The GH List Is Up!

Brag Alert!! RWA has released the "official" list of this year's Golden Heart finalists, the Lucky 13s -- pictures and all! Boy is it weird to see my name and the name of my book out in public like that, and with a picture too. :p You can see it on the RWA website HERE. Check it out! My fellow Lucky 13s are shown in all their glory too.  c;

Guest blog alert!

I'm over at Dani's blog today talking about our Nationals Health Challenge and the attitude I've had to develop with some recent health issues. Come see what I have to say--and where I'm at with my goal. :)

Talk About Me?

Ugh! I've been managing to blog one way or another for over a year to encourage other writers, but the minute I set up a two-week schedule for my own site, my mind went completely blank! I both love and hate talking about me. I mean, who doesn't love talking about themselves -- we all have something we want to add to the conversation, right? But this is harder because I'm trying to pick out the bits that really tell you something, that give you some inkling about who I am aside from the person who can encourage and direct writers in their writing journey. So, who am I?

Honestly, sometimes I have no idea. :) The older I get, the more I feel like a never-ending spiral of stairs I'll never get to the end of, especially on those "what the he** am I doing?" kind of days. Recently a friend of mine was describing the man in her life, saying he wasn't "self-aware." I'm probably at the other end -- too self-aware. I'm all up in my head, which might be why my body looks like a couch potato rather than a marathon runner, lol.

Hmm, I've never considered that. Maybe I should...

But back to what I was saying. Maybe that's why I write on the darker side, gritty and angsty. Because I'm all about the internal journey. Even with my background in martial arts, which guarantees I love a good fight, it's the internal journey, the fight within ourselves, that most fascinates me. And there's nothing I enjoy more than throwing something at my characters that they're definitely going to struggle with -- I'm sadistic that way. ;)

So what about you? If you had to answer the question "Who am I?" what would you say?

Arik

I spent many years dreaming of writing around diapers, every-evening dinners, and the amount of laundry only two kids two years apart can create. My sister, Dani Wade, was writing romance novels targeted at Harlequin, and I remembered how that felt, the evolving of a new world, the playing out of a scene across the screen of my mind that somehow, through the miracle of the pen, translated itself to the page. But I didn't try it.

See, I was afraid. Afraid of what people would think, especially my sister. Afraid I couldn't do it. And most of all, afraid I truly had nothing of value to share. And then came Arik.

I don't even remember exactly how he came into being. I only remember asking myself, if I could write my fantasy hero, what would he be like? Well, Arik is it. He is dark, sexy, a loner, a male in need of healing and yet the embodiment of strength. He's everything I ever wanted in a book hero. But then I had to write him.

And that's where everything changed. Because I didn't write Arik immediately--I spent three years honing my skill as a writer before I ever let myself touch his story (and yes, for me most stories are about the hero; the heroine is just a replacement for me, lol!). The world of the Archai and the supernatural characters that populated it deserved my best, and I refused to begin the story until I knew for certain I was ready to give that best. So, in a way, Arik is responsible for the writer I've become, not just someone who dabbles, but a committed, skilled author who can finally bring that scene stuck in my head onto the page in a way that makes readers forget they're reading a book and not actually walking along beside the characters themselves.

Wanna know more about Arik? How about a little treat? Here's Arik's introduction in the first chapter of Unbroken. Go on and read it; you know you want to! Indulge yourself with the hero who changed my world. ;)

*

The roads were rank with the scent of recent rain, exhaust, and unwashed human. Stalking through the midnight-black streets, skirting the circles of light cast by an occasional irritating streetlight, Arik held back an ugly grin at the expressions on the few bums and far-gone club hoppers he happened to pass. No long hair flowing like a curtain behind him, no leather duster flapping in the slight wind--who the hell needed the theatrics, anyway?--but it didn't stop the fear that sparked in the eyes that witnessed his passage through the night. And they should be afraid. He wasn't the only one on the hunt tonight.

His senses flared, humming like a refrigerator on full cold as he followed the shifters' trail through the maze of sidewalks scattered with flashing neon lights and the occasional roar of sound when a bar door opened abruptly. Downtown Nashville was full of nightlife, but the middle-of-the-night cold kept most of the revelry inside rather than spilling onto the streets as it did in the summer. Hunting was harder then, but tonight, with a full group of shifters moving through the heavily traveled area, most of the oblivious population wisely kept their sport indoors and out of his way.

