Quote

Clare Scott posted this quote on the NZ Romance Writers Loop today and I thought it was timely enough to post it here as well, so thanks Clare.
How about using it as a blanket New Year's resolution?

"If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much." - Jim Rohn

Twilight

I saw the movie, Twilight, yesterday and I liked it. I haven't read the book, which I think is crucial, so I came to it fresh with no expectations. I saw the flaws and I'm not here to speak about them. If I like a movie overall, I ignore the negatives.
I'm not a vampire story lover though I've read a few and I must say I liked Anita Blake's early books. But I loved the atmosphere in Twilight. I even enjoyed the long drawn out close ups of the characters' faces. I thought the vampire family were unique and fascinating, each one different from the other. The baseball game was such fun.
I will now read the book because I can imagine the depths and layers and subplots that will be in the book to flesh out the story.
I know this movie has many detractors but I am not one of them. Go and see it and let me know what you think.

5 Favorite Heroines

So here are the 5 ladies who I most often visualize for my heroines. My heroines are tough, but with a vulnerability which comes from a painful past. These actresses often portray similar roles.

1) Jennifer Garner

She is the quintessential tough heroine with the soft center. Think of Alias and Elektra.

2) Jodi Foster

Many of her roles are those of the ordinary woman who finds herself in an extraordinary postion. Think of Panic Room and The Brave One.

3) Kate Beckinsale

She has a gentle, beautiful face but think of the two Underworld movies - tough and invincible.

4) Jennifer Connelly

She has dreamy eyes that express depth and vulnerability but she is tough at the core. Think of The Day the Earth Stood Still and Blood Diamond.

5) Linda Hamilton

Think of the Terminator movies, especially the second. Who can dispute that she was one of the toughest heroines yet.

There are of course many others, and I'm sure I will use them in the future to create variety, but for now these are my five.

By the way I have my three book covers over on Book Cover Lovers: http://bookcoverlovers.blogspot.com/

5 Favorite Heroes

Each book I start to write, I need to visualize my hero and heroine before I can proceed.

Here are 5 actors who help me with that process:

1) Who can resist this man now we have seen him perform in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace? James Bond fans may have been upset at the choice of Daniel Craig as their new hero but they soon changed their tune when they saw him emerge from the sea, tanned, buff and serious. I recently set a book in Egypt and he was my man. And he performed real well, thank you.

2) Colin farrell is for when I need a younger hero, a man who has secrets as dark as he appears. He is my character in my current manuscript set in Santa Fe, USA, and he has a very dark secret.

3) No one could leave Hugh Jackson off this list. I have never seen him look bad even when he sprouts ears and other bits. Not a lot more to say, but I am looking forward to seeing him in his new film, Australia, as soon as it reaches New Zealand's shores.

4) Pierce Brosnan continues to look good despite the passing years. He was my favorite Bond until Daniel came along. I have used him before but I can't remember in which story. I guess I've written that many.

5) Viggo Mortensen is Lord of the Rings. Each story, each movie has to have a handsome hero and Lord of the Rings has two - Viggo and Orlando Bloom. Now I would have included Orlando but he's just a little too baby-faced still. Give him a few years and some tough living and he will turn out fine but until then I'll take Viggo. Those eyes hold mysteries and secrets that I would like to investigate, hoping to never know the truth.

In my next post, I will show you my heroines.

Meanwhile, which heroes do you visualize while writing?

Another Great review

Coffee Time Romance has just given me a great review for Crash into Darkness. This is the last section:

"No matter what the subject, Suzanne Perazzini masters every detail. Her ability to draw the reader into each and every scene is exemplary. The crashing waves, howling wind, and cold dark fear are such a tangible force, you will actually shiver in dread. Her characters are just as remarkable. You can feel their fear, and their struggle to control the demons inside. Recommending this book as well as Ms. Perazzini’s other work is a real pleasure, and I am thrilled to do so."

LototyReviewer for Coffee Time Romance

Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

Here is the full review: http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Crashintodarkness.html

The Five Things I want for Christmas

Erica Orloff blogged about her Christmas list and I thought I would do the same. But nothing altruistic here. This list is largely materialistic and just for me.

1) A pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. This is something I will probably never get because I am too sensible to spend that amount of money on a pair of shoes, but this is my wish list and I want these shoes on it.

