Z's World

Today We Celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday

2012-01-16T12:58:00.001-08:00

I have to confess, unlike a lot of folks, I don't get teary eyed and sentimental when it comes to the Civil Rights Movement and the contributions of great men and women during that time like Martin Luther King. Why? Because I was born in 1969. By the time I was old enough to become aware of what the movement was all about, it was history.

I can however listen and learn from my mother, and grandmother, of what segregation was like and be grateful for how far God has brought us. I can be grateful that God blessed me to be born in a country where it's illegal to be judged by the color of my skin, discriminated against or somehow be thought of as less because of its dark color. Does this mean that discrimination and prejudice no longer happen in America? No.

Why? Because for some folks, it's human nature to put others down in order to make themselves feel higher, more elevated. But for the majority of us, we've learned to live and let live, judge a person by their actions, and their ability to succeed by their willingness to work for what they have.

So to everyone, be you famous or forgotten, I thank you for helping to make America and it's laws governing Civil Rights what it is today. May God Bless each and every one of you.

What's in a Good Book?

2012-01-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

I know the answer is different for each person questioned, but here's what I consider a good, even great book.

1. Romance - first it has to be a romance book. Why? Because only in the genre of romance am I guaranteed a happy ending. Life is too serious, too uncertain. When I read I want a pick me up. The author can take their characters through hell and back, as long as the book ends on a positive note where good triumphs over evil and love conquers all.

2. Action - Yes, I'm an action junkie, both in my books and movies. I need my books to be page turners. I need to be compelled by the plot to discover what will happen next.

3. Engaging - I need the book to engage me, all of me, and my emotions. It should make me think, make me wonder what I'd do if I were the heroine.

4. All holes filled - unless it's part of a series, a good book will answer all my questions as the story plays out. I dislike getting to the end of a story and realizing, "What, you didn't answer this?" Unless, of course, as mentioned before, it's part of a series and the answer to the question can be obtained in the next book.

I like suspense. I also love a good paranormal romance filled with otherworldly creatures as different as the author's imagination. AS LONG AS the author sticks to the rules of their particular subgenre, and there are rules for each of them. Just as romance has rules, so does suspense, mystery, paranormal, science fiction, futuristic, and fantasy. Authors who can be creative and imaginative while coloring inside their particular genre/sub-genres' rules will find a loyal reader in me.

Want a Sneak Peak at Claiming Shayla?

2012-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

Give a donation to Morning Doves Center for Teenage Girls, Inc. of any amount and receive the first chapter of Claiming Shayla as a Thank You Gift.

The Morning Dove Center for Teen Girls, Inc. is a non-profit group dedicated to helping inner city girls rise above their social and economic environment. Their goal is to reduce teen pregnancy, school dropout, abuse, neglect, and teen violence. All of the members are volunteers, so a hundred percent of your donation goes to help the girls and not pay salaries. For more information on MDC, go to:

http://www.morningdovecenter4teens.org/

To give...

•Go to the MDC site
•Click on the Donate tab
•Click on PayPal link and make your donation. Please make sure to use the Personal Gift option. Otherwise Paypal deducts a portion of your donation from the organization.
•Forward a copy of the your email receipt from service@paypal.com tozenawynn@yahoo.com to claim your gift.

True Mates: Claiming Shayla

2012-01-02T14:13:00.001-08:00

If you've been following my website or are a member of my yahoo group, you know this story is finally finished. The final word count makes this my longest story ever, coming in at a little over 92k. That's about 240 pages, or 165 pages single spaced. Definitely a full novel length.

Now it's submitted and I'm waiting to hear from Loose Id on whether they want to published. I figure it will be the end of Feb before I know for sure who's going to publish Claiming Shayla. Then it could be another year before it's released, all depending upon the publisher's release schedule.

I'll keep everyone up to date with what's going on. In the meantime, I'm debating offering a preview of the first chapter of CS for a small donation to Morning Doves Center for Teenage Girls, Inc., a non-profit organization that helps inner City girls that I support.

If you're interested, let me know.

The Year in Review - 2011

2012-01-01T04:26:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, before looking forward to a new year, it’s good to look back on the old and see what was accomplished, and what still needs to be done. As I look back over 2011, all I can say is, "To God be the glory." With God’s help, I traveled so much and got so much accomplished that I literally forgot a lot of it until I started thinking things through.

· In January, my children and I took a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas.
· In March, I flew to Williamsburg, VA with a good friend and attended my first writing conference - EPICon.
· In May, the children, my mother and I drove down to south Florida and spent Memorial day weekend with my sister to celebrate my nephew's last weekend at home before leaving for Air Force boot camp. For the occasion, I rented a car and booked a hotel room so my mother wouldn’t have to climb up and down the stairs at my sister’s home, even though she had more than enough room for us all and wanted us to stay with her. God graciously provided the money for me to be a blessing to my mom.
· In June my daughter graduated from both high school and our local community college with her AA. I threw a big, catered party for her at a nearby community center and a lot of family and friends were invited. We also drove to Gatlinburg, TN for a family reunion/vacation. I was only able to stay the weekend. Everyone else stayed a week.
· I wrote and published Seduced by a Wolf, and finally finished Claiming Shayla.
· Got both my and my daughter's cars repaired - totaling over $2,000.
· In August we packed my daughter up and took her to Gainesville for her first semester at University of Florida. She was blessed with enough scholarship and grant money that her four-year education is free.
· In September, by the grace of God, I survived the unexpected layoff/termination of over 200 City employees, 8 of whom were in my department.
· In October, my mom retired from her job with the Federal government. Afterwards, I was able to entertain my aunt, uncles, sister, and mom’s cousin who surprised her by coming into town for her retirement luncheon.
· In November, for Thanksgiving we spent the 4-day weekend in Hilton Head, SC. Even managed to get in some Black Friday Christmas shopping, later that morning. No way was I staying up late shopping.
Now it’s 2012, and I ended the year with all my monthly bills paid, both cars repaired, and minimal debt on my credit card, looking forward to what God has in store for me this year. Praise be to God. He’s an awesome God.

Subtle Influences

2011-09-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

As a writer who's also an avid reader, sometimes it's difficult to make sure my voice remains my voice. If you're a writer, you understand exactly what that means. For others, let me see if I can explain.

During the time when I was writing True Mates, I was deeply immersed in LKH's Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series. I like all of the characters she created. So there I am writing my book, and while I didn't know who or rather what Conor was, I knew he was powerful. When he came to Kiesha in her dream, he kept speaking with a French accent. Why? I'd been reading too much of Anita's vampire Jean Claude. His 'voice' was stuck in my mind. Later I went back and changed it, making sure Conor's voice was his own, and not a imitation of Jean Claude.

I enjoy reading established romance writers with series skills. I believe reading, and studying how they write, the way they turn a phrase, helps me improve my own writing. But the trick is not to let their voice bleed over into my own, or that of my characters.

More recently I've hooked myself on JD Robb's Death series. I love the characters, all of them, and what woman wouldn't love Roarke? The problem is, I'm writing Claiming Shayla, and Rory is of Irish descent. American-Irish to be exact. So guess who's voice keeps popping up in my head when I writing? You guessed right, Roarke's.

Some of it's good. I'd already been researching Irish phrases and speech patterns before ever picking up a JD Robb book, so the Aye's and Arses were already a part of Rory's speech. Now, when I'm finished with Claiming Shayla and have had a chance to let it sit, I'll go back through with fresh eyes and make sure that Rory is really Rory, and Shayla is who she's always been, and I'm me, not JD Robb. LOL!

Pigeon Holes and Labels

2011-08-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

I have never liked labels, at least when applied to myself. I like variety. I like options. I've never been a fan of stereotypes. That being said, I am not an interracial romance writer. I'm am not a paranormal romance writer. I am not an erotic romance writer. What I am, is a romance writer who happens to write in multiple genres and heat level. What's important to me is not the race or the amount of sex in my books, but the quality of the characters and stories I create.

A high percentage of my stories are interracial because I'm a black female and it's easier to write about women who live in my skin. A high percentage of my stories are erotic, or at the very least, steamy because hey, I enjoy a good romance with steamy sex.

I write what I like to read. I love reading shape-shifter and vampire paranormals. I also enjoy stories about psychics. I'm very devout about my faith so occasionally I'll write inspirationals. But mostly, my stories will always be about the passionate, eternal love between a man and a woman.

Finding Balance

2011-08-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

In today's world of multi-tasking, I am a queen. The problem with being the queen of multi-tasking is that I tend to take on more than I can feasibly do. For example, in addition to being a writer, I edit for two publishing houses. In no way do I edit for the money. (snort) I do it because I enjoy helping other authors get their work published and making their work shine. In addition, editing helps sharpen my own writing skills.

I'm told I'm a good editor. I'm definitely dedicated, and tend to be a bit of a workaholic. Sounds like a good thing, right? We're encouraged in today's society to stay busy, be productive. But too much of anything isn't good. I, as I stated earlier, tend to have a problem saying no. This means at times I get backlogged. I spend all my time working and stressing myself out.

I know it's bad when I wake in the morning thinking of what I need to accomplish during the day, and go to bed and night lamenting what I didn't get done. Writing? Who has time? Exercising, taking time to smell the roses? Ditto. It's ridiculous.

But I plan to do something about it. One, with the help of God I'm going to stop stressing myself out. I'm one person and can only do so much a day. I'll work steadily, but when I need a break, I'll take one. If I want to read a book instead of writing or editing, I'll read one. If I want to spend time with my family on Saturday instead of spending the whole day editing and running errands, I will. Without guilt and without berating myself for all I could have accomplished had I worked instead.

Life is short. I want to enjoy my life. Yes, I enjoy editing and writing, but not the pressure I was putting upon myself to produce. So, I'll rest when I need to. Make time to exercise and eat right. Get a good night's sleep, and as soon as I knock some of these editing jobs out of the way, I'll slow down.

Maybe. LOL!

Claiming Shayla Update

2011-07-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

So, I've finally gotten into a groove with this story. Right now I'm on page 134 (1" margins, 1.5 spacing) and a little under 57k in word count. The story begins with Shay gone, her return for Kiesha's wedding, and then the somewhat rocky start of her and Rory's life together. I just finished the scene where she's introduced to Rory's pack. Now that I have the couple firmly together, there's the barest hint of suspense that I'm working out. I figure another three to four chapters (at 13 pages each) and I'll be ready to wind down to the ending.

As to why it's taking me so long, please remember that both of these characters have very intense, very strong personalities. Also, I had to create a whole new pack, new support characters, and new settings. All of that takes time. When I'm finished with the rough draft, I'll let it sit for a bit and work on something new. Or maybe it will be time to do edits for Seduced by a Wolf. When enough time has passed, I'll come back to CS with fresh eyes and see if I can add another layer of depth to the story.

Once CS is ready to go, I'll start on Rome's story. I already have it plotted out in my mind. Just have to get it on paper. Then there's NeeCee and Bull, and another story that CS sparked within the Sparrowhawk pack. How many True Mates will there be? As many as my imagination allows me to write. Do, however, expect the TM books to start releasing further apart.

I have other projects, other commitments that I need to keep and/or finish as well. Like my book, Seduced by a Wolf. It's book one of a new four book Lycan series, releasing from Phaze. Then there's my Fantasy Island Series from Red Rose Publishing. It's time for another release in that series. I also committed to writing another book for Red Rose as part of a multi-author series project which I'm spearheading. Not to mention the many unfinished projects that I'd like to complete.

So as you can see, I have more than enough to keep me writing for the next several years.

My view on Spammers

2011-07-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

As a person, I have difficulty understanding why others get such delight in spamming people's websites, email accounts, etc. Do they really just have so much time on their hand? So little personal business to tend to?

Usually, I'm live and let live but when I spend more time deleting spam than interacting with readers, something has to give. In this case, it was me. They are many and I am one. I deleted my guestbook page on my zenawynn.com website. I enjoyed the comments and I believed readers enjoyed being able to leave them but when you have people who don't understand the meaning of respect, you do what you have to do. I refuse to leave the spam there, and I refuse to spend all of my time deleting it. If this was a war, then I guess they won. But did they really? I still retain my integrity and respect for others. They, well, I have to wonder if they know the meaning of those words.

New Book Contracted with Phaze

2011-05-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

I think I've mentioned here before, a story I was working on titled, Seduced by a Wolf. The characters in this demanded that their story be told, and me, slave to the voices, obeyed. Took me three months to complete, but it's done, contracted, and should be released by Phaze before the year is out.

This story is differently from my usual style, if I have a style. The tone is dark, and there's violence, betrayal, and surprises galore. For paranormal lovers there's a bit of that too. For the blurb, click over to my www.zenawynn.com site and you'll see it. Later I'll add an excerpt.

Mostly I wanted to share that I will have a release this year, and yes, I'm still plugging away on Shayla and Rory's story.

Slug Mode

2011-04-18T04:16:00.000-07:00

I've been extremely tired lately and haven't felt like doing much other than reading. It doesn't help that I've become totally addicted to JD Robb's Death series, so time I should be writing and editing, I've been reading. Trying to get myself back on track this week.

I have managed to get a little bit accomplished. I submitted Seduced by a Wolf to Phaze. If they accept it, that's one book I know will release this year. I'm still working on Claiming Shayla. Got plenty of ideas, simply need to put them down on paper. And then there's the material I hand wrote that I need to type.

My goal this week is to get back on track with everything. I started by hitting the gym this morning. Writing this is step two. Tonight I'll do an hour's worth of editing and then spend time writing. The hardest part is getting started. Once I'm working, the rest will flow.

Wish me luck.

The Writing Process - Claiming Shayla

2011-03-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

If you've been following my website, you know I'm about 90 pages into True Mates 6: Claiming Shayla. Readers have been asking for it and I've been working on it off and on for about 3 years now. I recently finished another project, a book whose characters absolutely demanded to have their story told. Now that I'm finished, I'm ready to get going on CS and get it done.

Major problem. I've lost their voice. I vaguely know what I want to do with the story, had ideas of what I wanted to plot-wise that came to me while working on other projects, but now that I'm actually focusing my whole attention on Claiming Shayla, I'm feeling a little lost. I'm questioning what's already been written, which is bad.

So what do I do? How do I get back inside my characters' heads? Go back to the beginning, of course. No, not the beginning of Claiming Shayla. I have to go back even further. I have to go back to book 2, Mary and the Bear, to get a handle on Rory. And if the truth be told, back to True Mates where Shayla was first introduced to get back inside of her head. I need to find that spark, the quirks that make Shayla who she is and what made Rory the tortured hero that he's become. Only then can I complete this story.

So, while writing Seduced by a Wolf, I took the break I alway need after finishing a True Mates' story. But now it's time to immerse myself in their world again so that I can tell Shayla and Rory's story the way it's begging to be told.

Over the next two weeks, I'll take time to read True Mates, Mary and the Bear, and Nikolai's Wolf. With my perspective and viewpoint firmly in place, I'll once more read what I've written of Claiming Shayla and be ready to finish it.

I've had several timeline goals during the course of writing this book, but my new one is to have it finished by June, and submitted by September. I know you readers have gotten used to one to two True Mates books being released a year, but honestly, that's not the way it works in the real world -- my world, with all its ups and downs and my busy schedule. As my writing skills improve, I want to be in a position to take my time with these stories, have quality over quantity.

Do I plan to take another three years before completing the next one? No, but if I do, I hope the final product will be worth the wait.

Dance Like Everyone's Watching by Eve Summers

2011-02-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

As a dancer on a luxury cruise liner, Taffy has a dream job: earning tax-free money for something she’s passionate about, while not spending a cent on bed & board. Taffy, however, has a secret and the money is not coming in fast enough for her liking, especially when her focus turns away from money towards the steady, sexy and dark Ashton, whose ex-girlfriend shares Taffy’s crew cabin.

The pool boy, Ashton, is in reality the undercover heir to the shipping company's fortune. When an emerald pendant is stolen, Ashton has to discover the culprit before the company’s reputation is compromised. As much as he hates to admit it, Taffy is the prime suspect....

My thoughts on this story...

First the title captured my attention. I'm not a dancer, though I would love to be and contrary to popular opinion, not all blacks have rhythm. I couldn't imagine trying to dance in front of others and not making a fool of myself.

Next I went to the author's website, http://eve-summers.blogspot.com/, to see how experienced a writer she is. Why? Because I feel reviews are like report cards. You wouldn't grade a 1st grader like a 12th grader, and new authors shouldn't be graded like experienced ones.

Last I read the story. Yeah, I should have read the blurb first but I simply didn't think of it until afterwards. I wanted to dive right in.

As a reader, this is absolutely a great story. It packs a lot of punch for its short length. As someone who recently just finished a 4-day cruise, I could totally relate to this behind the scenes glimpse of the things that can and probably do happen on board ship. It is, like the author said at one point, a floating city.

Because I didn't read the blurb, the surprises kept coming. The mystery aspect of the story was very well done. The only thing different I would have done had I been one of the assigned editors was have the writer give a little more of a description of the characters. I'm a very visual reader. Skin tone, hair and eye color and a few other generalities is all the description a reader's imagination is given to work with. However, even that lack of description didn't detract from the story.

I believe, as a writer, I wouldn't have revealed the hero's identity in the blurb. My not knowing exactly who, or rather what, he was added immensely to the story. It gave me the opportunity to experience the joyful surprise of the pool guy turning out to be undercover security only to discover he was heir to the shipping enterprise. Talk about a fairytale ending.

The reader in me would like to know what happened to the heroine's brother. But then, that's just a quirk of mine. I like all my threads neatly tied together, unless the loose threads are setup for the next book in the series.

Needless to say, I'll be looking forward to Eve's next book in the Cruise Liner Adventures.

What's in a Review?

2011-02-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Reviews are something I never thought about until I began writing. If I saw a book that looked interesting to me, I purchased it and read it. Sometimes it turned out to be a really great book. Sometimes okay. A few times a waste of money.

After True Mates published I discovered the not so wonderful world of ebook reviews. As a writer, I understand the power of a good review. As a reader I sometimes use reviews to find out more information about ebooks upon which I'm undecided whether to purchase. Sometimes reviews has revealed story elements that were not listed in the publisher's warning that I really choose not to read. Other times a book that sounded so-so turned out to be a fabulous read.

The thing about reviews, though, is that it boils down to one reader's opinion. An opinion that is based upon that reader's preferences, expectations, life experiences, etc. Things that may or may not coincide with my own.

So why do we give reviews so much weight? And should we do so?

