, Wild On Books

Seduced By The Storm by Sydney Croft
Seduced By The Storm
Bantam Dell
August 2008

~2009 releases~

Taming The Fire
Sydney Croft
Bantam Dell
May 2009

Hard To Hold
Bantam Dell
June 2009

Too Hot To Hold
Bantam Dell
July 2009

Hold On Tight
Bantam Dell
August 2009

~2007 Releases~

Coming Undone
Harlequin Blaze
April 2007

"[Tyler's] straight forward, dead-on writing style invites us to get hot and happy and bowled over by love right along with Carly and Hunt. Which makes being there when they do come undone one of the best things about the novel — next to just how great a romance it is." -Michelle Buonofiglio, Romance: Buy The Book


Risking It All
Harlequin Blaze
June 2007

"With smooth writing and a fast pace, RISKING IT ALL pushes all the right buttons. From the detailed characterization, realistic dialogue, and passionate romance to the heartwarming conclusion, romance fans are going to love RISKING IT ALL." -Terrie Figueroa, Romance Reviews Today


Riding The Storm
(Sydney Croft)
Bantam Dell
September 2007

“Fans of JR Ward have a brand new writer to add to their auto-buy list – Sydney Croft. Exhilarating, erotic and engrossing, paranormal romance readers will not want to miss this sizzling debut!" _Julie Bonello, SingleTitles.com

Contributor

The Write Ingredients
Samhain Publishing
June 2007



WIP 2007



"Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads."
– Erica Jong
***
“On a similar note, while you're free to think whatever you like about my life and death, if you think I wasted my life, I'll tell you you're wrong. We're all going to die of something. I died doing a job I loved. When your time comes, I hope you are as fortunate as I was.”
-Andrew Olmsted, US Solider, killed in Iraq on January 3rd, 2008 – words from his final blog, written to be put up in the event of his death. (www.andrewolmsted.com
***
“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk everything, you risk even more.”
– Erica Jong
***

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione releases TODAY!!!!

June 24th, 2008


Pleasure Unbound
by Larissa Ione

Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books)
July 2008
ISBN-10: 044640103X
ISBN-13: 978-0446401036

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life…

She’s a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure—but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.

Two lovers will dare to risk all.

Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his desire to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable—and let Tayla possess him, body and soul…

Read an excerpt here.

I love this book - there’s no other way to say it. It is fantastic, awesome and I tell everyone that just reading it makes me jealous of her writing and her world building. I remember when she wrote the proposal for this book - I remember when she sold it - it feels like that was just yesterday even though I’ve been waiting SO long for the book to be on the shelves!!! I can only imagine how the wait was for her - but it’s FINALLY here.

Larissa’s given some great interviews here and here and here, and she’s at Writeminded today talking a bit more about Pleasure Unbound.

What are you waiting for? Go buy it!!! It’s at Amazon and Barnes & Noble and at all brick & mortar stores AND it’s been spotted at Walmart. The girl is going places. :wink:

Steph T.

Filed under Larissa · 9:24 am · 4 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Jaq · Tori Lennox · larissa

right brained

June 20th, 2008

Someone recently told me that I’m a failure as a left brain thinker - and that I should be happy about that, that I should celebrate my thinking pattern, claim it and stop trying to torture myself into thinking like a left-brainer.

I was also told to set dreams, not goals, and I really love thinking about it that way.

Set dreams, not goals - my new mantra.

What about you?

Right Brain V Left Brain test


You Are 20% Left Brained, 80% Right Brained


The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you’re left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you’re right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Steph T.

Filed under General · 9:37 am · 4 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Tori Lennox · Jean

this week’s horoscope & fast writing

June 18th, 2008

**FYI - post on Jo Leigh’s auction is here**

Aries Horoscope for week of June 19, 2008

We’re halfway through 2008. It’s a perfect moment to take inventory of how well you’re capitalizing on this year’s unique opportunities. So let me ask you, Aries: Are you working your ass off in order to stoke the fire in your belly? In other words, are you doing everything you can think of to get more motivated? Are you trying hard to supercharge your ambitions and refine your passions? If so, this will be the year when you finally figure out how to do what you love to do a majority of the time — and how to get rewarded by the world for doing it. It’s high time to answer your highest calling.