2) A louis XIV chair. My home is furnished with a mixture of modern and antique. I see one of these chairs in my study near my ultra-modern glass desk. I love the contrast of styles and materials.

3) My own personal masseuse who is on call at least 16 hours a day. My shoulders and back hold my tension and emotions so an undoer of my knots readily at hand would be dreamy.

4) An Alpha Smart Neo. They are so light to carry around. I have a laptop, but they get rather heavy if carried too far, and then I need that masseuse to give my shoulders a rub. And none of that pesky constant editing because you can't see much of what you have written. Ideal.

5) The ideal bra. I seek the perfect bra but it seems to be an impossibility. I want a bra that does its leverage job without effort, that looks perfect under a thin t-shirt, that's not too tight and doesn't dig in anywhere, and that is beautiful to look at. I enter lingerie shops and see all those gorgeous, lacy numbers but under a smooth top all you see are lumps and bumps. Who wears them?

There you go - my five. Give me one of yours. Don't make it practical and it must be materialistic.

EPPIE Finalist

I needed good news and I got it.

I am a finalist in the EPPIE Awards in the action/adventure category for my first published book, Beneath the Surface. The finalists are announced in March next year at the EPIC conference in Las Vegas. I need a travelling companion and I will be on my way. Anyone else out there going to the conference?

My other good news is yet another great review from Cocktail Reviews for Crash into Darkness. I got a score of 6 glasses of champagne out of a total of 5 possible glasses or a full bottle of champagne.

This was the last sentence: This exceptional tale really pulled me in and didn’t let go. I saw everything as though on a movie screen. Most impressive!

My 5 Favorite Temples

If you follow my blog, you will know that I have a passion for ancient churches, temple and ruins. I have already blogged about the temples in Egypt but I thought I would put my favorite ruins in the world all together in one place.

1) Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
I took this photo at sunrise and what a magical way it was to start our tour of this fantastic building. It's hard to imagine that until not long ago, this complex of many temples was buried in the jungle, its existence only known to the locals of the area. I recommend a visit now before the rapidly increasing tourist numbers create the circus that surround most of the more beautiful, ancient buildings of the world.

2) Abu Simbel in Egypt.
Abu Simbel consists of two temples on the shores of Lake Nassar, which were lifted and moved back onto dry land when the area was flooded due to the construction of the Aswan Dam. I won't write about the history of them again as I have done so elsewhere on this blog. Suffice it to say that they are a sight for sore eyes, isolated away from any main centre as they are and perched on the side of the lake in the middle of the desert.

3) Knossos in Crete, Greece.
I visited this site many, many years ago and so have no digital photos of it. This one is from Wikipedia.
Knossos, built between 1700 and1400BC, was the centre of Minoan civilization. Its ruins were only discovered in 1878 and have now been made much more tourist-friendly. But back when I saw it, its raw state struck a cord with me and so it remains among my favorite ruins.



4) The Roman Forum in Rome.
I have visited this site several times but there's always something more to see. This was the civil centre of Roman life back in Roman times. I love visualizing how it was back then when these buildings were intact. Imagine the hustle and bustle, so different from out main centers, and yet basically the same - just a bunch of human beings going about everyday life.

5) Machu Picchu in Peru.
Okay, so I'm cheating. I have yet to visit Machu Picchu but I just know it will be one of my favorites so here it is. I can't imagine the tireless ingenuity involved in building a small city up so high in the mountains. Built in 1460, it was used only for 100 years before it was abandoned during the Spaniard conquest. One day I will get there.

My Clever Son

This is another proud mother moment. As part of the same project as the model Skateboard Park blogged about not long ago, Dario had to design a double page magazine layout with the theme of skateboarding. He wrote about the skateboarder and human being extraordinaire, Bam Margera. Above is the double page layout. Click on it to get a better view, though it is not nearly as clear as the original form. Sorry about that.

Murder on the Mountain

A couple of times I have mentioned the website Authors Promoting Authors, which is purely for the promotion of books which are not published by the larger publishers. Today I would like to promote one of their more eye-catching books, Murder on the Mountain, by Maddie James. Look at that glorious cover.


