SPOOF!

By Kathy Clark

 

It used to be people would say “it is what it is.”   But that may no longer be true.  Actually, it is getting less true every day.

REALITY ROMANCE novels are stories about real people engaged in normal activities whose lives are interrupted by the unexpected.

But what is reality in the early part of the Twenty-first Century?

In current films, for example, it is increasingly difficult to identify the parts of the movie that are real and those that are CGI (computer graphic imaging).

Today, most people glance at their phone screens and check the caller ID before answering their phone.  But few people realize that with little or no technical expertise, it’s easy to make any name and number appear as the caller ID on your phone.  Every day people get called by the police or the IRS with warnings about arrests or worse because money is owed for unpaid tickets or taxes.  But don’t send them that check.  It’s probably scammers who have misidentified themselves as authorities that you trust.  SPOOF!

Maybe you’ve received an email from someone and in fact the sender never sent the email.  SPOOF!

A newer, more complex trick is to cause someone’s geographical location as shown on their cell phone or vehicle GPS device to be somewhere it isn’t.   SPOOF!

REALITY ROMANCE is contemporary life.  In the third book of our SCANDALS series, WORST DATE EVER, an on-line dating service is hit by a spoofer.  As the incidences escalate from identity theft to murder, Tulsa and a millionaire fireman must work together to stop the hacker.  Of course, romance and mayhem follows.

Go to this link to find the best priced copy of WORST DATE EVER, book #3 from our SCANDALS Series-  www.lrd.to/worst-date-ever

Here are the first three books in the SCANDALS Series…

 

And our website has all of our books – http://www.LoveRealityRomance.com

 

There are many types of spoofing but here are a few of our favorites as they frequently show up in our Twenty-first Century news, TV shows, films, and books:

CALLER ID SPOOFING

• Public telephone networks often provide Caller IDinformation, which includes the caller’s name and number, with each call. However, some technologies (especially in Voice over IP (VoIP) networks) allow callers to forge Caller ID information and present false names and numbers. Gateways between networks that allow such spoofing and other public networks then forward that false information.  Since spoofed calls can originate from other countries, the laws in the receiver’s country may not apply to the caller. This limits laws’ effectiveness against the use of spoofed Caller ID information to further a scam.  So next time a police officer or an IRS agent calls, don’t panic.  Unless you’re expecting the call, it’s probably not really an official.

 

eMAIL SPOOFING

• The sender information shown in e-mails(the “From” field) can be easily spoofed. This technique is commonly used by spammers to hide the origin of their e-mails and leads to problems such as misdirected bounces (i.e. e-mail spambackscatter). E-mail address spoofing is done in a similar manner as writing a forged return address using snail mail. As long as the letter fits the protocol, (i.e. stamp, postal code) the SMTP protocol will send the message. It can be done using a mail server with telnet.

 

GPS SPOOFING

• A GPSspoofing attack attempts to deceive a GPS receiver by broadcasting counterfeit GPS signals, structured to resemble a set of normal GPS signals, or by rebroadcasting genuine signals captured elsewhere or at a different time.  A “proof-of-concept” attack was successfully performed in June, 2013, when the luxury yacht “White Rose” was misdirected with spoofed GPS signals from Monaco to the island of Rhodes by a group of aerospace engineering students from the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas in Austin. The students were aboard the yacht, allowing their spoofing equipment to gradually overpower the signal strengths of the actual GPS constellation satellites, altering the course of the yacht.

 

All of these fascinating new technologies can create great conflicts and plotlines in current literature and other forms of entertainment.  It changes every day, so if you’re a writer, be sure and do your homework.  If you’re a consumer…BEWARE.

Bottom line?  What it is isn’t what it is.

 

You Are What You Were When

By Kathy Clark

 

Great characters…that’s what several of our REALITY ROMANCE Blogs have been about.  What makes characters memorable and what makes people love or hate them?  They have to be real.  They have to be people you want to know or who are similar to people you already know.  Nothing kills a book faster than a character you don’t care about.  Love them or hate them, they have to make an impact.

The lead characters of most romance novels are in their early twenties to late thirties range.  But the supporting characters can be all ages, shapes, colors, and personalities.  If there wasn’t a variety, the story would be pretty one-dimensional.  You’ll see authors add babies, teenagers, parents, grand-parents, and even animals.  They all make interesting additions as long as you, the writer, makes sure that they’re consistent, real, and important to the plot.

When we were creating our Austin Heroes series, we knew the three books were to each feature one of the Archer brothers.  How do you balance a cocky DEA agent, a golden-boy Texas Ranger, and a prodigal son Homeland Security officer?  One of our favorite TV shows is Blue Bloods that each week ends with a big family dinner.  Well, we decided to adapt that meal idea to a family of alpha men who are supposed to leave their guns at the door, but almost never stop talking shop.  Who could be strong enough to counteract these powerful personalities?

Their feisty grandmother, of course.  Grammy grew up in the Sixties as a young musician turned hippie, immersed in the culture of Haight Asbury.  She still enjoys smoking pot on the porch and living on the edge of society.  What better conflict for three grandsons who have sworn to uphold the law?  One even has a drug dog who definitely has a conflict of interest every time they come for dinner at Grammy’s.

The fun part about writing Grammy was that we could make her bigger than life.  The challenging part was that we had to keep her in character and have her appropriately represent her generation.  There are plenty of Baby Boomers out there who would spot anything disingenuous or incorrect.