One reason is that reviews are a form of free promotion for authors, one that we hope will be positive. Writers want readers to purchase and like their books. We put a lot of our heart and soul into writing each one. A good review is like applause for a job well done.

A bad review? Well, those can be crushing, and it shouldn't be. A review is simple one readers very public opinion of your work. It's that public nature that cause writers and publishers alike to cringe when a review is unfavorable.

I feel that the role of the reviewer is to rate the story, period. Was it good? Did you like it? Give the reader a summary of the story that tells more than the blurb but not so much that you tell the whole story. And please, no spoilers. Give the reader something to look forward to.

Now for a pet peeve of mine. What's with reviewers that insist on commenting (nit-picking, some of them) on every little error in the book. NO BOOK, no matter the publisher, is without it's errors. Why? Books are published by people and people aren't perfect. I don't care how many checks and balances a publisher has in place, errors happen.

This wouldn't bug me so much if I didn't know the other side of the publishing business. I know what things the writer can control, what the editor controls, and what the publisher controls. An editor's job is to help the writer polish their manuscript. Notice I say help. They can't write it for them. They can't force the writer to make the changes that they know will improve their story, and believe me, not all authors are cooperative when it comes to the editing process. And as an editor I know not all editors are competent.

Publishers hire the best help they can get for the salary they can afford to pay. Trust me, qualified editors are not beating down most publishers doors trying to get jobs. If you're a publisher and you want to stay in business, you do the best you can with the staff you have.

I suppose the same could be said of review houses. Most reviewers are volunteers. A lot are avid readers who don't mind telling others what they think of a book for the opportunity to get in some free reads. They're not writers, editors, or publishers (at least the majority of them are not). They are not professionals. They are simply people who give of their time to offer a service and sometimes get really harassed for the opinions they offer.I know. I've inadvertantly done it myself. Not deliberately offended one, but offended a reviewer nonetheless.

So again I ask, what's in a review, and why do we give them so much power?

What Makes a Really Good Who Done It?

2011-02-11T12:17:00.000-08:00

For me, I know a suspense is really good when I want to flip to the back of the book to see who the villian is, but can't because I don't want to mess up the story. Another way I can tell a story is really, really good is if I give into the curiosity to cheat and still want to finish reading the book any way because now I have to know how the hero/heroine figured it all out.

Lately, I've rediscovered Nora Roberts, or rather her alternate ego, J D Rob. I've been interested in the Death series but wanted to start at the beginning. I'd read a short and was familiar with the heroine of the series and her love interest, Roarke. But I wanted to know how they'd gotten to the place they were.

I lucked up and gained a co-worker who's a JD Robb fanatic. She has the whole series. She brought me book one. I read it last week. Now I'm almost finished with book two and must confess, I'm hooked. Yes, I like the romance but it's the mystery that keeps me turning the pages. These books have made me rediscover my love of a good, romantic suspense.

Anyone else out there reading this series?

The Year 2011

2011-01-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Like most people I set goals, things I want to accomplish during the coming year. One standard is to write 3 books (either short or long) and get them submitted. So far God has been helping me accomplish and even exceed this goal.

My writing projects for this year include:

Seduced By the Wolf - an IR, shape-shifter story that may become a three book series. I haven't decided yet. I'm almost 70 pages into this story so finishing in 2011 is a definite.

Claiming Shayla - a True Mates story. Yes, I know readers have been waiting a while for this one. I plan to finish it this year. I won't meet the March deadline I gave myself but it will be submitted for publication in 2011. I'm 90 pages into it, know where I want to go with the story, but need time to sit down and write.

Fantasy Island Series book - I plan to have another one of these submitted this year.

Once I get these three stories done, I'll work on other writing projects in various stages of completion.

I also work part-time as an editor for now two publishing houses. Working with other authors to polish their books hones my writing skills but it cuts into my writing time. This year I working on doing a better job of balancing editing with writing. No more overloading myself with projects and then stressing out, wondering how I'm going to complete them all. So far, so good. I'm restraining myself from taking on too much, remembering that I still need time to write.

I also will be doing more traveling this year. The family and I are going on a cruise. In March I'll be attending my first writer's conference - EPICon. My daughter graduates high school in June and sometime this summer the extended family is going to Tennessee. With the help of God I'll be there as well.

This year is shaping up to be a really great year.

Two New Releases

2010-12-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

I've been super busy and these two newest releases, both available this month, are the result.

Carol's Mate, the newest installment in the True Mates series, is available from Loose Id. The cost is $4.99. The story flips back and forth between when Carol and Mark met, and a few months before Alex meets Kiesha in True Mates.

Fantasy Island: Cyn's Dragon is available now from Red Rose Publishing and for a limited time only is free.

Off the Face of the Earth

2010-11-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Or, I guess that's what it seems like since it's been forever since I posted here, despite my best intentions. Time got away from me. As many of you know, in addition to my writing, I'm a single mom, work a day job, edit part time for Red Rose Publishing and I'm very active in my church. All of that causes the days to pass by faster than what it seems. Hopefully I can get back on track with my postings.

So what have I been up too?

The next True Mates book is due to release on 12/24/10. No, it's not Shayla's story. I am still plugging away at that whenever I get the opportunity to do so, and it's coming along fairly decently despite the many interruptions. This is Carol's Mate, Mark and Carol's story, a prequel to True Mates. It was meant to be an extremely short Christmas story and it kind of got away from me. It's still short, around 25k, but I think it's worth the read.

Fantasy Island: Cyn's Dragon. My plan was to release this one in 2011, but I received a phone call from the owner of Red Rose Publishing asking if I could do a short story to be released Thanksgiving Day. Since I was already 10k into this one, I decided to go ahead and finish it. I'm still not done, but I'm pretty sure I'll meet my release deadline. Here's the catch. The first 300 copies will be free, only on the Red Rose Publishing site. Get it anywhere else, or be number 301 and you pay the going rate for that length a story, which I believe will be $1.99, but don't quote me on that.

Okay, breaks over. I have to get back to work. I'll try to do a better job of keeping up with my posts.

Be My Guest (if you live in Jacksonville FL)

2010-05-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Alright ladies (and gents),

Our church is in revival and my pastor has challenged each of us to invite 10 people. Since I'm rather reclusive (I go to work, church, and home), this is somewhat of a challenge for me. So I thought, I'll invite all my internet buddies, who can pass the message along to theirs, and so forth and so on, and meet my quota. Here's the details:

Date: Wed. 5/19/10 through Sun. 5/23/10
Time: Eve @ 7 pm and Sun 11 a.m / Sun Eve 6:00 p.m
Location: 5755 Soutel Drive, Jacksonville FL 32218 (or maybe 32219)

Tonight's message was rather good. He spoke on the topic of miracles and how receiving a miracle requires obedience. There's always a part of the equation that we are responsible. When we do our part, God will do His.

*brushing hands* My task is done. Thank you, and carry on.

Spring Fever or Something Else

2010-05-11T03:47:00.000-07:00

It's almost June, which means the year is almost half over with. There's this urge inside of me, this driving force that's telling me I need to get busy and do something. That as a writer, I'm falling way behind on my goals. I almost give into the pressure to do something, to produce, but then I think...

I've accomplished a lot this year already. I've met my three book submission goal: Fantasy Island: Mya's Werewolf and Worth Fighting For (the Nina Chronicles) were both submitted to and contracted by Red Rose Publishing. A True Mates Christmas: Carol and Mark's story was submitted to Loose Id. Mya's Werewolf and TM Christmas were both started and completed this year.

Publication wise, Love's Challenges released from Red Rose this year. The Question came out in print and Tameka's Smile will also be releasing in print.

In additional to this, I have several stories in various stages of being written: Claiming Shayla (about halfway), Vampaliens: Regina (about a third), Fantasy Island: Cyn's Dragon (about a third), and several more stories I've started and set to the side.

So as you can see, I've been producing. I am doing something as a writer, but yet the feeling persists. Which leaves me to question, could it simply be spring fever?

Let me know what you think.

What's Going on in My World?

2010-04-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, things have been a bit hectic on the personal front and with writing, so I'm way behind in my updates. Today I'm taking a breather, updating my websites, and hopefully get some writing done.

What's New?

Fantasy Island: Mya's Werewolf

I started a new series for Red Rose Publishing called Fantasy Island, loosely based on the old TV show I loved to watch as a child. It's paranormal, of course, because the things they did on that show sometimes defied imagination. The first book, already contracted, is titled Mya's Werewolf. It's a short story, a little over 10k. We just finished first round edits. One more round and then it's off to lines. After that, it will be up to the production manager when it will be released for sale.

A True Mates Christmas: Carol & Mark's Story

Some readers have requested I write Carol and Mark's story, the couple introduced in True Mates that have made random appearances in both Mary and the Bear and Tameka's Smile as well. Since Claiming Shayla is taking a bit longer than expected to get written, and I know y'all need your True Mates fix, I wrote this one to hopefully hold you over. I finished it this week. Currently it's about 26k and a little under 70 pages. It's setting is prior to True Mates, so you meet Alex pre-Kiesha. You also meet his parents and a few other pack members, like Ms. Lulu (Tameka's Smile). I think it will tie in nicely. If all goes well, it will be published December of this year.

The Nina Chronicles

For those you who have read or are reading my inspirational series published by Red Rose, this week I signed the contract for the third, and most likely final, book. This one is longer, much longer, like full-length novel longer. And unlike the first two, which center around the heroine Nina and her self-realizations, this one reads more like a romance. There's more dialogue, more interaction between Nina and Roberto, etc.

It's pretty deep, I'll admit. Through Nina's character, I take a lot of issues that I personally struggle with as a woman and a Christian and bring them to life. Struggles with past relationships, struggles with faith, struggles with trust and love. I have betas that read it while I was writing it that refused to discuss the book with me, other than to say "Keep writing. It's hitting too close to home to talk about, but don't stop writing this story." Writing it helped me a lot and hopefully reading it will bless others.

Next on My Agenda?

The next Fantasy Island book, Cyn's Dragon. I'm three chapters into it.

True Mates: Claiming Shayla. I left off on page 91, right at a turning point in the story.

Vampaliens: Regina - time for me to get back to this one as well.

True Mates: Tameka's Smile - I need to do a final proof for the print release. Speaking of print releases, if you didn't know, The Question is out in print. Got my copies yesterday. Can't wait to dive into it. Yes, I wrote it but it's still one of my favorite books.

A True Mates Christmas - once my betas get done reviewing it, I need to do a final proof and submit it to my Loose Id editor. My goal is to have it submitted on May 1st

As you can see, I've been quite busy. TM Christmas will be my third story submission for this year, and my yearly goal of three submission will have been met. Now, time for me to get busy again.

Corrected Phaze March Top 20 Bestsellers

2010-04-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

So Much Better - Marie Rochelle
Talk Dirty To Me - Jack Greene
Tameka's Smile - Zena Wynn
Lucas - Eliza Gayle
Corporate Seduction - Bridget Midway
Mary and the Bear - Zena WynnEnter Sandman - Leigh Ellwood
In the Dark: a Collection of Gay Erotic Tales - GA Hauser
Top Men - GA Hauser
Dragon's Lust - Savannah Reardon
Pick of the Litter - Wendy Stone
Life Without Raine - Riley Ashford
Corporate Desires - Bridget Midway
Bride Ball - Brenna Lyons
Lucky Charms - Marie Rochelle
Illicit Attraction - Zena Wynn
Binary Stars, Vol. 1: Hard Lessons/Security - Jack Greene
Fire and Desire - Eliza Gayle
Caging the Tiger - Michelle Houston
Desire - Marie Rochelle

2010-04-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

1. So Much Better - Marie Rochelle
2. Talk Dirty To Me - Jack Greene
3. Tameka's Smile - Zena Wynn
4. Lucas - Eliza Gayle
5. Corporate Seduction - Bridget Midway
6. Top Men - GA Hauser
7. Enter Sandman - Leigh Ellwood
8. In the Dark: a Collection of Gay Erotic Tales - GA Hauser
9. Top Men - GA Hauser
10.Dragon's Lust - Savannah Reardon
11.Pick of the Litter - Wendy Stone
12.Life Without Raine - Riley Ashford
13.Corporate Desires - Bridget Midway
14.Bride Ball - Brenna Lyons
15.Lucky Charms - Marie Rochelle
16.Illicit Attraction - Zena Wynn
17.Binary Stars, Vol. 1: Hard Lessons/Security - Jack Greene
18.Fire and Desire - Eliza Gayle
19.Caging the Tiger - Michelle Houston
20.Desire - Marie Rochelle

Thank you to everyone who keeps me in the Top 20.

Life

2010-03-31T03:28:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy for me lately. I think it's been a full moon for the entire last month. Big, beautiful harvest moons, but full moons nonetheless.

This month, my kids lost their father to stomach cancer. It was sudden enough that we're still reeling from the shock of it all, but long enough that he had time to repair his relationship with his children, and get his soul right with God. Now I have all the business to take care that comes when the non-custodial parent dies and there are minor children involved. Though he was my ex-husband and we've been a part for over 15 years now, I still had some mental adjustments to make, and my own personal greiving to do at the loss of his life.

My writing's suffered a bit as a result. I'm still working, but my schedule's been thrown out the window. Now, I'll get it done when I can as I can. Hopefully this week I can get back on track and therefore, on schedule. This is what I'm working on:

True Mates: Carol and Mark
Quite a few readers asked for their story. I had in mind to write a very short Christmas story featuring them. It would be a prequel, picking up before True Mates and give you the background of how Carol and Mark's mating came to be. I figured I might make it to 15k, and got permission from Loose Id to write a short. Well, I'm at 18k and still nowhere near the end, although I'd say I'm about two-thirds done with the story. It's flowing well and if I could ever get back to it, will probably have it done and submitted in a few weeks, just in time for a Christmas release.

True Mates: Claiming Shayla

I'm on page 91 and still going strong. It's a complex story with fiesty characters that's coming along fairly well. You'll get to see Kiesha's wedding from Shayla's viewpoint. There's a couple of surprise characters and the usual things you'd expect from my stories. Because the Sparrowhawks are so different from the Ravens, I'm having fun trying to capture all the nuances of Rory's pack. It will have a bit of mystery and some potentially unresolved conflict that will allow me to do another book on this pack, should I desire to do so.

I have other books I'll get back to playing with once those are done. I have already made two submissions to Red Rose Publishing this year, so I'm ahead on my three book a year submission goal. One is the last book in the Nina Wallace Chronicles, the inspirational series I wrote. Another is the first book in a new paranormal series called Fantasy Island. Mya's Werewolf has been contracted, but no release date yet. I'll let you know when it happens.

Okay, that's what's going on in my world. I need to get dressed for the day job now. Y'all be blessed by God.

Red Flags and Other Warning Signs

2010-01-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hopefully this will help someone besides me.

If you read The Apology, you know it was based on an incident that happened in my life. Jonathan Parker is a real person whose name was changed to protect the stupid. Anyway, Wed. I was cleaning out old emails and I ran across one from the real "Jon" that he'd sent me a year ago in Feb 2009. I couldn't remember if I'd responded. It was innocent enough. Asked how I was doing and if I liked my new position (I transferred locations last year). Wondered if I'd like to get together for lunch some time.

I hate being rude, either intentionally or inadvertantly. So I sent a response, a year later, stating that I didn't remember responding and though it was a year later, I was acknowledging his email.

His response was instant:
No you did not. I am still waiting. How about breakfast one Saturday morning at Shoneys. How about my birthday weekend? I know you know that date. I will be waiting to hear back from you.

What struck me immediately was why would he assume after all this time (6 years since our relationship ended), I would remember or even care to remember when his birthdate was? I sent a polite response. "Maybe, depending upon my schedule, we can get together one Sat. I assumed from your statement that your birthday is in Feb but don't really remember. I'll get back to you on the breakfast thing."

Then I prayed about it, because his comment about me knowing his birthdate really disturbed me. Such an innocent little thing, but it told me so much. Things like a) he hasn't changed a bit, b) everything is still about him, c) the sheer arrogance the statement revealed stunned me, and d) did I really want this man back in my life, even as a friend?

Several things came to me as a result of my prayer:
a) Christian kindness does not mean I have to open myself up to be a victim.
b) This man has no idea how to be a friend. The bible says you must first show yourself friendly before you can gain friends. I have neither the time nor energy to waste on someone who only knows how to take and not give.
c) Forgiving someone doesn't mean that I have to let them back into my life. It's perfectly fine for me to wish them well but refuse to continue a relationship with them.
d) and last but not least, Jesus said not to cast your pearls before swine. I believe strongly that this man misses the unconditional support I used to give to him and wants it back in his life. He didn't appreciate it when he had it and I don't believe anything about him has changed since then.

So what am I going to do? I was going to politely decline his offer and explain that I'm not interested in a relationship with him. That past experience has taught me that he doesn't know how to be a friend and any contact between us would be a waste of time and effort on both of our parts, something I have neither the time nor energy from. However, based on advice from a friend, I'm going to do nothing. Let my silence speak for me.

God doesn't expect us to set ourselves up to be victims. Some of us are too kind for our own good and lack the ability to say no because we think we're doing the Christian thing. If that's you, I say pray about it, really listen to what God is telling you to do, and do it. Forget about what you "think" is the right thing to do. It's alright to say no and to tell some people in your life "I wish you God's blessing but this is goodbye."

Christianity, Sex, and Marriage

2010-01-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

Sex - a subject I can honestly admit is on my mind a lot. It constantly amazes me the way the enemy works. The majority of single people have a problem controling their flesh. Face it. Sex is everywhere. On TV, in the movies. Good Lord, it's even in kiddie cartoons. We're bombarded by images and let's not even talk about the music.

Then there are married folks with a legal license -- dare I say obligation -- to have sex. The Word encourages, nay commands them not to withhold their bodies from each other. Yet so many of them are not interested. It boggles the mind.

Before marriage we can barely keep our hands off of each other. Afterwards, it's like it's very availability causes us to lose interest. I won't even go into women who treat sex like it's a pacifier or bargaining tool for their husbands.

I read erotic romances books not so much for the thrill it gives my flesh but because the best ones offer the total package - love and passion. I've been married and I understand how the thrill can wear off. It's hard to feel sexy and attractive when you've been paying bills, working and running around after the kids all day. And it's hard to be attracted when your man is acting more like one of the kids.

That's why I read and write. For the hope it gives me that one day I can have it all. A love that endures and a passion that doesn't die out. That's my prayer for myself and what I try to give my readers, if only for a few hours.

