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Thursday, March 29, 2007

A Review from Romance Divas


I got this fabulous review for The Blonde Bomb Tech.
I'd like to share.
It's from Romance Divas.
Click HERE for the direct link.
Or read below. :)
Thanks go to D.D. Blackman. You rock!
L





THE BLONDE BOMB TECH

By::Laura Santiago

Siren Publishing, 2007

Reviewed by :: D. D. Blackman

A Romantic Suspense Ebook

From page one the countdown began. The Blond Bomb Tech kept the pages turning for me. When the timer on the bomb read ten seconds, Bomb Technician Sabrina Morgan had to run for her life. With the exception of landing directly in the arms of gorgeous firefighter Jake Donovan, who then shielded her from the flying debris, things could have been a lot worst.

Sabrina didn't know what was more sickening, the slimy councilman who wanted to date her or the mad bomber who wanted to kill her. One thing she did know was it felt safe in the arms of firefighter Jake Donovan and it made it hard to concentrate on defusing bombs.

Somehow, with Jake all things changed. Everyone thought for sure she would chew him up and spit him out like she did so many who approached her before. But the moment she landed in his strong arms and took a whiff of his masculinity, things changed for her, and why wouldn't they; Jake is gorgeous.

Jake first noticed Sabrina from a picture in the newspaper. Ever since that day he's wanted to meet her and when she literally ran into his arms, he couldn't believe his luck, nor could he believe she kissed him. Jake insisted she stay with him after her house was vandalized, but his ulterior motive was to convince her to marry him. First things first, he had to get her to admit they were dating.

The intense heat from these characters burned right through the page. Although they fell in love rather quickly, it was a deep and sincere love. Sometimes love will do that for you. This story is fully charged and had me ignoring people so that I could finish it. Don't deny yourself this reading pleasure; pick up this book. You won't be sorry.

5 Kisses

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Monday, March 26, 2007

All About Kristen








My very good friend Kristen got a fabulous phone call yesterday.


She's a Golden Heart finalist!!!
Woo Hoo!


I'm so excited for her.

I'll be the one screaming loudest at the RWA ceremony.


In tribute, here are three golden hearts for you, Chickie. :)
Big Congratulations to you!!

L








Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A Test of How Green I Am...


A fellow siren author Gracie McKeever sent me this test. (pictured below)
She had cool teal green results from her test.
I look like I need a martini. :)
Which will have to wait until later as I'm still working on my first cup of coffee. :)



Gracie also has a newsletter called The G-Spot.
A new issue just came out yesterday and she let me be in it. :) She's so cool!
Look for me in the article section where I discuss the origins of The Wives Tales.
Check it out here. The G-Spot

The test below says I'm dependable. It's true. I am.
You can always depend on the fact I start my day with coffee. ;-)
L


You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself.
For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself.
You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you.
People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

Monday, March 19, 2007

All My Print Books

I have three book in trade paper back now.
They are very beautiful. Perhaps I'm prejudiced
Click on the title to buy on Amazon...click on the Excerpts to be persuaded to pick up a copy. :)
Lara



The Tiburon Duet

Click above to see it at Amazon.

Excerpts are here.







Click below to see it at Amazon.com
The Wives Tales


Excerpts Here









Click below for
The Blonde Bomb Tech at Amazon.com

Excerpts Here

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Friday, March 16, 2007

A Day in the Life of an Author...

Santiago style. :)
And yet another requested topic from earlier this month. :)
I start my day with coffee. Lots of it.
It's the crutch I use to engage my brain every day.


I have a cup with my husband before he goes to work.
I balance another in hand when I wake the kids up and a third as I push them out the door to school. :) (Just kidding. I swear they leave willingly...okay perhaps 'willingly' is too strong a word. I'm simply grateful that they go without too much rebellion.)
I consume the remainder of the carafe once everyone is gone as I check e-mail and lurk on a few loops to see what's going on.
I also make a list everyday for what I want to accomplish. This is very important to me.
If I don't have a list...I tend to meander through my day until the kids and my husband come home having accomplished very little.

I try to write something each day and I'm analytical enough to keep track. :)
So far this month I've written 11,500 words towards the manuscript I'm working on.
Yes...it should be more. It's barely 1000 a day based on a five day work week.

My excuse for this month? I'm still working my way through contest entries. :)
I started with 13 due this month. As of today I have 3 1/2 left.
I'm very proud of myself for getting through the contest entries, but I wish I'd written more.
Of course, I 'always' wish I'd written more. :)

As a popular commercial is fond of saying...Life gets in the way.