Equally important was when we were writing Another Chance, the third book in the series.  The premise is that Luke (the Homeland Security officer) returns home to Austin on an assignment and bumps into his high school sweetheart, Bella.  So, while not actually having two sets of characters, we had to deal with Luke and Bella as emotional teenagers and as cynical adults.  That involved going back to the Eighties and staying true to that era, as well.  Do you remember that there were no cell phones, DVDs, CDs, or internet back then?

Working with all those characters at various stages of their lives was a lot of fun.  Their lives, loves, emotions, heartbreaks, and ambitions were all woven into the plot, making a complex, but realistic view of a family.

My husband heard a wonderful speech by a man named Morris Massey, a marketing professor and sociologist.  His decades-long work is focused on values, generations, and what he calls Significant Emotional Events, or SEE’s.  Some of his most noteworthy, useful and entertaining topics include:

• The Original Massey Tapes – 1: What You Are Is Where You Were When
• The Original Massey Tapes – 3: What You Are Is
• The Original Massey Tapes – 4: What You Are Is Where You See
• What You Are Is What You Choose…So Don’t Screw It Up
• Dancing With The Bogeyman

They tell how to make characters that are true to their backgrounds and beliefs.

Authors tell you character background by several means:

• What their pop culture is about [music, words, films, books, art etc.]
• Reference points [age of family members, what grade they are in school, if they are on social security or in the military are the obvious examples]
• And the obvious clue, the author just tells you

Dr. Massey’s findings will help you create wonderful characters that are consistent with their age and upbringing.  When a senior citizen acts like a teenager or a college student dresses like a grade school kid, the reader is thrown out of the book.  These incongruities, unless there are “payoffs” later in the book, just show you didn’t do your homework and you didn’t really know your own characters.

Following are some quotes from Another Chance that illustrate our point.

“Grammy took us everywhere in that bus.  When the engine burned up for the third time just two years ago, she had it towed back to this field, then held a wake for it.  Hundreds of people came out.  It was the event of the year.”  Nick shook his head and smiled as the memory of that crazy party flashed through his mind.

“She has lots of friends?”

“Everyone from the 60s who was involved in music…that is, anyone still alive…showed up.  It was…colorful.”  Nick glanced over at Jamie.  “I have to warn you…Grammy is not a typical grandmother.”

…

“And this must be Harley.”  She looked down at the dog that was sitting at attention next to her, his gaze focused on her with burning intensity.  She wore a long prairie skirt and tie-dyed T-shirt with her curly steel-gray hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“Grammy, you’re killing me,” Nick said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve got a joint in your pocket, don’t you?” Nick asked.

“I might,” she admitted with an unapologetic grin.

 “I’m a DEA agent, and Harley’s a drug dog.  What are we supposed to do with you?”

“Arrest me,” Grammy challenged nonchalantly.  She leaned over and petted Harley whose concentration didn’t waiver.

“I should.  Maybe a night in jail would be good for you,” Nick retorted.

“Ha!  Like I haven’t been to jail before.”  She chuckled.  “The first time was back in ’67…or was it ’68?  Anyway, me and a bunch of other women burned our bras in the street outside The Playboy Club in San Francisco.  I haven’t worn a bra since.”

 

So what does the teaching of an expert in this field, Dr. Morris Massey, tell us?  Dr. Massey’s credentials are on line.  In his book What Works At Work (Lakewood Publications, 1988) he was cited as one of the most influential workplace experts of the time.  And to fully understand why people believe what they do and have the values they do, you have to understand where they’ve come from.

Morris Massey has described three major periods during which our values are developed.

 

The Imprint Period

Up to the age of seven, we are like sponges, absorbing everything around us and accepting much of it as true, especially when it comes from our parents. The confusion and blind belief of this period can also lead to the early formation of trauma and other deep problems. The critical thing here is to learn a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. This is a human construction which we nevertheless often assume would exist even if we were not here (which is an indication of how deeply imprinted it has become).  If parents are poor their kids often will value wealth.  If they’re jobs are a t risk and they’re unemployed the kids will value job security and when they’re older days off without pay is a significant.

 

The Modeling Period

Between the ages of eight and thirteen, we copy people, often our parents, but also other people. Rather than blind acceptance, we are trying on things like suit of clothes, to see how they feel. We may be much impressed with religion or our teachers. You may remember being particularly influenced by junior school teachers who seemed so knowledgeable—maybe even more so than your parents.

 

The Socialization Period

Between 13 and 21, we are very largely influenced by our peers. As we develop as individuals and look for ways to get away from the earlier programming, we naturally turn to people who seem more like us. Other influences at these ages include the media, especially those parts which seem to resonate with the values of our peer groups.

 

So your kids or even you at about age seven, between eight and thirteen or between thirteen and twenty one, are primary time periods that mold us.  Is it any wonder therefore that kids growing up in the fifties explained a lot about the existence of the hippies of the sixties and seventies and the push back the baby boomer generation always seemed to be doing in the sixties through to today.

 

Kind of makes you wonder what imprints kids in the early twenty-first century will value as adults.  The point of this blog?  Be sure your characters are consistent with their age and era.  Of course, not everything you know about your characters will come out on the page.  But it impacts who they are and how they will react to whatever conflicts you’re going to throw in their path.

 

Our series novels are in three different age ranges for example:

• The young adult series, TIME SHIFTERS, is about four sixteen year olds.
• The new adult series, SCANDALS, is about five adults age eighteen to twenty five
• Romantic Suspense, both the Denver Heroes and Austin Heroes series, is about characters in their mid to late twenties.

 

SEX AT WORK Or LOOK WHO’S MAKING COFFEE!

