August 2015

Main Posts Background Image

Main Posts Background Image

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Weekend Writing Warriors: IN THE MOOD


One of the most fun . . . and most difficult things about setting a scene is getting the right tone. It’s the mĂ©lange of sentence and paragraph length, verb choice and dialogue flow that puts the reader in the mood as much as the actual words themselves. Short, punchy sentences, terse conversation, crisp action verbs set the stage for conflict. Languid adjectives, lyrical sentences, sensual verbs and sometimes verbiage lead to more passionate activity. Character word choice can indicate age, sex, social status, and frame of mind. All these add up to whether or not your writing conveys what it’s meant to in the most concise and unique way possible. So choose wisely.

If a scene’s not working the way I want it to, I’ll tinker with the tone. I’ll make the word choice either more aggressive or softer. I’ll pick multisyllabic instead of simple. I’ll toy with alliteration (my favorite bad habit!) or make the complex sentences more concise. In this clip from my new re-release MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION, I’m going for a dangerous feel with words like “gliding,” “eerie,” “unnaturally beautiful,” and comparisons of “serene and sinister” in the introduction of my suave antagonist. The language is more formal for a historical feel, the sentences longer, more descriptive and visceral to lure the unwary into a deadly situation. The original was written 15 years ago. Would I do it differently now?
Original 1994 

And then her gaze settled far back in the shadows, upon the figure of a man in stark silhouette. She saw him jerk as if with some shock of recognition, then he took one gliding step forward to the edge of lamplight. 

Reflection played an eerie game upon his face, highlighting skin so fair it seemed translucent and hollows so sharp and deep they were like caverns; a face so startling, so unnaturally beautiful she came close to stumbling in her study. Beneath an arch of black brows, eyes of an icy, luminous blue entranced her. And even as she turned her head away, she caught the impression of his smile; serene and sinister all at once. 

Nicole had never seen the Devil, but on this night, she was sure he walked abroad. And she was just as certain that he followed safely back amongst the shadows. She could feel him, an essence so powerful, it frightened her. But the moment they crossed the bridge, the sensations faded and she knew he was gone. But the fear lingered, lending a quickness to her heartbeats and an anxious panic to her mind. 

Update 2015 – 

There, in the darkness, a man stood in stark silhouette. Jerking as if with recognition, he took one gliding step toward the edge of lamplight where luminous eyes of icy blue entranced from beneath an arch of black brows. Reflection played an eerie game upon his features, highlighting skin so fair it seemed translucent and hollows as sharp and deep as caverns. A face so startling, so unnaturally beautiful she stumbled. Surprised by her reaction, she turned away, heartbeats hurrying as she caught the impression of a smile both serene and sinister. 

Nicole had never seen the Devil. Tonight she knew he walked abroad, following her from within the safety of the shadows. His powerful essence frightened her into a quicker pace. 

The moment they crossed the bridge, those strange sensations faded and finally disappeared. But her uneasiness lingered, leaving a residue of panic upon her mind.

Which do you prefer? Is one better than the other or are they just different?


Hunt or be hunted . . . A centuries old obsession stalks a noble family fighting to hide their dark secret from an ever-changing world. Sink your teeth into Nancy Gideon's Touched by Midnight series.

A Wicked Legacy . . .

Terrified by her unusual strength and frightening urges, Nicole Radouix’s sheltered country life is shattered when she discovers her family’s secret— she’s the daughter of a mortal mother and vampire father. Stricken, she flees to the seductive lure of the city to discover the truth about who and what she is. But the turmoil of post-revolution Paris is no place for an innocent.

A Wild Desire . . .

Finding herself under the protection of noble ex-patriot Marchand La Valois, Nicole is pulled into deadly underworld struggles, both political and vampiric. As their passions ignite, Marchand soon realizes the lovely Nicole is more predator than prey and may be more of a threat than the unruly streets outside.

An Unthinkable Dilemma . . .

Desperate to control her dark desires, Nicole accepts an offer of guidance from a hypnotic enemy, ensnaring both her and Marchand in a dangerous web of centuries’ old revenge. To escape their deadly nighttime games, Nicole must embrace her immortality. But will it cost her Marchand’s eternal love?