A Ladies of Legend Novel...In the two long years since her Tennessee state trooper husband's murder, Kate Carpenter thinks she's coped with his death, although everyone in Legend, Tennessee keeps telling her she hasn't. She can't see what the problem is, really.She has her parents, and her best friend Patti Jo, and her students.
What else could a twenty-nine year old woman need?
A man, Patti Jo keeps telling her.
A thought that Kara quickly puts aside.
All is fine until one hot August afternoon when Trooper Mike Lehman invades her classroom, and her life. When she can't get out of working with the trooper, assigned to teach drug abuse prevention classes, she bites the bullet and tells herself it's for the good of her students.
Inside, she's fighting demons she hasn't fought in a while.
Sent to Kate's classroom on a investigation, Mike uses his drug prevention training as his cover.
His mission, however, is to find out what Kate knows, if anything, about Rob Carpenter’s supposed death. Recent reports indicate he is alive and that he faked his death because of his involvement in a drug-running operation.
Mike's task is to expose Carpenter, and if she's involved, Kate.
And he’ll stop at nothing, to get the answers he wants.Buy Murder on the Mountain Visit Maddie James' Website

Crash into Darkness

Yes, another release! Crash into Darkness has been released today at Wild Child Publishing.

The cover was also designed by me but the background is one of my clever son's paintings. I added the words, the woman and the ship.

The internationally famous author, Nalini Singh, read mybook and had this to say about it:
"A darkly compelling story--Suzanne Perazzini takes us on an emotional, action-filled journey into a unique new world."

Blurb for Crash into Darkness

Amber has no reason to leave the daily turmoil of life aboard a prison ship, created to house those with the violent Cleaven gene. Though now rehabilitated, she has chosen to stay and counsel the inmates who struggle to come to terms with their imprisonment. Possessing extraordinary gifts - an ability to assess situations with perfect clarity and to feel the emotions of others - her skills are in great demand in the volatile environment of the ship.
Jaden, also rehabilitated and with the special gift of mind reading, ploughs the seas on board the boat that delivers supplies and prisoners to and from the ship.
Amber and Jaden are thrown together when the prisoners rebel and an explosion breaches the hull of the ship during a storm. Together they battle the elements, a new, cold-eyed prisoner who has Amber in his sights and their traumatic pasts which sent them to the ship in the first place.

If you are interested, you can buy the book here.

Work of Art - Skate Park

This is a post from a proud mother. As part of my son, Dario's, final design project in his final year at school, he designed and created a skatepark model. This measures approximately four feet by three feet. It is made from wood with metal trims, and the detail, as you can see from the photos, is intricate. He had his last day at school today and now he must study for his final exams. Next year he will study architecture at college.

Award Received

Nature Shows and Dreams has awarded me with the I Love Your Blog Award! Thank you, so much. Now it's my turn to pass it on to blogs I enjoy visiting. Here are the rules: 1) Add the logo of the award to your blog 2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you 3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs 4) Add links to those blogs on your blog 5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

These are some of my favorite blogs.

1) Raine Weaver has been a writing friend for years now. She is always there for me in the good and the bad. One day she will be a big star and I can say I knew her back when she was a struggling starlet. I enjoy her blog for her sharp intelligence and insightful outlook on current events and the writing world.

2) Erica Orloff is a well-published, successful writer, whose life is chaotic, creative and full of love. Every day she blogs about a different subject that gets you thinking. How she comes up with an idea a day, I don't know but that's Erica. She has a very loyal group of commenters who add to the enjoyment of my daily visit to her blog.

3)Tina-Sue is a fellow writer, whose book No Shadows Left Behind is currently on the shelves. She is a generous, quirky lady whose blog is always worth reading. She also runs Authors Promoting Authors where writers with small publishers or epublishers can promote their books. She runs this out of the kindness of her heart.

4) Heather Dugan is a writer and photographer, whose photos blow me away. She loves the great outdoors and hikes often through glorious landscapes with her lovely family, snapping photos as she goes. We are privileged that she shares them with us.

5) Tanya from Kenya lives in a glorious spot in the wilderness of Kenya. On her blog, she shares amazing stories of her life in this fascinating place and posts wonderful photos of the wildlife, which wanders about outside and often inside her house.

