This month’s Work-In-Progress Wednesday guest is Danica St. Como.

Welcome Danica!

Today is National Grammar Day. What are your top 3 grammatical pet peeves?

DSC: While I don’t profess to be a grammar maven, my own bugbears include:

Homophones: I get a little nuts when I read a passage in which words are used incorrectly—even “big name” authors who one would assume have topnotch editors. Words such as rein, rain, reign. Your and you’re (you are). They seem like simple issues, but the wrong word can definitely take the reader out of the moment.

Word combinations such as had had and have to. “She’d [she had] had to make the trip.”  Why not simply, “She had to make the trip.”? Have to… What does “I have to go shopping” really mean? “I must go, I need to go, I should go, I want to go…” To have something means possession, in a sense: “I have a dollar.”

The ubiquitous “and.” In truth, my sentences tend to run on—it’s something I need to rein in. However, some authors seem to believe that if they add an “and” every so often, that seventeen-line sentence will be just fine. I’m not referring to doing it on purpose, for effect, but to adding the little “and” bugger everywhere.

MJ: MARCH is also National Literacy Month. Do you take literacy levels into account when you write?

DSC: Not necessarily literacy levels, as such. However, if my beta readers have an issue with a passage, I take a second look to see if my wording might be out of place/time for my targeted audience—my responses (silly TV commercials from times gone by, movie quotes from less-than-blockbuster movies, etc.) may not be understood by a younger crowd. Phrases from childhood that are really made-up words with no association to the rest of humanity (or readers), may cause a reader to think, “huh?”

MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?

DSC: I was a freelance ceramist, years ago. I would be tempted to work with clay and paint again.

MJ: Other than writing, what would be your dream job? Why?

DSC: Traveling, and being paid for it. I love to drive.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

DSC: If it weren’t for the books and boxes and stacks of paper crowding me, I actually have the most wonderful, open, airy office, with four large windows. My daughter’s suggestion for “rearranging” my office requires the use of a snow shovel, an open window, and a Dumpster on the other side that open window. What do you think she’s trying to say?

MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?

DSC: He’s a realist, but also hopeful that he can have a future with the woman he loves. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to convince her.

MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?

DSC: She can be somewhat snarky on occasion.

MJ: What genre is your current WIP?

DSC: Contemporary erotic romance/suspense.

MJ: How did you come up with your hero and heroine’s names?

DSC: When I develop a character, first I decide on a “look,” and an ethnic ancestry. Then I begin to research names until I find one that calls to me. I look up the meaning of that name, decide whether it suits the character. I’d decided early in the story’s development that my heroine was Irish, Abigail O’Connell, my hero Italian, Niccolo “Nico” Ferrari. The Irish gal, Abigail O’Connell, was introduced in earlier books. She was a pivotal character in Above the Law, but needed her own story.

MJ: How did you choose the setting for your current WIP?

DSC: Saving Nico is the sixth book of the Men of Sanctuary series. All the stories revolve around a training camp, Sanctuary, located in western Maine, run by two retired Marines and their woman, a federal agent. Maine can be unbelievably beautiful, but also rugged and dangerous. I thought it was a suitable setting for a training camp that caters to military and civilian clients.

MJ: Can you tell us about your current work in progress?

DSC: Here’s the blurb for Saving Nico [Men of Sanctuary 6: Saving Nico]

Game Warden Abigail O’Connell moved from upstate New York to Maine after the death of her fiancé, Marine spotter Pietro Galletti. While babysitting at the Sanctuary lodge for her friends, Marine scout sniper Nico Ferrari arrives under secretive circumstances. Hot lust blooms, throwing the pair together—but Nico can’t, won’t, admit to Abby that her fiancé was his spotter, and he watched him die in Iraq. He also won’t admit that he fell in love with Abigail through Pietro’s letters and photos, and never expected to find her in western omigod Maine. When the truth does come out, Abby is devastated for more than one reason.

MJ: And what is the title of your current release, and where can readers purchase it?

DSC: Aloha Man [Men of Sanctuary 5: Aloha Man] can be purchased at the Loose Id website or from Amazon.

MJ: And how can readers keep up with your busy publishing schedule?

DSC: I have a website, a blog, and a Facebook page.

