Friday Friends with Annette Blair....

Welcome to our first Friday Friends with our special guest, paranormal romantic comedy writer, ANNETTE BLAIR.

We are thrilled to have you as our first guest, Annette. Lots of things to talk about today.

HWH: I know you have some news so why don't you share that with us first before we talk about The Naked Dragon.

AB: First, thank you for inviting me to be with you. I’m honored to be your first guest. My first bit of news is that A VEILED DECEPTION the first in my Vintage Magic Mystery Series is a 2010 Romantic Times Book Club Reviewers' Choice Award Nominee. I'm so excited.

More good news came in Wednesday: LARCENY AND LACE, the second in my Vintage Magic Mystery Series, was chosen to be a Fresh Pick at Fresh Fiction. The book cover and a link to LARCENY AND LACE appeared on every page of FreshFiction.com on January 5, 2010 and mailed to the subscribers of the Fresh Pick newsletter on January 5, 2010. "The Fresh Pick is chosen by a group of readers and is never a purchased advertisement or promotion. We've chosen your book because it appeals to us and we like to share our diverse tastes in reading..."

At Penelope’s Romance Reviews: Penelope’s Top 20 for 2009: Most Embarrassing Moment of Blubbering While Reading A Romance Novel: While reading Annette Blair's Larceny and Lace, a light paranormal mystery with romantic elements, I cried not once but twice! Blair does an extraordinary job adding sweetness into this fun, snappy mystery. Here's the review.

HWH: Congratulations, Annette, on all the great news! What a way to start the new year!! Now let's talk about The Naked Dragon. Tell us about the book and how you came up with the idea.

AB: I got the idea for the dragon story on an airplane, on my way home from an RT Conference a few years ago, so I took out my notebook and plotted for the whole trip. For the longest time, I didn’t know where to use the story, then I came up with the Works Like Magick Employment Agency idea, and I knew that the first would be my dragon story.

Below is a short, and a long, blurb.

Mini Blurb: The Works Like Magick Employment Agency has a reputation for perfectly matching clients with magical temps. So when McKenna Greylock requests a handyman, the gorgeous Bastian Dragonelli arrives to repair her B&B...and fire up her bedroom.

Story of the story:

“McKenna Greylock,” Bastian said. “I have in my shorts one resourceful, multi-talented, prehensile dragon lance. And, in its own magnificent way, it very nearly does breathe fire.”

A WORKS LIKE MAGICK NOVEL
In Salem, human magick has thinned the veil between the planes to a permeable mist, forming a portal into the city, allowing time travelers and chameleons of the universe to enter there.

Bastian Dragonelli, once a Roman warrior turned dragon, is the first of his legion to be returned to earth, a man. So his brothers can also be saved and sent to earth, Bastian must reclaim the magick of Andra, Goddess of Hope, who sacrificed hers to transform him. He must seek his heart mate and make her quest his own. But the dark, powerful Killian, Sorceress of Chaos, who turned his legion into dragons and skewed his transition back into a man, is hot on his heels.

McKenna Greylock, the last non-magickal descendant of Ciarra, a witch who survived Salem's hanging times, needs a jack-of-all-trades to help turn her dilapidated Victorian into a bed and breakfast so she doesn't lose her home and her family's centuries-old legacy.

Enter McKenna's cousin, Vivica Quinlan, Ciarra's most magickal descendent, owner of the Works Like Magick Employment Agency. Vivica has a gift for matching human employers with magickal employees. Like Ciarra before her, Vivica knows when magickal supernatural ancients are about to arrive. She greets them and acclimates them to life, and to making a living, in Salem.

Besides Killian's threatening presence, Bastian's life is also complicated by McKenna, his guardian dragon, a troublemaking fairy, and a case of culture shock. Bastian also has a problem with his man lance. It won't behave at all the way he remembered it should. Not at all...

HWH: Sounds great, Annette. I love the title, The Naked Dragon. Where did you come up with the name?

AB: I chose that name because Bastian Dragonelli comes through the veil naked (due to his transformation) and lands on a thorn bush in a circle of chanting women. (witches) This is Salem, of course. Also, all of Bastian Dragonelli’s “assets” cannot be seen unless he is naked.

HWH: LOL! Okay, a little tip bit on writing for our writer friends. You told me once that you didn’t work with a critique partner. Is that still true? If so, can you give us some tips on what you have learned to look for while editing your work?

AB: I don’t work with a critique partner because I’m writing three books a year, and it’s hard for someone to keep up with me. I do a rough first draft, mostly in dialogue. So when I go back to edit, I look to ground my characters, give the story a sense of location, color, life. I look for character reactions when I’m editing, unnecessary words, better and more specific words, clear goals, motivations and conflicts. I usually make up a “don’t forget” list as I’m writing, and I look for the things I put on my list, like more comedy in such and such a scene, a snarky remark I thought of for a certain spot, that kind of thing.

HWH: Interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind. I’ve read your journey to publication posted on your website. It is very inspiring. What has been the best writing advice you’ve read/received?

AB: The best advice is something I discovered myself, since my road to publication was so long. “If you do not write and you do not submit, you will never sell.” Also remember that you can’t judge your own work. So pay attention to your editor. She knows what she’s talking about.

HWH: So true. Okay, last question. What do you find helpful when you have writer’s block?

AB: Getting away from writing. I make sure there’s a pad and paper in my purse and I get out of the house. I go antiquing, shopping, to bookstores. Or I go and pick up my grands at nursery school and kindergarten, take them to the playground, maybe, spend the evening with them, right there on the floor, give them all my attention, maybe give them their tubbies, put them in their pajamas, then I come home smiling and ready to write again. One of them is totally into making up stories and he asks the minute I walk in the door. Also, I love to get away with writer friends or spend a day with my brainstorming buddies. We bounce ideas off each other and the time we spend talking is invigorating and inspiring.

HWH: Thanks so much, Annette, for being with us. I know you've been under the weather this past week and I hope you are feeling better!

To all our viewers, thanks for being with us. Annette will stick around all day and answer any questions or comments you may have. The Naked Dragon is available at your local bookstore now. If you don't see it on the shelf, have them order it.

Be sure to visit Annettes website for all her upcoming and past books!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! We hope to see you back here next Friday when our special guest will be author Kathleen O'Connor. And before you go, click on the link to the right to become a FOLLOWER of Heriones with Hearts!