Thursday Thirteen #18 - My Night of Passion with Brad & Angelina

Made you look - ha ha! No,... I've not had a passionate night with Brangelina, but I've got marketing on the brain and hey -- it seems to work with the tabloids!!

The real topic:

13 Interesting Things about my novella, Destiny By Design,
and why you may want to buy it...

1. First, the blurb:

Interior designer Ellis Strathmore has been chosen to compete in the Oak Ridges Development Competition, along with a handful of other designers—including her former boss and nemesis, Cynthia Travers. With the deadline just weeks away, the design teams are under intense pressure to finish. A relative novice known for her unusual approach to decorating, Ellis is determined to prove her talent, artistry and professionalism when creating the perfect home office.

One week into the Oak Ridges Competition and Simon Callon would happily trade Callon & Son Construction for a string of donut shops. Tools and supplies keep mysteriously disappearing and two of the designers are making his life miserable. He’d worked with Cynthia Travers before and knew how to handle her demands, but quirky Ellis Strathmore, with her uncanny ability to both annoy and arouse him, has Simon questioning his normally solid judgment.

Ellis and Simon clash over paint colors, work schedules and cabinets, but they can’t deny the sexual chemistry that’s building between them. The perfect palette for passion comes together with a brush of danger, tones of teasing banter and a touch of naked painting in Destiny by Design.

2. You won't find this kind of action on HGTV...

3. In this house, the spice doesn't stay in the kitchen...

4. The hero, Simon Callon, was inspired by (but is not based on) Mr. Wylie, who once painted our bathroom in the nude in response to my painting the bathroom in my underwear because I didn't want to get my clothes spattered. Did you manage to follow that? The whole incident had us both prone with laughter for days...

5. The heroine, Ellis Strathmore, named herself. I had nothing to do with it. I mean, Ellis for a girl?? My preference would have been Catherine or Eliza, but she would have none of it. She screamed at me every time my fingers typed anything but E-L-L-I-S.

6. Ellis' friend, Valentina, is named for my mother. For no other reason than I love that name - it's so classy and European, don't you think? I plan to stick it in as many of my future books as possible. It's already the name of a sailboat in one of my WIPs.

7. The antagonist is named Cynthia. I have a cousin named Cindy, who is smart, lovely, stylish and thin, and has three perfectly angelic children, so this is simply a coincidence,... I assure you.

8. I made Mr. Wylie, nay forced Mr. Wylie to design a new website so I'd feel like a REAL writer. Then I pimped myself by sending EVERYONE in my address book an announcement, begging them to go visit the new site. Of course, I never actually gave them the web address or gave them a link, so I've got some very confused friends...

9. Mr. Wylie was also forced to drop everything and help me create a video trailer that will undoubtedly have absolutely no impact on the sale of my novella, but I had to have one because Colleen Gleason and Jaci Burton do.

10. I declared the story complete (1 draft + 2 revisions) at 11,000 words. FINAL edit #1 took it to 14,000 words. FINAL edit #2 took it to 16,000 words. FINAL edit #3 - 21,000 words. FINAL edit #4 - 24,000 words. After FINAL edit #5, I submitted it to Ellora's Cave, it was 25,000 words. First and final edit with EC and it's being released at 30,000 words.
Lesson - I just can't leave well enough alone. Never write FINAL on anything!

11. This was the longest story I've completed to date, and has given me hope that yes, one day, I may have the patience, time and gumption to complete an entire novel.

12. I desperately want the sales figures to equal more than 12 and I'm not beneath begging...

13. And I leave you with this ~

WARNING: Naked painting can lead to more than just brush strokes!

Thanks! Destiny by Design will be available to download from May 18th at Ellora's Cave.

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