Hmmm, I can live with this one. And yes, I’ve been working and working and working - finally seeing some progress. It’s amazing that you can work so hard on something and get nowhere. At least it feels like nowhere at times - but then I look back through the pages and pages and pages of longhand writing - notes and thoughts and general snippets of dialogue and then it all comes together.

When I’m working on the manuscript and nothing is happening there, that’s when I turn to just general free writing - the pages are a mess and nothing would make sense to anyone but me, no doubt - but somewhere in there is usually a nugget - the crux of what’s wrong and why I can’t move forward easily. The, aha, that’s the problem, moment. Sometimes it’s a really small thing and sometimes it’s bigger, like not knowing a character as well as you thought you did.

But now that I’ve gotten to that aha spot, things are moving along much faster on Chris’s book. I find that the faster I write, the better I write. (note - this is not the same thing as techinically writing better because OMG - the amount of mistakes I make - form instead of from, etc is just awful.) The writing is just more emotional and real and raw, the way it should be, so I definitely subsribe to what Raymond Chandler says about writing fast:

“The faster I write the better my output. If I’m going slow I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the word instead of being pulled by them.”

Steph T.

Filed under General · 11:07 am · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Stephanie · Tori Lennox

a writer friend in need…

June 14th, 2008

The romance writing community is a wonderful place, and never more so than when one of our own needs help. Please see the letter below about how you can help a friend:

Dear Friends,

One of our own, author Jo Leigh (aka Jolie Kramer) lost her husband on June 13 after he courageously battled cancer. If you don’t know their story which is the stuff romance novels are made of, you can read it here and see their wedding picture here.

In addition to being a fabulous friend to so many and a mulit-RITA nominated author who has written for Harlequin Blaze, Temptation, Intrigue, Special Projects, Silhouette Intimate Moments and Meteor Kismet, Jo is known across the country for the amazing writing classes she teaches, including one on plotting that is incomparable. She has been incredibly generous to so many in sharing her knowledge and expertise.

Unfortunately, Jo has been left with a lot of medical expenses she will be struggling to cover as they had no health insurance, and we would like to help her out by holding several fundraising auctions. If you have items to donate - books or book baskets/collections, critiques, ARCs of upcoming releases, mentoring opportunities, web or promotional material design work etc., please email the item description to the following email address: forjoleigh@gmail.com. This is the address we’re using to organize the items.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Alison Kent, HelenKay Dimon, Larissa Ione, Stephanie Tyler

**edited to add - We’ve been asked about monetary donations - please email me via my contact page and I’ll email you the paypal address, if this is how you wish to help Jo.

We’ve already covered a lot of loops and groups, but if you’d like to post it where you haven’t seen it, or put it up on your blog, that would be wonderful.

horoscopes

June 12th, 2008

Free Will Horoscope for Aries for the week of June 12th:

Successful representations of reality become more important than the reality they represent,” writes W. Daniel Hillis at The World Question Center (tinyurl.com/ywth3). Examples: paper money supersedes gold; a painting has more value than the landscape it depicts; the status that an achievement brings begins to overshadow the achievement. The coming days are an excellent time for you to contemplate how this phenomenon might be in play in your life, and whether it’s causing any distortions you need to correct. Start with this meditation: Is there any way in which you’ve become so focused on the map that you have neglected the territory?

I don’t think your horoscope should make your head hurt, right? I miss the fun horoscopes like, everything will go well today! Or, your order from Office Depot is on your front steps right now!

OMG - seriously, it was! Thanks, PBW for the awesome suggestions…the pretty file folders from Target should be here soon too. Because, you know, pretty file folders make the writing much better - that’s a proven fact.

Steph T.

Filed under General · 4:34 pm · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Tori Lennox

Brazen Careerist

June 9th, 2008

Do not choose your critics because they are the best at constructive criticism. Your best critics may be totally undiplomatic; you need to find the people who best understand your best attributes. If they understand your strengths, then they understand when you’re not using them.
-Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist

I love this quote, because it’s so spot on it’s almost painful. Sometimes, when you’re writing and trying to improve on parts of craft that might not be your strong suit, you forget to make what is your strong suit shine. It helps when there are people out there, editors in particular, who know your strong suit and who can remind you that, this is what you need to do - this is what makes you shine, do more of this.