MJ: Thanks again for joining me, and best of luck with your books!

This month’s guest author is the always delightful Melissa Snark.

MJ: Welcome, Melissa. If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?

MS: That’s difficult to say since I’m really bad at all other types of art. Think I’m kidding? I’m tone deaf and so off-key that even my four-year-old daughter begs me not to sing. I can’t draw a straight line and buttons pop right off. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a creative outlet if I couldn’t write. I’d just content myself with being a reader and living in other people’s fantasy worlds.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

MS: An isolated beach cabin with panoramic views. Directly adjacent to a Peet’s coffee shop. With a built in teleporter so I could return home at the end of the day w/o the commute.

MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?

MS: His wit. Logan is completely sarcastic and pretty damn funny.

MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?

MS: There is no heroine. I’m not writing romance.

MJ: What genre is your current WIP?

MS: Folklore Fantasy / Urban Fantasy

MJ: Will you share the first few sentences of your current work-in-progress?

MS: Yes. This is from The Trickster.

The strains of braying hounds soared into the night sky, raised high on the steadily gusting wind. The rays of May’s Full Flower Moon busted the howls into pieces, so broken refrains crashed to the earth. Those soulful notes fell upon the slopes of the mountains, and occasionally became trapped in the rocky crags.

Breathing heavily with exertion, the lanky young man broke free of the forest, escaping the clinging fingers of trees determined to restrain him in branchy embrace. He charged up a sharp embankment, running on uneven rocks. The texture of the ground changed beneath his feet, growing hard and even, and he stumbled at the unexpected difference.

Stopping, he glanced down at the black surface and realization sprang upon him. A road. In the distance, the hounds sang out again and his attention jerked toward his pursuers. The hunters were gaining ground. Being run down by humans rankled. His ego which protested the impossibility. No man alive could run down a werewolf, even on two legs. At the same time, he couldn’t deny the truth his own ears reported.

MJ: And what is your current release?

MS: Battle Cry, which can be purchased from Amazon, B&N, ARe, Kobo, iTunes, Google Play, and Scribd.

MJ: And how can readers stay in touch with you.

MS:  my website, The Snarkology; Facebook Author Page; Twitter: @MelissaSnark; Goodreads;  Amazon Author Page

MJ: Thanks again for joining me, and good luck with your books!

Today I am delighted to welcome my good friend (and critique partner) Gayle Callen. Gayle is a USA Today best selling author of historical romance for Avon.

MJ: Gayle, can you tell us something about you that most people don’t know?

Gayle: Most people don’t know that I majored in aerospace engineering in college. But I took all my electives in writing, and realized that I preferred creating stories to creating technology.

MJ: So, it you didn’t write, you’d be an astronaut or building an International Space Station? Or does something else strike your fancy?

Gayle: I love to sing and act. Right now, I’m in my church choir, which makes me feel fulfilled. But if I didn’t write, I’d have time for community theater again. I’d love to be in another musical. The last was when my son was in middle school, and we did “Oliver” together. So fun!

MJ: Sounds like a lot fun. Next question: what one item won’t you leave home without?

Gayle: Like everyone else, I wouldn’t leave home without my cell phone. And not just for phone calls, texting, or Facebook. I love having access to data when I have a question. And the maps! Be still my heart—I’m a closet map geek. I also keep all my lists on there, everything from what I need at the store, to a list of the sweaters I own (so I don’t double-buy) to the crochet hooks I already have as I contemplate a new project. Christmas lists, my kids’ Easter candy favorites—I have it all.

MJ: If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be and why?

Gayle: I’d love to be J.K. Rowling for a day, just to see how her brain works. The world of Harry Potter is so brilliantly created. I just finished rereading the series for the third time now, and I kept finding new things to be amazed at.

MJ: Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version of the story?

Gayle: I can only think of one: Jaws. Saw the movie first as a kid, was totally creeped out and wowed by story. Then read the book as an adult. Major characters had a pointless affair, and other things distracted from the focus of the story, that the movie was able to home in on so brilliantly.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

Gayle:  Oh, I’d love to work in an office with huge windows overlooking a beautiful countryside, mountains in the distance, gorgeous landscape close by. Right now I can see trees and birds, and believe me, I appreciate that, but I’d love so much more. Beautiful scenery helps my mind relax and focus on the writing. And of course, every wall would have to be floor-to-ceiling bookcases!

