Works for me

I'm a huge Heroes fan - I even like the second season!

Perhaps the reason I haven't noticed volume 2's slow pace, is because Peter Petrelli keeps finding ways to get his shirt off. (Do you think I could find a photo of that? Come on interwebs, help me out).

Here he is, looking like he could either make you a latte to die for, or blow up the world. He could very well be wearing one of those badges that says, "51 % friendly waiter, 49 % rogue arsonist, don't push it".

However, the real Peter - actor Milo Ventimiglia - doesn't work for me. I mean, good on you for being vegetarian. You're helping the environment by not adding to the massive global demand for meat... but *sigh* it's just not for me. 

Zooming in to Spinners

Hi. I'm Zara Penney. I'm a writer from forever. Although I have worked and been published in a totally different genre - children as a both a writer and illustrator - I am new to writing for grown ups. Well lets say, not exactly new, but my time was taken up with other efforts.

One day though, I stood in the shower and a line came through to me, it was a new muse. The grown up muse that wanted me to just flutter out of the cocoon I'd nestled quite comfortably into and flitter off like a butterfly. Which is what I did.

The first story that I'd done, was sent to Cheryl here, as an editor for the venue in which it was published - and it was love at first sight. Me for Cheryl, and (gulp) Cheryl for... well let's just say she rang and we liked each other. Waves at Cheryl to confirm above theory.

Thus encouraged, we proceeded to the anthology. And with it came my beautiful character. Sharra Akasha.

And so Sharra Akasha who is related to the gypsy Alishandra - the one who owns the Enchanted Faerie. Indeed she is Sharra's aunt. Sharra's dream is that of catching the eye of the wonderful, handsome Greggie Donald. Hence the story - THE SECUREMENT OF GREGGIE DONALD.

I do mostly modern contemporary modern comedy and because my nature is that of a romantic soul, mostly romantic.

I do love history though. And wouldn't you know it, but there was a exhibition of shoes, one pair even dated to 1680. I stood in front of this pair and thought "Wow!" Sharra might wear these - or would she since she's a young gypsy who has an indulgent granny who lets her run wild, much to the chagrin of her aunt Alishandra, since Sharra plays such an important role in the future welfare of her kind.

I enjoyed Scotland so much, I didn't want to move away from it too quickly. I had a gaggle of wonderful words, and a mood, that I've now done the last closing chapters of a book set in the Highlands. It's not historical, but somewhere in there, might have wandered Sharra centuries ago.

Romance Spinners nestled happily in our little tree, and bonded so much, we have become the spinners. We want to catch you in our web, and make you welcome, though not as dinner. No. No. No. We want you to feel as comfortable with us as we feel with each other. We want to take you on a journey with us into where-ever our little adventures take us.

So come my darlings. You are caught in the web.

Why my Scottish story is so English

Research is a wonderful thing. I can loose all sense of time when I'm immersed in history.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about life in the 1670s, but it wouldn't have been much fun living through it. So much research didn't make it into the short story, but it gave my characters a grounding and from there I could move forward.

In Scotland, things were pretty grim. Make one political mistake and you'd lose your lands and chattels. If you were on the winning side, you'd get your share of the spoils.

That's how the Beaumont family came to occupy (the fictional) Halkirkie Castle. They were English and were given Halkirkie Castle and the title of Duke as a reward for success in battle. However, the ties to England would have been very strong, so it's natural they would leave the 'miserable' winters and head south.

As the youngest of five sons, Charles would have received little or no inheritance, so he would have needed to marry a rich heiress, or find a way to make his fortune. Joining the military would have been a smart move - if he survived, he'd get a share of the spoils and could become very rich.

When Charles decides to remain in Halkirkie for the winter, he finds the castle transformed into a gambling den. Hmmm, gambling. Now there's an idea!

Putting it all together

As editor for this absolutely awesome anthology, I can honestly say the easiest part was choosing the authors to participate.

Each author was hand-chosen to be part of the anthology because of their amazing talent. And each of them brings something entirely different to the book, leaving you, the reader, with an amazing read.

I had a lot of fun developing the storyline, creating the setting, and choosing names for each of the main characters.

These six amazing authors did the rest. As editor, I got to read each story before anyone else, and I can honestly tell you I couldn't put them down.

I can almost guarantee you'll be the same.

Every story is totally unique in its own way, despite the fact each author had the exact same assignment but had to use the character name allocated to them.

At this stage we don't have a release date, but we'll be sure to post it as soon as we know.

My take on The Enchanted Faerie

Welcome to our blog!

I am Holly Greenfield, one of the contributing authors to The Enchanted Faerie anthology. When Cheryl Wright, our editor, presented this opportunity to me I was ecstatic. I write historical, parnormal romance. Two genres I love. The theme for this anthology couldn't have been a better fit. An even greater appeal was the setting. Scotland is one of my favorite places in the world, and researching the country and its history has become a hobby of mine. Celtic history is fascinating to say the least.

Writing the story of Calinda Avatar of Beltane and her reluctant search to find love was so much fun. Once I started it all flowed so smoothly. Her character spoke and loud and clear as did the hero. What could be better than finding true love right under your nose?

Working with the ladies in Romance Spinners has been great. We span the globe and yet even from such a distance our minds fell in sync for this anthology. Each of us had something wonderful to contribute and I for one have learned so much from this experience. Collaborating efforts is a fun process when your working with such a wonderful, talented group of writers.

I look forward to the release of our anthology so that readers, like you, can enjoy reading the stories as much as we loved writing them

Until next time,


Holly


You can learn more about me at http://www.hollygreenfield.com/ Stop by anytime. I love having company.

working on the anthology

Hi Everyone.
I am one of the contributing authors to the Enchanted Faerie Anthology. I was so honoured to be invited to participate, and had such a wonderful time with my story of Jamelia and her search for true love. I generally write contemporary romance, so it was a challenge to work on an historical piece. Everyone in the group was so supportive of one another, however, that any doubts that I had were soon squashed. We've created a wonderful book that I'm sure any reader will really love.
If anyone wants to see what I usually write, my web URL is www.judybagshaw.com
Drop by and have a visit.
Judy

The Enchanted Faerie - What's It All About?

This is the temporary cover for our romantic anthology, The Enchanted Faerie. 

But how did it all come about? We have Cheryl Wright to thank for that. She set us all a challenge to write a short story with a common theme.

Cheryl set the scene: In the highlands of Scotland, in 1678, there is a gypsy, Alishandra Orona. She has an enchanted faerie that will guide the holder to their one true love. The cost for the service is 100 gold coins.

Cheryl created the character names and provided suggested towns where they might live, but the rest was up to us. From this premise, we set about challenging our characters to not only come up with the money, but to know true love when they found it.

We shared research and had a wonderful time in our characters' heads. It's been hard letting them go, but we've had such a lovely time we're sure to be making another anthology in the future.

Soon it will be time to release our bonny lasses onto the wilder world. It's going to be a great adventure.

Come In Spinners

Welcome to the Romance Spinners blog.

We are romantic writers without borders. 

Our debut anthology, The Enchanted Faerie, is coming soon.

Stay tuned for news, reviews, and all things to do with writing.