A yellow cab, the "available" light a beacon for customers, passed on the narrow street. A blast of exhaust clouded the air, fucking up his nose, and Arik hissed. The sound startled a drunk on the darkened steps jutting out from a nearby alley, and the man jerked, his bottle of cheap liquor rattling as it hit the concrete. He slid wild eyes in Arik's direction before hastily shuffling farther into the yawning cavern between two buildings. Arik ignored the interruption and continued on.

They were close, he knew, the ones he sought. Not Archai like him. These were the dark ones, the Anigma that had risen in the Great War, after life for the Archai--and Arik--had changed forever. Shifters that had given up their honor for... Well, whatever the hell they'd given it up for, they hadn't won. No shifter had. But still Arik hunted the Anigma. They were his enemy, and he'd be on them in moments.

Turning left at the next corner, Arik allowed his animal to the fore, using his griffin sight to scan the next several blocks. Even in the darkness of this less frequented section of downtown, he instantly homed in on the group of males dispersing at the entry of a local blues bar. The lit sign lazily proclaiming the place to be Lenny's shone on the half dozen black-clad figures entering the building, the rest of the Anigma team fading into the surrounding shadows. Arik had no doubt the males stayed close. When he followed their team members inside, the rest would know.

"Let 'em," he said, low and mean, the animal strong in his voice. Power surged in his muscles, the adrenaline of the hunt, and he found himself standing outside the bar in seconds. Too fast for human eyes to see, but not the Anigma. The whisper of their shifting weights as they noticed him was easily discernible to his sensitive ears. He ignored them and stepped inside.

*

Over on The Mutual Admiration Society, we have what we call Friday Feature Foto--the first Friday of every month, we feature a character from one of our books, including a photo. Hop over there and check out my personal message for Arik this month!

Check this out!

My twin sis and fellow author, Dani Wade, has set up a get healthy challenge for the next 15 weeks. I plan to participate so I can prep for the Golden Heart ® ceremony in July and all those new people I'll be meeting. You can participate too—author, reader, couch rider, it doesn't matter to us! The point is to get up and go, and encourage each other as we do it. :) So hop on over to Dani's blog—here—and check it out. Today!

I Did It!

It is with much disbelief and thankfulness that I announce my very first paranormal, Unbroken, has finalled in the Golden Heart ® contest for RWA! Squeee!!! I am pinching myself all over! Thanks to Lori Handeland for calling me this morning and continuing to talk despite all my tears and blubbering. And thanks to Dani Wade and Gina L. Maxwell, my outstanding CPs, for all their help with the submission. You guys are invaluable! Love you!

The Need for Connection

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I hate being bothered. I know, I know, it sounds awful, selfish, self-centered. I love to talk, to know people actually care whether or not I exist, and as someone who is fortunate enough to work from home, I often find myself feeling as if I’ve fallen off the face of the earth and no one really noticed. But still…I hate to be bothered.

When my husband bought me my first (and only) smartphone, I was ecstatic to be able to receive e-mail wherever I was instead of waiting, sometimes hours, to access my account from home and see who needed what (especially important since e-mail is how I receive my day job projects). Then I discovered texting—instant gratification! But the more I used these convenient features, the more I realized people expected me to be available twenty-four/seven. And though I enjoy being in touch with people, I also realized I didn’t like being in touch that much. :)

The other night, while cooking dinner, my teenager was receiving text after text from a friend on her flip phone (and yes, she complains constantly that she doesn’t have something more sophisticated). She was getting more and more frustrated, and I finally asked her what the problem was. She said she hated it that her friends expected her to be instantly available. WOW! We actually agree on something! Which is really odd, because she is a social butterfly, and I am most definitely a homebody.

It seems sometimes that, the more we are connected, the lonelier we are. We expect everyone to be available at the touch of a button, but what we communicate often lacks depth, dimension. A true connection comes not necessarily from quantity but from quality. To feel like others remember I exist, I don’t need a hundred messages about nothing. I need one message that touches my heart. And while my daughter loves multiple messages, if none of them touch her heart, her need for connection isn’t met either.