“A treasure trove of unearthly delights! Readers will want to induct Ms. Gideon into the vampire storyteller’s Hall of Fame!”—Romantic Times

“An extraordinary, moving and sensual tale of supernatural love powerful enough to defy death. Nancy Gideon is a bright artistic star of epic proportion in the supernatural galaxy. Five Star!”—Affaire de Coeur

A fast-paced, surprisingly believable look into a dark and mysterious world where only the greatest of loves can flourish!”—The Literary Times

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Sink Your Teeth into my Latest Release: MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION “Touched by Midnight” series, Book 2, Now Available!!

MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION is the latest reissue in my “Touched by Midnight” vampire romance series, the second of nine books coming out a month apart with all new packaging through ImaJinn Books. The biggest thrill was getting to freshen up the dated prose and hunt for the cover graphics for this and the next seven books in the series so the hero and heroine could reflect my vision of them. Kind of the best of two worlds – the hands on input of self-publishing with the hand up from a mid-sized press. I can’t wait to see MIDNIGHT SURRENDER next month!



Hunt or be hunted . . . A centuries old obsession stalks a noble family fighting to hide their dark secret from an ever-changing world. Sink your teeth into Nancy Gideon's Touched by Midnight series.

A Wicked Legacy . . .

Terrified by her unusual strength and frightening urges, Nicole Radouix’s sheltered country life is shattered when she discovers her family’s secret— she’s the daughter of a mortal mother and vampire father. Stricken, she flees to the seductive lure of the city to discover the truth about who and what she is. But the turmoil of post-revolution Paris is no place for an innocent.

A Wild Desire . . .

Finding herself under the protection of noble ex-patriot Marchand La Valois, Nicole is pulled into deadly underworld struggles, both political and vampiric. As their passions ignite, Marchand soon realizes the lovely Nicole is more predator than prey and may be more of a threat than the unruly streets outside.

An Unthinkable Dilemma . . .

Desperate to control her dark desires, Nicole accepts an offer of guidance from a hypnotic enemy, ensnaring both her and Marchand in a dangerous web of centuries’ old revenge. To escape their deadly nighttime games, Nicole must embrace her immortality. But will it cost her Marchand’s eternal love?

“A treasure trove of unearthly delights! Readers will want to induct Ms. Gideon into the vampire storyteller’s Hall of Fame!”—Romantic Times


“An extraordinary, moving and sensual tale of supernatural love powerful enough to defy death. Nancy Gideon is a bright artistic star of epic proportion in the supernatural galaxy. Five Star!”—Affaire de Coeur


A fast-paced, surprisingly believable look into a dark and mysterious world where only the greatest of loves can flourish!”—The Literary Times

He wasn’t sure what exactly happened. One moment she was all clinging vulnerability and the next, her purpose shifted to a seduction more aggressive in intensity than even Bebe’s had been. Grasping fingers began a hard kneading pressure along the muscles of his back and shoulders while her supple body pressed against him. He almost pulled away; not because he didn’t like it but because it was such an unexpected change. 

Her breathing stroked along the side of his neck in light, panting whispers. He held his own suspended, then it gusted out in an explosive sigh when he felt the first soft brush of her lips there, just below his ear, followed by the lingering rasp of her tongue. Her fingers had come up to rub along his jaw in a demanding passion, then clamped with a paralyzing sharpness into the cording on the other side of his neck. In a brief spike of surprise, he realized he couldn’t move. Then he didn’t want to. He forgot about struggle. He wasn’t thinking about making love to her, or even of how to respond to what she was doing. He was lost, hypnotized by the seducing caress of her breath upon his throat. Beneath the urgent press of her mouth, his pulse was lulled into a seductive sluggishness. He was aware of his eyes closing, of the world darkening. Mon Dieu, was he going to swoon? 

Suddenly, Nicole shoved away from him, forcing him to scramble for balance. He shook his head, trying to free his mind from its odd lethargy. 

“No,” she cried out in anguish. “I won’t. I can’t.”

Want to read (or reread!) the series? My “Nancy Gideon By Moonlight Goodreads Group” is doing a “Touched by Midnight” marathon. Join this awesome assembly of book lovers to discuss, vent and discover what’s on the shelves. Win prizes, find new obsessions and book boyfriends, chat about everything from fitness to favorites and share your love of the written word. Tell ‘em Nancy sent you . . .

Saturday, August 15, 2015

WeWriWa: Chemistry Lesson


It’s been a long time since I took chemistry, but I didn’t have to memorize the Periodic Table to understand how it works when it comes to characters. Likes attract. And the pull is inescapable.

