#50Shades Casting - Opinions Abound

Hey Folks,

Welcome back!

Tonight I'd like to chat about the recent casting of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie. There's been a lot of talk about the casting, about making the book into a movie in the first place. So here's one Erotic Romance Author's opinion on the subject:

Charlie Hunnam wasn't even on my list of people who could possibly play Christian Grey. For me it was all about Richard Madden - the charismatic, and gorgeous, actor on Game of Thrones. 

I mean just look at that penetrating gaze! 

Now say what you will about Fifty Shades, the characters, the book, the author... it was a wildly successful best-seller that opened the eyes and bedrooms of many readers who'd never heard of erotic romance before. 

But alas, it wasn't in the cards. Now there's a real reason that I wouldn't have thought of the Sons of Anarchy star as the right person for the job, and it's not because he's not a terrific actor. He's amazingly gorgeous and I love him as Jax Teller on the amazing SoA, but he plays such a gorgeous scruffy anti-hero on the show that I first had trouble picturing him as the suave billionaire persona, because this is how he embodies his Jax Teller persona.

 BUT this is what he looks like as well. 

Cut the hair a little, shave the beard, and DAMN! This could totally be Christian in the red room wearing his beat-up jeans. 

Now onto Dakota Johnson, whom I'd never heard of before a day or two ago. She's a virtual unknown. Cute, kind of perky looking, and I'm not sure what to think about her actually. I hadn't put much thought into who I would cast in the Anastasia Steele role, so I didn't really have a pre-formed opinion of who would be good in the role. 

So I suppose for now, we'll just have to wait and see. I'm liking Charlie more and more as I think about it.

From an author's standpoint, I can definitely say there have been moments when I'm writing where I know who I would cast in the film version, and I wonder if EL James thought the same thing and if she was surprised or disappointed in the choices. I for one have confidence that Charlie will rock the roll, because he's an incredible actor.

Readers, what do you think? Excited about the casting? Disappointed? Indifferent??

Share your thoughts.

~ Rach

Writing Through the Drama

Hey Folks,

I know I mentioned over a month ago that I was getting back into the swing of things and slowly coming out of hibernation, but it was clearly a big fat lie... Cue Pinocchio Nose Growth Here... I haven't written anything more than a few thousand words in the past three months, my online presence has been slipping from active to almost nonexistent, and I haven't even been to any writing-related events since the In Your Write Mind Workshop in June.

In short, I feel like a loser.

But... lest we get too damned depressed here, it happens. And I need to stop holding myself to ridiculous standards that no one could meet. So now it's time to power through and write through the drama that life
has dumped on me this year.

This applies not only to myself and other authors out there, but also to everyone reading this post. It's about inner strength, about knowing yourself, your limits, your goals, your mind and body, your soul. Last night I returned to yoga practice for the first time in months, and our instructor informed us that whatever we ever needed, we were automatically equipped with - we had it, always, in our heart center. We had only to dig it out, reveal it, and let its strength flow forth.

It's an interesting notion. Everything I need. Here, already? I wasn't sure I could believe that at first, but I've slept on it, meditated over it, let it mull and simmer inside me since last night. And I've decided she was absolutely right. Was the timing of me falling off the face of the digital earth ideal? Nope. Will I rebound, deal with it, and shake off the effects of a long-term break? Absolutely.

So here I go, making my pledge known to you all, and hoping to pass on some wisdom I've picked up this year: Life will kick you in the teeth. Repeatedly. But that doesn't mean the world is out to get you. It doesn't mean the universe will end or that you're being singled out and dumped on. It doesn't mean that there isn't hope, love, desire, support, and a wealth of amazingness still left in the world.

I promise to go forth and reinvigorate my writing life by:
WRITING
Blogging
Promoting
Reading
Tweeting
and
WRITING

:-)

Anyone else having the year from hell who needed a pick-me-up - I hope this was insightful and helpful. Power through, get the support you can, believe in yourself and trust that you have everything you need inside, even if that "thing" is the wisdom to seek guidance, love, and support outside yourself. You can do it.

And so can I.


Will post progress on this process as I balance a full time job, a home business, and writing.


~ Rach


A special note of dedication to two of the strongest fighters I've ever known: my grandmothers.

5 Tips to Beat the Post-Conference Blues

I wanted to talk with you today about beating the Post-Conference Blues. I know a lot of you are just coming back from Comic-Con and RWA National within the past week, so let's discuss the best ways to beat the post-con blues. 

5 - Sleep! As we all know, there's very little sleep at these amazing events. We're all so busy schmoozing the contacts, seeing old friends, absorbing the amazing community of like-minded people that we only get to immerse ourselves in once a year, if we're lucky, but most likely once every few years. So after you come out of this amazing bubble, sleep is necessary to recharge and prepare ourselves to face reality. 

4 - Work on the book. So after you've slept, spent a bit of time with your family, and slammed back into reality, you have to start putting all those workshops to good use and work on your WIP. Jumping right into the writing of it will help give you focus, allow you to use the excitement and momentum of the conference to hit the ground running while you work on the project. 