I hope in some small way I am able to bring that touch of heart to my books. I can read a hundred books that skim the surface of human emotion and, though they might be fun, I don’t really feel satisfied. But it only takes one book that delves the depths of passion, hunger, pain, joy, and I feel as if my heart has been touched and my need for connection is filled, at least until the next book comes along. ;) That’s the book I want to write. That’s the book I want to give you—a book that is more than fluff; a book that feeds the need for connection.

*Photos by moyan_brenn and katerha.

What I've Been Reading

You can find out a lot about an author from what they read. After all, who wants to read a paranormal romance by an author who doesn't read paranormals? Or an erotic romance from someone who doesn't read them? We expect certain things from certain subgenres of romance, and we want them followed -- or broken, but only in a "break the rules but make me like it" kind of way. So what have I been reading? Lately I haven't had a lot of time to read, but I try to sneak in something now and then. And I'm glad I did last week when I picked up The Reluctant Dom by Tymber Dalton based on a recommendation from an FB group. When I read the blurb and realized yes, one of the characters will probably die in this book, I was torn. I love happy endings, always. But I also love dark, gritty, angsty books as well. The deeper and more edgy the emotions, the better I like it. So I clicked the button and waited for the book to download to my Kindle.

Lord a'mercy! I've read quite a bit of BDSM, both for pleasure and in my day job as an editor, but very little of it comes close to what Dalton managed to create here. The depth of the pain, love, and longing in this story tore my heart apart and put it back together. It was beautiful, it truly was. I highly recommend it, and to convince you, here's the blurb from Amazon. :)

Love hurts...if you're lucky.

Kaden's dying, but before he goes he has one problem to solve -- he must ask his oldest and dearest friend, Seth, to take over as Dom and Master to his beloved wife, Leah.

Seth has always seen himself as the perpetual screwup and Kaden as the strong and steady one, so his friend's request rocks his world. He also knows there's no way he can refuse Kaden this.

Now Seth finds himself immersed in a role he's far from comfortable with -- inflicting physical pain to provide emotional comfort to the woman he's secretly loved for years. Can he deal with his crushing gried over the impending loss of his oldest friend and still learn the skills he must master in time to become The Reluctant Dom?

What struck me, beyond the truly heart-rending situation the characters found themselves in, was the title character, Seth. He is in every way reluctant -- reluctant to lose his friend, reluctant to face his true feelings for Leah, reluctant to step up to the plate when he's always thought of himself as the perpetual screwup. He's both your typical alpha male and not, at the same time. He drew me to him and made me believe he could do what Kaden asked of him even when he didn't believe it himself. Great job, Dalton!

Even the subject matter (and I don't mean the BDSM) was handled in a gentle, compelling,  painful, healing way. Death is hard to deal with in a romance, even in paranormals or romantic suspense where danger is all around and you know, you just know someone isn't gonna make it out of this alive. But death is all around us, and Dalton shows us both the torture and the gift the process brings to our lives. It both rang true and had me screaming, "No! No! No!" by the end. And yet, Kaden and Seth and Leah enriched my life too. I'm glad I read it. You should too. :)

Check out this and other Tymber Dalton books at the author's website here -- and prepare for a passionate ride, in more ways than one!

Steam & Suspense Come to the Web!

Wow! My first post on my new website! Of course, I'm not completely unfamiliar to the Web -- I've been running The Mutual Admiration Society, an accountability blog for writers, for over a year now. At TMAS I encourage writers, including myself, to meet and exceed their goals for their career. But now it's time to connect with readers and get you interested in my stories. Be sure and visit the About Me page and the In the Works page for information on what I'm all about. As I pursue publication, I want you to share the journey, to share the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of creating a story, refining a story, and presenting a story to the public. I'll also be sharing some of my writer friends' stories and helping you get to know them as well, so check out the Links section for more on them.

I'm very excited you are here and look forward to spending time with you! You can also connect with me on Facebook  at Ella Sheridan. I'll be setting up a regular posting schedule soon, so be sure to check back!

Ella