Getting ready to welcome the re-release of the second book in my “Touched by Midnight” vampire romance series, MIDNIGHT TEMPTATION that became more apparent when opposites of class and even species seem so impossible to overcome but the pull between my hero and heroine will not be denied. Likes attract . . .
“For all their grand ideals, they are sheep in a city of wolves and I would not like to see them sheered.” 

“So you, m’sieur, are a wolf who guards sheep. A thankless occupation for a wolf, I would think.” 

He crooked a smile in her direction, murmuring, “Perhaps.” 

“And are you planning to take me into your flock?” 

She’d meant it to be amusing, but his stare was somber and quite complex. “I don’t think you are a sheep, mademoiselle. I am not sure what you are. Perhaps a wolf dressed in white fleece. A wolf like me.”
Though I don’t have an exact release date other than this month sometime, and even though I’ve seen my new gorgeous cover, I can’t reveal it yet, I can (and will!) do a little more teasing.


Hope this week has everyone at the keyboard in a creative frenzy!

Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Saturday, August 08, 2015

WeWriWa: Redeeming the Unredeemable


While waiting for my BETA readers to return their comments on my next release (still sweating it out!) and between page proofs on the in-progress reissuing of my vampire romance series, I took a break to start scribbling plotlines for my next project, a four novella /anthology regarding characters from my dark paranormal BY MOONLIGHT shape-shifter series. Of course the second you try to sit down to do some serious outlining, scenes start percolating. And because there’s no chance I’ll remember them months down the road, I wrote them down while they were fresh. Here’s a snippet from one:
Mia mulled over her almost non-existent options as her palm rode the jerky movements of his chest. She could run, cutting her losses by returning to Memphis and Rueben’s protection where she’d live out the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, in hiding and invisible within her clan, a fate not unlike death. She could wait it out and see what Colin remembered. Maybe nothing. Maybe every damning thing, and she’d be dead in a heartbeat. Or she could strike before he had the chance to reveal her treachery. 

By silencing him, she’d continue on as planned without complications toward the rule of her people.

Without him. 

But having him in any capacity was impossible now.

Colin Terriot was the only thing standing in her way.


One of my favorite things is making villains into heroes/heroines. An interesting villain can carry a book and the thought of what it would take to bring out sympathetic qualities in those so-called unforgivable folk gets my creative juices flowing. Making readers accept their turnabout is the trick. Mia Guedry is a fairly cold-hearted schemer in my next release but I’m banking that chemistry with one Colin Terriot has already begun the thaw. Have the seeds been planted in the scene above?



Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

IWSG: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – But you can ask!


Nothing sells a book like its cover. It’s that first impression. If you self-publish, you can pick what represents your work. But if you write for a publisher, you’re sometimes stuck with that ugly baby. I’ve had an ugly baby a time or two in my career – ah, yes, that poor attempt to doctor the wrong hair color that turned it neon, the short hero who somehow grew a foot and added 150 pounds of creepy bulk, my modest, flat-chested heroine who ended up sprawled on the grass under the hero with her nearly non-existed bodice spilling forth ginormous endowments. Sigh.

My new reissue, MIDNIGHT KISS has one of those baby stories. When originally released in the mid-‘90s, I was shocked to see my hero represented with long black hair and a green-gray complexion. Who was this guy? Bookstores shelved it in horror instead of romance! After struggling 15-years to get the rights back, I was so excited to see it’s all new look as the first book in my “Touched by Midnight” series being rereleased, a book per month, with all new covers to an all new audience. (Squee!) But when I saw it, I didn’t know what to think. It wasn’t ugly. I didn’t hate it. It was pretty. But it was just . . . wrong. It didn’t represent my story - no paranormal elements, no hint of danger or suspense, no historical feel. (No, it had nothing to do with the fact that she looked like Kim Kardashian!) It just didn’t scream sexy, Regency-set, vampire romance.

Because this book would set the bar for those that followed in look and feel, I took a deep breath, and e-mailed my editor, citing my issues with it and asked if there was any chance it could be changed, knowing it could be too late. (Actually, it had already been released!) Another cover mock up quickly arrived, totally different in tone and approach. Yes! Then my critical eye noted how young the hero looked, a little too weak to carry two more books. We phone conferenced. After I apologized for being a fussy author, to which she replied that’s why she liked working with authors, we tossed around ideas and she solved matter by saying, “Off with his head!” (or at least part of it) to find a happy medium. Here’s the cover progression. Which do you like better?