 

By

Kathy Clark

 

What do Barrack Obama, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Taylor, Mark Zuckerberg, and Brad Pitt have in common?

They all had a workplace romance with one or more of their co-workers.  In Reality Romance novels, workplace romances are often central to the story.  Even Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele start out in his office…and we all know where that story ended up.

So what’s happening on the job while people are working nine-to-five?

The facts, based on surveys from Vault.com and Forbes give us facts about the reality of office romances.  Who’s doing it?  55% of women surveyed and 56% of men have been willing participants in some type of workplace relationship.  Career climbers?  Hardly.  Only 3% did so with the expectation of gaining pay, stature, or position.  That leaves 97% who did it just for fun or personal reasons.

How do these relationships start?  Why does it makes a good plot for a Reality Romance  novel?

• 19% happened while traveling out of town
• 12% “ran into each other” outside of work
• 11% the relationship was sparked at a happy hour get together
• 10% evolved after late nights at work together
• 10% were lunch buddies first
• 9% said it was love at first site

The survey leaves 29% who either didn’t volunteer how their workplace romance started.  On the other hand, we all know people who have had multiple office romances and therefore the above statistics may also include some double dipping, so to speak.

The survey led us to investigate further.  When sex was involved, here’s what people claimed:

• 19% have done it on the job
• 89% of those admitted to having been caught doing it

The conclusion must be that if you do it on the job, there is a very high chance of being caught.  Perhaps that’s part of the appeal.  Some people’s libido is heightened by danger or risk.

The breakdown statistics of where the romance takes place when on the job are not as clear.  The most common places to be discovered having sex at work were in the board room, the engineering lab, the stairwell, and the office kitchen.   Surprisingly, the breakroom was not a highly frequented place and the employee’s vehicle wasn’t mentioned.

 

By now you’ve got to be asking why?  In a word…attraction.  And there are three factors that lead to work place romances developing:

• We gain attraction to others based on our familiarity and proximity to them. If you spend eight hours a day with a co-worker, and three waking hours with your spouse, this can give an office mate the advantage.
• We spend one-third of our lives at work, dealing with the same clients and problems as our co-workers. Having something in common, even if it is on an impersonal level, can create the illusion of a deeper bond.
• The average coworker comes to work well-groomed, nicely dressed and on their best behavior. Believe it or not, you are actually seeing the best of those you work with.

Before you toss all the research and surveys away, one more set of statistics.  Which businesses or industries are the most fertile, so to speak?

• 72% in the insurance sector
• 70% in education
• 60% finance and banking
• 59% manufacturing
• 56% technology
• 55% energy
• 49% law
• 49% accounting

Are there lessons to be learned by these eager office scoundrels?  Regardless of how things turned out, men and women would likely participate in another office romance, with 70% of men saying they would do it again.  While that number dips slightly among women, with only 62% saying they would pursue another workplace relationship if the option became available.  The general consensus on office romances amongst both sexes is clear.  Why not?

One major facet of on-the-job romances is the part that stretches beyond bosses and subordinates and co-workers. The workplace includes customers, be they clients, victims, or suspects.  That is real life which is what Reality Romances are all about.

On-the-job romances are a fact of life and, therefore, are juicy subjects in Reality Romances.  We’ve written and had published 14 novels since 2012.  Discounting the four YA time travel mystery romances in our Time Shifters series, here’s where our Reality Romance novels fall as regards work place romance stories –

• Romantic Suspense, New Adult [Indie published]
  • Due Dates
    • Our heroine, Killeen Ames, discovers her new life comes with a man she can’t resist who doesn’t know the dark secrets of her past.  Doubly unfortunate, the man is a co-worker and now her boss.
  • Killer Date
    • Our hero in this second book in the series, Reno Marks, loves women…as a whole, but he’s never been in love. In fact, he doesn’t really know what it is. His love interest in this heart stopping Romancing the Stone like adventure and romance is not a co-worker but a client. I guess we’re expanding the Reality Romance genre to include customers and clients.
  • Worst Date Ever
    • Tulsa Wiggins, our heroine and smarter than smart, is forced to stake out a suspected perp by moving into his luxury apartment. The Reality Romance genre expands further to include suspects in more than one way. 

 

• Erotic Romance [Loose Id and Indie published]
  • Master Suite
    • Together our heroine and hero explore the sensuous world of BDSM game play. Unknown to him, they work at the same medical facility.  The office romance begins.
  • Fantasy Suite
    • Alright, plain and simple, there is no office romance here. Just more of the Fantasy Island meets the Love Boat activity that takes place at the exclusive Fini Luxury Resort & Spa near Aspen, Colorado.

 

• Romantic Suspense [Random House LLC published 3 of the 6 to date]
  • After Midnight
    • Our Denver, Colorado Cop, Sam Morgan, gets sideways with an on-the-job attacker and his “office romance” turns out to be his only clue to the killing of a fellow officer…providing he can keep her alive.
  • Cries In The Night
    • Our heroine, Julie Lawrence, is a victim’s advocate for the Denver Police Department and through her involvement of helping the people in the city experiencing their worst nightmare, she becomes involved with both the love of her life and the one who is out to end her life.
  • Deep Night
    • A deeply touching story of a woman’s profound healing, and the amazing man, her co-worker, who’s with her every step of the way.
  • After Love
    • One of most beloved characters in the last few years is DEA agent Nick Archer. His love interest, Jamie Chambers knows how to sniff out trouble but as you will see execution of a plan is harder than the plan. In this story, Jamie is neither a co-worker, boss nor subordinate. But it could be argued that he is her client as she provides him with his new K-9 partner, Harley.