If I'm working on a particular manuscript, I don't write on any other manuscripts until I'm done with the first one. One at a time is really the best way for me.
I endeavor to complete the first draft as quickly as possible.
After I've made my list and lurked on loops and checked e-mail...again.
I write.
The following pretty much is every day for me.

I have a bite for breakfast. I like oatmeal, cereal, or bacon and toast.
I sit butt to chair and write.
Then I have a snack.
Then I write more.
Then I eat lunch. Unless my husband comes home. Then I watch him eat. :)
Then I write more.
Then I eat an afternoon snack.
Yes...you guessed it...then I write some more.
If I get stuck on a scene I'll go watch some television or read something different for half an hour or so to allow my brain to figure out why I'm stuck.

Additionally, another question asked was 'What do you do when the words don't come?'
Usually I try to relax and take a break from writing for a day to cleanse my mind.
The halt to my flow of words doesn't happen often, thankfully.
My problem is the opposite. I have several stories running through my brain at any given time and if I stop to ponder the current story for a day...the others try to get screen time. :):) I beat them back...or make notes for later on.

Then the kids come home. I hang with them and chat for a while. (I'm grateful they still allow me to interrogate...I mean ask them how their day at school was. :) )
Then the husband comes home. I let him vent about his day.
There is dinner and evening activities almost every night.

After everything settles down...I write at night too.
I write until I can't stay awake.

Then I crawl off to bed. I'm always resentful that I have to sleep at all. :):)
I'd rather be writing.

That's it.
A day in my life.
I'm sorry it's not more glamorous. :)
L

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Monday, March 12, 2007

Ideas and Where They Come From

From another contest entry suggested blog topic...Where do I come up with ideas? I'm going to assume that means book ideas. :)
I know that a lot of writers say this...but I get ideas from everywhere.



I watch television and get ideas.
For example: I didn't turn the channel fast enough one night and ended up watching the first few moments of Cops. My question is why do the "alleged" criminals always run? Don't they know that half the police force is dogging their heels?
My idea for a book (one I haven't even written yet) is...what if someone was involved in a high speed chase across town and once they were cornered, a lone figure leapt out of the car as police pursued them on foot? What if it turned out that the bad guy was pretending to be the car jack victim cowering in the back seat and the "true" frightened owner had been threatened and sent running from the vehicle as a decoy?

I read the newspaper and get ideas.
For example: I was reading an article in the paper the other day regarding a debate growing over the patenting of genes. A new bill is being introduced that would prohibit claims to pieces of human DNA. The very subject of human DNA intrigues me. Adding in the whole science fictional nature of the mapping of the human genome and chemical blueprint of our DNA is completely fascinating. I didn't know this, but according to the article I read, an estimated one-fifth of human genes already carry patents on them.
What happens when the patents expire? Do patents ever expire? Could the gene that determines my hair color suddenly have it's patent expire making me blonde without license?
Perhaps not. :)

I read magazines to get ideas.
My favorite is Popular Science. They have cool scientific stuff inside. I also read Newsweek to keep up with current events. I read National Geographic. I saw a very interesting article on Dragonflies in an issue last year. And I have to admit grudgingly that I've seen some interesting articles in Maxim as well. :) Maxim has the occasional cool article like 'how to be a sniper?'

Sometimes ideas just land in my brain for no apparent reason at all.
I'll use one of my own books as a frame of reference for this idea gathering topic. :)

I was about to take a class in my RWA chapter which would take place over several months. It was called the Book By August group. A bunch of us from our chapter got together to cheer each other on and to ultimately finish a book.
We started in February and met one a month to learn about different aspects of writing such as point of view or goal, motivation, and conflict. We took what we learned and applied it to our own books.
For the very first class I had to come up with a premise, a hero, and a heroine. I wanted to be ready so I decided to think up a brand new idea. I had a lot of ideas, but the one I came up with popped into my head the day before the first class.
The first question that just popped into my brain was...What if a bomb technician was afraid of explosions?
That question led to others...What if the bomb technician was a girl? Why would she be afraid of explosions? Who would be a good hero for her? How about a firefighter?
I decided early on that the reason she was afraid of explosions was because her parents were killed in a bombing when she was young.
That was all I started with to write The Blonde Bomb Tech. :)
I built my story from there.








Other idea makers...listening to conversations around me.
Hearing new music will sometimes trigger an idea for me.
Watching movies...driving in my car...watching the ocean waves crash on the beach. I could go on, but it's actually now past my bedtime.
...which makes me think of dreams and yet another source of book ideas... :):)
L


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Friday, March 09, 2007

Satin sheets or Cotton ones?