I’m 3/4 of the way done with some final revisions for TOO HOT TO HOLD (Nick’s book) - the hard parts are done and so I’m working on Chris’s subplot at the same time I’m writing his book, HOLD ON TIGHT. Trilogies are hard but being able to work on all three at the same time is really helpful - I can go back and check facts, change facts and timelines, make sure everything is both smooth for people who read all three in a row and yet stand-alone for those who pick the books up out of order. It’s definitely been a challenge, but I’m damned lucky that the books of my heart happened to also be marketable - I know that doesn’t always happen.

When I was talking to my editor today about the books, I told her that the first two were particularly difficult because I’ve had the characters in my head for so long (hello Jake!) that I’ve built a canon for them - and anything that has me deviating from that makes me crazy. For Chris’s book, I changed the canon and I can already feel that the book is easier. Although I wouldn’t trade the first two books for anything - I’ve gotten to do everything I’ve wanted and some things I didn’t know I needed in them, I’m looking forward to (hopefully) a more straightforward path with Chris’s book (read - fewer revisions).

What? I can dream, can’t I? :P

Steph T.

Filed under Writing Process · 9:42 pm · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Stephanie · Charlene Teglia · Tori Lennox

things you’re not sure you want to know…

June 8th, 2008

Yesterday’s conversation with Zoo:

Zoo: By the way, I think Gus ate a bumblebee today.

Me: *completely horrified* You think?

Zoo: It was pollenating on one of the bushes and Gus just went over and attacked it. And then it was gone, so yeah, he ate it. It was good to see his hunting instincts kick in.

Me: :o

I guess this must be what it’s like to have a son. The other day, Gus brought me in a worm for a present and proceeded to decapitate it at my feet. So yes, good times ahead…

Steph T.

Filed under Home Life · 10:06 am · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Stephanie · Charlene Teglia

Release day!!!

May 20th, 2008

Hot Nights, Dark Desires releases today!!! It’s an anthology with novellas from me, Sydney Croft and Eden Bradley.

Inspired by the sultry heat and sensual ambiance of New Orleans , this steamy collection delves into the erotic underground of the Big Easy. Here is a tantalizing trio of stories by three rising stars that will tease your imagination—and seduce your senses.

Lush, haunting, and provocative, New Orleans has something to satisfy every desire—as three very lucky women are about to discover.

In “Shadow Play” (by Sydney Croft) an ex-supermodel desperate to revive her career seeks the help of a gorgeous, reclusive photographer with a special gift—and offers him anything he wants in return. The result is a series of erotic positions captured on film—along with a mind-blowing physical connection neither expected….

In “The Art of Desire” (by Eden Bradley) a sheltered young woman turned on by the idea of getting tattooed dares to make her fantasy a reality. But as her arousing sessions with a dangerously handsome tattoo artist move from the tattoo parlor to the bedroom, they make an impression that’s more than skin deep….

And in “Night Vision” (by Stephanie Tyler) when artist Catie Lanford hires professional cooler Bat Kelly to whip the failing bar she’s recently inherited into shape, she’s not looking for a lover—until she lays eyes on the sexy wild man. Soon they’ve agreed to mix business with pleasure, and Catie discovers that Bat is just what she needs to set her artist’s imagination—and her body—on fire.

Abandon your inhibitions and excite your spirit with a gathering of tales that’s as sexy and spicy as the city of New Orleans itself.

Mandy Burns from Fresh Fiction says, “The title says it all in this deliciously erotic anthology by stars of the genre. What a perfect name for an anthology! HOT NIGHTS, DARK DESIRES is a flawless blend of sexy characters and steamy chemistry proving once again that these authors are the best at what they do. Definitely a must-read!!”

You can read an excerpt from Night Vision here!

And if I owe you an email, give me a few days and I’ll get there - I got sick after my daughter’s operation and I’m not feeling much better, two weeks later. And then there’s the migraine that hit yesterday and prevented me from making the Writeminded chat - I’m so sorry about that!!!

