Another 4.5 Review!

" What a great read! Amber and Marc had fantastic chemistry and I loved Marc’s willingness to take his father to task for past sins while protecting his true love. The sex was hot, the story was fun and I cheered the romance on from the beginning."

Read the rest here: http://mistressbellaquickies.blogspot.com/

Now if only my friends share this opinion...Kelly? You done reading it yet? Brynn? Bron? Are you making me wait six months just because I'm six months behind on your backlists? Just kidding!!

This made my day!

Keep Me Hanging On...

So I'm reading this fabulous book. The characters meet, interact, have sex for pages and pages...and suddenly declare their love for one another and vow to live happily ever after. The End.

(Sound of screeching tires)

Whaaaaat?

Whoa; back up a minute. When was the last time you met a stranger, or reconnected with a past lover, and after a night of passion, lived happily ever after?

'But wait, Kenze...this is fantasy!'

Yeah, I know. But what I love is a little realism mixed in. I want to know what happens after they clinb out of bed and let the Real World know of their connection. What happens next? What happens when the hero returns to his apartment and finds a letter from an old girlfriend? Or the phone rings and he has an emergency and can't see his new lady love for another twenty-four hours? What happens if she calls her best friend and bubbles over with her good news, only to be met with 'Are you out of your FREAKING MIND?'

Yes, it can happen. I want to know that the two people I'm reading about will have a lasting relationship, and they would walk through fire in order to be with each other.

Now I've never stopped reading books by authors who do this, and I've never stopped reading a series simply because characters were killed off, or unbelievable circumstances arose; I've only stopped reading one particular series because by book #3 I was so disgusted with the general plot, writing, etc. I think the author could have done better. And the only other reason I'll stop reading a book is if I find myself skimming the pages, not really reading. If it's not holding my interest by chapter 2 or 3, forget it. I'll likely put it down and maybe try again in a year or two...or ten, when I come across it in a box somewhere. Or in the case of e-books, if I can't remember what it was about and open the file. It all depends on my mood at the time I'm reading.

And now you know why Gone With The Wind, Centennial, Hawaii, and books by John Jakes, Herman Wouk's Winds of War, and The Woman of Substance series are my all-time favorite print books to read. (Running a close second would be Lavryl Spencer, Nora Roberts, and Marion Keyes.) E-books? Anything by Anny Cook, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Cindy Spencer Pape, Mona Risk, and Kelly Kirch.

Where's My Tour?

When I first decided to write a book, I envisioned a scene on The Love Boat: World's Youngest Author takes a book-signing cruise and gets romantically involved with Doc. Yes...I also liked Gopher, but ultimately Doc was my guy.

Needless to say, it didn't happen.

Fast-forward twenty years. I have my first agent, and everyone I've let read my work raves about it. I dream of being published and being sent out on the Great Publicity Tour. Book signings in nearly every major city. Guest spots on Regis and Kelly. The Early Show. Morning TV news shows.

Didn't. Quite. Happen.

What did happen?

I learned to promote myself. Get out there and talk to people, overcoming my shyness. I've learned to work the topic of my writing into nearly every conversation (probably drives my family nuts, lol!) and carry my business cards everywhere I go.

Case in point: Two years ago I was raving to my mother about a book I'd read, and just happened to have it with me. She and I were in the bathroom of a local steakhouse, and as we were washing our hands, a woman exits a stall and asks me about the book. I whipped it out of the diaper bag and showed it to her, and produced my own business card and pen so she could write down the info. And yes, I also told her I was an author, so now she had TWO websites to peruse, instead of sending her next door to Books-A-Million (cause she can't find mine there, ha ha!). You never know where you're going to meet a potential customer.

I'd still like to do a book tour like a friend of mine, the above author. Click here for her info. Maybe one day it will happen. After all, Jamie's on her fourth book; I'm only on my first. Unless you count my alter-ego; then I've got three:)

So maybe one day it will happen, or maybe I'll simply be 'in demand' around Blogger, doing interviews and letting others post blurbs and excerpts. Who knows?

Oh, and contrary to popular belief, I did not get the 10K advance; I still do my own housework; money is still tight. I'm not JK Rowlings, Stephen King, or even Danielle Steele or Nora Roberts. When I attain their popularity level, I'll let you know!