 

Find all about these novels and all our books on our website at http://www.LoveRealityRomance.com and here are the links to the books mentioned in this blog.

Romantic Suspense, New Adult [Indie published]

Due Dates amzn.to/1RG22gd

Killer Date amzn.to/1VQiH6N

Worst Date Ever amzn.to/1LUTRQY

 

Erotic Romance [Loose Id and Indie published]

Master Suite amzn.to/22apRTb

Fantasy Suite amzn.to/1TAc481

 

Mainstream romantic suspense

[Random House LLC published 4 of the 6 to date]

After Midnight amzn.to/1ZGWCYs

Cries In The Night amzn.to/1ftgfBA

Deep Night amzn.to/1pFZeJu

After Love amzn.to/1RTJIq6

 

 

 

 

LIFE’S WHAT HAPPENS; Where have you gone Michael Keaton?

Our award winning book is finishing a promo run on Amazon and is looking to move on to the BIG screen!

 

Here’s the chapters and the music play list posted on Twitter, GOOGLE +  and Face Book for the last week.

Prologue “Try To Remember [The Kind Of September]” – The Sandpipers

Chapter One “It’s Your Thing” – The Isley Brothers

Chapter Two “Dizzy” – Tommy Roe

Chapter Three “I Got You Babe” – Sonny & Cher

Chapter Four “Mighty Quinn” – Manfred Mann

Chapter Five “Midnight Confessions” – The Grass Roots

Chapter Six “The Monkees Theme” – The Monkees

Chapter Seven “Tired Of Waiting” – The Kinks

Chapter Eight “Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin

Chapter Nine “Catch The Wind” – Donovan

Chapter Ten “My Way” – Frank Sinatra

Chapter Eleven “Come Together” – The Beatles

Chapter Twelve “Time of the Season” – The Zombies

Chapter Thirteen “Leaving on a Jet Plane” – Peter, Paul and Mary

Chapter Fourteen “Everybody’s Talkin’” – Nilsson

Chapter Fifteen “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” – Neil Sedaka

Chapter Sixteen “Day Tripper” – The Beatles

Chapter Seventeen “It Takes Two” – Kim Weston

Chapter Eighteen “Bottle of Wine” – The Fireballs

Chapter Nineteen “Bad Moon Rising” – Creedance Clearwater Revival

Chapter Twenty “Kind of a Drag” – The Buckinghams

Chapter Twenty-One “Jumping Jack Flash” – The Rolling Stones

Chapter Twenty-Two “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye

Chapter Twenty-Three “Red Rubber Ball” – The Cyrkle

Chapter Twenty-Four “Always You” – The Sundowners

Chapter Twenty-Five “Na Na Hey Hey [Kiss Him Goodbye]” – Steam

Chapter Twenty-Six “Is That All There Is?” – Peggy Lee

Chapter Twenty-Seven “1-2-3 . . .” – Len Barry

Chapter Twenty-Eight “The Cat In The Window [The Bird In The Sky]” Petula Clark

Chapter Twenty-Nine “We Got To Get Out Of This Place” – The Animals

Chapter Thirty “This Magic Moment” – Jay and the Americans

Chapter Thirty-One “You’ve Got Your Troubles” – The Fortunes

Chapter Thirty-Two “P.S. I Love You” – The Beatles

Chapter Thirty-Three “It’s My Party” – Lesley Gore

Chapter Thirty-Four “Both Sides Now” – Judy Collins

Chapter Thirty-Five “Yesterday’s Gone” – Chad & Jeremy

Chapter Thirty-Six “Worst That Could Happen” – Brooklyn Bridge

Chapter Thirty-Seven “Reflections Of My Life” – The Marmalade

Chapter Thirty-Eight “The Fool On The Hill” – The Beatles

Chapter Thirty-Nine “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” – The Hollies

Chapter Forty “For What It’s Worth (Stop, Hey What’s That Sound)” – Buffalo Springfield

Chapter Forty-One “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys

Chapter Forty-Two “98.6” – Keith

Chapter Forty-Three “Up-Up And Away” – The 5th Dimension

Chapter Forty-Four “Easy Come, Easy Go” – Bobby Sherman

Chapter Forty-Five “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” – The Beach Boys

Chapter Forty-Six “Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Bob Dylan

Chapter Forty-Seven “Bridge Over Troubled Water” – Simon and Garfunkel

Chapter Forty-Eight “Something’s Burning” – Kenny Rogers and the First  Edition

Chapter Forty-Nine “One Tin Soldier” – The Original Caste

Chapter Fifty “Last Train to Clarksville” – The Monkees

Chapter Fifty-One “The Beat Goes On” – Sonny & Cher

Chapter Fifty-Two “When I Die” – Motherlode

Chapter Fifty-Three “Things We Said Today” – The Beatles

 

 

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Time To Lose The NEW ADULT Training Wheels

I got started in writing due to Janet Dailey.  She was my hero and, to a large degree, my mentor.

But this isn’t about her but rather what she did to romance and what part of history applies to New Adult!  Read on…

I can only dream of having the longevity and talent needed to drive my 3 million romance and women’s fiction book sales to even remotely come close to her 100 million plus in sales.  I don’t think she is given enough credit for all she did to completely change the publishing industry.  Janet was known for adhering to the conventions of romance fiction — one man, one woman, happy ending.  But her books broke the mold because they featured independent women who weren’t simpering virgins waiting for their rich prince to sweep them off their feet, plus they were set in America rather than in the old-world Europe of traditional romances.  Janet was the first American writer published by the Toronto-based Harlequin publishing empire and her new bold changes became the foundation of the industry to this day.

