EXPERIMENTATION!!!

Good morning everyone! Get through your Monday? Certainly hope so...The month of March is upon us and time is swiftly moving forward. Before I know it, I'll be back in December getting ready for the holidays once more. UGH! The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by.

So, let's get busy before the morning gets away from us, shall we? I recently submitted a manuscript to Harlequin Blaze and was asked to revise it and resubmit. I was absolutely THRILLED! Why you ask? I'd received a rejection letter for goodness sake! The comments in the rejection letter were extremely helpful in pointing out the direction the story should go in order to fit the Blaze line. My ultimate goal as a writer is to write for Harlequin Blaze. I see myself getting there and eventually writing at least three books a year for them.

There has been a lot of talk from my fellow romance authors on this blog (and others) about how characters guide us as we create a story. As I visualized how to turn my heroine into someone "bolder and innately sensual", she decided that she should do some experimentation in order to avoid the pitfalls of her recent dating mistakes! She wants to stand up for women everywhere who have also had the misfortune of being "loser magnets" by creating a Dating Manifesto. Imagine knowing what signs to look for immediately when someone asks you out on a date? A woman would know if she was in for a good time or a lousy time up front and decide if he was worth the trouble.

Sounds kind of fun, huh? Which brought me to another question. What traits or characteristics do women look for in a date? Here are a few my heroine came up with. What are yours?

~Someone who pays attention to the little details
~Someone who is attentive to her needs
~Someone willing to be spontaneous and fun
~Someone who is attractive--and not just in a physical way, but has such a charm and personality that sparkles to the surface-- But let's face it, in a romance, the hero will definitely have to be hot, hot, hot....

I hope to have this manuscript revised soon. It is tentatively titled "Dating 911" and I have a sequal in the works, as well. My major distraction at the moment, however, while speaking of pesky characters....has been a short story that I'd started while caring for my mom while she'd been hospitalized before her recent death. The story has taken on mammoth proportions and demands to be a full length novel instead of a short. *Sigh* If they'd just leave me alone long enough.... so many projects crowding the mind and so little time....

Below is an excerpt from my current release, THE DOCTOR'S DECEPTION, available at www.amazon.com. Warning....Enjoy reading it with your favorite box of chocolate!



Faith opened the door and there he stood. She’d seen Dr. Lassiter in a suit and tie before. He didn’t always wear scrubs while in the unit. But she should’ve known after her traitorous reaction to him lately, that tonight would be different--more personal.

Her breath caught.

Okay, to be fair, she did want his body. She could admit that freely to herself.
His honey blonde hair was damp and curled slightly at his collar. From the wet look, he’d waited until the last minute to get ready. Nothing vain about this man. The dark dinner jacket he wore accentuated his powerful shoulders and broad chest. The white shirt set a sharp contrast to his tan skin. Her fingers itched to loosen the simple black silk tie and unbutton the top buttons of his shirt to get to what lay underneath.

“Hello, Faith.”

Slowly exhaling, she silently whistled and gazed into his eyes. Jeez, get a grip. Here she was undressing him before the evening had even begun. But, the heat radiating from the brown depths set off fire alarms in her brain.
Finally. Melted chocolate. Her gaze flew to his lips. How would he taste?
Try as she might, there was no shutting out reality. Her stomach quivered in tandem with her thoughts.

Oh, my.

“Hi, Dr. Lassiter,” she said, breathless.

This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not…

His lips curved.


To read more about Faith and Stone's romance, you can go to my website www.kathleengrieve.com where the first chapter is posted! Have a great day everyone!

Kathleen