Be careful what you ask for . . . you might get it! Once we solved the cover crisis, my editor suggested I might like to pick the cover models and back grounds for the other eight books. YES! my OCD soul shouted. The thrill wore off after three days hunched over my lap top viewing thousands of bare torsos. But I found what I wanted. I can so totally hear my mother saying, “You won’t know unless you ask.” The moral: Listen to your mother. You won’t know unless you ask, whether its title, cover, edits, ad co-ops, bigger advance, favorite author quote, promo spots, blog tours. They may say no, but they won’t have a chance to say yes unless you ask. Nicely.

Here’s a peek at MIDNIGHT KISS, now available in all e-formats, soon to appear in trade paperback:





“Dark and compelling, Gideon's novel will appeal to those who enjoy the vampire novels of Anne Rice.” —Library Journal

“A colorful and hauntingly beautiful tale of otherworldly love . . . destined to become a classic!”—Affaire de Coeur

“Incredible, spellbinding reading!” —Rendezvous

Hunt or be hunted . . . A centuries old obsession stalks a noble family fighting to hide their dark secret from an ever-changing world. Sink your teeth into Nancy Gideon's Touched by Midnight series.

A DARK CURSE
Miss Arabella Howland is content forgo the London marriage mill to assist her father in his research, especially when it comes to his intriguing patient, Louis Radman. But it’s not long before Bella’s curiosity alerts her to the danger of her father’s work . . . and to the fact that Louis is not who or whathe seems.

A BRIGHT PROMISE
After centuries struggling with his vile existence, Louis Radman will soon be free of his affliction, thanks to his very capable physician. Unfortunately, his heart is less secure around the man’s tempting daughter. His yearning to walk in the light once more is complicated by his desire for the delightful Bella, who is as intelligent as she is fearless. But if history has taught him anything, it’s not to tempt fate.

AN UNFORGIVING PAST
Still, happiness has a price and Louis is soon reminded that mortality comes with unfortunate limitations. To protect his new bride, he must face the demons from his past who wish to pull him back into their vampiric fold.

Yet, if he’s forced to return to his midnight world, will he lose his beloved Bella forever?

What have you gotten because you’ve asked for it that you wouldn’t have had otherwise?

I’m excited to be one of this month’s IWSG co-hosts!!



Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!


Twitter hashtag is #IWSG 

IWSG awesome co-hosts for the August 5th posting will be Nancy Gideon, Bob R Milne, Doreen McGettigan, Chrys Fey, Bish Denham, and Pat Garcia!
 

Saturday, August 01, 2015

Writing Weekend Warriors: UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS


Now that my new release MIDNIGHT KISS (“Touched by Midnight” Book 1) is out and about, I'm turning back to my W-I-P, the next book in my dark paranormal “By Moonlight” Shape-Shifter series. UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS brings back my favorite character, Cale Terriot, the strutty, tattooed, rock-and-roll prince now king of the House of Terriot from PRINCE OF SHADOWS. There’s just something about this tough little guy that I just can’t get enough of. Here’s a peek at Cale:

He feared no man, no foe, no obstacle or challenge. He’d learned to stand his ground and take it without a wince while growing up with the most to prove in the House of Terriot. He’d been schooled beneath the heavy heel and meaty fists of Bram Terriot, bearing the marks of those lessons scored into his skin and once tender psyche. He understood intimidation better than he did compassion and had once indulged in every savagery Lee now expected from him. He would have become a brutal, heartless monster walking the same path his father followed had it not been for the two things that called to his latent decency: The brothers who’d fearlessly stood beside him and the female brave enough to believe his claims. 

He owed them. He owed his family prosperous lives without fear and subjugation, where pride wasn’t measured in cruelties. He owed the woman he loved the fulfillment of promises made by a starry-eyed boy. He owed them a future in which they bowed to no one and had no reason to expect the worse from one another, and to achieve those things, all he had to do was right the wrongs of the man who’d desecrated the crown he now represented. 

All . . .

UNLEASHED BY SHADOWS is out with BETA readers so I’m in nail biting mode. To take the edge off, I’m playing around with my next project, a House of Terriot Foursome - four novellas, each featuring a different prince. I haven’t written in a shorter format for decades but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Wishing you a week of happy writing and great reading!!


Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Visit other participants on the list and read, critique, and comment on their 8sunday posts.

Spread the word, share the love, warriors - Hashtag #8sunday.