During a chat this past week I asked participants to send me suggestions on blog topics.

The question...satin sheets or cotton ones?

My answer is satin. :)
Satin sheets are sexy. They allow you to slide easily across the surface and feel fabulous on your skin as you do so. Satin sheets are much more romantic in my humble opinion.

The second question attached to this was regarding satin burns...however, I decline to answer. Use your imagination. :):)

So how about it. Anyone else out there want to cast a vote?
Satin sheets or cotton?
L

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Lara Santiago AUTHOR Day 3/7/2007

Tomorrow March 7, 2007 this is where I will be all day.
I believe it starts at 10 am and goes to the wee hours of the night.
Join me for a day of excerpts and chatting.
I'll even have a contest to win a free e-book. Maybe more than one. :)
It is entirely possible secrets will be revealed.
That is if anyone cares what I had for breakfast. :)

Hope to see you there.
Lara

Lara Santiago AUTHOR Day!, 3/7/2007, 12:00 am

Posted by: "BrendaWilliamsonRomanceParty@yahoogroups." BrendaWilliamsonRomanceParty@yahoogroups.com

Reminder from: BrendaWilliamsonRomanceParty Yahoo! Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrendaWilliamsonRomanceParty/cal

Lara Santiago AUTHOR Day!
Wednesday March 7, 2007
All Day
Location: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/brendawilliamsonromanceparty/

Notes:
Sultry...Seductive...Santiago

a.k.a. Lara Santiago writes erotic romance for Siren Publishing,

and loves to talk to readers and writers.

Join sultry, seductive, Lara Santiago, erotic romance author for a day of steamy excerpts, contests for free e-books, and perhaps other secret information never before revealed. Lara will answer questions about her books, her writing, and her titles available at Siren Publishing and Fictionwise.


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Monday, March 05, 2007

Lara Santiago Print Books now at Amazon















Woo Hoo!
Amazon just put the print versions of The Wives Tales and The Blonde Bomb Tech up on their site.

The cover images weren't there yet...
but they did add the all important 'Add to Shopping Cart' button.

If you buy one of eachbook...the shipping is free. :)
I know it's very hard to resist an offer like that.
So why don't you indulge yourself? :)

Here are the direct links.
Check it out:

The Wives Tales

The Blonde Bomb Tech


And of course don't forget The Tiburon Duet is still available there. :)
It's print book madness. :)
L

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Friday, March 02, 2007

My Time is Running Out

Seriously, I feel like the time I spend with my kids is quickly running out.

And it is.


Last night, I took special notice when my husband and our two children found a rare moment to sit in our six foot square of living space. (This is a regularly occurring phenomenon where by the four of us suddenly realize we have all congregated into the same small space. This happens regardless of the size of our house, which is considerably more than 6 feet square currently.) We were chatting and laughing and pretty much just hanging out together discussing school and then life in general. It was wonderful. :)

These times are very rare because the kids are getting older. (Notice I refrain from mentioning that I too am getting older...everyone knows that. I don't have to say it out loud.)

Everyday, I hear a ticking clock in my head getting louder and louder. It's winding down to an inevitable end.

Five years from now my kids will be in college. Ten years from now they'll probably be living on their own someplace away from me. (I keep telling them they don't have to leave until they're age 35, but I sense a growing trend in them. The growing streak of independence they exhibit makes me think the clock they hear ticking is set to when they can leave home and be on their own.) Big sigh.

Ten years ago they technically weren't even in grade school yet. (I say kindergarten doesn't count)
Five years ago they were smack in the center of grade school, cub scouts, and I didn't hear the tick tock of the clock banging in my head as loudly as I do today.

I remember a distinct moment in time several years ago when life was rushing by and I stopped to take note.
My husband and I were driving somewhere in the car and I glanced at the kids in the back seat suddenly struck by an interesting thought.
"Ten years ago," I told my husband, "we didn't even know each other. Ten years from now we'll have a child that drives."
I still remember the look of puzzlement my husband shot back at me before the epiphany of realization sunk in moments later. I don't remember what he said, I just remember the look on his face and knew he heard the ticking of the clock as well.

My mom smiles whenever I mention this speeding time phenomenon to her. (Yes, I can see her smile even over the phone.)
Her typical response is, "So how do you think 'I' feel?"
I get it. Time zips by and we should all take the time to sit in our 6 foot square to enjoy each other's company while we're all together.

Hopefully, twenty years from now on the very rare occasions when the four of us get together we'll be able to fit all the additional spouses and grandchildren into our 6 foot square.
Or perhaps we'll expand the space slightly so we don't have to sit on each other. :)
L


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