I think women who critize and condemn other women about their reading choices don't understand the need it fulfills. I say it's better for me to read (or write) about a married couple having a loving, passionate, SEXUAL relationship than out there searching the clubs, or hitting the hookup sites on-line to fill the emptiness.

"They" would say that with Jesus you don't need anyone else. I beg to differ. The bible says man wasn't meant to be alone and God is the one that imbedded the urge to mate in our DNA. It's how we choose to handle it that often gets us in trouble.

Thoughts?

Fantasy Island: Mya's Werewolf

2010-01-18T08:40:00.000-08:00

The voices are good!

As stated in my last post, I had this storyline, this plot that just wouldn't leave me alone. I figured I'd write a bit of it, enough to satisfy my muse and get back to what was really important - TM 5: Claiming Shayla.

So Friday night, I sat at my laptop to put down the scene that had been making such a nuisance of itself. I didn't even have the character's names. I asked my daughter for a female name. She came up with Mya and it clicked. Mya Anderson. I started writing.

I knew the hero would be a werewolf. That was Mya's fantasy. To live out one of the werewolf romances she liked to read. As of this morning, I'm 30 pages into it and winding down to the ending. It was never meant to be a long story. The whole series will be a group of short stories that hopefully will be combined into a print single author anthology.

So those of you worried about Claiming Shayla, never fear. I'll be back working on it before the week is out. Hopefully it will come a little faster since I've satisfied my muse and let it take this little side trip into Fantasy Island.

Sometimes it's good to listen to the voices...

2010-01-16T08:24:00.000-08:00

The ones in my head, of course. I was diligently plowing away at Claiming Shayla. I temporarily hit a snag when I tried to take the story in a direction it didn't want to go, and the flow halted until I figured it out. But afterwards, everything was cool. I was back on track, knew what I wanted to write, and it was simply a matter of finding the time to put it all down on paper.

Then this storyline came to me, as they do from time to time. Usually I can write the blurb and a brief outline for later (so I don't forget) and keep moving. Not this time. This story woke up with me in the morning and went to sleep with me at night. As I walked down the road, the characters were telling me their story. So, last night I gave in. I put CS aside (briefly) and started writing Fantasy Island.

The idea was to write enough to get me started, then go back to CS. Instead, I wrote the entire first chapter (7 pages) and only stopped because I was sleepy. By the end of today I figure I'll have chapter two completed, maybe more. By the end of this three-day weekend, the entire story may be written. Why? Reason number one: It's going to be a short one, less than 100 pages. Reason number two: The ideas are coming so fast I can't keep up, and I can type pretty fast.

I think my brain needed to take a break. Or maybe I need to feel like I'm accomplishing something. Writing this story - Fantasy Island: Mya's Werewolf - will accomplish both. I already know who the publisher for this series will be - Red Rose. I told Wendi about it yesterday and she's interested.

Why Red Rose? Because if it's good, Wendi will take stories as small as 1,000 words and with varying heat levels. Later, when I've written enough of them to equal 10,000 words, she'll put the series in print. Or at least, I'm pretty sure she will. That gives me the freedom to write each story as I see fit and not worry that one might be rejected because it doesn't fit the same pattern as the one before.

So this week (well, Friday), my betas will have something new to read. A short story that will hopefully leave a smile on their face. And this year, readers will have one more story from me to tide them over until the next TM release. I think it's a win-win situation for us all.

Author of the True Mates series, The Apology, Illicit Attraction, The Question, and more. Publishers: Loose-Id, Phaze, Red Rose. http://www.zenawynn.com; http://zenawynn.blogspot.com;
www.myspace.com/zenawynn

Can you go Home Again?

2009-12-29T02:32:00.000-08:00

I've recently found myself on Facebook, trying to reconnect with the people I graduated from high school with. I'm not sure why. Maybe because finally, at the ripe age of 40, I've reached a stage where I can look back not with horror, but with understanding. I'm comfortable with who and what I am, the choices I've made and ready to renew old friendships, to see how others turned out.

It hasn't been easy for me. I moved around a lot as a child. No, I'm not military. What I am is the youngest child of a single mother whom everyone had a hand in raising. There were grades 1-3 where I lived with my mother's oldest sister during the week and went home on weekends because Mom worked graveyard. Then grades 4-6 when I lived with my grandparents in Delaware. Back home for grades 7 and two months into grade 8 I was back with the aunt when my mom moved to N. FL to take care of my grandmother. I finally joined her for good and spent grades 9-12 in Fernandina Bch. It became home.

Somewhere along the way I learned not to form any attachments, to live in the moment and when I moved on, leave behind those friendships I once treasured. Now, if it's not too late, I'd like to recapture some of those. Is Facebook the way to do it? I'm not sure but it's doesn't hurt to try.

Who knows, maybe someone will be kind enough to let me know about the next class reunion and I can attend.

Blessings and More

2009-11-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

Back in the beginning, earlier in the creation of this webpage I mentioned how five years ago I'd lost my home to foreclosure. Despite my many prayers and faith to the contrary, the bank took possession of their property and I was forced to move. I think the thing that bothered me most about the process was not so much that I lost the house, but that the property passed from my grandfather's hands to my mother to me. I fully intended to leave it to my children. Instead, I lost it.

Five years went by. There were times I tried to figure out why God allowed it to happen. If there was something I should have (or shouldn't have) done that led to it. It was hard at times, considering I lived right next door to the place I'd lost. But I had a promise. God told me that the house would be mine again and as indication that He'd keep His word to me, the house would remain empty until I was back in it.

I lived with my mother and it was okay. We were able to help each other out, especially during the time when gas prices rose and everything became so expensive, but still, her house wasn't home. I rebuilt my credit, little by little. Paid off the debts I had, which wasn't much, and began to build a savings. Life was comfortable, but still my former home was a silent reminder of what could have been.

Last month, on October 1st, I closed on my house. The one I'd lost five years before. It's been remodeled, central heat and air added, and the plumbing upgraded. More than what I could have done on my own. I've been here almost two months now and I still go to bed at night and wake up in the morning, unable to believe I'm back in my home.

There are still boxes that need to be unpacked. Decorations to put up and painting to be done, but it's mine and I can take my time making it happen. I'm very grateful to God. Even when I'd given up hope, He was faithful. He did exactly what He said He would do. Held my hand through the whole process and directed each step that I took. I have a FHA fixed rate loan instead of the ARM I had before. My interest rate is a low 5.something percent. Way lower than my first one.

All I can say is thanks be to God. When He does it, it comes out right. There's some other promises He's made to me that I'm waiting on Him to fulfill, but everytime I look in the bathroom mirror in MY house, I know that when He finally brings it to pass, it will be more than worth the wait.

What's New in My World...

2009-11-19T12:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm long overdue for a blog post. Problems with my computer at home caused me to let time get away from me. It's frustrating to have this really awesome post planned, spend time typing it out only to have my computer delete the post without saving it. Oh well.

I'm excited about the release of Tameka's Smile, book four in the True Mates series. It's being received very well by readers. Some of the very same readers who were "disappointed" that Shay's story wasn't releasing next but reluctantly decided to give Tameka's Smile a read (while waiting for the story they really wanted) are raving about how good it is. LOL! Now it's "When are you going to write Shayla and NeeCee's stories."

I've very happy to report that TS made it to # 2 on All Romance Ebooks' bestseller list, came in at #20 on Phaze's bestseller list for the month of October (the month it released), and has already out sold all of my other books on Fictionwise. Some folks would mistakenly think I'm anticipating the royalties. What I'm really pumped about is that sales means readers. People are reading something I wrote and loving it. That's what this writing thing is all about.

As for what else is on my plate, I recently finished the last book in my inspirational series published by Red Rose Publishing. I'm diligently working on finishing Claiming Shayla (TM #5) and hope to have it completed by the first part of next year. There are lots of voices in my head screaming for their story to be told, but they're all going to have to wait until I finish the manuscript I'm working on.

The Question - Reader Response

2009-08-24T04:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, let me start off by apologizing for not posting more frequently. Several mornings I've taken the time to make long, heartfelt posts, only to have my computer (an older one) not let me save the message. Very frustrating, but I've finally learned my lesson.

Reader response to The Question has been fantastic. I appreciate everyone who's sent emails directly to me, left comments on sites like All Romance Ebooks, and/or praised this book on to your friends on various yahoo groups, blogs, etc.

This book is a once in a lifetime success. You know, that one book that stands out in an author's career as THE BOOK, the best, the one that can't be topped, and I give all the glory to God. I couldn't have done it without His help.

Because of you, The Question has already outsold all of my other books, including the True Mates series, on Fictionwise and ARe. I have no doubts that it will be going to print soon, just from the magnitude of your response.

So again I'd like to say thank you, and that I'll make an effort to better in keeping up with my posts.

The Question is out...

2009-07-28T05:24:00.001-07:00

...and reader response is starting to trickle in. The consensus is that they love it. Several stayed up all night reading it. It's interesting watching them try to tell what they loved about it without giving away the plot.

The cost is $6 and the page count is 266. Yes, it's a long book but once you start reading you won't notice. This story sucks you in and won't let go. I wrote it and still find myself going back reading my favorite parts.

If you've read it, or plan to, give me a shout out and let me know what you think about it.

Blurb:

What would you do for a friend? What sacrifice would you willingly make? This is the issue facing Gail Henderson when her best friend, Crystal Al Jabbar, asks her to be a surrogate for her and her husband Rashid, using Gail's own egg. Complicating the decision is the decision is Gail's recent loss of her husband and toddler son in a fatal car accident, two years earlier. After much contemplation, Gail reluctantly agrees. Her decision sets off a chain of events non of them could have anticipated.

Available now from Phaze Books (http://www.phaze.com)

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Received this in an email and wanted to share.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence ?

For the record, here's a portrait of the men who pledged "our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor" for liberty many years ago.

Fifty-six men from each of the original 13 colonies signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Nine of the signers were immigrants, two were brothers and two were cousins. One was an orphan. The average age of a signer was 45. Benjamin Franklin was the oldest delegate at 70. The youngest was Thomas Lynch Jr. of South Carolina at 27.

Eighteen of the signers were merchants or businessmen, 14 were farmers, and four were doctors. Twenty-two were lawyers - although William Hooper of North Carolina was "disbarred" when he spoke out against the king - and nine were judges. Stephen Hopkins had been governor of Rhode Island. Forty-two signers had served in their colonial legislatures.

John Witherspoon of New Jersey was the only active clergyman to attend. (Indeed, he wore his pontificals to the sessions.) Almost all were Protestants. Charles Carroll of Maryland was the lone Roman Catholic.

Seven of the signers were educated at Harvard, four at Yale, four at William & Mary, and three at Princeton. Witherspoon was the president of Princeton, and George Wythe was a professor at William & Mary. His students included Declaration scribe Thomas Jefferson.

Seventeen signers fought in the American Revolution. Thomas Nelson was a colonel in the Second Virginia Regiment and then commanded Virginia military forces at the Battle of Yorktown. William Whipple served with the New Hampshire militia and was a commanding officer in the decisive Saratoga campaign. Oliver Wolcott led the Connecticut regiments sent for the defense of New York and commanded a brigade of militia that took part in the defeat of General Burgoyne. Caesar Rodney was a major general in the Delaware militia; John Hancock held the same rank in the Massachusetts militia.

The British captured five signers during the war. Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, and Arthur Middleton were captured at the Battle of Charleston in 1780. George Walton was wounded and captured at the Battle of Savannah. Richard Stockton of New Jersey never recovered from his incarceration at the hands of British Loyalists. He died in 1781.

Thomas McKean of Delaware wrote John Adams that he was "hunted like a fox by the enemy - compelled to remove my family five times in a few months." Abraham Clark of New Jersey had two of his sons captured by the British during the war.

Eleven signers had their homes and property destroyed. Francis Lewis's New York home was razed and his wife taken prisoner. John Hart's farm and mills were destroyed when the British invaded New Jersey, and he died while fleeing capture. Carter Braxton and Nelson, both of Virginia, lent large sums of their personal fortunes to support the war effort but were never repaid.

Fifteen of the signers participated in their states' constitutional conventions, and six - Roger Sherman, Robert Morris, Franklin, George Clymer, James Wilson, and George Reed - signed the U.S. Constitution.

After the Revolution, 13 signers went on to become governors. Eighteen served in their state legislatures. Sixteen became state and federal judges. Seven became members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Six became U.S. senators. James Wilson and Samuel Chase became Supreme Court justices. Jefferson, Adams, and Elbridge Gerry each became vice president. Adams and Jefferson later became president.

Five signers played major roles in the establishment of colleges and universities: Franklin and the University of Pennsylvania; Jefferson and the University of Virginia; Benjamin Rush and Dickinson College; Lewis Morris and New York University; and George Walton and the University of Georgia.

Adams, Jefferson, and Carroll were the longest surviving signers. Adams and Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Carroll was the last signer to die in 1832 at the age of 95.

Sources: Robert Lincoln, Lives of the Presidents of the United States, with Biographical Notices of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence (Brattleboro Typographical Company, 1839); John and Katherine Bakeless, Signers of the Declaration (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969); Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989).

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday to remember the cost of freedom - Americans have been paying it for generations.

It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

Nothing New Under the Sun

2009-06-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

King Solomon in the book of wisdom, commonly know as the the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, made the statement that there was nothing new under the sun. What he meant was that no matter how orignal we think our idea is, someone else has already had the same thought.

I find this to be true in writing. Take my book The Question. It's about a woman who agrees to be a surrogate for her best friend Crystal and her husband. Now I fully admit the idea of the story came to me from the biblical account of Sarah, Abraham, and Haggai (book of Genesis). Imagine my surprise when while browsing through publishers looking for a book to purchase, I ran across another author who'd written a story on the same premise. Curiosity demanded I purchase her book and read it, for comparison purposes of course. It was an interesting read. She handled her story completely different than the way I'd done mine, but it just goes to show, there really is no new idea.

As if to drive the matter home, I'm currently working on my version of a vampire story that may turn into a series, not sure yet. I researched hard and took special care to find terminology to fit my world and still stay somewhat within the vampire "norm." It's been an ongoing slow process because the book is very intense. To relax and to inspire myself, I started reading another author's vampire story. Imagine my shock when some of the same terminology I was using turned up in her book, in almost the same way. LOL!

A new writer would probably be discourage. Not me. I realize that when it comes to writing, there's nothing new and originality comes from God. Originality doesn't mean unique -- one of a kind. It simply means that I put my story ingredients together a little bit different than you did yours, and it worked. Writing is a lot like cooking. You do your best, play around with the ingredients and hope the end product is something your eaters will enjoy otherwise it's all been a waste of time.

What's New in My World

2009-06-01T17:35:00.000-07:00

I've been feverishly writing and completing edits for Tameka's Smile, in addition to the line editing work I do for Red Rose Publishing. As a result, I've gotten a bit behind on all of my sites. I hope to make up for it today.

So what have I been writing?

I took a break from the paranormal story I was working on to write the sequel to The Apology. I was stunned when a few readers (and a reviewer) mentioned that they'd like to read more about Nina. Continuing her story never crossed my mind. I polled my beta group. Most of them were against me doing so. Good thing I follow my muse. Once the idea took root, the story just came out in a rush. The title is New Beginnings and it's already with Red Rose being considered for publication.

Now that it's done, I'm back to the vampire paranormal story I'm writing. It's different from anything I've ever written. Of course, since I've only been doing this a little over two years, that's not saying much. It's a bit dark, kind of edgy. I haven't decided on a length, of course I never do. I write until the story ends. Nor have I consider who to submit it to. One step at a time.

Then there's Shayla's story waiting for me to get back to it. Every now and then I write a page or two. It will get finished for release. I'm aware readers are waiting. Trust me, I know. My sister's been waiting two years. I have to finish it for her if no one else.

Next out is The Question, and then Tameka's Smile. I'm looking forward to both. Thanks to all of you who write and tell me how much you like the stories I like. I do it for all of us.

Uncooperative, demanding Muses

2009-04-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

Usually, my muse and I get along extremely well. A story idea comes to me. I start writing it and as I do, it unfolds in my mind. The characters talk to me and pretty much take over until their story is told in a manner pleasing to them. It doesn't always come out the way I'd intended and sometimes my characters take me down roads I didn't expect, but the final product is one I'm proud to put my name on.

While working on Tameka's Smile, my muse introduced a story idea that was so captivating I had to write it down. During slow periods (or when my muse became too demanding), I'd work it a little more until I had maybe the first chapter completed. Then TS took all of my attention and I had to get it finished.

Well, TS is done now, submitted and accepted for publication. My muse tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me of the story I'd set on the back burner to simmer until it was time. Apparently, as far as my muse was concerned, now was the time to finish it.

The problem? I couldn't find the story I'd started. I knew it was in a notebook...somewhere. I checked every notebook in my room. No luck. Then I thought, maybe it's on the hard drive of my computer (which died on me). So I started working on something else. Another story that had come to me and I'd writing down a brief outline until I could get to it later. I got seven pages into it and had to stop. I just couldn't concentrate.

Then I started working on Claiming Shayla, book five of the True Mates series. I was already 25 pages into the story when I stopped to work on edits for Nikolai's Wolf. Since any changes to NW would directly impact CS, I'd put it to the side until we were done. Now that NW had released, I knew readers would be wanting Shayla's story so I needed to get it written. Only...that's not what my muse wanted.

My muse wanted to work on the paranormal alien/vampire story I couldn't find and didn't want to rewrite from scratch. It didn't care that I was trying to focus on Claiming Shayla. It keep giving me ideas and plot twists that I'd never thought of when I started the vampire book, but now was itching to get down on paper. For three months my muse harrassed, nagged, and generally tormented me until I was ready to give in and write the darn thing, even though I couldn't find what I was looking for.

But this morning, everything changed. I'm in the middle of packing for a move. This morning I woke a bit earlier than normal and decided to tackle my closet. I was boxing up the things I store on the top shelf when I found this notebook with writing in it. When I flipped through it, I discovered the missing manuscript. My muse and me are both extremely happy.

So guess what I'll be working on?

The Good, The Bad, The Down Right Ugly

2009-04-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

What am I referring to? Reviews, of course.

Reviews are starting to roll in for Nikolai's Wolf. Some I've liked, some I've loved, and some sent running to readers of NW with questions like, "Did this happen to you when you read it? Or dang, is this the way it came across to you?"

