And the Winner Is...

Congratulations Margaret Tanner, you've won a copy of Twice is Not Enough!

Emma Lai, author of Twice is Not Enough

A preview of my interview questions, with me as the guinea pig, for upcoming guests.

How are your story ideas born?

My inspiration comes from many sources: dreams, media moments, daily occurrences, picture and song lyrics. Dreams are fun because they’re open to interpretation. Media moments are those moments when you see a movie or read a story and an image or idea captures your attention and makes you wonder “what if.” What’s interesting about media moments for me is how they spin off wildly different story ideas than the media from which they arose.

How many works in progress do you have?

At least a dozen. I was concentrating on a couple of contemporary, but yesterday a fairy-tale I’d been working on demanded attention. And, speaking of dreams, the heroine from my young adult sci-fi/fantasy paid me a visit last night to ask why I hadn’t given her any attention lately. *Sigh.*

What is your writing process?

Write whenever I can. My toddler keeps me chasing him most of the day. Hubby attempts to give me two mornings a week. During that time, I escape the house and go to my local bookstore, buy a coffee and settle into my routine. I check my emails and visit blogs for the first thirty minutes or so and then I pick a story and write until hunger or guilt gnaws at me.

What writing mechanic challenges you?

I have problems with modifying clauses: how to do them properly, where to put them, how to punctuate them.

What’s your favorite part of the writing process?

Getting into a character’s head. Sometimes when I’m writing, I become my hero or heroine. It’s pretty cool. Of course, I become so involved that I later have to go back to flesh out the other character’s reactions/thoughts/actions/dialogue.

What’s your least favorite part of the writing process?

Like many other writers, I’d have to say editing. Though, there are valuable lessons to be learned from a good editor.

How long did it take to write your latest release?

The initial story for Twice is Not Enough took something like 10 hours. Then I submitted it to Harlequin Spice, but they said it wasn’t quite right. So, I added another 2,500 words (about 10 hours) and submitted it to The Wild Rose Press. Add in edits and long periods of time of thinking about the story and the time grows to around 40 hours. Keep in mind the story went from 5,000 words to 21K.

Do you have a favorite line or scene from your story?

My favorite scene isn’t the library scene--which is a major portion of the story--where Lady Minerva becomes a voyeur secreted away with a tempting stranger. It’s actually the scene, where she realizes her own happiness is just as important as the happiness of those she loves.


Twice is Not Enough blurb:
After several disastrous engagements, Lady Minerva Peters is an expert at suppressing her own needs. Only in the darkness of night does she give in to her wanton desires with a fantasy lover.

In the middle of a crowded ballroom, she learns her father is not yet ready to let her fade into spinsterhood. Humiliated, she ducks into a dark alcove only to find out she's not alone. Her hiding spot is occupied by a captivating stranger. Before she can escape, the two become voyeurs to another couple’s sexual rendezvous. The atmosphere heats up and so does her body, especially with the tempting offers whispered in her ear.

Will Minerva deny her needs once again or will she embrace the anonymity of their seclusion and finally explore her basic impulses and the startling attraction to the compelling mystery man?


Click here to buy.

Wednesday's Writing Tip: Hyp(h)en versus Em Dash

I'll admit it. I suck at certain aspects of grammar and punctuation. However, I'm continually striving to improve. After all, isn't that what a good writer does?

My latest quest had me seeking the answer on how to properly use the hyphen.

Hyphens are hold overs from the days of typewriters when a writer ran out of page, but not word. Following the good old dictionary's suggestion on where to split up words, a writer would insert the hyphen at the ap-pro-pri-ate point. Modern use of the hyphen typically denotes compound words (well-known...but only if it precedes the noun it modifies), numbers (twenty-one), certain prefixes (ex-husband), or a place holder for suspended compounds (not recommended because it leaves the audience wondering what the modified noun is until later in the sentence).

But the answer to  my question was...I don't want to know how to use the hyphen, I want to know how to use the em dash--which to express using the computer keyboard is two hyphens.

Em dashes are used like parenthesis to present a clause related to a sentence element, but not necessarily to the sentence as a whole.

A side note: Apparently I have problems spelling as well since spell check informed me hyphen is spelled with an 'h' after the p. :)

Getting Back in the Swing of Things

I know I've been negligent in posting, but 2011 is going to be exciting.

1) Twice is Not Enough release party starts next Monday! Free copies coming your way!

2) I'm looking for guests bloggers as well as guest spots. I have a new set of interview questions, and as always, am open to authors who need places to promo or write their own topics...J-O-B-S suck up so much valuable writing time. :) Shoot me an email if you're interested!

Twice is Not Enough Now Available

Now available from The Wilder Rose Press!

Starting the New Year on a Happy Note

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. My holiday was great and the 2011 has started off on a high note.

His Hope, Her Salvation is now available on audio at AudioLark. I love the cover. It captures Donovan's essence quite well.

Desperate to escape her abusive fiance, even for a moment, Judith breaks into the home of a mysterious American residing in England.


Donovan, a Guardian Hunter, is on the trail of a rogue Elysian. As the son of the First Hunter, he long ago gave up hope of finding his heart’s mate. Now his inner beast and his heart demand that he answer Judith’s plea for help.

Will their passion provide the answers they’ve both been seeking? Or will it destroy their lives?

And, of course, the story is available at The Wild Rose Press site in e-book format as well.




Also, my first erotica, Twice is Not Enough, will release on January 14th from The Wild Rose Press. Vicky at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews gave it four out of five hearts. Here are my favorite snippets from the review...


"Minerva doesn’t fit any of the usual molds. She is not the chunky, chubby smart one, not is she the beautiful spitfire, nor is she any of the other typical models used when writing."

"... really liked that the start IS based on reality."

" Twice Is Not Enough doesn’t hide anything and doesn’t seem to be putting on a pretty face to life’s facts;"

What better compliment for a writer than to have someone say the characters and plot are real?