Why do I bring this up?  All genres go through an evolution not unlike the romance genre did starting in the 1980s.  Romance was still always the major plot, but suddenly the characters had real lives with a back story and careers.   The romance (i.e. the man) wasn’t all that defined them.

My husband and I just attended the #TexasWriter’sLeague annual Editors and Agent’s Conference where we paid super close attention to the speakers, discussions and meetings that surrounded the New Adult genre.  I noticed that there is still a lot of confusion about exactly what the NA market is and what the audience wants.  The one thing that is clear is that it is evolving, just as romance did, into something more substantial than just bad boy meets good girl, which has been the norm up to now.

After the Saturday sessions ended and before we got back to working on book #2 in the SCANDALS New Adult Series, KILLER DATE, we set out to see where the evolution in the genre is today. Surprisingly, we found numerous blogs, surveys and discussions about new adult literature and how it is finally moving from books focused on New Adult angst to solid stories where the protagonists are in their new adult sweet spot, age 19 to 25 who have more than just boy troubles.  Why deal with just that one element of the complications of transition that most new adults are going through?

Now we’re talking…don’t just saddle the poor new adult characters with relationship baggage.  Let them actually deal with college, family, jobs, roommates, housing and finances.  Let them struggle, but ultimately survive and succeed in the story.  How “new adults”, born between 1989 and 1996, will propel a story set in 2014 forward is what makes a story great and if told and written well, will deliver a best seller.

Of considerable note I came across the blogging of Lauren Sarner at the #Huffington Post and her 2013 blog on new adult books.  I loved it and it summarized very well all the blogs and reviews and face-to-face discussions I’ve had for long time.  She wrote that “New Adult is a new genre whose target audience is people like me–young twenty-something’s, overwhelmingly of the female variety.  A New Adult book is basically a Young Adult book with sex and cursing thrown in.  A typical plot line features two brooding, damaged souls with damaged pasts (typical examples include characters whose entire families have tragically died, characters who have grown up in abusive homes, characters suffering from manic depression or panic attacks) who meet, sparks fly, and drama ensues. The books are often titled something like “Damaged” or “Broken” or “Smashed with a Sledgehammer”

She notes she may have made that last one up, but she was sure it exists somewhere.

Lauren continued.  “New Adult is a label that is condescending to readers and authors alike.  It implies that the books act as training wheels between Young Adult and Adult.  For the New Adult books that are particularly childish, the label implies that they are a step above Young Adult–which is insulting to the Young Adult books that are far superior.  For the New Adult books that are particularly sophisticated, the label implies that they are not worthy of being considered “adult.”  It’s a lose-lose situation for everyone.”

She closed with a challenge for me, as a writer of three series currently…a YA Time Travel Mystery, New Adult Suspense and Romantic Suspense, and it should be for all writers of the NA genre. Lauren explained, “Books are supposed to expand your world; expose you to people, places, emotions, and ideas you might not otherwise experience.  Suggesting that you need training wheels for such a thing is like suggesting that a child needs training wheels to walk.  You’ve just got to do it.  Good fiction is supposed to hold the mirror up to reality, regardless of the genre–and reality does not have training wheels.”

 

So my challenge is not how to write a NA novel that is actually an entertaining book where the characters can be brooding or damaged, but there is more going on in their lives than wondering the if boy is going to call.  That was my goal when I created the New Adult SCANDALS series.  Book #1, DUES DATES, has the usual female and male relationship issue, but her life didn’t start and end with him.  They both have baggage, but there’s a real world going on around them that they also have to deal with that adds complications, drama and humor.  A new adult’s life is not just about male/female relationships, but about their relationships with everyone around them.

Now my challenge is crafting the blurb and discussions about DUE DATES to attract the New Adult reader with the typical relationship of brooding, damaged souls, but then capture them with the complications of being a new adult in a complicated world.

That’s why the title of the blog is  …and yes it is a total rip off of the intellectual capital of Lauren #Sarner at the #Huffington Post.  It’s time for the NA genre to move to the next level that deals with young people that are not just defined by romantic relationships, but have dreams and problems and friends and lots of other things impacting their lives.

So I’m proud to be ahead of the curve with of our two training wheel-free NA novels.

Our current New Adult series, SCANDALS, book #1 DUE DATES was released a few months ago.  Find DUE DATES at http://www.amazon.com/DUE-DATES-SCANDALS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GQC1S3O/

An inheritance brought her more than she ever could have imagined…

Killeen Ames has it all…beauty, brains, a college softball scholarship and a rich and handsome boyfriend who has helped to stretch her college funds and fill her social calendar. He is the only boy she ever allowed past second base and now he’s her baby daddy. However, being a father was not in his short-range plans. He graduates, then he splits, leaving Killeen to decide what she wants to do about the pregnancy…and to worry about how she’s going to keep her scholarship. With no marketable skills, no job, no home and medical bills for her and the baby on the horizon, she knows she must move forward. A knock at the door of her boyfriend’s apartment changes the game forever when an attorney gives her the news of an inheritance from an unknown dead relative and another due date looming.

After traveling to Austin, Killeen walks into the meeting and is surprised to find out that the relative was actually her birth father, and he had been a popular music star who recently died of an overdose. Even more shocking are the four strangers who share the same absentee dad. He has left them a highly successful private investigation agency, Scandals. The catch is…they have to make the commitment to work there.