Why? Turns out I'm a closet perfectionist. I use the term "closet" because it seems everyone but me knew about this quirk of mine. I want to get it right and the slightest hint of critism sends me in a tailspin, trying to figure out what I did wrong so I can fix it in the next book.

Now mind you, none of the reviews have been bad. They've ranged from 3 to 4.5 out of 5. The overall consensus is that reviewers like it. It's just my anal retentive (thank you Freud for that very vivid imagery) mind that makes me focus on the one negative comment out of the four or five positive remarks. In my quest to find answers, I managed to piss off one reviewer to the point where she vowed not to review any of my books again. *sigh*

Being a writer is not easy. Being a new writer is even harder. I'm still learning my craft, learning to take the knocks with the praise and hopefully grow from both. I was told it was bad form to respond to reviewers. A no-no in the same way that you don't respond to rejection letters. Hmmm, maybe I should have just asked her what I needed to know and screw being incorrect.

You may be saying, "What's the big deal? All a review is, is one person's opinion of your book." And that's true, but here's the thing. Reviews, along with reader's letters, are a writer's report card. Some reviewers put a lot of thought and effort into their reports and as a writer, I can learn a lot from them. As a reader, I depend on reviews to push me over the edge if I'm on the fence about purchasing a book. So yeah, reviews are a big deal.

Will I let a bad one (should I ever get one) stop me from writing? No. But I can, should, and will learn from them and hopefully become a better writer in the process.

The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome

2009-04-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

You may be scratching your head wondering, "What is she talking about?" Well, once I explain, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to. You may even have a descriptive name of your own for it.

The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome is that thing that men do when they are interested in you. You know, how they say and do all the right things, are on their best behavior until they're satisfied in their mind that they have you, and then their true nature begins to show?

Am I being harsh? I don't think so. After all, it was a man that said "don't believe half of what a man tells you the first year and question the other half." Men...well, to be frank, they lie. This is not bitter ramblings. It's the truth. The sad thing is, so many women are trapped in bad relationships because they keep waiting on their man to return to that sweet, loving gentleman they fell in love with. What they don't realize is that the creatin they're with now? Yeah, that's the real him. That other is just the persona he put on to hook you.

How do I know? Been there, done that, and wrote a book about it.

That's not to say that your man can't be that kind, benevolent soul that sucked you in. Obviously he has it in him or he wouldn't have been able to fool you in the first place. The thing about men is this, they are hunters. And like all hunters, they know just what to do to catch their prey. Once dinner is caught, they go back to business as usual.

So what's a woman to do? First of all, don't fall for the first representation (the image he presents) of him. Wait, watch, and pray. Find out what he really thinks. Does his actions match his words? What do other people say about him? They can't all be lying. Ask his friends, his relatives, and especially former lovers what he's really like. In other words, do your homework. You'll be happy you did.

If you want to know more about my experience with Mr. Wrong, check out my book The Apology coming from Red Rose some time this month. You'll be glad you did.

True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf now Available

2009-03-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

It released yesterday from Loose-Id. I spent all day trying to log onto the site to see which part of the book they picked to feature as the excerpt and couldn't get in. Turned out the problem was my ISP, Comcast.

It's out and I'm happy about it, but I don't really have time to sit and bask in the glow. I'm too busy. I have one book in edits, The Question, which is due out in July from Phaze. We just finished another one, The Apology, which is scheduled to release from Red Rose Publishing on April 9th. I just sent the last few stock pictures for the cover this morning. We'll see how it turns out. I'm getting better at picking pictures but this one threw me.

I'm waiting to hear back from Phaze on True Mates 4: Tameka's Smile. Loose Id wanted to publish it (I submitted it there first), but I wasn't comfortable with the changes they wanted me to make so I declined. My royalties with Phaze may not be as high as what I've seen so far with Loose Id, but the freedom to write the story the way I think it should be written is worth more to me than money.

I was sick last month, which really put me behind. This winter/spring has been really bad with the oak pollen. My house is surrounded by oak trees. Not a good thing if you suffer from allergies like me. I had a monster edit that I pushed to the deadline before completing it, and the time change has me all messed up. And, in addition to all of this, last month I was transferred to another department with different (longer) working hours. So, why am I telling you all of this?

Because all of the above have really affected my writing. It's really only the grace of God that I'll have three books releasing this year - four if you count the print release of Mary and the Bear. I do have a story I'm working on. When I catch up on everything else, I'll get back to it, and updating the Refuge Howler (www.zenawynn.com), and promoting the releases I have. But, one thing at a time.

Right now, I'll just enjoy knowing that a book I spent a lot of time and effort on is now available for you to read.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is a day for love. If you don't have a sweetheart, don't worry. I'm sure there are plenty of people in your life who would welcome being showered with love and affection on this special day. Tell your parents, children, friends and relatives how much you love and appreciate them. This small bit of kindness might just be what someone needs to get them through the day (week, month, or year). Spread the love.

What's Going On in My World?

2009-01-28T03:28:00.000-08:00

Glad you asked. So far, 2009 is shaping up to be a very productive year. I have a goal of three submissions per year. It doesn't matter if the manuscripts are long or short, I just want to have three submitted. January isn't over and I've already completed two-thirds of my goal.

Tameka's Smile, book four of the True Mates series, was submitted around the second week of January. I expect to hear back from Loose Id next month.

The Apology, the short story I told you about in my last post, was submitted Red Rose and accepted for their inspirational category. No release date yet, but it has a home.

The Question, a multicultural contemporary that I've briefly blogged about, is almost ready to go. I have the synopsis and blurb written. I'm about four chapters shy of being done with my final round of edits. Then it's a simple matter of proof-reading it before sending it off. Because the epub I'm interested in has a 12 - 16 week turn around, I'll be doing a partial submission (synopsis, first three chapters, and query letter). If they want it, they can request the rest of it. That will give me time to finish working on it. And if they don't want it, I'm sure someone else will.

The Question is an excellent, gripping story. I can't wait to get letters from you readers telling me how you couldn't put it down. I wrote it and every time I read it I'm amazed and astonished that I wrote something this good. *grin* That might sound conceited but it's the truth.

We're on a countdown to the release of True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf. The cover is done and posted on my website. (www.zenawynn.com) I think it's off to the line editors. I'm beginning to get nervous. There's been such a build up to this story that I hope it doesn't disappoint.

The Apology

2009-01-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had a relationship that just ripped your heart to shreds? You did all that you could to make it work. Bit your tongue when you wanted to take a bit out of him. Swallowed your pride for the sake of peace and put up with stuff that would normally have you kicking anyone else to the curb? Have you? I have.

I've mentioned before that I'm a Christian, and as such, I'm accountable to God for my behavior - good and bad. I hadn't dated since my divorce, so when God told me He had someone for me, I was cautiously optimistic. It had been so long since I'd been in a male/female relationship, I was ill equipped. So I did what any intelligent woman would do -- researched.

I went looking for bible based books on how a woman should conduct herself while dating and in marraige. I read books written by men for women on what men wanted in a women. My goal wasn't to change myself but to understand. I grew up without a father and had no brothers. I'd been friends with guys growing up but those were boys. I needed to understand the male mind.

I learned a whole lot. Then I studied books on forgiveness, walking in peace, and how to make a relationship work based on Godly principles. Thus armed, I entered the relationship God set up for me with rose-tinted glasses coloring my view. After all, God ordained this. What could go wrong?

Never discount a human's ability to mess up. It started off right and holy and ended a hellish mess. Took me a long time to heal and recover. Years, in fact. There was the usual process that you go through: shock that the relationship that you invested so much time and effort into is over; anger that I wasted so much time; regret that things didn't work out, and that I'd left all those words begging to be spoken unsaid because I was trying to take the high road. Oh, so many regrets. I got bogged down in them. And then finally, acceptance. It happened. It's over. I can't change the past. Let it go and move on. The last part of the process was to forgive myself. Despite my good intentions and grand ideals, I hadn't always played by God's rules and the resulting hurt to myself was no one's fault but my own.

Fast forward four years later. I walk into the office, cut on the computer and log onto email as part of my morning ritual and there it is -- an email from him apologizing. The sight of it brought all of those mismash of emotions I thought I'd dealt with rushing back. I read it -- three times.

Then I had a decision to make. Do I delete or respond? If I respond, what do I say? He was asking for forgiveness. I'd already forgiven him and moved on, right? So what was the big deal? Then I realized what the problem was. How I responded would determine the next step in our relationship.

I'd forgiven him but I didn't want to open the door to the reconciliation he'd somewhat hinted at. I wasn't going down that road again. To simply delete it without responding would be an admission that what he'd done still effected me. I finally settled on two little words -- You're forgiven.

All of this sparked an idea for a short story I'm simply calling: The Apology. It's a departure from my normal style of erotic romance writing. It will be loosely based on my experiences in the relationship I mentioned above, although a good bit of it will be fictionalized. The emotions I draw upon will be based on fact. I haven't decided whether I'll give this away as a free read or submit it somewhere. I'll know when it's finished.

I want to say to anyone who's reading this, if you've been through the ringer because of a relationship gone wrong -- be it family, friends, children, a lover, ect. -- forgive them. Not for their sake, but for yours. Holding on to anger only hurts you in the long run.

"Yeah, but, you don't know what they did to me," you say.

It doesn't matter. Scientist are now discovering that anger and bitterness manifests itself in your body as cancer and other fatal diseases. God knew what he was talking about when He commanded us to forgive people, no matter how many times they sin against us. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness. Let it go and move on.

It's done

2009-01-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

I've completed one of my goals for 2009. I had this notion that I would submit three manuscripts per year for publication. Of course that means I need to write at least three books a year to submit them. Well, I sent the first one off to my editor today. Tameka's Smile, book four of the True Mates series, is out of my hands. I posted a blurb on my website (www.zenawynn.com) if anyone wants to see what it's about. Fingers crossed and prayers lifted that Loose will want it and send back a speedy response.

What Would You Be Willing to do for a Friend?

2009-01-08T04:28:00.000-08:00

It's a question that intrigues me. While I'm friendly with many, I have very few friends. You know, the kind you call and hang out with. I'm very family oriented and most of my leisure time is spent with my kids. The women I'm fortunate enough to call friend are the same.

This is the matter I'm exploring in the manuscript I'm currently working on, ironically titled: The Question. The heroine, Gail and her BFF Crystal have been friends since middle school. Their relationship survived high school and college in different states. They've been there for each other through thick and thin, and have the type of friendship that's stronger than blood (family).

There's one thing Crystal wants more than anything in the world: to have a child. After having several miscarriages, she approaches her BFF Gail and asks one not so simple question: Will you have my baby for me?

The subject of surrogacy has always interested me. After successfully completing two pregnancies (with three children), I've often wondered if I could carry a child in my womb for nine months, knowing at the end of it I'd be giving it away. What if the egg that was fertilized was mine? This means this child is my flesh and blood. Could I just hand it over, give up all parental rights? I don't think I could.

This doesn't mean I do have a tremendous respect and admiration for those women who do manage to give the greatest gift of all: life.

Any way, that's what I'm working on now. As soon as it's contracted I'll let you know with whom and what date to expect it to be available.

It's Finally Finished

2009-01-04T12:08:00.000-08:00

I spent most of 2008 working on Tameka's Smile and last night, I was able to type two glorious little words: The End.

Whew! You have no idea how good it felt. As it stands now, Tameka's Smile is 181 pages long. This one really stretched my writing muscles. I kept having to stop and research things that I wanted to include in the plot but just did not have the technical knowledge to write proficiently about. If there are any law enforcement or medical care providers that read my books, please go easy on me when this one finally makes it to publication. I did the best I could. LOL!

The internet is a wonderful tool. You can google just about any subject, and I've discovered the joys of You Tube. It's not just fluff out there. Thank you to all those folks who uploaded videos on weapons, medical equipment, etc. I couldn't have written this without you.

Although what I write is paranormal fantasy (the True Mates series that is), I try to keep a level of realism about it. You know, the 'this might actually happen' element? I think that's what's so fun about the whole thing.

Any way, I'm doing my happy dance. Now it's off to my beta readers for their approval while I finish round two edits of Nikolai's Wolf, scheduled for release in March. Then I'll take another look at Tameka's Smile and see if it's ready for submission or needs more work. After that, I have a manuscript I've been sitting on for over a year now, The Question. It's time for me to clean it up and submit it. Then I can get back to writing the multitude of stories clamoring to be heard in my brain. Oh, the voices won't leave me alone! LOL!

2008 in Review

2008-12-31T11:42:00.000-08:00

Once again it's that time of year, where I reflect on the accomplishments and failures of the ending year. This year was very good to me professionally speaking. In January came the release of my first book, True Mates. Then four more followed, beginning in August.

I home schooled my youngest, and now he's preparing to go to our local community college and the GED program they have. It's not a high school diploma, but it's something and when he finishes, he'll be eligible to take college courses. Best of all, (IMO) he's once again interested in learning. My middle child is doing marvelous things and her future is shining brighter than a star, praise God.

I got approved for a home loan and am well on the way to purchasing my own house. Bought another car and fix the other one for my daughter's use. It's paid for. Too bad I can't say the same for the second one. Gas prices came down so I won't have to sell my children for food. (I'm joking but there are some people who indeed have to do so, and it saddens me.)

Spiritually I'm stronger. That's always a plus.

I'm closer than ever to finishing the book I've been working on (seems like) all of 2008. Down to the last chapter, or maybe two. *sigh*

My Goals for 2009

To finish second round edits for True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf before the deadline.

To finish writing Tameka's Smile, book four in the series.

To promote the five books already released.

To clean up The Question and get it submitted.

To finish writing Claiming Shayla before my sister disowns me. She's been waiting almost two years now.

Buy my house. Pay off my car.

Get some more writing done.

That's all I can talk about here. *smile* I'm praying that each of you have a happy, blessed and prosperous new year.

Mary and the Bear First Review

2008-11-26T04:27:00.000-08:00

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Scandalous Minx
Nymph Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviews Only

"Mary And The Bear brings us not only a few new fascinating characters, but also a glimpse into what I hope will be two upcoming installments for the series...The True Mates series is truly becoming one of my favorites, and Zena Wynn has taken up ranks as one of my must-buy authors. Her stories are entertaining yet they bring hard issues to the forefront. The question of abuse, not physical but definitely mental comes to mind after reading this incredible story. Your family should infuse you with love in your tender years, not tear you down. Regardless of the treatment, Mary Elizabeth still grew into a wonderful woman who knew her strengths and learned to accept the love so freely given. I’m anxiously awaiting the next installment in this fantastic series."

Good things come to those who wait. I'm so thrilled by this review. What you see above is only a snippet. This book is truly close to my heart and I'm glad to see that it's touching others as well.

The Craving for Approval

2008-11-15T18:03:00.000-08:00

Reviews -- addicting stuff. I used to read books where actors poured over the review section of the paper, waiting with bated breath to see what some hourly paid employee of a news rag had to say about their performance. I never got it until now. When I first wrote True Mates, I simply hoped readers would like it enough not to send me hate mail. Then I got my first review. A good review. Great even. I didn't even know that the book would be reviewed otherwise I'd have been worried, fingernail biting type worried.

Now, I frequently find myself googling three little words (zena wynn review) to see if an intrepid reviewer has selected my book and posted their (hopefully) good opinion of it. That's all a review is - one person's opinion of your writing. Oh, but the power in that opinion. Books have been purchased (or not) on the basis of one person's reading preference. So, like an addict, I find myself searching the web to see if anyone has read my story and liked it.

Yeah, I know. There's a thing called Google Alerts and I use it. But it's SLOW. I even get reader emails from time-to-time and guestbook signatures on my website telling me how much you enjoyed my books, and I'm grateful and thrilled for days every time I receive one. However, there's something about a good REVIEW. *sigh* Nothing like it. So I sit and wait. Some times impatiently for the reviews to start rolling in. Yep, like I said, addicted.

The funny thing is, I didn't enter any of my books into the EPPIEs this year because between my beta group and you readers who have made it clear you like what I write, I didn't need the validation of winning an award to know that my books are GOOD. Go figure! Is there a shrink in the house?

Happy Veteren's Day and Thank You

2008-11-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all our men and women who serve in the military. This country would not be what it is today without people like you, and my sister, and uncle who dedicated years of service to Uncle Sam. You have my greatest respect and sincere appreciation.

Creating Characters

2008-11-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

How do I create my characters? What's the source of my inspiration? Good question. Glad you asked. I've always enjoyed studying people. In college, my major was psychology. I didn't finish but the subject continues to fascinate me. I like knowing what makes people tick. Why we act the way that we do. How our personality, background, family and experiences all combine to turn us into the multifaceted people that we are.

I try to bring that knowledge to the table when creating my books. I get into the head of my characters and understand what motivates their actions. The way that they're raised, family or lack thereof, experiences while growing up, previous relationships, I delve into all of it. And then I reveal it to the reader bit by bit. We're all humans and we all have certain experiences in common. I use that to try to make my characters come alive. Let them be someone you can relate to. Someone you'd like to know if they were real. I hope I do a good job of it.

The Contract - Behind the Scenes View

2008-11-02T11:35:00.000-08:00

I am the youngest in my family, my sister being seven years older than me. I know a lot about sibling rivalry, being in your sibling's shadow, hand-me-downs, and in my own mind, never being able to measure up. I brought all of this in to play when writing The Contract.

Hero - Billy

Imagine the following. You have an older brother that you idolize. You've always been in his shadow but it never mattered to you because he was your hero, the standard by which you measured yourself. You've competed with him to the point where you are a miniature version of him, with no identity of your own. You're just "so and so's little brother." Then you meet this woman (or man if you're female) who doesn't know or care about your brother. She only sees you. She loves you and makes you realize that you are more than what you've allowed yourself to become. You are a complete and whole person in your own right, and she loves you. You. How wonderful! But what if something, or someone came along and threatened that love? What if the sibling you've never quite managed to measure up to wanted the woman you loved. Not just wanted her body, but wanted her love, the very love she had for you and no one else. What would you do?

Hero - Nardo

You are the oldest sibling and you take your responsiblities seriously. You married a stranger, left Earth and went to secure a place where you and your brothers could have a better life. The work is difficult and dangerous, but you keep your eyes on the prize and realized that what you're doing isn't just for you, but for all of you. The first of your brother's arrive -- the one you're closest to -- and with him is a woman that makes you sit up and take notice. More than beautiful, she's generous, compassionate and loving. You know you shouldn't. You know it's wrong, but you fall head over heels in love with her, even though she only sees you as her husband's older brother. But, unexpectedly, an opportunity arises for you to marry her and claim her for your own. You take it, knowing the problems that it will cause between you and your brother, but doing it anyway because after all the sacrifices you've made, isn't it time you did something for you? Grabbed a bit of happiness for yourself?