Wow!
Am I glad I checked my other email account! FB wants the next three chapters of Teacher's Pet! Woo Hoo! I hope they like it; keeping my fingers crossed:)

Another Great Review!

I'm sooooo thrilled!

Night Owl Romance Reviews gave me 4.5 Hearts, a reviewer's Top Pick!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Ms. Michaels. I loved her characters and the storyline was fun and enjoyable. I love how the story unfolded and how Amber and Marc were now both involved in a rude awakening because of the outcome that happened three years ago. I was hoping they could overcome the issues of the past and use it as a solid foundation to possibly start something back up again. The author is a great storyteller and I would definitely recommend this story to other readers. Well done, Ms. Michaels!

You can read the entire thing here: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=3873

Remember This Rhyme?

Mommy, Mommy, please tell me
What kind of person will I be?

My mother was a high school nurse, and I loved her office. I used to practice 'medicine' on my dolls, until I grew older and realized there was a great deal of 'icky' stuff I'd have to learn.

Me, a nurse? NO WAY!

Rich man, poor man
Beggerman, theif...

Rich sounded nice. The rest, not so much! Unfortunately, I proved to be good with kids, and decided to pursue some sort of career in that area. Being a Teacher's Aid showed me I'm no teacher, and then I decided my life's ambition would be to save every abused child in the world. A noble dream, but it proved tough to do.

Doctor, lawyer,
Indian Chief!

Forget the medical; I had no desire to pursue it. Lawyer? Forget it; I couldn't think fast enough on my feet. My sister was more suited to that; she could argue her way out of anything. I was more about avoiding confrontation. And since I'm not Native American, the last one's a no-brainer.

If I absolutely had no talent in the writing area, I would probably own a bookstore or be a librarian. Dream job=surrounded by books I've loved since age six and future books I've not read yet. I've had a taste of owning my own business; I ran a concession stand for two years and more recently was assistant manager of a fireworks store. So if money was no object, I believe I'd go for it.

Now I just need that rich man to come back...I let him go back in 1989 when his business picked up and had no spare time in his schedule anymore...guess it wasn't meant to be!

So who am I kidding? I've been writing since age 11; if I don't get a chance to write down my thoughts and stories, the minute I'm able to put pen to paper, the words flow like a water through a breach in the dam!

Does This Sound Familiar?

Once upon a time there was a girl named Katie, who had a father who was an astronaut, and who had his own spaceship. One day Katie learned she could move objects just by concentrating on them.

One day, she was out in the back yard, happily moving around rocks, toys, etc, when the air shimmered and a face appeared, appealing for help.

She ran to her father and asked him to take her to the Correli System. As luck would have it, her father had just gotten off the phone and was on his way to the spaceport to meet with two others who were requesting passage to the same system. Since school was out, the father agreed to take Katie along with him.

While en route to Correli, Katie accidentally let her power show, and the two passengers quickly realized she possessed The Force, and reassured her it was perfectly normal. The male, Luke, helped her hone her skills during the trip. The female, Leia, confided the reason behind the trip. When Katie revealed the vision she'd had, everyone was excited.

Upon arriving at Correli, the group was captured by the evil leader, Jabba. But before the guards could take them away, another guard announced the prisoner had gotten free. Jabba went to investigate; Katie and company ran the other way, found Han Solo, and escaped back to the spaceship. Katie and Luke used The Force to ward off the guards chasing them, and soon arrived at the Millenium Falcon. The three passengers expressed their gratitude, and transported over to the Falcon. Katie and her father headed back to Earth. The End.

What? It's full of holes? And what about the REST of the story, with Darth Vader, the Death Star, Yoda, etc?

Yes, this early attempt at sci-fi showed me (in hindsight) that I was destined for the romance genre.

Of course, I was only 15 when I wrote it! So of course it's full of holes! It's hard to research something in which you only have two hours a month to work on it, and going to the library during class is a no-no.

And of course, three years later, the REAL movie arrived in theaters and I realized everything I'd written did NOT match George Lucas' dream!

That's why I'm still in Indiana, and not at work at LucasFilms. Or the Skywalker Ranch. Or married to Harrison Ford !