I love walking around New York City. You never know what you'll discover. Here is some great graffiti I found on Warren Street, downtown. The faces said: Summer.
Happy Friday.
(The rain can be beautiful too.)
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Friday, June 7, 2013
PICTURE FRIDAY: I♥NY – GRAFFITI
I love walking around New York City. You never know what you'll discover. Here is some great graffiti I found on Warren Street, downtown. The faces said: Summer.
Friday, May 10, 2013
PICTURE FRIDAY: I♥NY - FARMER'S MARKETS
I♥NY. Especially the Farmer’s Markets around the city with smiling vendors selling everything from vegetables to flowers to honey to chocolate milk (my favorite!) to goat cheese to lamb’s wool. It’s a great place to get your greens. In fact, plenty of the city’s chefs visit these street markets to get fresh produce for their restaurants. I’ve even seen Rachel Ray at them. Visit a street market near you. You’ll never know what you could find or whom. Happy Friday!
Have a good weekend!
Monday, May 6, 2013
WHEN YOUR HEROINE IS A MOTHER
by Maria C. Ferrer
The Ides of March are past, the April showers are over, and now we have May flowers popping out everywhere. Flowers are a great gift for Mother’s Day (this Sunday, May 12, don’t forget!).
My heroine is a mother.
Jessenia Lopez is a single mother of a precocious five-year-old, Antonio. She is also a sexy modern woman who runs a day-spa and drives our hero Rafael Quintero crazy with lust. The two spent three wicked nights in bed following their cousins wedding and Antonio was the result. Unfortunately, after their wild weekend they parted ways. Now, six years later, Rafael is back in town and furious that Jessenia kept his son from him. He gets even by moving into the apartment above her and starting his campaign to claim his son and the woman he has never been able to forget.
So the battle of the sexes is on, but with a child in the house it has to be covert.
I have scenes where Jessenia and Rafael awaken to the lust between them. It never died, but there is a child present so it’s not like they can have sex at the drop of a hat, and certainly not in an open room where their son may walk in on them. (Yikes!)
Readers must see Jessenia as a Sexy Mama, after all, they will identify with her. I want my readers to see my heroine as a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Clair Huxtable – sex goddess and mother.
While many of my scenes are between Jessenia and Rafael alone, Antonio still plays a big part because he is the bone they are fighting over. However, once they agree to “joint custody” that part of the battle is over and now the true battle for sex begins. Rafael wants a marriage of convenience; Jessenia wants a lover not a martyr. It is so much fun to write scenes where Jessenia pushes Rafael’s buttons, and of course, the ones where Rafael pushes back are equally hot.
However, I also want readers -- and Rafael! -- to see the good mother Jessenia is so of course I have to have scenes between her and Antonio, with her being nurturing and motherly. Like when Jessenia wakes Antonio in the morning with a game of spiders and drums; when she cuddles him after a traumatic rush to the emergency room; when she reads to him yet one more story at night; when she turns a blind eye to the dog that he slips into his bed.
When your heroine is a mother, the writer must have a good mix of scenes where the heroine is shown as a sex goddess and then as a mother. The writer must always remember that they are writing a romance novel. Readers will want more Marilyn than Clair so most of the scenes should be between the heroine and the hero; maybe 30 percent with the child. Whatever the percentages, a writer cannot shortchange the heroine or the hero or her readers. If they do, mother will be angry!♥
Maria C. Ferrer is not a mother, but she is an aunt and godmother to nine brats. She loves that she can send them home to their real mothers at the end of the day! Her secret baby book is entitled, DADDY FOUND. This article was also published in the RWA/NYC chapter blog at www.rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com.
My heroine is a mother.
Jessenia Lopez is a single mother of a precocious five-year-old, Antonio. She is also a sexy modern woman who runs a day-spa and drives our hero Rafael Quintero crazy with lust. The two spent three wicked nights in bed following their cousins wedding and Antonio was the result. Unfortunately, after their wild weekend they parted ways. Now, six years later, Rafael is back in town and furious that Jessenia kept his son from him. He gets even by moving into the apartment above her and starting his campaign to claim his son and the woman he has never been able to forget.
So the battle of the sexes is on, but with a child in the house it has to be covert.
I have scenes where Jessenia and Rafael awaken to the lust between them. It never died, but there is a child present so it’s not like they can have sex at the drop of a hat, and certainly not in an open room where their son may walk in on them. (Yikes!)
Readers must see Jessenia as a Sexy Mama, after all, they will identify with her. I want my readers to see my heroine as a combination of Marilyn Monroe and Clair Huxtable – sex goddess and mother.
While many of my scenes are between Jessenia and Rafael alone, Antonio still plays a big part because he is the bone they are fighting over. However, once they agree to “joint custody” that part of the battle is over and now the true battle for sex begins. Rafael wants a marriage of convenience; Jessenia wants a lover not a martyr. It is so much fun to write scenes where Jessenia pushes Rafael’s buttons, and of course, the ones where Rafael pushes back are equally hot.
However, I also want readers -- and Rafael! -- to see the good mother Jessenia is so of course I have to have scenes between her and Antonio, with her being nurturing and motherly. Like when Jessenia wakes Antonio in the morning with a game of spiders and drums; when she cuddles him after a traumatic rush to the emergency room; when she reads to him yet one more story at night; when she turns a blind eye to the dog that he slips into his bed.