Heroine - Cecily

You've been sheltered and pampered all of your life. You meet a man so loving and so sweet, that you give up everything and everyone to be with him. You leave Earth, ready to embrace the life that he's made for the two of you, and it's wonderful, glorious, until the unthinkable happens. The man you've come to love as a brother and friend suddenly has the legal right to have sex with you. Now you have two husbands, and the loving, close relationship between your husband and his brother is coming apart at the seams as jealousy rips it apart. You're called to play peace-makeer and help the man you love beyond measure adjust to changes you haven't fully adjusted to yourself. What do you do? How do you handle it?

The Contract is about this and so much more. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Great News

2008-10-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

If you enjoyed True Mates (book one), Mary and the Bear (book two) releases from Phaze (www.phaze.com) on Monday, November 3rd. Also, Nikolai's Wolf (book three), has a tentative release date of February 2009. Happy Reading!!!

I'm so behind...

2008-10-07T14:49:00.000-07:00

and I swore to myself that I would post regularly. Here it is a month later. Oh well, I'll try to make up for it in this post.

Fictionwise

All three of my releases: True Mates, The Contract, and A Matter of Trust are available at Fictionwise now. I was shopping the other day at Fictionwise and it was so strange, but gratifying to see my books. True Mates is # 1 in the Erotica category for last 20 day's sales. Both The Contract and A Matter of Trust are in Phaze's top 20 best seller list on Phaze's site and Fictionwise. I'm rather pleased.

Illicit Attraction

Is scheduled to release at the end of this month on 10/27/08. Here's an excerpt:

Darius suddenly leaned to the side and murmured in her ear. “Can I ask you a question? It’s personal,” he warned.

His voice was chocolate – deep, dark, rich and decadent – and just as sinful. She imagined that voice speaking naughty things to her in bed while they both lay naked and shivered as her insides clenched.

Cat bumped her knee against the underside of the table as she tried to cross her legs. The table jostled and they both reached out to catch their drinks before they could topple and make a mess. Embarrassment at her klutziness helped her get her thoughts – and body—under control. “Oops, my bad. Sure, go ahead. Ask away.”

Darius took a long draw from his bottle like he was seeking liquid courage, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before rubbing it on his jean clad thigh. “You said your husband’s away a lot. Do you think he’s being faithful?”

“What made you ask that?” She didn’t like the question, or where she thought this conversational gambit was heading.

“Could you just answer the question, please?”

Cat sighed and rolled her shoulders to loosen them. “I don’t think he’s cheated on me.”

“So you trust him?” Darius slid the bottle back and forth on the table between his hands, his attention seemingly focused on it.

“I trust him as much as I trust any man.”

He caught the bottle in one hand and turned to look at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He looked pissed. Crap! She rushed to explain. “Any human, man or woman, will cheat if the circumstances are right. I don’t believe he’d go looking for trouble, but stuff happens all the time.” Cat was nothing if not realistic.

“Would you leave him if he had an affair?”

A feeling of dread welled up inside. This time it was Cat who seemed to find her wine bottle fascinating. She was quiet for a long while, before slowly answering. “I can’t answer that. Women always say what they’ll do if their man cheated, but until it actually happens, I don’t think any woman knows what she’ll do. I think a lot of it depends upon the circumstances involved, whether I’d forgive him or not. I know I’d be angry as hell and deeply hurt.”

She took a deep breath, shrugged her shoulders, and aimed for a nonchalance she wasn’t quite feeling. “I gave you your answer. Now answer mine. What prompted the question?”

“You remind me a lot of my wife. I just wondered if she trusts me, and what she’d do if I disappointed her.”

“Are you thinking about cheating?” She hoped not. He seemed like a nice guy. She’d hate to have to change her opinion of him.

Darius pinned her with a look that held so much heat, she felt seared. “The temptation is strong.”

What's Going On in My World?

2008-09-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Glad you asked. Where to start?

The Contract

Released from Phaze (www.phaze.com) on August 4th. I'm happy to report that it made Phaze's Top 20 Bestseller's list, coming in # 7. Thank you to all who purchased it, making this possible.

A Matter of Trust

Released yesterday, Labor Day. I've already received an email from a reader telling me how much she enjoyed it. I'm so glad. This was a fun one to write and it's written totally from the hero's Point of View.

Nikolai's Wolf

We began first round edits last week. No release date as of yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Tropical Storm Fay

I live in Florida so I was impacted by this storm. Thank God we had very little damage, no flooding, and the longest power was out was an hour. All around me was flooding, power lines down, tree limbs (and fallen trees), and lots of destruction. We were extremely blessed. God proved once again that He is a mighty protector if you just trust in Him. Now we have TS Hannah headed our way. At least we're getting plenty of rain this season.

I've got to finish Tameka's Smile. I'm way past my personal deadline with this one, but it is going extremely well. I think readers will be pleased with this newest addition to the True Mates series.

Well, that's it for me.

Upcoming Release Schedule

2008-08-16T05:32:00.000-07:00

Phaze posted their ebook release schedule for the rest of the year. The following are my ebooks with them and their scheduled release date:

The Contract - Available now (8/4/08) $2
Two handsome, sexy brothers and the woman caught between them. Taking sibling rivalry to a whole 'nother level.

A Matter of Trust - 9/1/08 $2
Traci Morgan thinks her marriage is over. Her husband, Rick, is determined to prove her wrong. What he'll need is a blindfold, a few silk scarves, and a whole lot of trust from Traci to put things right between them.

Illicit Attraction - 10/27/08
When Catrina Jackson ducked into her hotel’s jazz bar, all she wanted was a chance to unwind after a long drive and a drink to soothe the disappointment of being stood up by the friend she’d come to see. She figured the massive diamond wedding set on her finger would deter any would be attractors. She was wrong. When also married hunky Darius Cornelio suggested they sit together to avoid unwanted attention, she thought it was a great idea.

His presence protected her from other men in the bar, but who was going to protect her from him?

True Mates 2: Mary & the Bear - 11/3/08
Mary Elizabeth Brown has a new job, a new home, a new...mate? Not if she can help it. Hugh Mosely plans to do everything within his power to change her mind.

No word yet on True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf, contracted to Loose Id

Works in Progress:

True Mates 4 & 5: Tameka's Smile and Claiming Shayla

The Question

My Goals: On a personal note, it's my goal to submit three books a year for publication. I would also like to have three released a year, so that there is always a steady stream of books coming out. In my wildest dreams, I couldn't have anticipated that I'd have four books released by the same publisher, one right after the other. True Mates 3 probably won't release until 2009, so that will be one book towards my goal for next year. Now I just need to get busy on increasing my list of books for submission. I have one, The Question, that can be submitted as soon as it's cleaned up. Tameka's Smile is half-way written, and I've gotten a good start on Claiming Shayla. There are several shorts I have in mind as well.

In 2009 I plan to branch out and submit to other publishers. I like Phaze and Loose Id, but it's just smart business planning to have books with other pubs as well. Reach more people, different audiences.

God is Awesome

2008-08-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

I just had to tell someone what God did. I'm so happy I could scream. In May, I put the Neon in the shop. The thermostat had stuck, causing the engine to overheat. Estimated repair cost -- almost $1900. I sucked it up and gave them the go ahead because I need my car. I was expecting $1200 in the tax rebate, and had $500 in the bank. I figured I could scrape together the rest.

The Service rep called. Final analysis: They fixed the car for $1764 and some change. My tax rebate was $900, not $1200 and the $500 I had went towards other bills, like food. In June, I paid $1200 on it. That left a balance of $564. I went yesterday to pick up my car. The cashier said it would be $1764. I told her no, I've already paid $1200 on it. She looked at the paperwork. The service manager, another manager, and the service rep that handled my car all came over. They didn't have record of payment. I told her I had the receipts and went to the car to get them.

When I handed them over, she asked if I paid by cash or credit. Bank checks, I told her. She didn't remember me making the payments although both times she was the one I dealt with. The Service manager walked off with the invoice and my payment receipts and I waited. When he came back, he said he'd redid my invoice. I owed 16955. I asked him to repeat it. I was trying to figure out how I went from owing $546 to $16955. Was it a late fee?

He broke it down for me. My original invoice was $1764.55. I paid $1200. The new invoice read $1369.55. My final payment was $169.55. I was confused, but didn't argue. Frankly, I wanted to get my car and get out of there before he realized his mistake. I was so excited. I could have paid the $564, but it would have taken everything I had with little left over to carry me to next payday. I know it was nobody but God.

The second reason I'm so happy is that I want to buy a house, so I sat down this morning while in prayer and took a realistic look at my finances. I added my credits (income, child support, and royalties) and subtracted my debits (rent, lights, comcast internet, food, gas, tithes and offerings). When all was said and done, I had a surplus of $221.

It may not sound like much to you, but I remember when my net after bills was -$221. You say, that's not possible. It is. I paid everything late because there was never enough to cover everything, but I had a roof over my head and there was always food on the table. Even then, God provided. Now, with everything going up, I still have more than enough to meet my needs. I tell you, my God is GOOD. No doubt about it.

The Contract Is Here

2008-08-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited. The Contract released yesterday afternoon from Phaze. I couldn't help but go and look at it. It still gives me a thrill to see my name on an ebook and know that I wrote it. I've been telling you about it for awhile, so I'm happy that it's finally available for purchase. I think that's the hardest part about being an author -- the wait. I can't imagine how authors who write for NY stand it. Ebooks release in a relatively short time by comparison.

I love the excerpt they selected. That's always a surprise. It's a long one, too. Gives you a taste of the drama and tension that characterizes this book.

Okay, enough chatting. Go look already. Here's the link:
http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=The+Contract/exact_match=exact
(cut and paste or simply click on the link in the side bar)

One of Those Days

2008-07-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

I suffer from PMS. I know we -- males and females alike -- make a big joke out of it, but it's a very real disorder caused by hormonal surges and aggravated by improper nutrition. It can make perfectly capable women like myself be suddenly overwhelmed by things that we normally take in stride. The worry, frustration, and depression we go through are all real, and not in our heads as many men and non-sufferers imagine. Whenever I feel myself getting this way, I've learned to look at the calander. Knowledge is power. If I know what's going on, I can circumvent a lot unnecessary trouble.

Today was one of those days. You know, the ones when you wake up feeling bleh. My hair looked bleh. The clothes I picked out to where to work seemed to highlight every bulge on my body. I viewed my reflection with disgust. I headed to work even though I'd prefer to stay home and pull the covers over my head.

I was praying about it all on the drive to work, and the thought came to me to turn the negative into a positive. After careful consideration, I came up with the following.

Instead of griping at the early hour I awoke, I will be grateful that I'm alive.

Instead of complaining about my hairstyle, I'll be grateful that I have a head full of hair to style.

Instead of complaining about my plus-sized body, I'll be grateful that I'm blessed enough to have plenty to eat.

Instead of complaining about going to work, I'll be grateful to have a job.

For every negative my mind presents, I'll find a way to turn it into a positive and maybe, just maybe, make it through today in a better frame of mind.

Interview with Michele Pillow and Mandy Roth

2008-07-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

June Was a Busy Month

2008-07-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

True Mates

As most of you know, True Mates is my first book in more than one way. It's my first published book, as well as my first attempt at writing a book. I've been doing a lot of promoting of it through the various yahoo groups. Between that, fantastic reviews, and word of mouth from readers like you, True Mates continues to have above average sales. What does that mean? Usually, the first month a book releases is the best sales that it has, and afterwards it trickles down to a few sales here and there. Thanks to you, True Mates had a mind-boggling (I literally almost passed out at the post office) first month sales of 900. Since then, it's been averaging about 75 books a month. I say "thanks to you" because I know it's not me. You're reading it, telling others about it, and they're following your lead. For that, you have my sincerest gratitude.

True Mates 2: Mary and the Bear

Update: We're done with edits. I spoke (begged, pleaded) with the Senior Editor at Phaze concerning the release date of this book. Last word is this: She's saving a spot on November 3, 2008 for True Mates 2 to be released. This is contingent on the date Loose Id gives me for the release of True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf. The earliest it can be expected to release is October, the latest is the originally scheduled date of February 2009. I'm praying for the November date.

True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf

Haven't begun edits yet. I'm sure when we get started, they'll keep me hopping. I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything regarding a release date.

Upcoming Releases

8/4/08 -- Phaze Heatsheet, OZ: The Contract (www.phaze.com)

Feels like it's been forever since this book was signed to Phaze, but it's time is almost near. If you like edgy, gripping tension between your characters, than this book is for you. Though it features two heroes, it's NOT a menage. It's more a story of what happens when two brothers want the exclusive love of the same woman, and the woman whose legal committed to them both, whether she likes it or not. It's short, about 50 pages but I promise it reads like a much longer book.

9/1/08 -- Phaze Heatsheet, Obey: A Matter of Trust (www.phaze.com)

I wrote this one earlier this year. As I said before, easiest edits I've ever been through. This is my first attempt at having an entire book dedicated to bondage and submission. It has light bondage and a bit of spanking (humorously done). If you like this style of book, give it a try. I asked an author friend of mine who writes BSDM and lives the lifestyle (I think) to look it over and make sure I got it right. Didn't want any hate mail from those of you who know better. It passed muster. Then, since it's written totally from the hero's POV (another first), I had a male author friend read it over to make sure that was correct. He said I hit the thoughts and reactions dead on the head and only corrected a few minor points. I looking forward to the release of this short story. (11k - about 30 pages double-spaced)

Interviews

Last month I did two. One for Manic Readers which will be posted on their site: www.manicreaders.com, and the other on Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth's radio show. I'll post the links of when they'll be available. The radio interview was done live this month. The Manic Readers interview was done via email and will be posted on the site soon.

Well, that's it for this post. When you get the chance, check out my new website: www.zenawynn.com. It now has a guestbook where you can sign in and leave a comment, and also a rating widget on the first page so you can rate True Mates.

What's New in My World

2008-06-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

A Matter of Trust

Is done with edits. The easiest I've done so far. My editor only corrected a few grammatical errors and that was it. It's now being sent to the proof-reader, ready for publication in September. I'll be posting more about it as the time draws near.

Illicit Attraction

This book was originally titled For One Night Only but that didn't really fit. I cleaned it up and submitted it to my Phaze editor for their Overture Heatsheet line. She likes it and has forwarded it to the Senior Editor with the recommendation that it be accepted. If it is, it will be published sometime this year. Yay! I'll let you know.

Mary and the Bear

I'm gearing up for second round edits. Should be hearing back any day now. This is a rather large manuscript, coming in at 230 pages. Much larger than True Mates whose page count was somewhere around 120. I think it's worth every page and definitely won't disappoint.

Tameka's Smile

I'm at about 45 pages now (18k) and it's going well. If it continues to flow like it's doing, I should be done writing it by the end of this month, definitely by mid-July. It's different from all the rest. I guess I shouldn't say that. None of the True Mates books are like each other, except that they share the same world, and same rules of attraction, but the characters (which make the story) are all different. This one's another IR, paranormal. Tameka's black, as you can tell by the name, and her mate Chad is part of the Refuge Sheriff's department.

The Question

This is a book I wrote last year. I'm going to clean it up and prepare it for submission to Samhain when I finish with Tameka's Smile. It will be my last submission for 2008. Anything else I write this year won't be submitted until next year, or at least, that's the plan right now. I have four books scheduled for release -- 3 with Phaze and one with Loose Id. I think that's more than enough, don't you?

Creating Believable African-American Female Characters

This is a class I'll be teaching on the Epic Workshop yahoo loop. It's open to anyone to join (the yahoo group) and I highly recommend it if you're interested in becoming a writer. They do nothing but teach people the things they need to know about the publishing business, specifically electronic publishing.

My class is about what it states, teaching authors how to create believable black female characters, of the southern variety. I don't claim to be knowledgeable about any other kind. I'll be bringing forth a lot of culteral information that is well known but not really talked about within our communities, a type of open secret if you will. All the things you need to know to add depth to your characters, and if it improves race relations along the way, all the more better.

Well, that's it for me. I'm in a rush and haven't proofed this so forgive the errors. I'll check it later. Be blessed in the Lord.

True Mates

2008-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Mary & the Bear

I finished first round edits. I was a lot harder on myself than my editor was. We'll see if it pays off. My hope is that if we finish early enough, we might get bumped up on the production schedule.

Nikolai's Wolf

Frankly I'm worried and trying not to be. Like most writers, I like my story the way it is. However, I already know some changes will have to be made. I'm praying that it won't be a lot. While the story centers on Nikolai and Shannon, you catch up with Alex and Kiesha, and of course, Mary Elizabeth and Hugh who you'll hopefully meet in book two. There's also Shayla, Kiesha's cousin and Rory, Shannon's brother. It's a series, right? That means old characters get to come back and play. That's the way I see it. I just hope Loose will agree.

Tameka's Smile

What's this? If you've been on my website (www.zenawynn.com), you'll notice that this is part of the series. It would have been book five, but due to my uncertainties about book three, it is now book four. I think you'll like this one a lot. I'll be speaking more about it after Mary & the Bear is released. In this book, you get to meet more of the residents of Refuge than previously introduced thus far.

We'll that's it for now. The clock's ticking and I have to run. Catch you next time.

The Economy

2008-05-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

You don't have to go far to hear about the American economy. It's all people can talk about. If it's not the high gas prices, it's the cost of food. Jobs are hard to come by. The housing market is slowing. It's a cause for concern for many folks, but not me.

You might be saying, "That's because you're an author. You make lots of money."

My response to that would be a laugh. My day job is for city government, which is not known for its high salaries. I have one book published, and while I've been extremely blessed with the sales thus far, it's not enough to support a family of three. So why am I not concerned?

Because I serve a big God. One who has proven time and time again that if I trust Him, and obey Him, He is more than able to provide for me and take care of all of my needs. It's one of the benefits of being a Christian.

Does that mean I've never had financial troubles? LOL! No, definitely not. To date I've lost a house to foreclosure. I've had a car reposed. I've been on welfare and there were times where my lights were cut off. But, there were also times when I went to pay my light bill and the lady gave me a TBO (turn back on) number for lights that were never turned off. I've always had a roof over my head and today I have two cars, one of them paid for.