MJ: What book do you wish you could have written?

Gayle: I wish I could have written Loretta Chase’s Lord of Scoundrels. The hero is brilliantly created, flawed and tragic. The opening prologue, where you see his childhood and discover WHY he’s so flawed, is a masterpiece in itself. But the romance, the sexual tension of the rest of the book… {blissful sigh}

MJ:  Oh, I love that book! Okay, I have to ask: Plotter or Pantser?

Gayle: Plotter, big time! I need a blueprint, an idea of where I’m going. Things can change as I go along, but I need to have a path to follow, big scenes to work toward.

MJ: Do you believe in writer’s block?

Gayle: No, not really. But I do believe in writing problems. When I have a problem writing, I know it’s because I’ve made a mistake somewhere, either in my plotting or POV or executive of the scene—something. So I’ve learned over fifteen years of being a professional writer (and thirteen years of working toward that goal) that I have to clear my mind for a while and let my subconscious work. I do the dishes, go for a walk with my dogs, watch TV. Miraculously, my brain eventually comes up with the solution. If that doesn’t happen, then I talk out my problem to my writing buddies, and eventually, we come up with an idea to jumpstart the flow of words again.

MJ: Name 3 things on your desk right now

Gayle: Index cards (which I use to plot out a book), my logbook (where I log in my daily writing time and accomplishments), and, of course, my laptop. Speaking as a writer who began on a typewriter, retyping out the same book numerous times, I believe computers are a true gift to writers.

MJ: Do you listen to music when you write?

Gayle: No, I don’t listen to music when I write. If the music has lyrics, I get distracted singing. Even if it’s instrumental, I find myself choreographing dances in my head (I was a figure skater in my youth). I like the peaceful sound of quiet—although I don’t mind the sounds of others in the house, as long as I can’t hear the actual conversations.

MJ: Now for the lightning round.  Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s Day?

Gayle: St. Patrick’s Day—I’m Irish!

MJ: Last movie you saw in a theater?

Gayle:  The Monuments Men—eh, a little boring.

MJ: Favorite TV Show?

Gayle: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Buffy the Vampire Slayer—so hard to choose!

MJ: Paper or e-books?

Gayle: Both—I listen to audio-books, too!

MJ: Favorite band when you were in high school (Marching band doesn’t count)

Gayle: Styx

MJ: Introvert or extrovert:

Gayle: Introvert. Crowds tire me—I need alone time to recharge and work.

MJ: Now for the meat of the interview: Can you share the first five to ten lines of your current work-in-progress with us?

Gayle:  I haven’t begun writing the book yet, but I’ve written a synopsis, a short story version of The Wrong Bride, coming out in summer, 2015.

Conor is the new laird of his remote Scottish clan, where time seems to have passed them by. On his father’s deathbed, Conor was told that there’d be salvation for their people, a match contracted with a wealthy Scottish lord (with lands nearby) for the hand of his daughter. His father wouldn’t say what the clan had had to give up for this marriage and impressive dowry, and Conor fears the worst. But he has no choice if he wants to better the lives of his people. It doesn’t matter that he’s giving over his own life, his own freedom–his own happiness is unimportant.

So off he goes to find his Scottish bride in London, a world as foreign to him as a fantasy land. The bride’s uncle looks grim but does not deny the truth in Conor’s words. When the bride’s aunt tries to object to the betrothal, to delay, he feels perfectly justified in stealing their niece away in the middle of the night. Since they’ve never met—and his future wife objects quite loudly—he’s forced to gag her until they’re well away from London. When he finally frees her mouth, she protests that he’s got the wrong bride, but he doesn’t believe her.

MJ: Wow! That sounds fabulous. Now how can we buy your current release and stay in touch with you on social media?

Gayle: Redemption of the Duke  (Book 3 of the “Brides of Redemption” trilogy)

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJ376TQ/?tag=gaylecallenshome

B&N: http://tinyurl.com/oqakel9

BAM: http://tinyurl.com/nql4c42

iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/oyyk9hk

You can follow me on my website, http://www.GayleCallen.com

on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GayleCallen

and on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GayleCallen