When your heroine is a mother, the writer must have a good mix of scenes where the heroine is shown as a sex goddess and then as a mother. The writer must always remember that they are writing a romance novel. Readers will want more Marilyn than Clair so most of the scenes should be between the heroine and the hero; maybe 30 percent with the child. Whatever the percentages, a writer cannot shortchange the heroine or the hero or her readers. If they do, mother will be angry!♥
Maria C. Ferrer is not a mother, but she is an aunt and godmother to nine brats. She loves that she can send them home to their real mothers at the end of the day! Her secret baby book is entitled, DADDY FOUND. This article was also published in the RWA/NYC chapter blog at www.rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com.
Friday, April 26, 2013
PICTURE FRIDAY: I♥NY - STREET ART
I♥NY. I especially love the street art created in sand – yes, sand! – by this wonderful street artist on Union Square. I have to find out his name but I never want to interrupt the creative process. Maybe next time. Enjoy!
Look at that color! those swirls! A Star Flower!
Artist at work.
See why I don't want to interrupt him.
Happy Friday
Friday, April 5, 2013
PICTURE FRIDAY: I♥NY - LOVE BIRD
I love wandering around New York City.
You never know what you will find.
I found this "little" Love Bird
by the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street.
Lover Birdy has a rose in his mouth
and is as tough as nails. (Pun intended!)
The message I got was:
Our love is strong.
What do you get?
Leave a comment.
Happy Spring!
Monday, January 28, 2013
INTERVIEW: Riverdale Avenue Books' publisher Lori Perkins
On December 17, 2012, veteran literary agent Lori Perkins launched Riverdale Avenue Books, a new pop culture e-book publishing house. I was able to talk to Lori and ask her about the new venture and what it will mean to writers.
Q: Why pop culture? What is the attraction?
LP: Pop culture drives publishing, just like romance does. If you look at the bestsellers lists, you’ll find at least eight books on pop culture and all are doing very well. Riverdale Avenue Press is the first full service digital publisher to launch a pop culture line. RAB will give readers the same immediate gratification that they have come to expect from all forms of media and entertainment. Each RAB imprint represents a genre that we believe is consumable, and will keep our readers coming back for more. Simply put, we will give readers the books they crave.
The Riverdale Avenue Books imprints are:
• Riverdale/Magnus books – a LGBT line with Magnus Books, created by Donald Weise
• Riverdale Pop – pop culture titles, like unauthorized biographies of such stars as the late Jenny Rivera, Katie Holmes, and Justin Bieber
• RAB HSF – a horror, science fiction and fantasy line
• RAB Truth – an erotic memoir line
• RAB Desire – an erotica and erotic romance line
Q: How soon will your books be available?
LP: RAB has purchased about 50 books and has inventory through April 2013. We’ll publish four books a month to start with, and will add more as we grow. At RAB, we don’t see a reason why it takes a year and a half to publish a book. That is how traditional publishers miss opportunities. RAB books will be up in at least two months. For example, we are doing an unauthorized biography of the late Jenny Rivera, which will be out in late January.
Q: Will RAB offer print books?
LP: Yes, all the e-books will be available through POD – print on demand.
Q: Are the other three lines, HSF, Truth and Desire, open to new writers?
LP: All five lines are open to new writers, published and unpublished, fiction and non-fiction. Please see the RAB website for our guidelines. The website is www.riverdaleavebooks.com. To submit, send a query to submissions@riverdaleavebooks.com. Expect a response within 30 days.
Q: You had another publishing venture, Ravenous Romance. Is the goal for Riverdale Avenue Books the same?
LP: Ravenous Romance is publishing erotic romance. RAB has five imprints with a larger distribution through Ingram. RAB is the first full service digital publisher to launch a pop culture line, with a foreign rights department and a Los Angeles-based film agent. We are also working with Audio Realms to produce simultaneous audio books on most of our titles.
Q: How do you do it all?! You are an agent, publisher, host of a reading series, mother, partner, etc. What is your secret?
LP: I’ve been an agent for 25 years. I work a lot of 16-hour days. Right now, is the most exciting time in publishing. I want to publish books that make people feel better, and, luckily, I am in a position to be able to do so.♥
Maria C. Ferrer is the president of the Romance Writers of America / New York City Chapter. This interview was first published in the RWA/NYC newsletter, Keynotes, and on the RWA/NYC blogsite, www.rwanycblogginginthebigapple.blogspot.com.
Friday, January 25, 2013
PICTURE FRIDAY: I♥NY - WINDOW DRESSING
I love taking pictures. In fact, once I toyed with the idea of becoming a professional photographer. I did weddings, portraits, candids, and even sold some pictures at a tradeshow. I became a writer instead, but I still love to take pictures of ...well, everything.
Join me every week for Picture Friday, when I'll share with you some of my favorite photos. Today's photos are some I took in January 2013 of the NYC windows on Fifth Avenue. Enjoy!
Join me every week for Picture Friday, when I'll share with you some of my favorite photos. Today's photos are some I took in January 2013 of the NYC windows on Fifth Avenue. Enjoy!
Ladies in Waiting
Mr. Metrosexual
Miss Cupcake 2012
(Her dress is made from cupcake wrappers!)
Shall we dance?!
I Am Unlimited!
Feel free to use these photos on your blog, with proper credit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)