God has blessed me so that anytime I have a need, He provides. Sometimes I have to wait. Sometimes the wait is nerve-wracking and it looks like He's not going to come through, but He always does. My children have learned that God always provides if we ask and trust in Him. That's how we make it in a single parent home with one income.

The key to the whole thing is built on my relationship with Him. God is my father. I spend time with Him, learning to know Him more and more as time goes by. Just like I wouldn't go to your father and expect him to treat me like his child (with the same benefits), people who don't have a relationship with God can't expect him to treat them like His child.

I'm not preaching, or at least, that's not my intent. I just hear so many people complaining and underneath it all I can hear the fear. I think it's so sad. There is a solution to the high cost of living, and that solution is found in Jesus Christ. JMO.

My apologies

2008-05-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've been busy the last few weeks and neglected to post. Here's what's been happening.

Chats: I hosted a Loose Id Reader's Appreciation Day chat on Loose's Community yahoo loop. The other authors and I had a blast. Readers turned out in full force and delurked for the day. It was very nice. Over 600 emails got tossed back and forth. Those who missed it are going to think their email blew up. We talked about everything, including books. We definitely have to do that again some time soon.

Nikolai's Wolf: Good news! Today I signed the contract to have it published by Loose Id. I'm both excited and nervous. I don't have a publication date yet, and there's still edits to get through (once we get started). As soon as I know more I'll post it here.

Website: I decided it was time to branch out and create an official website. I now have a standard website: www.zenawynn.com. Check it out and let me know what you think. It's fairly basic, but I did it myself (using their tools) so I'm happy. I'll be tinkering with it from time to time, updating it and adding more stuff as I think about it. I'll still be posting here, so no worries. One thing I can do on my website that I can't do here is post excerpt links. Right now I have the first chapter of True Mates posted and an excerpt from The Contract, my futuristic book coming from Phaze in August 2008. I'll add more as their releases draw near.

Mary & the Bear: I'm in first round edits, taking my time because it's not due to be completed until November. I've discussed it with my editor and depending on how smooth edits go, I'm going to see if I can get the release date pushed up a tad. If not, no worries, as long as Nikolai's Wolf doesn't get published before this one, I'll be content.

Personally: A friend asked me to do a Daniel Fast with her. For the last 30 days I've been eating nothing but fruit, vegetables, yogurt, nuts, and fish. Once or twice I let myself have cornbread or tortilla chips since it's made from corn. No desserts, no meat, no pasta. I still have 10 more days to go. Amazingly, I feel great. There's something to be said to a vegetarian life-style. I'm going to continue my eating plan for the summer and see what happens. One thing I expect to do is lose weight. I've lost 6 pounds already.

I also renewed my membership to the gym so I can workout again. I have equipment at home but if I'm near a computer, I'll get distracted. If it's not emails, it's edits, or writing, or updating my websites, or... Well, you get the point. It's too hot now to walk outside, and we're entering hurricane season. The weather gets very unpredictable during this time.

I think the hardest thing about this fast has been not reading my romances. It got so bad that I downloaded my own manuscripts to my book reader and read them. Not for revision or edits, but simply for pleasure, and it was pleasurable. I'm really glad I write what I like to read and not what I think will sell. That you happen to like it as well is just icing on my cake.

True Mates: Continues to do well in the reviews. I am simply amazed and overjoyed at how well it's being received. The last two reviews I read were a 5 and one recommended read. I believe the lowest it's receive is a 4 out of 5. I pray that the rest of my books do as well.

Summer Goals: I have several manuscripts in progress right now. My goal is to finish them one-by-one, without beginning any new projects. It's too easy to get sidetrack when stories are screaming, "Write me! Write me!" I going back to work on True Mates 4: Claiming Shayla. When I finish with it? Who knows.

Update on the True Mate Series

2008-05-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

I finally finished revising the first couple of chapters of Nikolai's Wolf and resubmitted it to my editor. Fingers crossed and prayers lifted that it will be accepted this time for publishing by Loose.

Mary and the Bear (book two) will be entering the editing stage soon. Our deadline to have the edits completed is November. I'm just waiting on my editor now. We still have plenty of time so I'm not worried.

I'm working on book four which is titled, Claiming Shayla. I thought Kiesha's cousin deserved her own story. I won't tell you who she's being paired with. Let's just say that my editor Jana was suprised. Her exact words, "Wow, didn't see that one coming."

Stay tuned. Hopefully I'll be back with good news.

Life's A Bit More Interesting

2008-04-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

I guess I shouldn't say that. It makes it seem as though my life is dull. I'm actually very content with my life as it is now. I have my faith, my family, my children. I'm financially sound, meaning, I'm not in debt and I can afford to pay the bills that I do have, and I have a stable, steady income. And now, I'm being fulfilled at an even deeper level with my writing.

So why is my life suddenly a bit more interesting? Last night, I joined an on-line dating group. Yep, you read it right the first time. Am I looking for love? Not really, but if you remember in my last post, I said I was willing to open myself up to the possibility. To do that, I have to make myself more accessible.

Okay, let's be real. Am I expecting to find love on this site? Nope. But, I'm a writer at heart and already I'm getting so many story ideas, just with the little that I've done that it's already a positive experience. Besides, this site is just a whole lot of fun. Who knew?

I joined OKCUPID.com and my tag name is Churchgirl301. Yeah, I know you're not supposed to tell. Lots of crazies in the world and I may pick up a stalker or two. Personally, I don't think so but I am careful. I will use the brain God gave me, be very prayerful and cautious in all of my interactions.

Anyway, I digress. The makers of this site are the same people that made SPARKPeople (of which I'm also a member). I joined because I'm serious in my effort to lose weight and be more healthy. Not that I hate my body as it is (don't like it much but it is what it is), but there's always room for improvement and my ultimate goal is to be as healthy as I can be. I plan to live a long, healthy life, God willing.

(Again with the digression) This site is fun. It asks all kinds of questions, has all kinds of goofy but fun (and supposedly meaningful) tests. I'm having a blast just exploring the site. What can I say? I'm easy to amuse. Anyway, I'll be updating you from time to time with my adventures. If nothing else, it should put a smile on your face and give you a laugh. And who doesn't need more laughter in their life.

UPDATE: I just got an email from OKCupid.com saying that someone gave me a high rating. Hmmm, could this be a nibble so quickly in the game? I'm off to find out. LOL!

Give Love Another Try

2008-04-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

People say that you're not supposed to get too personal on your blog. After all, you never know what crazies may be out there reading...waiting. But, it's my blog and I'll just have to risk it.

It's no secret (if you read my blog) that my experience with men hasn't been great. Begin with my father, and then add in the momma's boy I married and later divorced, and throw in the older man I was engaged to a while back that proves that maturity does not always come with age, and you can understand why I feel the way that I do. The clincher was a former pastor that was supposed to be counseling me through my separation (with my then husband) and made a pass at me. (Did I mention he was married?) Yep, pretty much lost respect for all men at that time.

But you're a romance writer, you may be saying. How can you write about love if you don't believe in it?

Actually, I do believe in love. I have the greatest respect for those couples who hang in there and make their marriage work. We have several couples like that in my church, including my pastor and his wife. They've been married for 35 years, and, they don't just tolerate each other. Our Minister of Music has been married for 25 years. They renewed their vows to celebrate that fact.

So, in light of this I need to make a confession, I WAS WRONG. Yep, I'll say it again. I was wrong. There are some good men out there, men of all races, and it's my pleasure to know a few. They're all married, but, hey, they exist, and as long as they do, that means there's hope.

I believe God allows me to write romance to remind myself that Happily Ever After is real and can happen as long as He's in it. I truly believe it takes a higher power to make a marriage last 'until death do us part' and that power is God, Love Himself. If He's in it, and both people are committed to Him, it can work. Solomon called it a three-cord tie.

For the last several years I have denied to anyone who's asked that I'm even interested in another relationship. The truth is, I'm not interest in a bad one, the kind I always seem to have. My life is peaceful. There's a certain amount of contentment in being single.

Don't get me wrong. Love, when it's going well, is a really wonderful thing. That sense of connection you have with another person, loving and knowing you're loved in return, is a wonderful feeling, but absolutely devastating when it goes wrong.

I've said all of this to say that I'm willing to give love another try. No, I'm not actively looking or praying for a man. You won't see me on the web placing personal ads or joining dating groups (unless it's research of another book). I'm just saying that my mind is open to the possibility. For me, for where I am in my life right now, that's a huge step in the right direction.

Priorities

2008-04-16T15:03:00.000-07:00

Someone recently emailed me a link to a youtube video where a famous tv host was expressing her disbelief that God was a jealous God. My only thought was that she's obviously never read her bible.

God Himself states that He's a jealous God. Could that be why Jesus said the most important commandment was to love God with your whole heart, mind, body and soul?

If you're familiar with my blog, you know that I'm a Christian. I don't mean Christian in the sense that I believe in God versus Buddha, Muhammad, or any other the other hundreds of religious deities out there. I mean it in the sense that I accepted Jesus as my personal saviour and as a result I have a personal relationship with God the Father.

Some people will argue with this, but the primary duty of a Christian is to spend time with God. That was the whole purpose of the cross, to provide a bridge back to God so we can have the one-on-one relationship with Him that He created us to have.

I'm a Christian, but I'm also human, which means I'm fallible. Sometimes I just plain forget what my priorities are. I get caught up in the day-to-day. Now that I'm writing, sometimes I get so consumed by my storyline that I forget about everything else, including God.

Oh, I was praying, but God's been gently reminding me that it's been awhile since I spent any real quality time with Him. I've been taking Him for granted, and that's not good.

So, how did He get my attention? Did He allow some disaster to befall me? No. He did what any normal person would do. After giving me several gentle reminders to spend more time with Him, He backed off a bit and waited to see how long it would take before I noticed His absence. Fortunately for me, I may frequently be preoccupied but I'm not oblivious. Eventually it clicked that something, or someone, was missing.

It didn't take long to figure out what it was. Now that I know, I'm taking a couple of days to figure out where I got off track, and starting over again with my priorities straight this time. I'm glad that God is loving and patient. He doesn't sulk, pout, or throw temper-tantrums because I was neglecting Him. He just tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Forget something?"

My Vacation

2008-04-14T18:12:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Came back from Tennessee and dived right back into the grove of things. Took only a day and a half to catch with the work left on my desk. I didn't write a word while I was gone, but immediately jumped into a new project the minute I returned. It's another contemporary short story (less than 20k), but I think it will be a good read. When I'm done, I post the name and a short description here on the blog. Now, the details of my vacation.

We left Saturday morning, not as early as I wanted to considering we were facing an eight-hour drive, according to the directions I downloaded. I picked up the van at 9am. By the time I loaded my kids, drove to my oldest daughters home and got her and the grands loaded, it was almost 11am.

Someone sent out an email calling for the evacuation of FL and we weren't notified. There were so many cars, trucks, SUVs and semi's on I-75, it was unbelievable. It didn't help that they're doing construction (widening the road) and at several points three lanes of traffic suddenly narrowed into two. Each time resulted in traffic coming almost a complete stop.

Then we got turned around in ATL and went I-85 when we should have stayed on I-75. By this time it was dark and raining. Fortunately, my daughter figured out that we were going the wrong way before we'd gone more than an hour down the wrong road. Unfortunately, the only way to fix our mistake was to backtrack. A lot of fingers got pointed as to who was the blame and my youngest daughter lost her navigator's privilege. (She was forced to give up the front seat and the map.)

We finally arrived at the resort at 2:30a. Yep, that's right. It took us that long to get there. I didn't feel so bad. There was a couple that pulled up as we were leaving the front desk. The husband said it took him 17 hours to get here from Orlando. He didn't get lost, but he was majorly delayed by the construction.

It rained most of the week, mostly at night. Didn't stop us from having fun. I was able to relax, not always easily done when you have all your children and grandchildren with you. No one got left in TN so that's proof that everyone was well-behaved.

We drove through Knoxville into Sevierville on Tuesday. Our original intention was to go into Gatlinburg, but we left too late in the day. My youngest daughter was thrilled. Sevierville is home to three large outlet shopping centers. You guessed it. She's a shopper, and the only one among us who had any money to shop with. She got her "shopping buzz" on and was satisfied for the rest of the week. (If I spelled the name of your fine town wrong, I apologize.)

Friday we went into Crossville (the closest town) to Chuckles, their version of Chucky Cheese. Once again, the kids had a blast and I got to sit and read. Did I mention that I caught up on a lot of my reading during this trip?

Now about our condo. It was really wonderful. If you get the opportunity to stay at the Wyndham Resorts at Fairfield Glades, I highly recommend it. Our condo had three levels. On the bottom level was the master bedroom and bath with the largest whirlpool tub I have ever seen. No lie. It got a lot of use while we were there.

Level two was the entry way and the second bedroom and bath, along with a closet. The third level was the dining room, living room, and kitchen. Both the bottom level and top level had decks with seating so you could sit outside and enjoy the scenery, mainly woods with a real mountain brook running through it.

The area also had three winaries. Not being a drinker, I didn't go and partake of the free wine tasting opportunities presented. I'll leave that to my sister, who plans to visit the resort in the fall.

The return trip home was uneventful. I skipped the bypass on the way back. Glad I did, too. I enjoyed the scenary on I-75 coming through Chattanoga. From the time we hit the outskirts of Atlanta, it rained all the way back to Jacksonville. We only made short stops on the way back (for gas and drive-thru food) and it still took us over 10 hours to get home. Unlike on the trip there, I drove the whole way back. Good thing I had all day Sunday (after church that is) to rest from my drive.

Things are back to normal. I'm already looking forward to my next vacation. I think I'll take a cruise. No cooking, no driving (there's a port that Carnival sails out of right here in town), and no cleaning. The ulitimate in relaxation.

What's New in Z's World?

2008-03-26T04:38:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you asked. Quite a bit, actually. Hmmm, where do I start?

I'm in second round edits for The Contract, the futuristic short story (16k) coming soon from Phaze. I’m happy. Second round means we're nearing the end. I expect to have my part finished and off to my editor by the weekend.

Vacation Time! I'm counting down the days to the official start of my vacation. On Saturday, I'm taking the kids and grandkids to the Smokey Mountains for a relaxing spring break. I'm really excited because the mountains are the setting for my True Mate series. I expect to be inspired all over again, just in time for the revisions I need to do for Nikolia's Wolf and the manuscript I'm working on - True Mates 4: Claiming Shayla. If you read book one, you know that Shayla is Kiesha's cousin. She demanded a book of her own. Shayla's such a character that it's going to take all of my creative ability to get her just right.

I'm also working on another book in True Mate series called Tameka's Smile. I thought it was time for some of the other residents of Refuge to get a chance to come out and play. I think you'll enjoy it, whenever I get around to finishing it.

Just so I could feel like I was accomplishing something, I wrote another short (less than 12k) story called A Matter of Trust. It deals with a marriage in crisis due to a lack of communication between the two principle characters. I really enjoyed writing it and my beta readers think it's great. For you BSDM fans, it has some light bondage, spanking, and is an inter-racial story. It's also written totally from the hero's POV. I’m thinking about submitting it to Ellora’s Cave. Since the story is so short, and their wait time so long, I won’t make myself crazy waiting to hear back from someone about it.

By the way, True Mates got another great review. This makes four. Romance Junkies gave it a 4.5. I'm so glad this book, my first, is being so well received by the reviewers. Gives me great hope for the rest, but it also creates tremendous pressure to produce and make sure the quality is just as good.

As you know, Mary and the Bear was picked up by Phaze. The earliest release date will be February of next year. I'm okay with that. It gives me time to get Nikolia's wolf (book three) back to my editor for consideration by Loose, and also time to finish working on book four. When I first started this series, I never meant for the books to be so interconnected the way that they are. Although they can be read alone and in any order, I think readers will get the most enjoyment out of reading them in the order that they were written.

I’m toying with another Izzy and Bob skit. We’ll see if what I have in mind translates well on paper. Izzy and Bob is my way of poking fun at myself for the hormonal craziness I go through each month. My poor kids! I can only be grateful that I don’t have a man in my life. The kids put up with enough. LOL!

Well, that’s all going on with me if I don’t mention seasonal allergies, the constant battle to lose weight, and the general business of being a single mother. I hope your year is going well. Good luck maintaining all of those New Year’s resolutions. (Ha! Ha! Ha! You’ve forgotten them already, haven’t you?)

Black, White...or Gray? (A Rant)

2008-03-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

One of my jobs as a parent is to teach my children right from wrong. Not an easy thing to do in this day and age. There used to be a time when the 10 Commandments were taught in school, and even children from non-Christian/non-religious homes were taught basic rules of societal living -- what we call morals.
Since prayer and the bible were taken out of the public school system almost 50 years ago, kids have been taught "relativism." Relativism contends that all conduct is relative to the circumstance. Thus, each individual must decide what is moral or immoral in a given situation. Ultimately, every man is his own judge of the matter.
What it all boils down to is that there is no longer any right or wrong, but everything depends upon the circumstances. Is stealing wrong? Depends. Are murder, adultery, disrespecting authority wrong? Well, that all depends upon the circumstances.
People are making up their own rules to live by.
Some may say that teaching kids the 10 Commandments and forcing them to read and learn bible scripture in school was an infringement on their rights according to the First Amendment. They may also say that it produced intolerance and prejudice. That may be true, but when I watch the news and see 13, 14 and 15 year olds arrested for murder and mayhem, teenagers and young children with no conscious, and a murder rate that rises every day, it makes me long for the old days.
Say what you want about the bible, but it has wisdom, rules, and guidelines that will serve you well in life if you just obey them. Look at the Jews. They’ve been keeping the commandments for thousands of years, and I’ve never met a poor Jew yet.
With anything it’s possible to get out of balance. Jesus said the greatest law was to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second greatest law was to love your neighbor to the same degree that you love yourself. I think society would be a much better place to live if everyone would live by those rules.

It's Official

2008-03-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Phaze will be publishing Mary and the Bear. The tentative release date is scheduled for February 2009. I'm so happy. Mary Elizabeth Brown, the heroine of this story, is one of my favorites. She overcomes a lot. Not only is this a romance, it's one woman's journey of self-discovery.

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

2008-03-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

I just read a short story that has me pondering this question. Do I believe in ghosts? My answer is not a simple yes or no.

I believe in the supernatural. I believe that there are more things in this world than the eyes can see. As a Christian, I believe in one God, and in angels and demons. I believe that there is a heaven and hell and that there is a spiritual world that exists right along side of this physical world we dwell.