6) Jill Shalvis has an amazing, natural sense of humor. I visit her blog every day without fail and would miss it if she failed to blog. She is a well-established writer but blogs mainly about her life up in the mountains, where encounters with bears are a daily event. This is one blog you shouldn't miss.

7) Kameron Hurley has a blog which draws you in for her fierceness, her determination and her 'never-say-die' attitude. Her first book will be out shortly. Visit her blog and buy it when the time comes because her writing is powerful and beautiful. I also love the photos of women and quotes by women all the way down the side of her blog. Worth visiting just for those.

Brideshead Revisited and Venice

As you know, I go to the movies every Saturday morning. Today I saw Brideshead Revisited and loved it. The atmosphere of extravagance and beauty was soul-restoring. The story is rich, poignant and ultimately heartbreaking but a great testiment to the effects of blind belief, the battle of religion versus atheism, the entitled versus the unentitled, the strong versus the weak.

But most of all I loved the scenes set in Venice. I have visited there many times and always, always love it. My husband and I wander about imagining our life if we moved back to Italy and maybe to Venice in particular. We pick out an apartment (from the outside) we would like to live in and then work out how we would live. Our son is starting college next year so our main responsibilities towards him are over (bitter sweet as it is). The financial responsibility continues of course but the actual child-rearing is over. We have done our job and now we have to hope we have done it well and he can do the rest by himself. So perhaps soon we can start to think about ourselves again. Is Venice in our future?

A birthday

The little girl, in the photo has a mother, two great grandmothers, two grandmothers, five great aunts. She does have a father (and a great one at that), one grandfather and an uncle but that’s nine female influences to the three male ones. How will this influence her? The females are, without exception, strong, assertive, successful women. The chances of her growing up the same are high.
Her birthday party happened today, which called for a family reunion, and she spent her time mainly in the arms of a woman who absolutely adored her. She was blissfully happy, totally alert, the centre of attention and accepted it as her right. Without a doubt she will grow up confident, independent, a leader and a thinker. You could see that today. She thought her way through the party, drinking in every nuance, every shadow and every word.

You know the woman who enters a room and all turn to look at her?

Please meet my great-niece, Sofia –one year old today.

Happy birthday, sweetheart.

Great Review

I've just received a great review for my second book, Rough Justice, from Coffee Time Romance.

The last sentence says: Ms. Perazzini is an extremely talented writer, giving life to the thrill seeker in all of us. I am so excited to have read this, and eagerly encourage you to purchase this fantastic book.

To say I am a happy girl is an understatement.

If you want to read the rest of the review, this is the link:http://coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Roughjustice.html

If I knew the future...

Over at Jennifer Jackson's Blog, she proposed the question: If you could see the future and knew you would never be published (or published again), would you continue writing?
I only read about half of the, at that moment in time, 74 comments and at least 90% said they would write anyway. However, I think I would be a part of the minority and stop writing.
I am not defined by my writing. It is not my heart and soul to the degree that without it, I would feel empty or bereft. I am a creative person. That defines me, certainly, and without a creative outlet, I would feel unfulfilled. But many ways of expressing oneself creatively exist. I ran my own business as a fashion designer (I trained while living in Italy) for a decade before selling it. I renovated homes for ourselves, family, acquaintances and aquaintances of aquaintances for many, many years. Writing is another step in my life and I am determined to be successful because I think I am good enough to be published and I would love to earn a living (even if not large) from this profession. But if I knew this would never happen, then I would turn in a different direction. Life's too short and there's too much to do to waste time fiddling with words that are just for me. For many of you, that will mean I am not a true writer, but then is the teacher who becomes a pianist not a true teacher? She was while that was her calling but who says we have only one path in life? I know for a fact that I have many and if writing is not to be one, then I will move on. Why torture oneself?

Blogging Elsewhere

For all of Monday I am blogging here:http://annakathrynlanier.blogspot.com/
Because of the time difference, I will only manage three posts throughout the day. I have just posted the first and it's about my journey to publication. Well, not all of it - I don't want to depress anyone - but the succulent points that make up the whole.
Thanks so much to Anna for this opportunity.