Their introduction to the P.I. business almost gets them killed when a bomb goes off in the warehouse that sends Killeen to the hospital. She has kept the secret of her pregnancy from everyone, including Christopher, the totally irresistible manager of Scandals. Their hot night of wild sex in the office was a one-time thing…right? She chalks up her attraction to him as just raging hormones. They have no chance of a future together. He’s gorgeous, intelligent and successful. He would never want anyone with so much baggage.

Christopher has a secret of his own. He’s been investigation the possibility that, despite popular opinion, their father’s death hadn’t been an accidental overdose. He thinks it was murder.

Even though the five siblings still haven’t accepted the fact that they have a father who made no attempt to be a part of their lives, they join together to discover the truth about his death. The search throws Killeen and Christopher together and their passion grows hotter. As her feelings for him slowly become more serious, she knows she must tell him about the baby.

After a fun day in the sun, an event happens that outs Killeen’s secret. Christopher, as expected, doesn’t take the news well. But they must continue to work together to track down a killer, especially since the killer has now focused on them.

Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business. In fact, someone wants them all dead and now the decision on whether or not to be a part of the agency seems very unimportant compared to the job of trying to stop from being killed.

They set up a trap that goes terribly wrong. Suddenly, Killeen must make a big decision. Who should she save? Her baby? Christopher? Her new brothers and sisters? Their lives are in her hands.

Due Dates is the first book in the Scandals New Adult series of romantic suspense. Each book of the series will focus on one of the offspring of Roger Elliott, a famous musician who left them with a legacy they weren’t expecting. Killer Date, the second book in this series will be released in Summer, 2014 and will tell Reno’s story.

 

Life’s What Happens is a 1969-1970 story told in flashback, where the super bowl of angst plays out and life in college when failing a course could land you in a war on the other side of the planet, brooding, sparks and romance flew in between classes, relationships, graduation, career planning and finding draft loopholes that would soon be shut.  Find Life’s What Happens on all the usual book seller sites including Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/LIFES-WHAT-HAPPENS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00A14STPS/

Scandals Changing Face For The Future; Starting Now!

After much deliberation, market sampling , sales analysis and plain ole pondering I have changed the cover on the recently released book, BABY DADDY. This is book #1 in the SCANDALS new adult romantic suspense series.

An inheritance brought her more than she ever could have imagined…

Killeen Ames has it all…beauty, brains, a college softball scholarship and a rich and handsome boyfriend who has helped to stretch her college funds and fill her social calendar. He is the only boy she ever allowed past second base and now he’s her baby daddy. However, being a father was not in his short-range plans. He graduates, then he splits, leaving Killeen to decide what she wants to do about the pregnancy…and to worry about how she’s going to keep her scholarship. With no marketable skills, no job, no home and medical bills for her and the baby on the horizon, she knows she must move forward. A knock at the door of her boyfriend’s apartment changes the game forever when an attorney gives her the news of an inheritance from an unknown dead relative.

After traveling to Austin, Killeen walks into the meeting and is surprised to find out that the relative was actually her birth father, and he had been a popular music star who recently died of an overdose. Even more shocking are the four strangers who share the same absentee dad. He has left them a highly successful private investigation agency, Scandals. The catch is…they have to make the commitment to work there.

Their introduction to the P.I. business almost gets them killed when a bomb goes off in the warehouse that sends Killeen to the hospital. She has kept the secret of her pregnancy from everyone, including Christopher, the totally irresistible manager of Scandals. Their hot night of wild sex in the office was a one-time thing…right? She chalks up her attraction to him as just raging hormones. They have no chance of a future together. He’s gorgeous, intelligent and successful. He would never want anyone with so much baggage.

Christopher has a secret of his own. He’s been investigation the possibility that, despite popular opinion, their father’s death hadn’t been an accidental overdose. He thinks it was murder.

Even though the five siblings still haven’t accepted the fact that they have a father who made no attempt to be a part of their lives, they join together to discover the truth about his death. The search throws Killeen and Christopher together and their passion grows hotter. As her feelings for him slowly become more serious, she knows she must tell him about the baby.

After a fun day in the sun, an event happens that outs Killeen’s secret. Christopher, as expected, doesn’t take the news well. But they must continue to work together to track down a killer, especially since the killer has now focused on them.

Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business. In fact, someone wants them all dead and now the decision on whether or not to be a part of the agency seems very unimportant compared to the job of trying to stop from being killed.

They set up a trap that goes terribly wrong. Suddenly, Killeen must make a big decision. Who should she save? Her baby? Christopher? Her new brothers and sisters? Their lives are in her hands.

Baby Daddy is the first book in the Scandals New Adult series of romantic suspense. Each book of the series will focus on one of the offspring of Roger Elliott, a famous musician who left them with a legacy they weren’t expecting. This book is about Killeen Ames who must deal with an unexpected pregnancy, an absentee baby daddy, an irresistible attraction to a hot new guy and four new half-brothers and sisters. Tramp Stamp, the second book in this series will be released in Spring, 2014 and will tell Reno’s story.
SMASHWORDS – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379398
iTunes / Apple – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id757465403
Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-daddy-kathy-clark-aka-bob-kat/1117448913?ean=2940149013364&itm=1&usri=2940149013364
Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/baby-daddy-scandals-1
All Romance – https://www.omnilit.com/product-babydaddy-1360180-149.html
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/BABY-DADDY-SCANDALS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GQC1S3O/
GOOGLE Play / Books – https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kathy_Clark_Baby_Daddy?id=MjIuAgAAQBAJ&hl=en
DIESEL eBooks – http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000379398/Clark-a.-k.-a.-Bob-Kat-Kathy-Baby-Daddy/1.html
SONY eReader – https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/kathy-clark-a-k-a-bob-kat/baby-daddy/_/R-400000000000001164631