I believe that God created humankind with a physical body that dies, a spirit that lives forever, and a soul that is the seat of our personality. I believe that once this physical body dies, our spirits do not get reborn into new ones. We only live on this world once, so no reincarnation for me.

What happens to our spirits after the body dies? That's the mystery. Not a complete mystery, because as I stated before, I believe in a heaven and hell that is everyone's ultimate destination. But that leaves a lot of room in-between.

I can't discount stories of people who have died and wandered around in their spirit body before their physical body was revived. Also, the bible states that we're not to summon to the dead, or to pay anyone to summon the dead for us. So that must mean it's possible, right? Or else, why the warning?

But do I believe in ghosts, the kind that go bump in the night and haunt dwellings and sometimes people? I'm undecided. I believe it's something, but ghosts? Hmmm.

I believe when we are born we are assigned an angel(s) to protect us by God, and a demon(s) to subvert us by satan called familar spirits. I believe that familar spirtis become very familar with our personalities, our likes and dislikes, and know us in a way that only someone who is with you from birth to death can. I think in seances it is these spirits that are summoned, not the actual person. But that still leaves a lot of territory.

I'm going to have to say my final answer is I just don't know. There's a lot in this world that can't be explained and maybe, just maybe, this is one of them.

Loop Chats and Lurkers

2008-03-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

If you read my blog, you'll know that on February 29th, I held my first email chat on my publisher's (Loose Id) reader loop. I was nervous -- extremely nervous. See, I'd advertised for other author's chat days and showed up to support them and what I saw was enough to strike fear into my heart.

The reason for my fear can be summed up in a word -- Lurkers. Yep, those folks that silently read the posts and then go merrily about their business. Do I have something against lurkers? No, that would be foolish of me since 80% of the time I lurk myself on the various loops. When I'm the lurker, it makes plenty of sense to me to skim my emails, read what interests me and keep moving.

The flip side of the coin is that when you're the one posting the emails trying to establish a dialogue, it can be mighty intimidating when you get no response. Zero. Nada. Zip. It's like talking to the wind. Like being on top of a canyon with no one around for miles and miles, screaming for help. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but you get the point.

It was scary, but I was prepared and I stuck to my agenda. I posted questions even though there was rarely a response. I posted excerpts that I was certain no one was reading but surprise, surprise. Someone was reading something because my website got hits. Not only did people pop over to check out this site, some of you checked out my myspace page as well and sent in friend requests.

So, despite appearances, I'd have to say that my first chat went rather well. Thank you, lurkers everywhere.

My First Chat

2008-02-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

When: Friday, February 29th
Time: 8am - 6 pm
Where: LooseId_Community@yahoogroups.com

You're invited to join me for my first all day e-chat. I'm nervous but I'm as prepared as I can be.

I'll be sharing excerpts from True Mates, and sneak peaks at Mary and the Bear, and Nikolai's Wolf. I'll also be talking about the things that inspired me as a writer, books I enjoy, and a whole lot of other stuff. Come join the fun.

The Chronicles of Izzy and Bob

2008-02-19T17:58:00.000-08:00

Dedicated to women like me everywhere who survive the hormonal craziness we go through each month.

Izzy: Do these pants make my butt look big?

Bob: You know I love you no matter what size you are.

Izzy: (Long sigh) I know you love me. That’s not what I asked. Does my butt look big in these pants?

Bob: You look good no matter what you wear.

Izzy: (Rolls eyes)

Bob: (watching as she flips through the closet and dresser drawers) What are you doing?

Izzy: Looking for something else to put on.

Bob: Why? I said you look fine.

Izzy: No you didn’t. You said my butt looked big.

Bob: When did I say that?

Izzy: It wasn’t what you said so much as what you didn’t say.

Bob: Huh?

Izzy: If my butt didn’t look big, you would have said so. Since you didn’t, that means you’re just trying to be nice.

Bob: That’s the most…(sigh) Izzy, your butt does not look big in those pants.

Izzy: Nice try, dear, but I know the truth. I have a mirror. I can see.

Bob: Then why did you ask?

Izzy: I thought I could count on you to be honest with me.

Bob: But…(he sputters, then his eyes falls on the calendar). Never mind. (This was one argument he couldn’t win. His wife was in the midst of hormonal madness. His best bet was to keep his head down and ride out the next few days.)

Here We Go Again (The Dangers of Overconfidence)

2008-02-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

I always tell my daughter not to count her money before she has it in her hand. It's advise I should take for myself. Not the money part, but the whole "counting my chickens before they've hatched" thing.
I just heard back from my editor regarding the submission of Nikolai's Wolf - Shannon and Nikolai's story. (Like five minutes ago, so as I write this I'm still processing) As it reads now, it's "doubtful" that Loose would accept it. Revisions are recommended. She was kind enough to point out the areas that she thought needed changing in order for Loose to take it. (sigh)
Here's the problem, or at least some of them. This book is the third one in the series. I'm trying to write it where it can stand alone (be read and understood without it being necessary to read books one and two). To do that, it's necessary to briefly recap what happened to my main characters in the first two books. Also, because the main characters in books one and two make a reappearance, a bit of their background (in relation to the heroine) needs to be included.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong. That's exactly what I did and that's where the problem lies. See, it wouldn't be that big of an issue except Loose didn't accept book two. That means as far as Loose is concerned, it doesn't exist. I, on the other hand as its author, and you as the reader, know that it does. If I write book three from the standpoint that there is no book two (you know, introduce Shannon to Mary Elizabeth, when they've already met and become good friends in book two), it will cause major confusion to the reader. The kind of confusion that make a reader (you) write the author (me) and ask, "What the heck are you doing?" (sigh)
So, what am I going to do? Set it to the side and concentrate on book four, Shayla's story, which I'm working on now. When I'm ready to deal with it, I'll pray about it and ask for wisdom. If I ask in faith, I have no doubt God will show me exactly how to write it to make both Loose and myself happy. If not, there's always other publishers.

A Thank You to Readers

2008-02-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

For those of you who took the time to jot a note to tell me how much you enjoyed True Mates, I thank you. Whether you sent me an email (zenawynn@yahoo.com), sent a message on myspace, or left a comment on my blog, all of them were appreciated.

Here's what one reader had to say: (posted with permission)

I didn't see a web address for Ms. Wynn, and I recently purchased her book "True Mates" and wanted her to know that I really enjoyed reading her work. I thought she did a good job of developing the characters and the background. I enjoyed the portrayal of a woman of color who had depth, and personal issues of control, but managed to find her true mate and embrace Alex Wolfe, for the wonderful 'Alpha' male he was. Her secondary couple of color were portrayed lovingly and respectfully, and her introduction of the possible romance between a were, and a vampire was intriguing. Ms. Wynn told a very engrossing tale and created a world that was unique unto her muse with touches of humor that shown through in the dialogue.

I'd be more then happy to see more of her work published, and released by Loose-id., thank you all who selected her work for publication. Please forward my comments if you can to Ms. Wynn.

Inside of every adult is a little child asking, "Did I do a good job?" Writers, this writer in particular, are no different. So again I say thank you. Thank you for letting me know, "Yes, you did good."

I Got My First Review!!!!

2008-02-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited. I just googled my name and there it was. I'm going to post most of what it says, who said it, and what the link is so that you can see for yourself. This is awesome!

http://sensual.ecataromance.com/index.php?p=541

Reviewer: Amy Wynn
Sensuality Rating: Sultry
Star Rating: 4.5 Stars

True Mates grabs your attention in the opening scene and doesn’t let go. Kiesha and Alex make a great couple and made a wonderfully lasting impression on me. Alex is an alpha male, no doubt about it, but he desires to not only protect Kiesha, but to love her as well and that means giving her peace of mind. Kiesha is used to being in control, but seeing how Alex honors hers allows her to open up to him and trust him. In spite of, or maybe even because of the hurdles they encounter, they turn towards each other instead of away from. The lust-o-meter is off the chart with these two and I have to admit of being jealous at times. I believe True Mates is a first endeavor by Ms. Wynn (no relation); I hope it won’t be her last.

Kiesha Morgan - Character Analysis

2008-02-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been hurt? Who hasn't, right? Maybe it was the loss of a loved one, the turning of a friend, or betrayal by the one person you thought you could trust. We've all been hurt in some form or fashion, because the truth of the matter is, sometimes love hurts. It's those closest to us that have the capacity to do the greatest damage.

My heroine, Kiesha, knows the pain of loss. She lost her father in middle school after a long, drawn-out battle with cancer. Then, two years ago, she lost her mother unexpectedly, the victim of a car accident. Her mother, who was her best-friend, closest confident, and all-around support -- the pillar of her life. Gone...just like that!

Kiesha does what many of us do. She makes an unconscious decision to never let anyone close to her heart again. If she doesn't love, then it won't hurt when she loses them. So, she puts up a wall to keep everyone out, not realizing that she's locked herself in and is now a prisoner of her own making.

Along comes Alex Wolfe, everything she could want in a man. Handsome, loving, in control but not controlling, and financially stable -- just what she needs. Sex with him she can handle, but love? That's a different story.

What happens? Well, read the book and find out. LOL!

Behind the Scenes -- The Making of True Mates

2008-01-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

Sounds like one of those documentaries they do for blockbuster hits, doesn't it? Yet it always fascinates me to see the work that goes into creating those movie marvels. On the off chance that you might be interested, I decided to do something similar.

The Setting - I picked the North Carolina mountains because of a vacation my family and I took to Maggie Valley. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. While there we went river rafting. That was fun. We also visited the Cherokee Reservation, a special treat since my great-grandmother was Cherokee. The idea of Refuge, a town with only one road in, came to me after googling North Carolina towns. There's a town in the mountains there, more of a resort really, with only one way in.

My heroine, Kiesha Morgan - I made her bi-racial because frankly, I think bi-racial children are beautiful. Their skin tones, hair color and texture, all of it appeals to me on a very basic level. She also had to be a strong, independent woman, capable of dealing with the curve thrown to her. What better way to portray that than to make her an entrepreneur? While I have no desire to work for myself, I have tremendous respect for those who do and manage to prosper at it.

My hero, Alex Wolfe - What I say next may offend some, but remember, this is my opinion only, based upon my personal experiences. I made my hero white because frankly, I can't see a male of my race in the role of the romantic hero. I won't even read black romances because I just can't see a black man acting like that. Therefore I can't suspend belief and lose myself in the storyline. I believe that by the end of any romance story, I as the reader should be a little in love with the hero. I should be thinking - if only he were real. I can't do that with black heroes. Now lest anyone think I'm only prejudice against my own kind, let me be quick to say I've never dated outside of my race, but men are men. That's why my hero is also a werewolf, something I know does not exist. If I going to lose myself in a fantasy, I'm going to go all the way.

Supporting Characters - In the interest of diversity, I have a supporting cast of characters made up of different races. Carol, beta of the Raven pack and her mate, Mark, are both black. Shannon is of Irish decent and Nikolai is a vampire. There's Hugh, mentioned but not introduced, who's a Native American. Hugh is the hero of Mary and the Bear.

Conor, my mythical character - Conor is the one responsible for Kiesha being in Refuge. In the beginning, I had in mind a much larger role for him. He would play an important role in finding mates for the men of Refuge. It just didn't work out that way.

So that's my book. I hope you enjoy it.

On Being a Writer

2008-01-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

I'm really not sure what I expected it to be like when I started writing, but let me tell you, it's been very educational. There's a whole community of people out there like me, and believe me, I need it.
So what's it like? I spend large portions of my day in lala-land. Oh, I'm completely rational and can function in society. It's just that, at any given time, part of my mind is busy elsewhere. Be it the story I'm working on, or the one that's screaming in my head to be written, my mind is a very active place. Being in my head would drive another person crazy.
Because my mind is so active, I can be very forgetful. If you want me to remember something, you have to make it important to me, and even then I might forget. My kids have learned to remind me over, and over, and over... Well, you get the idea.
Then there are the characters in my head that take on a life of their own. I don't know how to explain it without sounding schizoid, but that's how I know when a book is flowing - when I can think about my characters and know how they'll react in any given situation. I can actually hear their voices in my head. Crazy, I know, unless you're a writer.
I spend hours in front of the computer typing or with notebook in hand capturing quickly evaporating thoughts that I want to incorporate into my plot. I'll have entire conversations and scenes flow through my mind and have to get it down NOW! While it's still fresh. My kids have learned not to talk to me when I'm in the middle of my flow.
Then, once it's all finish, I put on my editor's hat and go back to the beginning and critique the whole thing. When that's done, I brush it off and polish it up before sending it out to someone who doesn't know me and could care less that my story's the best thing since pre-packaged sliced bread (in my mind at least).
They read it, and if I'm lucky, love it enough to want to publish it. Then the torture begins. It goes through the editing process. There's content editors and line editors and proof-readers, and... Well, enough said.
Once you make it pass all of that, the real test begins, and that's the readers. Will they buy my book? If they do, will they like it? Will they want more? Will I be a one book wonder? All this and more goes through my mind as the countdown to my first release dwindles away.
There's promoting to be done by, not the publisher, but me. Yep, I have to advertise. Me, who hates selling anything. I have to promote -- myself. This is expected of a woman who can't even talk about herself. I have to tell you how great my book is and entice you to buy it. And while I'm doing all of that, I have to find time to write more stories, clean them up and get them sold, promote them. Eh, you get the idea.
It's a vicious cycle. I need to write. I love writing. Writing keep me sane. The rest? Well, that just comes with the territory.

Mary and the Bear

2008-01-16T09:03:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. Brushed myself off and resubmitted it. It helped that my editor, Jana at Loose, complimented me on how well of a job I did revising it after the first rejection. Basically it boils down to this, my book doesn't fit Loose's house style, and that's cool. It doesn't mean it's a bad book. It's just not what they are looking for. A year ago, I would have been crushed. Now, after learning a bit more about the publishing business, I just go with the flow.

Since I'm talking about it, I'll give you the blurb I wrote to go along with the manuscript I submitted.

True Mates: Mary and the Bear

Mary Elizabeth is a woman in transition. Babs, her twin sister, was killed in an automobile accident. Her brother-in-law, Charles, has decided seven years too late that he married the wrong sister; and her healthy, domineering mother wants her to move back home to care for her. Looking for an escape, she takes the job promotion offered by her best friend and boss, Kiesha Morgan, and relocates to Refuge, NC, ready to step out of her sister’s shadow and live life on her own terms for once. The last thing she wants or needs is a man. She’s got enough going on in her life.

Hugh Mosely owns and operates Refuge’s only eating establishment, ‘Eat at Moe’s.’ As a favor to Alex Wolfe, best friend and alpha of the Raven Pack, he rents the empty apartment above the diner to Mary Elizabeth and agrees to keep an eye on her. Hugh is also a were-bear and is actively searching for a mate, a she-bear that he can have children with and continue the existence of his nearly extinct species. Despite his instant attraction to Mary Elizabeth, he has no interest in human females.

Unfortunately (or is that fortunately?) for them, the True Mate Bond doesn’t care about personal agendas. Watch as they both get caught up in the Mating Fever and try to fight their way out.

Surviving Rejection

2008-01-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

A fellow writer once told me we all must be masochist, and I believe she's right. Writers put their heart and soul into their creations, polish it until it shines, and then send their defenseless babies out into the cold, hard world to be judge and hopefully found worthy.

When it is, and your story is accepted for publication, you're on top of the world. Nothing can bring you down.

When it's not, your hopes plummet, and you crawl into a hole to lick your wounds. A rejection of your baby means a rejection of you, or so it feels.

This is the part that separates the girls from the women, or the writers from the wonnabes. A real writer will take a day or two to recover from the devastating blow to their hopes and dreams, then pick themselves up and submit again. Hopefully, this time it will be to someone who can appreciate and see the value in their hard work. A wonnabe will tuck their tail in and call it quits.

Today my sequel to True Mates, Mary and the Bear, was rejected by Loose for the second time. It's days like this when I need God's strength to carry me 'cause my own is failing. "Come on, it's not the end of the world," you might be saying. "It's only a book." Ah, but you're not a writer. Only another writer (or artist) can understand the pain I feel right now. But, it's going to be okay. I've prayed about it and I still have hope.

I'm going sulk today and get it out of my system. Tomorrow, I'll pick myself up, dust off my shaken hopes and submit again. Somewhere out there is a home for my baby. And in the final analysis, this may turn out to be a good thing. Only God knows for sure.

Life of a Romance Writer

2008-01-13T18:51:00.001-08:00

There seems to be a misconception among some folks as to the true lifestyle of a romance writer, especially if she (or he) write erotic romance stories, as I do. If I write about it, I must do it, right? Or else, how could I write such convincing, compelling stories. Must be from experience, or so some folks believe.
The idea is laughable. I can't speak for all writers, only myself. I am a single, divorced, celibate woman. I have two 15 year old, a boy and a girl, and live with my mother. The idea that I'm doing half of what I write (or read)about, or would even be tempted to do so, is just crazy. That's why it's called fiction. It's not real.
I am not my characters. My characters are figments of my God-given imagination. I don't speak as they do. For example, some of my characters curse. I don't. It's an oxymoron, to be sure. I'm the writer. I created them. If they curse, then I must. Yet I don't. Only another writer could fully understand that my characters are me, but they aren't.
The best analogy I could use would be my children. Without me, they wouldn't exist, but they aren't me. They have identities of their own. They grew, and developed and in the process, became this living entity, totally separate from me. The same thing goes for my books. They are my children, my creation, but as they develop and grow, they take on a life of their own.
Writing is kind of like acting. I hate giving speeches, and I detest public speaking. I get nervous and forget what I want to say, but put me in a play and I can act, no matter how large the crowd. Why? Because it's not me. I stop being Zena and become Sally, or Joe, or whoever my character happens to be. I use my knowledge of human nature and life experiences to breathe life into the character that I'm portraying, but when the show is over, I go back to being me.
I do the same thing in my books. While I'm writing, I become my characters. In True Mates, I became Kiesha and Alex, Carol and Mark, and then Shannon and Nikolai. I created a backgrounds for them and life experiences that would dictate the way they'd respond to any situation. I immersed myself in them, and breathed life into them to make them come alive. If they seems real to you, then I did my job well. If not, then I failed.
I said all of that to say this. The bible says that we're not to judge people, because all we can see are their actions. Unlike God, we don't know what goes on in their hearts and minds. I'm ashamed to say that some of the most judgemental people on earth claim to be servants of my Lord, Jesus Christ. Which is sad, because if they were really following him and was a true disciple, they'd obey him when he said "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

The Contract - Coming soon from Phaze

2007-12-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

I am pleased to announce that I have another short story soon to be published. I submitted it to Phaze for their 2008 Heat Sheets under the OZ category and it was well received. If all goes well, it should be available late next summer. I'm so happy.