Steph T.

Filed under Sydney Croft, Larissa, Publishing · 9:59 am · 3 Comments »

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guest blogging at Eden Bradley’s blog

May 12th, 2008

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and good wishes - Lily did great in Pittsburgh and we got home late Friday night! So now it’s just rest and recovery for her so she can start her swimming next month. :D

Larissa and I (and Sydney) are over at Eden Bradley’s blog, where she’s declared May tattoo month!

See, in our newest release, Hot Nights, Dark Desires, Eden’s novella, The Art of Desire, is about a tattoo fetish, and so she’s invited us and other authors to go and talk about their tattoos. There are a few pics of mine up, so go on over and take a look!


Hot Nights, Dark Desires releases May 20th!

Inspired by the sultry heat and sensual ambiance of New Orleans , this steamy collection delves into the erotic underground of the Big Easy. Here is a tantalizing trio of stories by three rising stars that will tease your imagination—and seduce your senses.

Lush, haunting, and provocative, New Orleans has something to satisfy every desire—as three very lucky women are about to discover.

In “Shadow Play” (by Sydney Croft) an ex-supermodel desperate to revive her career seeks the help of a gorgeous, reclusive photographer with a special gift—and offers him anything he wants in return. The result is a series of erotic positions captured on film—along with a mind-blowing physical connection neither expected….

In “The Art of Desire” (by Eden Bradley) a sheltered young woman turned on by the idea of getting tattooed dares to make her fantasy a reality. But as her arousing sessions with a dangerously handsome tattoo artist move from the tattoo parlor to the bedroom, they make an impression that’s more than skin deep….

And in “Night Vision” (by Stephanie Tyler) when artist Catie Lanford hires professional cooler Bat Kelly to whip the failing bar she’s recently inherited into shape, she’s not looking for a lover—until she lays eyes on the sexy wild man. Soon they’ve agreed to mix business with pleasure, and Catie discovers that Bat is just what she needs to set her artist’s imagination—and her body—on fire.

Abandon your inhibitions and excite your spirit with a gathering of tales that’s as sexy and spicy as the city of New Orleans itself.

Steph T

Filed under Sydney Croft, Larissa, Blogging · 9:13 am · 1 Comment »

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car trips & writing

May 6th, 2008

I’m headed out of town today with Zoo and the kid to Pittsburgh - it’s that time of year again, the kid’s spinal surgery. Thoughts and prayers on Thursday morning are most welcomed…

My mom’s staying here to watch Gus. I’m not sure which one I should worry about more. :LOL:

The Sydney machine is moving along nicely - I think Taming The Fire is around 112 pages, and I’ve got another scene to throw in there too. Today it’s my turn - I’ve got 2 - 3 scenes to write, which I’ll do in the car (eight hour trip) and send them to Larissa tonight so I’m not holding her up too much.

Two days ago, she called me a genius. Yesterday, it was back to idiot. But I totally saved the genius email as proof. Of something…

We also pulled some thoughts together for book 5, since we’ve got that proposal due in early June. I just need to find that perfect hero name…the one that will drive Larissa crazy…

What? Writing is supposed to be fun.

Steph T.

Filed under Sydney Croft · 9:22 am · 6 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Jaq · Ann · Tori Lennox · Jaci Burton

4AM

May 2nd, 2008

Jennifer has been hosting the Writeminded authors on her blog this week - today’s my turn to answer her list of questions, so stop on over and say hi! Jennifer’s giving away WM mini-promo packets to a lucky winner who comments :)

I’ve been up since 4AM, thanks to the child. Of course, Gus decided he needed to be up as well and Zoo is in Atlanta for business so we’re all downstairs now, me with my icepack and the other two playing. I have to tell you, I don’t find anything playful about 4AM.

What I wish Gus and Lily were doing:

(pic is old, btw - this is Gus about 30lbs ago…)

Okay, so yesterday’s Trance writing netted us about 17 pages - not bad for a first day. I’d say that we average between 20 - 25 pages a day once we’re really going - and of course, we had the usual email, why the hell is it so easy and fast to write with you but on my own it takes me forever to get this many pages, discussion. Then we begged each other to write each other’s current books - again, par for the course.