FOR PAPER BACK
CREATE SPACE – http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Daddy-Scandals-Volume-1/dp/1493512978

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

AUTHOR SITE:   http://www.nightwriter93.com

BLOG:  https://kathyclarkauthor.wordpress.com/

FACEBOOK:   https://www.facebook.com/kelly.welch.cul8r

TWITTER:   @93nightwriter

PINTEREST:   http://www.pinterest.com/BobKat1993/

JOIN KATHY’S EMAIL LIST FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS, PRE-RELEASE BOOKS AND BARGAIN / FREE BOOKS: http://eepurl.com/N4osT   via MAIL CHIMP

The Ideal Locale For A YA Time Travel Mystery Novel

The award winning YA Time Travel Mystery Series CUL8R will release book #4 on 2/25/14 . . . .and we were over the top today to hear back from the ‪#‎Stanley Hotel that they are “excited that the CUL8R Young Adult Mystery Series has chosen the Stanley Hotel as a destination for RIP‬“, book #4 in the CUL8R [see you later] time travel mystery series.

There are so many elements of the press release still to cobble together in a cohesive story unto itself that will pull in the Forbes Magazine founder’s article about Thomas Edison’s invention to speak with people who have passed, the paranormal TV reality series Ghost Hunters and the core mystery in RIP of how a four year girl went missing from the lobby of a major hotel in broad daylight.

In lots of ways writing a full length novel is many times easier than a press release of what the book is about and how the series and this book came to be. Here’s the short summary of RIP releasing 2/25/2014.

You don’t have to believe in ghosts…until you meet one.

The #‎Stanley Hotel  in Estes Park, Colorado has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the most haunted places in the U.S. So, when Kelly, Scott, Austin and Zoey travel back to 1911 to try to save a young child who went missing from the busy lobby, they aren’t surprised when ghost children run up and down the halls.

There’s romance in the Rockies as they take jobs with the hotel so they can keep an eye on 4 year old Emma and her family. Kelly struggles with her attraction to Austin while Zoey tries to get over her broken heart. Along the way, they meet some colorful historical characters and experience life among the rich and famous just after the turn of the twentieth century. After three other successful time travel adventures, they assume it’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. That almost proves to be a fatal mistake.

But can they save Emma? Or will they join her as permanent guests in the ghostly halls of The Stanley Hotel?

Watch for the release on February 25, 2014.

Here’s the First Three Books In The CUL8R YA Mystery Series

      

The CUL8R Series Website is at    http://www.cul8rseries.com/

Here’s how to connect  to Kathy Clark, a.k.a. Bob Kat.

Connect for release, specials and mews

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

AUTHOR SITE:   http://www.nightwriter93.com

BLOG:  https://kathyclarkauthor.wordpress.com/

FACEBOOK:   https://www.facebook.com/kelly.welch.cul8r

TWITTER:   @93nightwriter

PINTEREST:   http://www.pinterest.com/BobKat1993/

Free ARC for an Honest Review – Book #4 in the CUL8R YA Mystery Series

My 31st book overall and book #4 in the YA Mystery series, CUL8R, See You Later for the text challenged, will be releasing between February 15th to the 20th..

As has been my policy on my last eight novels, I am offering a FREE ARC, Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an honest review.  It is my hope reviews would be completed and uploaded by the end of February but that is not a requirement.

 I am targeting to have the ARC available to send out by the 15th of February.

If you are interested please send me an email at nightwriter1993@gmail.com and I will add your name to the list. 

What is book #4?  It follows the on going mystery series of the first three books that had the four teens from Fort Myers Beach, Florida traveling back in time to help out someone who had contacted them.  They had previously traveled back to 1966, 1980 and 1927 to solve a mystery that saved the life of a person they had gotten to know through one of Thomas Edison’s last inventions, his Telephone To The Dead.

Their first trip was their safest as they stopped the murder of teenager from their school in 1966 who had become the victim of a person in authority.  Their next trip was to 1980 and their heroics prevented a mass murder of an entire family.  Their last trip, to 1927, stopped the murder of a young man who ran away to the circus, but for Zoey, the former mean girl of Fort Myers Beach High School, her first serious love affair was doomed as she fell in love with a man from the wrong century.

In RIP [Rest In Peace], they tapped into a mother’s story of her four year old daughter who, in 1911, went missing in broad daylight from the hotel lobby of the grand Georgian-style Stanley Hotel located in the small summer resort town of Estes Park, Colorado.

The first two books of the series in 2013 received top honors in the Best Indie Book and Readers’ Favorite awards.  If you want a free ebook and are willing to write an honest review than write to me, Kathy Clark, aka Bob Kat at  nightwriter1993@gmail.com.

The three prior books are as follows:

 

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

AUTHOR SITE:   http://www.nightwriter93.com

BLOG:  https://kathyclarkauthor.wordpress.com/

FACEBOOK:   https://www.facebook.com/kelly.welch.cul8r

TWITTER:   @93nightwriter

PINTEREST:   http://www.pinterest.com/BobKat1993/

Kathy Clark’s Writing Resolutions and Plans for 2014

The year is 14 days gone and I’m just getting around to telling everyone about my plans for 2014.  Here we go…

First, thanks for stopping in.