Blurb:

Welcome to Asteroid 4239, one of the most lucrative and deadly mining ventures owned by The Company. Fortunately for the miners, their earning potential more than makes up for the hazardous working conditions. To live and work on Asteroid 4239, there is one basic requirement -- you must be married.
When Renardo loses his wife Andrica in a mining accident, he takes advantage of the clause in The Company’s Employment Contract that allows him to claim Cecily as his wife. The problem: Cecily is already married to his brother Billy and Billy is not willing to share.

Brief excerpt:

When she was gone, the brothers faced off with each other like adversaries in the silence of the room.

“If you don’t get a better handle on things, you’re going to drive her away and then neither one of us will have her,” Nardo said silently.

“You think I don’t know that,” Billy exploded. “I know I’m not handling things well and Cecily is the one suffering for it. I don’t need you telling me anything.”

“Well, somebody needs to tell you something. This is about more than just your bruised ego.”

“Bruised ego! Bruised ego! You think this is about my ego? Do you have any idea how I feel knowing you’re having sex with my wife? My wife, dammit!”

“She’s my wife now.”

Can a Christian write Erotic Romance and still be a Christian?

2007-12-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

Let me go on record as saying that I love the Lord with all of my heart. My relationship with my Heavenly Father is the most important one in my life. He is my best friend, the one I talk to about everything and know that no matter what I tell Him, I'm still loved and accepted. I strive every day to please Him with the way that I live. Not out of fear but out of love. My relationship with Him has changed my life, and all of it for the better.
Having said that, I recently had my first experience in being condemned for what I write. I was told that my books promoted witchcraft, fornication, adultery, profanity and quite a few other things that I won't go into. I was warned "from God" that if I continue with my current course of action, the ramifications would be damaging not only to myself, but to my children, their children, and so forth down the line. Mind you, the person who said these things has never read a word I've written. She was going strictly by hearsay. Now this is not a rant against her. She had a sincere concern and came to me out of love.
I listened intently. Thanked her for her warning and went and prayed about the situation. My problem is this. Everything she spoke is a direct contradiction to what I believe God is telling me. I believe that when God sends you a message, it should confirm what He's already spoken directly to you. Now while I've said nothing more on the situation to her, I will post my rebuttal here, just in case there is anyone else that feels the way she does or has questions in their own mind.
God created sex and therefore, as long as it is practised in the context in which He created it, it's all good. God created marriage. All of my hero/heroines are married, or whatever passes for marriage in their society. One man, one woman, 'til death do they part is what I write. My sex scenes are graphic. I read graphic love scenes but was uncomfortable writing them until I read the Song of Solomon. If you're familiar with that book of the bible, enough said.
Am I defending myself? No, just explaining what I do. And here's why I do it. Romance stories used to be about one man, one woman, living happily ever after. Passionate love between a man and a woman that overcomes any obstacle and defeats all the odds is what I love reading about. It's what I want in my own life.
It's getting harder and harder to find books like that. Homoerotic (male/male; female/female) books are the rage now. Menages - two males, one female - and happily for now story lines are also popping up all over the place. They're selling so well a lot of publishers are demanding them. But what about people like me, who want to read passionate love stories about one man/one woman in a love you until I die relationship? I couldn't find them, so I started writing them.
I won't write about witchcraft. I have nothing against the Wiccan faith but I'm not a believer, so I write what I believe. I won't right stories with homoerotic heroes. Again, not judging that lifestyle or any other, it's just not what I believe. I say to each his own. I live my faith, and thank God for the liberty to do so, and allow others to live their own. After all, if God grants people the freedom to believe what they want, who am I to do otherwise?
So, will I burn in the fires of hell for what I write? Fortunately for me, only God will decide.

A bit about Me

2007-12-01T04:41:00.000-08:00

I was just told by another writer that my blog doesn't say much about myself. It jolted me. Not so much because I didn't believe it was true, but because I really didn't think anyone was reading my blog. I kind of feel like a voice crying out in the wilderness, hoping someone is there listening but can't see anyone to know if it's true.
So what can I tell you about myself? I'm 38. Shockingly young, I know. Since graduating high school I've worked as an office aide, security guard, residential aide for the severely handicapped, customer service representative and now I work in a clerical support position in city government. You'll note that none of these jobs are what you'd call career professional positions. There's a reason for that. I could never decide what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I've always known that I wanted to write, but figured the odds were against me successfully being able to do so. Writing is a hard profession to break into, but it's something that grips your soul and doesn't let go once you give into the urge.
I've always lived more in my head than in the real world. Writing allows me to give others a peak at what's going on inside. There's some fascinating stuff in there, and I hope you'll agree.
In spite of all of this, I still manage to keep one foot in the real world. I'm the mother of three, and the grandmother of two. I think I do a pretty good job at parenting. It's my primary focus and has been since I discovered I was pregnant with the first one. Now that they're older, I can focus more on me. I put my life on hold for my kids, but I didn't make them my life.
So now I'm a writer. I have a contract with Loose that tells me it's true. I enjoy what I do. I may never make enough off of it to support me full-time, but that's okay. If I have a few readers who love reading what I wrote as much as I enjoyed writing it, I'll be content.

Contest Results

2007-12-01T04:37:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I took so long to post the results of my contest. The choices were all so good that I let my daughter decide. She picked the name Connor. Since I only had 4 replies, and the contestants had to wait so long, I'm giving all of them gift certificates to Loose. Will they use it to buy my books? Probably not since it won't be released until February. While the writer in me hopes that they will, the avid reader in me understands that it's not likely. To all of my contestants I say, Thank you and enjoy.

Refuge, North Carolina

2007-08-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

Since I have time, I wanted to tell you a little bit about the town of Refuge I created for my True Mate series with Loose Id. While researching mountain towns looking for pictures, I ran across an article about a town with only one way in and out. I don't remember all of the historical details now, but the town has become a resort with fine dining and the like.

I remembered thinking, how cool is that? And it fits my scenario just fine. I could easily picture a small, remote town, located high in the mountains and inhabited mostly by shifters. It wouldn't be on very many maps, and only locals would know about it. As a result, the town of Refuge was born.

So far Refuge is home to the Ravens, a pack of wolf-shifters. Alex Wolfe, the Raven Pack's alpha, is the hero of my first book, True Mates. Also living in Refuge is Hugh Mosely, were-bear and hero of True Mates 2: Mary and the Bear. Then there's the town's resident vampire, Nikolai Taranosky, who keeps mostly to himself and is the hero of True Mates 3: Shannon and Nikolai.

I hope you enjoy my town as much as I'm enjoying creating it.

Extremely Blessed and Very Grateful

2007-08-17T03:11:00.000-07:00

This morning during my devotion, I reflected on all that I had to be thankful for. Yesterday, Comcast came and hooked up internet to two of the computers in my house. I now have a computer in my room, and my daughter has one in the den, both with internet connection. I purchased a computer desk, rearranged my room and threw out things I'd been holding onto that needed to go to make room for what I was trying to accomplish.

No big deal, right? Except that 3 years ago, I didn't have any of this. I was doing all that I could to keep from losing my home. My furniture was bare and worn. I had no computers, no home phone; nothing that could be considered a luxury or convenience except for a tv and vcr, and the tv was a gift from my mother.

Now, my home is secure. We have 3 computers, all given to or purchased for us; 2 televisions; a vcr and dvd combo; and so much more. The things that I now consider trash, three years ago they would have been valued treasures. When I realized how blessed I am, I cried. God has been extremely good to me and my family. I take nothing for granted. Like Job said, "the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Character Naming Contest

2007-08-01T05:23:00.000-07:00

Name my character and win a free copy of my book. I'm having trouble naming one of my characters. His name began with Andre, was changed to Pierre, and now it's Haji. I don't like any of them. Email your suggestions to zenawynn@yahoo.com. The deadline to submit is August 14th. Thanks and goodluck.

True Mates - Introduction

2007-07-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

I would like to invite you to the small town of Refuge, located in the mountains of North Carolina. Refuge is not an easy place to find, and that's just how the residents there like it. You see the people of Refuge are not at all what they seem. Behind the human facades are shape-shifters of all types, and possibly a vampire or two.

Meet my heroine, Kiesha Morgan, a plus-sized, bi-racial business woman from Florida. Kiesha's life is all about control, her control. She lives life on her terms. She owns her own business, her own condo, and conducts her relationships the same way she runs her business - by her rules. Any man that doesn't like it is welcome to leave.

My hero, Alex Wolfe, is the town of Refuge's only veterinarian. He's also a wolf shape-shifter, and the Alpha of the Raven Pack. While his life is full, he's been waiting for that one woman who can complete him, his one True Mate. Even though the odds of finding her are slim, he refuses to settle for second best. Once he finds her, he'll never let her go.

Their worlds collide when Kiesha is snatched out of her nice, safe world and mysteriously teleported to a clearing in the woods outside of Refuge. She's out of her element and things are out of her control. Life just got a little bit more interesting.

True Mates - First Chapter

2007-07-03T04:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a small taste of my book coming in February 2008 from www.Loose-Id.com. This is the first chapter, slightly edited to meet PG rating. Hope you enjoy.

True Mates: Alex & Kiesha
Copyright 2007, Unedited, All Rights Reserved

She hung, hands tied together over her head, her toes lightly touching the ground. She wore a loose, flowing nightshirt. The full moon shone down upon her, lighting the clearing in which she hung. A breezed stirred, playing with the hem of her garment, causing her chest to tighten painfully in response to the cool air.
“I’m going to kill him,” she said to herself. “He’s dead, just as soon as I get down from here." She didn't know how in the freaking hell he’d done it, but somehow, some way, he was responsible for her current predicament.
She squirmed, twisting this way and that, trying to work herself loose from the tree. Every time she twisted in one direction, her momentum carried her back to the same position in which she began.
Over her mutterings, she heard a noise. Pausing in her struggles, she listened closely. Loudly, she called out, “Conor, I’m going to kick your butt when I get down from here. You are so dead!” If this was another one of his harebrained ideas about werewolves, shape-shifters, and all that other bull he was always talking about…..
Every since she had known Conor, he was always spouting off facts about werewolves, or ‘shape-shifters’ as he liked to call them. Going on and on about what was true and what was myth. He’d said he was training her because one day she was going to need to know. Yeah, right. As if she believed that crap! But she listened to him anyway because her Momma had taught her to be nice to people, even if she thought they were crazy. Humor them, she said. What did it hurt? We wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings now, would we? Thanks to The World According to Conor, she now knew the proper way to greet a werewolf, the hierarchy of werewolf clans and a bunch of what she considered useless information. This is what I get for humoring the man, she thought. I’m hanging from a tree, half-naked in the middle of the woods, on the night of a full moon. Exactly which one of them was the crazy one here?
She heard another sound; this time, it sounded closer than before. “Conor! Get me down from here!” As she waited for him to respond, the hair on the back of her nape stood on end. Something -- or someone -- was watching her. She’d thought it was Conor but now it occurred to her that maybe it wasn’t. Suddenly, every horror flick she’d ever seen began to flash through her mind. Her mother had always warned that watching that stuff would come back to bite her.
She breathed slowly and deliberately, trying to calm the panic seeking to take hold of her mind. She began to look around the clearing, straining to see into the shadows. As she focused, she thought she saw a pair of eyes staring back at her. Lots of pairs. Oh, this was so not good. As she watched, creatures began to step from the shadows. Wolves. Big ones. Five of them.
Frantically, she tried to remember everything she’d ever learned about wolves. Don’t stare them in the eyes. No, wait. That was dogs. Show no fear. Well, forget that! She was already so scared she was surprised she hadn’t pissed on herself. Why, oh why, hadn’t she watched Animal Planet while she’d had the chance? Then she’d know what to do. Did wolves eat humans? God, she hoped not. She began to chant “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God” under her breath until it became a mantra. Her mind blanked by fear, she could think of nothing else to say or do.
At the sound of her chanting, the wolves paused and looked at each other. Some silent form of communication seemed to pass among them. One by one, they stepped forward into the clearing. Staying totally still, she waited to see what they were going to do. Conor, if I die tonight I will haunt you forever, she thought to herself.
One of the wolves stepped ahead of the others. He eased forward slowly, almost creeping, his ears down. If she didn’t know better, she’d say it was trying not to scare her. As if! Who wouldn’t be afraid of a wolf the size of a pony?
It crept towards her, sniffing the air. Maybe it was just curious. She really didn’t know and didn’t care, as long as it didn’t eat her. As it got closer, she got a good look into its eyes. Intelligence stared back at her. It came within touching distance then sat back on its haunches. The wolf stared at her, tongue hanging out of its mouth, head tilted to the side, like a big dog. She swore the thing was laughing at her.
“Find me funny, do you?” she asked. It’s ears tilted forward as though it -- make that he if the size of that thing between it’s legs was any indication -- was listening. “You try waking up tied to a tree in the middle of the woods, surrounded by wolves and see how you’d feel.” A strange light entered its eyes and she somehow knew he was laughing at her. Great! He thinks I’m a comedian. Glad someone’s being entertained.
While her attention had been centered on the first wolf, the others had quietly eased closer and now sat on their haunches in a semi-circle in front of her. They too watched her with eyes that seemed intelligent, as though questioning her next move. As she glanced from wolf to wolf and nothing happened, fear began to leave her body and curiosity took its place. One by one, her muscles began to relax. She’d never been this close to a live wolf before. If she managed to survive this experience, she might never be again.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she began to examine them more closely. The wolf, which had first approached her, was large and gray with a white muzzle. Along his back, the fur was tipped with black forming a pattern. In the moonlight it was hard to tell, but his eyes appeared to be gold and seemed to glow. The wolf standing to next to him was just as large, but built on a leaner scale. His fur was black tipped with a lighter color. Not white or gray, possibly gold. His eyes were a dark color. Brown, maybe? The third wolf was all white, with the exception of his nose and muzzle, which were black, drawing attention to those killer fangs of his. The fourth wolf was all black, except for one white sock on the front paw. It might have been comical if he hadn't looked so vicious. The last one was a blonde. She wondered if wolves had dumb blonde jokes like humans did.
Some sort of signal seemed to pass between them. One by one, they leaned forward and began to sniff her, starting at her feet and ending at her crotch. One came so close that she felt the moist heat from his nostrils on her mound. “Hey,” she hollered, “cut that out. I’m not some b**** in heat for you to be sniffing at!” One of them made a snuffling sound that reminded her of laughter.
Then the gray wolf moved closer. Beginning at her feet, he slowly ran his nose up her legs, leaving a trail of moist heat straight to her mound. With a quick swipe of his tongue, he licked her c***. She gasped as she clamped her legs together and tried to twist away. He growled at her, low and mean, and licked her c*** again as the ropes twisted her back into position in front of him. Then he tried to shove his nose into her crotch. “Back off, you mangy mutt,” she said, and kicked at his head with her foot. He jumped back and danced gracefully out of the way. Again she heard that snuffling sound, this time from the rest of the group.
As she dragged her toes on the ground to stop her body from swinging back and forth, the gray wolf looked at the others and nodded. She blinked. He couldn’t have just nodded his head. She must be imagining things. The wolves threw back their muzzles and began to howl at the moon, a sound of joyful celebration. The gray wolf stepped forward again, stopping just outside of the reach of her feet, and shifted into human form. One minute a wolf stood before her; the next, a man. A big, naked, and aroused man. Conor wasn’t crazy. Werewolves were real. “Oh man, I am so screwed.” Then everything went black.

We Have a Name

2007-06-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

We have official settled on the title of True Mates for my first book. Edits are in progress and the book is scheduled to be released at the end of summer, somewhere around August/September timeframe. My editor is Jana Hanson. She's great. I keep reminding myself that she's the professional, especially when she deletes something I particularly like or makes me dig deeper to add more to the story.

First Day

2007-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Today I signed the contract to have my first book, True Mates: Alex & Kiesha, published by Loose Id, LLC publishing house. I'm very excited. Will give more info as it becomes available. God is good!

Z's World

Today We Celebrate Martin Luther King's Birthday

What's in a Good Book?

Want a Sneak Peak at Claiming Shayla?

True Mates: Claiming Shayla

The Year in Review - 2011

Recommended Reads: Beta's Challenge & Samaritan

Subtle Influences

Pigeon Holes and Labels

Finding Balance

Claiming Shayla Update

My view on Spammers

New Book Contracted with Phaze

Slug Mode

The Writing Process - Claiming Shayla

Dance Like Everyone's Watching by Eve Summers

What's in a Review?

What Makes a Really Good Who Done It?

The Year 2011

Two New Releases

Off the Face of the Earth

Be My Guest (if you live in Jacksonville FL)

Spring Fever or Something Else

What's Going on in My World?

Corrected Phaze March Top 20 Bestsellers

Life

Red Flags and Other Warning Signs

Christianity, Sex, and Marriage

Fantasy Island: Mya's Werewolf

Sometimes it's good to listen to the voices...

Can you go Home Again?

Blessings and More

What's New in My World...

The Question - Reader Response

The Question is out...

Happy 4th of July

Nothing New Under the Sun

What's New in My World

Uncooperative, demanding Muses

The Good, The Bad, The Down Right Ugly

The Jekyll/Hyde Syndrome

True Mates 3: Nikolai's Wolf now Available

Happy Valentine's Day

What's Going On in My World?

The Apology

It's done

What Would You Be Willing to do for a Friend?

It's Finally Finished

2008 in Review

Mary and the Bear First Review

The Craving for Approval

Happy Veteren's Day and Thank You

Creating Characters

The Contract - Behind the Scenes View

Great News

I'm so behind...

What's Going On in My World?

Upcoming Release Schedule

God is Awesome

The Contract Is Here

One of Those Days

Interview with Michele Pillow and Mandy Roth

June Was a Busy Month

What's New in My World

True Mates

The Economy

My apologies

Update on the True Mate Series

Life's A Bit More Interesting

Give Love Another Try

Priorities

My Vacation

What's New in Z's World?

Black, White...or Gray? (A Rant)

It's Official

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Loop Chats and Lurkers

My First Chat

The Chronicles of Izzy and Bob

Here We Go Again (The Dangers of Overconfidence)