Oh and Trance’s title is now officially TAMING THE FIRE. I think we’re trying to come up with two more titles for the contracted books with fire in their titles as well, but right now I’m just grateful we got that one settled.

I also went through about 80 pages of Nick’s book on the hardcopy, slashing and burning and tweaking - I’m trying to get it to Larisssa for a read soon.

For today, I’ve got two Trance scenes to flesh out and finish. Maybe a third, depending on where the story goes.

Oh, and I’ve been meaning to blog about the movie, The Devil Wears Prada - someone remind me please…something about it’s been bothering me and Zoo is tired of hearing me talk about it.

Steph T.

Filed under Writeminded, Sydney Croft, Blogging · 6:05 am · 4 Comments »

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back to Trance…

May 1st, 2008

So today, Larissa and I start in on Trance - Sydney’s book 4. We’ve got about 60 + pages (proposal chapters which we’d handed in sometime in January plus some extra scenes that happen later in the book.)

The book is due in July - and I think we’ve got a proposal for book 5 due in June. And I have Nick’s revisions and Chris’s book due June/July-ish as well. But I try not to think too much about all of that because then my head might explode.

Oh, and I have a migraine today. So my head might explode anyway. :LOL:

People are always curious about how we write together, what the process is like - so I’ll try to document as we go along - we’ve always meant to do that but we end up getting involved in the process and forget to give out the details.

So like today - day 1…it begins with an email where Larissa usually sends me the latest copy (she sends the copy to our editor since she’s an amazing proofreader and I am…not. At all.) So she sends me what we’ve got and I kind of skim through it like, wow, I like the story (which is good - because when you haven’t looked at something in months, you tend to scare yourself into thinking, my GOD, this book is going to be really hard to write…)

I mean, it might be - I’m not sure yet. In some ways, it’s a much easier book because it’s not part of the Storm series, even though it’s set in the ACRO world. At this point, we’ve got a main plot and one subplot, although I’m still pushing for one more small subplot. But don’t tell Larissa yet.

For today’s writing, we’ve already started emailing each other about what happens next (it’s her character’s turn - she’s writing the main heroine (Ulrika or Rik) and the subplot hero (Ryan) this time around and I’ve got main hero (Trance) and sublot heroine (Coco. Or Mary)…we’ll both join in on writing Dev and whoever else comes up.) - she’ll send me little encouraging love notes, like the one that just came through:

You’re an idiot.

Do you see why working with a partner can give you the warm fuzzies?!

So today’s goals are for Larissa to get enough of the Rik scene done so I can work on the next Trance scene. We don’t always go in order, although once we get past the halfway mark, we tend to) - for now, the document gets messy - where we’ll both have lots of unfinished scenes. Because we can work off unfinished scenes - we can move ahead that way and go back and polish as things firm up. Because right now, although we have a synopsis - it’s all very vague. Which is just the way I like it.

If you’ve got any specific questions as we move along in the process, feel free to ask them in the comments or email me and I’ll try to get them answered.

Steph T.

Filed under Sydney Croft, Larissa · 9:45 am · 2 Comments »

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Free Will Astrology & titles

April 29th, 2008

Free Will Astrology for Aries for the week of May 1st:

Your power symbol for the week is an ant carrying a potato chip. It means you’ll possess so much strength that you’ll be able to hold aloft burdens that are much bigger than you. More than that, Aries. You’ll look graceful doing it. And here’s the kicker. That giant load you carry may ultimately provide nourishment not only for you but also for everyone back at the nest.

Now I want potato chips…and, for the record, no more burdens, please. Thank you to whoever fufills these requests.

Anyway, Larissa and I start writing Sydney book 4 (it’s Trance’s bok, tentitively titled, Taming The Fire) on May 1st. I think we’re both writing our 3rd single titles (her demons, my SEALs) as we write Trance, so it’ll be a bit crazy. But writing Syd stuff always brings out a lot of energy in our individual projects too, so I’m looking forward to it!

I’m almost done with revisions for Nick’s book. I think. Maybe. I have to let it sit for a while and work on Chris’s book some more along with Trance - give myself a bit of time away from it. And I got an idea for a new proposal as well, so it’s all kind of flying around inside my head.