3 - Keep in Touch. Call your conference buddies, send them messages on Facebook or Twitter, add your new contacts to your friends lists or follow them. Keep the relationship building between you and these people. It will be a bitter-sweet kind of contact because you'll all remember the amazing time, and you'll miss being in your writing conference bubble, but you'll smile and laugh at the good times. Keeping in touch with these people will also help you feel connected to new friends and build a lasting bond, not just one you have while at a conference. 

2 - Blog about it, talk about it. One of the best ways to savor the conference, and ease back into reality is to keep a piece of the conference alive and well. Talk about the conference with other writers who couldn't make it, pass along your notes, your stories, your excitement to them. Talk about it with your family and friends who aren't writers, even though you know they just won't totally "get it" unless they're writers too. Follow blogs of those new and old friends who will probably be talking about the conference too. Go over the good times you had, and maybe read some insight for a panel or workshop you couldn't make it to. For the RWA conference I went to a couple years ago, they also gave us a huge file of all the handouts for the conference, which was a great help. You can also get the audio for workshops you couldn't make it to, though I believe you have to pay for those. 

1 - Plan for the next conference. The absolutely best thing you can do after you get home from one conference, is plan on going to the next one. Pick out roommates, book a hotel, start putting away money so you can afford the conference in 6 months or 12 months, or in two years. Even if the conference is long off, having a game plan and the "I'm going to be there again in a while" mindset will help you look forward instead of focusing on the hollow feeling in your gut when you leave the conference. 


So there you have it folks... some tips and tricks to use to battle the Post-Conference Blues. 


What else would you add to the list? 

Confessions of a Closet Introvert

Hey folks,

So soo sorry I've been silent as of late. I had a death in the family and have had another family member in the  hospital for the past nine weeks, sadly. 

But, as the saying goes, "the show must go on" and I'm ready to reenter the bloggerverse. 

First, a thanks to my co-bloggers, Nona and Danica for holding down the fort here at the Diva's Pad. I've been reading the posts, even though I'm not commenting much. :-) 

Now... onto some interesting stuff... A view behind the curtain of a single author's life...

The Post-Conference Blues! 

I used to call it the Post-Rez blues (post-residency) when I was still a grad student and going down to Seton Hill College/University for a week-long flurry of writing, learning, and absorbing the writing community. Since I graduated, I was able to go back this June for the In Your Write Mind conference, which was, of course, amazing. 

So I finally arrive at the hotel, after a very long 7 hour drive (after having worked for a few hours) and it was like coming home. The writing life is sometimes so solitary that authors forget to answer the phone, leave the house, eat, sleep, or do any of those normal human things! It's kind of scary actually. So when we get the chance to go to a conference, or a write-in, or anything else where we can be social and with our own brand of crazy, we jump at the chance. 

Two wonderful ladies from my local RWA chapter, Kara Leigh Miller and Nicole LaFleur, joined me for the conference, and we had a blast! 

Here we are at the Princess Bride themed ball. :-) 

I taught a panel on the Three Act Structure plotting method, and that went really well. I attended several workshops that were fantastic on world building, undergarments through the ages, revision, and all kinds of things. We call Seton Hill "Hogwarts for Writers" because there's a certain kind of magic that flows from the walls, and permeates the air, the ground of campus, everything. 

I mean, can you see the resemblance? 

So, after four days of this amazingness, you can imagine what it's like coming back to reality. It sucks, big time. Every time I leave a conference, it's a gut-wrenching kind of deal. Inevitably, there are some tears when goodbyes are said, as well as some laughs, and promises to keep in touch. 

At the same time, though, I know I wouldn't survive if conferences were more than a few days long! Being in that writer bubble, in that place where the real world ceases to exist and you don't watch any news, read a newspaper, or even check your email diligently, is amazing, but it's also exhausting. For a closet introvert like myself, conferences where you're always surrounded by people (no matter how awesome said people are or how close you are) are exhausting! It's like the most basic form of overstimulation (not that erotic romance authors believe in such a thing). But in real life, there's no way I would survive a conference that was longer than 5 days, 6 at the very most. I just don't like people that much... or maybe it's that I just have spent too many years alone inside my own head that I need that time to survive. 

But I wouldn't trade my weeks in writer heaven for anything in the world. Finding a community, a family like that is something few people ever find, and while I can only tolerate small doses of the crazy, I cherish it. 


So there you are folks, a sneak peek inside this author's closeted introversion. :-) 

Promise to be back soon with more, 

~Rach

Seductive Studs & Sirens - week 1

Hey folks,

This is my first time participating in Seductive Studs & Sirens - I'm an SS&S VIRGIN! Oh, my.

Thanks for stopping by today. I want to share with you all an excerpt from two very seductive Sirens, Maya & Erica - the heroines of my Valentine's Day Erotic Romance, Queen of Hearts, which will hopefully be book one in an ongoing series set around Erica's matchmaking service.