Second, thank you all for your support of me and my books.  I’ve had four of my 2013 releases reach the top 10 on Amazon in the past 12 months.  Each one is better written and accepted, more advance reader copies are sent out [see how to get yours below] and sales have improved.  Again, thank you.

This year I have four books planned. 

The Young Adult Mystery Series CUL8R [See you later] will release of book #4, RIP in February.  Fresh from their return from the 1927 circus that saw Zoey fall in love with a guy  for the right reasons but from the wrong era, the four time travelers find themselves even further back in time to 1911 and on the outside of the life of the rich and famous lifestyle at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park Colorado. And yes this is the same Stanley Hotel that Jack Nicholson helped to make famous in the Shinning and that’s all I’m going to say.  I can assure all my readers that this is a twisted tale that will keep you in the dark.  How do I know?  I’ve crawled through the basemen of the Stanley in the dark with the Ghost Hunters, Jason and Grant.  Trust me, that is not a place you want to be in the dark at but the research first hand was vital to this story.

In March, 2014 the second book in the Scandals New Adult Romantic Suspense series, Tramp Stamp, has Reno front and center and with lives on the line his passion for the client could be the end of him.  The B-plot in this book is amazing and taken out of the fall 2013 headlines and I apologize now to all college football fans.

Later in the year you will find book #3 in the Denver After Dark series titled Graveyard Shift release. The third brother in the family, Chris, is a Denver, Colorado paramedic.  His job has its own issues to deal with and he finds the morality of the job is not as black and white as it is for his brothers, the cop and the fireman, the heroes in books one and two.

Finally, if all goes well, 2014 will see the release of book #3 in the Scandals New Adult Romantic Suspense Series with Worst Blind Date Ever.  In this third book Tulsa will get her own story and while the title sounds humorous the story is at the core of societal issues and early discussions with Tulsa tells me that you will see Tulsa’s passionate side!  It’s in there somewhere I think.

We’ll see some of you in Round Rock at the end of January for the Inside Track To Indie Publishing Workshop.  That will be January 25th and there are a smalls number of available seats.  Then in San Antonio in July at the National RWA Conference we can connect up and we’ll be around in other places.  As always we will be seeking willing readers to read and provide an honest review in support of the book release of these four 2014 books.  Just send me you email address and we’ll make sure you are on the list to participate.

Wishing you a safe, prosperous and healthy 2014…I now have a Wikipedia page and the usual social media sites.

WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathy_Clark_(American_author)

AUTHOR SITE:   http://www.nightwriter93.com

BLOG:  https://kathyclarkauthor.wordpress.com/

FACEBOOK:   https://www.facebook.com/kelly.welch.cul8r

TWITTER:   @93nightwriter

PINTEREST:   http://www.pinterest.com/BobKat1993/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/150098.Kathy_Clark

If you haven’t caught all my books released in 2013 here they are.  Throughout the year they will be on sale ahead of the release of the next book in the series and of course you can have the latest release just send me your email address.

     

What do the Eagles, New Adults and Facebook have in common?

My recent New Adult romantic suspense novel, BABY DADDY, was released in November and hit Amazon’s top ten this last weekend.  Unfortunately it got scored in the erotica category even though it isn’t advertised there and it isn’t an erotica book by any means.  But I digress.  It is still discounted from this past weekend’s virtual book fair and you can get it at the following buy links-

SMASHWORDS – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/379398

iTunes / Apple – https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id757465403

Barnes & Noble – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/baby-daddy-kathy-clark-aka-bob-kat/1117448913?ean=2940149013364&itm=1&usri=2940149013364

Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/Search/Query?fcmedia=Book&query=9780988343672

All Romance – https://www.omnilit.com/product-babydaddy-1360180-149.html

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/BABY-DADDY-SCANDALS-Kathy-Clark-ebook/dp/B00GQC1S3O/

Before I move on I really do appreciate the many hundreds who purchased this book yesterday alone!

I’ve become interested on the new adult genre from several perspectives. Five sons who are in or very recently went through that window and several of my 23 novels trhat today would be classified as new adults but they were written too long ago to qualify.  I’ve written several blogs that look into the psychology and economics and the social aspects of the new adult world and they are on my blog at https://kathyclarkauthor.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/a-novel-about-generation-x-generation-y-millennials-net-generation-generation-next-echo-boomers-peter-pan-generation-and-the-lost-generation/

 

I ran across this Mashable Facebook survey this morning which is a new adult genre discussion.  And like any article from my generation, give or take, how it relates to Hotel California and the Eagles.

 

Mashable reached out to a few Millennials, in particular, to find out why they left Facebook — and why some returned. While the reasons for cutting the cord ranged from the practical to the existential, many former Facebook users cited the stress of maintaining their online appearances.

What generation ever looked at a voluntary activity as having too much stress?

Most often cited as a reason to drop Facebook by the Millennials according to Mashable along with a few personal comments and questions-

1. It’s Just Too Overwhelming [Isn’t this a voluntary act?]

2. To Hide Incriminating Evidence From Employers [This is beyond a Facebook issue]

3. To Hide From a Breakup [Your real friends should know this anyway]

4. To Avoid Anxieties [See #2]

5. You’re Having an Existential Crisis [What does this even mean?]

 

“Hotel California” is the title song from the Eagles’ album of the same name and was released as a single in February 1977. It is one of the best-known songs of the Eagles.  At least two decades ahead of widespread use of the Internet.  How did they know when they wrote / sang – “You can sign out any time you’d like, but you’re never really going to leave.”

How did they know?

My author site is at http://www.nightwriter93.com.