I was on a search for a working title for the proposal (or one that could actually stick with a book through publication, but that’s really rare.) - Sometimes, a title comes to me and just works. Larissa tells me that I picked Riding The Storm (I can’t remember titling that for the life of me, but it does fit the book perfectly.)

But if nothing jumps out at me, the first place I turn to is iTunes, looking for a song title and / or some great lyrics that I can twist and turn around a bit. For instance, the title, Coming Undone came from the Beach Boy’s Surfer Girl - makes my heart come all undone…because Carly is a surfer girl.

Risking It All was originally, To The Limit (Eagles!) and Beyond His Control was Linger (I still LOVE that title - the song by the Cranberries totally fits the book for me.)

And if I strike out with songs, I’ll turn to poetry. I can waste a lot of time there (okay, waste is the wrong word) because I really love poetry - I haven’t written any in a long time, but when I go through some of Anne Sexton’s poems or Marge Piercy or HOWL, etc, it makes me want to write poetry again.

And I came across this poem from Linda Pastan (another favorite) - it seemed appropriate, so I figured I share:

What We Want by Linda Pastan

What we want
is never simple.
We move among the things
we thought we wanted:
a face, a room, an open book
and these things bear our names–
now they want us.
But what we want appears
in dreams, wearing disguises.
We fall past,
holding out our arms
and in the morning
our arms ache.
We don’t remember the dream,
but the dream remembers us.
It is there all day
as an animal is there
under the table,
as the stars are there
even in full sun.

Steph T.

Filed under Craft, Jake & Co. · 8:48 pm · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · raine

back at Writeminded…

April 25th, 2008

for a TGIF giveaway! Check it out and comment for a chance to win - contest winner will be picked on Sunday night!

Steph T.

Filed under Writeminded · 8:28 am · Comments Off

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Today’s post…

April 24th, 2008

is at Writeminded!

Steph T.

Filed under Writeminded · 8:55 am · Comments Off

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chat tonight and tagged!

March 17th, 2008

First off, tonight is the Writeminded Chat at Writerspace with Amy Knupp, Maya Banks, Jaci Burton, Larissa Ione and me! Come on over and join us for the fun, beginning at 9PM EST!

Here’s the link for the chat.

Sasha tagged me - and I think Larissa tagged me for this a while back too and I’m SO terribly behind on tags.

So here goes:

Four jobs I’ve had in my life:
1. Lifeguard - best job EVER! You don’t work when it rains AND you get paid!
2. Bookstore manager - best job EVER! Because, hello, books!!!
3. Teacher - toughest job EVER, next to being a mom. But still fun.
4. Writer - best job EVER! Because I get to stay home all the time, not just when it rains!

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:
1. Road House
2. Basic
3. Walking Tall
4. A History of Violence

Four favorite places I’ve lived:
1. New York
2. Fairfield, Connecticut
3. Cincinatti (short term)

that’s it!

Four favorite places I’ve travelled:
1. Africa
2. Mexico
3. Jamaica
4. Amsterdam

Four places I most want to see before I die:
1. Africa again
2. Italy
3. Greece
4. Africa. Again.

Four of my favorite foods:
1. chocolate
2. french fries
3. wings from the Candlelight
4. hamburgers with pickles

Damn, I’m hungry now. :lol:

Steph T.

Filed under Writeminded, Blogging · 10:12 am · 4 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Crystal* · Sasha · Ann · Tori Lennox

writing, writing and more writing…

March 9th, 2008

So I’m writing and writing and writing on the NEVER ENDING book that is Nick’s (TOO HOT TO HOLD) and I’m writing and writing these subplot heroines who are sisters and I just keep saying to myself, I know there’s something you’re not telling me…

And so I wrote and wrote and suddenly one of the sisters must’ve been so tired of me asking that she was like, here’s our deal and I was like, finally. I mean, don’t get me wrong - their deal is good - worth waiting for. But maybe they could’ve saved me a little bit of angst.