Without further ado, here is a little taste of Maya & Erica to whet your appetite.

Erica took a healthy swig of her vodka-cran and stepped closer, her bare arm brushing against Maya’s breast through her sheer black top. As Erica’s hot gaze trailed over her exposed body, Maya was even more sure this outfit had been the right move. The top, coupled with a pair of jeans she liked to think of as painted-on, and knee-high heeled boots, made for one hell of a combination. She knew what she looked like. And the heat in Erica’s eyes confirmed the other woman appreciated the view. They stood, Erica’s arm still flush against Maya’s nearly bare breasts and checked one another out.

For her part, Maya enjoyed what she saw. The low-cut, short emerald dress showed off all Erica’s best assets. With short sling-backs, the ensemble complemented Erica’s light complexion and tall, curvy frame. Her new companion seemed just as inclined to skip the small talk as Maya was. 

Queen of Hearts is on sale at these locations: 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/VdWejF or  http://amzn.to/XOvjcC 

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/YftYl9

Barnes & Noble : http://bit.ly/10cUqaU

All Romance Ebooks: http://bit.ly/XYumAN

Kobo - http://bit.ly/WHPiNo

Seductive Studs & Sirens is a weekly blog hop for authors and bloggers of LGBT erotica, romance, and erotic romance. Want more? Click here to find links for all the participating Studs and Sirens this week. You can also tweet and search #SeductiveSnS on Twitter for posts. 

Thanks, 

Rach

#SneakPeekSunday with Rachell Nichole

Welcome back to Sneak Peek Sunday!

I love this meme, and I love sharing snippets of my books with you all. This week, we're going back to my first release, An Affair Across Times Square because I'm still working with Layla and Tyler in the sequel to Marietta Hotels Book One. The second book in the series is called, An Engagement in Paris and I'm working on the first round of edits with my wonderful editor Serena now.

So I thought I'd share a snippet from An Affair Across Times Square this week.

His breath stilled in his lungs as he watched the curtain open one agonizingly slow inch at a time. He couldn’t breathe as he looked at Ms. Marietta. She stood beside the table, a shiny black halter top dress setting off her light mocha skin and showing him a beautiful glimpse of her cleavage. The long dress almost reached her ankles but had a high slit on the left side, revealing a delicious expanse of thigh. Black strappy heels and sparkling jewelry completed her attire.

She pushed the button on the waiting telephone, and he turned on his speakerphone as it rang.

“I see you got my note,” he said.

Her answering laugh warmed him even more. “Yes, I did.”

I'll let your imaginations take over from there... 

For more than just a little taste, check out An Affair Across Times Square here: 

http://books2read.com/u/38rZgO  

for more information on this and other books, check out my website at www.RachellNichole.com 

For exclusive reads, freebies, and info, leave your email address to be added to my e-newsletter list. 

Thanks, and HAPPY EASTER, everyone! 

~Rach

#WIP it Wednesday: An Engagement in Paris

Welcome back to WIP it Wednesday! I've been pretty quiet as of that, and for that I apologize. Lots of life and family stuff getting in the way. But enough about that... on to the good news!

My latest erotic romance, An Engagement in Paris, is officially under contract at Loose Id! I'm already looking forward to whipping this WIP into shape with the help of my wonderful editor Serena. I'm sure she'll have lots to say about the book and the ways we can make it even better. 

Julien and Mandy were great characters that I had a lot of fun with. I've spoken a bit about them here before, when the book was tentatively titled, A Marietta Wedding. This is the sequel to An Affair Across Times Square, which is book one in an ongoing Marietta Hotels series. The series will feature new characters in each book, while also having cameo appearances from characters you've seen before. For more information on the Marietta Hotels series, check out the section on my website dedicated to it http://www.rachellnichole.com/Marietta-Hotels.html. 

Here's a bit more about the book: 

All Mandy Lachlan wanted was her own identity. All she had to do was run away to Paris to find it. Instead, she finds love, a baby, and a marriage proposal.

Julien Chevalier needs a family. Ever since his mother left when he was a kid, he’s been searching for the security and consistency that comes with marriage and babies. So when he falls for the young African American professor at the Sorbonne, he knows immediately this is the woman for him.

Julien needs to get married the same way Mandy needs her freedom. When they find themselves at the impasse of matrimony, one of them will have to compromise what they want and need. 
I really fell in love with Mandy and Julien. He falls hard and fast for Mandy, even though she kicks him out of class the first time they meet. As for Mandy, she's pretty hard-nosed and doesn't take crap from anybody. She's the sister of the hero of my first book, An Affair Across Times Square. Tyler and his love, Layla,  are also in this second book and it was great to see them on the page again. 

I was so excited to set a book in Paris, the city of love. I've been to Paris quite a few times, and I had a lot of fun using it as a backdrop for a romance. 

The anticipated release date for the book is June of this year, so stay tuned for updates in the coming months. I can't wait to see the cover for this one! 

~Rach