Anyway, I thought about this because I got asked if I’d like to do a writing workshop class at a local arts center and got a mental picture of me sitting on a desk in my pajamas telling the class what I just told you all about those sisters and thinking, will that pass for curriculum?

Last week, Larissa mentioned how she hasn’t been doing any craft posts lately. I don’t know if I ever really did craft posts because I’m not really a craft kind of person. I’ve tried it - different methods, like the plotting boards - and plotting itself, and none of it ever seemed to work for me. Instead, I just use my own method (the write-out-of-order one) and I pray for the best. Eventually, the book gets in shape.

Are their easier ways? I’m sure, but my mind seems to go on strike when I try them.

Hi, I’m your teacher who doesn’t plot! Yes, that will go over well…

Anyway, today, more writing. Must get this book done. Will only stop to watch Rock Of Love, because, well, you know…who wouldn’t?!

FYI, Gus was 31.3 Lbs two weeks and three days ago. Today, he’s 47 lbs. at 4 and 1/2 months.

(this is from 2 weeks ago…I swear he grows overnight)
Gus with frog - 16 weeks old

On a side note - I so didn’t need daylight savings time this week - I needed that damned hour…

Steph T.

Filed under Writing Process, Home Life, Jake & Co. · 2:53 pm · 3 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Jordan Summers · Tori Lennox

Romance B(u)y The Book!

March 5th, 2008

(Please don’t forget to check out this post to take the author / agent surveys!)

Sydney’s Unleashing The Storm is featured this week on Michelle Buonfiglio’s Romance: B(u)y the Book!!! There’s an interview with Larissa and me and we’ll be blogging there on March 7th, so please stop by and see us :) (You’ll have to do a quick registration to comment!)

Michelle also reviewed Unleashing - she says,

“Unleashing the Storm” is emotionally satisfying, as well as fiercely erotic. The sexual tension is urgent and driving; it refuses to subside. That’s because the writing duo that is Sydney Croft (Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler) shows Kira’s need in an aching, frantic way sensual women understand. Then they gift us with Ender, who delivers high-emotion sexual fantasy even we veteran erotic romance fans find refreshing.

You can read the full review here!

Steph T.

Filed under Sydney Croft, Larissa, Blogging, Publishing · 4:02 pm · Comments Off

Recent comments from:

Survey time!

March 5th, 2008

Bekke, from DreamForgeMedia, needs your input for a column she’s writing for Romancing The Blog.

She’s looking for those of you who had a website and / or blog up before you were published (I gave her a few names off the top of my head.) and would like to know if you felt as though that helped you or not. You can do that by answering a few questions on her author survey.

I’ll be filling it out myself, since I’ve had a website up since…oh, 2003 maybe? I guess I could just check the blog archives…

Also, she’s got some questions for agents - so if you’ve got an agent / know an agent / are an agent, she’d appreciate you answering these questions on her agent survey.

I’m actually very curious to see some of the answers to both questions!!!

So go - take the survey. Or I’ll send SEALs after you.

:shoot:

Or, right, I forgot - that threat never seems to work since you all want SEALs to come after you. :lol:

No SEALs until you take the survey. Yes, that’s it…

Steph T.

Filed under Blogging · 11:33 am · 4 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Tori Lennox · Alison Kent » Blog Archive » Taking a survey . . .

today’s progress…

March 2nd, 2008

I wrote four scenes yesterday on Nick’s book (Too Hot To Hold) - good scenes, necessary information, but not great scenes. Scenes that drove me crazy trying to fix them, tweak them, do something with them. Then I finally figured it out late last night, right before I collapsed.

They were all in the wrong pov. :sigh:

A few hours today spent moving dialogue and motivations around and now everyone’s happy. But I lost time, dammit. I hate when you spend all day writing and you don’t make any page progress. I like to see page progress. But I have the whole night for that - hopefully now that my plot is semi-squared away, things will move faster.

*fingers crossed*

That’s if, of course, Gus decides to vacate my seat:

Anyway, tonight my reward will be a new episode of Rock of Love!!! But I seriously hope they don’t go to anymore dark restaurants because that was just nasty.

Steph T.

Filed under Writing Process · 9:42 pm · 4 Comments »

Recent comments from: · Tori Lennox · Amie Stuart
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