Saving Tampa by Jo Webnar

This is another great book that has been posted to Authors Promoting Authors: http://authorspromotingauthors.blogspot.com/

Saving Tampa

For as long as she could remember, Rachel Cunningham feared and hated her psychic ability. When a strange man accidentally touches her, she sees the death of thousands. Rachel knows the FBI won't believe her, but she has to try. Lives are at stake.Special agent Arrons dismisses her information as a publicity stunt, yet his conscience nags him. When Rachel identifies an Al Qaida cell leader, Arrons puts his career at risk and issues an alert.Together they race against time to prevent a terrorist attack. Will the terrorists' threat succeed, or will Rachel and Arrons find the solution in time to Save Tampa?

To buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Jo+Webnar

For Jo's website: http://www.jowebnar.com/

Excerpt from Rough Justice

I have been advised by a dear writing friend to post an excerpt from my latest book so here goes:

At the airport, the army roamed everywhere. The trepidation and confusion were palpable. People rushed about, seeking tickets to leave the country, dragging hastily packed belongings. Logan pushed his way through the crowd and directed me to a medical centre where my arm was cleaned and bandaged, and my other injuries checked. He then consigned me to an airport assistant who was to see me safely on board the next plane.
“I have to leave you now. I think I’ll pack up the centre and get out too. It’ll take a couple of days to tie up loose ends, but I want you gone first so I can concentrate on the job.”
His worried face gazed down at me and I felt a sudden vacuum at the thought of leaving him. We had spent less than two days together, but the bond forged by our shared experience was not so easily broken.
His warm hand reached out and his fingers closed around my chin. “Niki, you did well. You’ve got grit.”
“You did well too.” I smiled, but my eyes were heavy with unshed tears.
He leaned forward and kissed me – gently and quickly, his lips brushing mine, then pulled back. But I wasn’t leaving him like that – it wasn’t enough. I put my hand behind his head and brought his face back down and this time, his mouth closed over mine, forcing my lips apart and I could feel his passion glide down through my chest and sink into my pelvis, where it flooded my nerve endings and set my skin alight. I pulled away gasping.
“Wow. Nice.” I pushed my hair back off my forehead and grinned. “Can we do that again sometime?”
Logan smiled and brushed his own hair off his forehead. “I guess we’d better. I know where to find you.” He turned and I watched with a dull ache of longing inside as he disappeared into the crowd.

Once again, this is where you can buy my book: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=226

It's already out

Actually, Rough Justice is already available on the Red Rose Publishing website and also at Mobi Pocket. According to the website, it was released 11th September and I didn't even know.
Anyway, here are the links if you wish to purshase it: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=226
or http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/AuthorDetails.asp?AuthorID=64659

This is the blurb:
When Niki's partner, Logan, is kidnapped by poachers in Zambia, she tumbles into the sordid underbelly of a world where survival reigns and animals are sacrificed for financial gain. In order to rescue her man, she will fight all the way to the top and be stunned by what she finds there.

Thanks for your continued support.

New Release

I have just received the news that my novel, Rough Justice, will be released by Red Rose Publishing on the 25th September 2008. This is a contemporary action/adventure with a romantic thread. I will tell you more about it on the release date.
Meanwhile you can see it here: http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?products_id=226

Cindy Jack's New Book

Cindy Jacks has a great new book out today. You will find it here:http://www.freyasbower.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=133&zenid=70a03e5fdb67bd0f0e7d868c34ee651a

If any designer could create a pair of high heels with the power to change a woman's life, Beth Levine would top that list. Join the Red Shoes as they travel through five decades, appearing in each owner's life at the time she faces a personal crossroads. Though the heels appear as inactive bystanders in the dramas that unfold, Taking Off: The Red Shoe Collection, just might leave you saying, "It must be the shoes...."

For an excerpt:http://www.freyasbower.com/excerpts/redshoes.html

For Cindy's Website: http://cindyjacks.com/default.aspx

5 Favorite Cities

Some time ago, I think I blogged about my favorite places but I haven't actually done my favorite cities. This is very personal because I am not a city lover as I don't like crowds. Therefore my criteria is very different from those who love bustlings cities, bright lights and shopping, which, by the way, I do not enjoy at all. Strange, I know. I will display them in descending order to my number one city.

No.5: Prague, Czech Republic.

I saw this city a couple of years ago and was entranced by its atmosphere, its castle and in particular by its gothic cathedral, St. Vitus, but then again I can't pass a gothic anything without swooning.
No. 4: Ljubjiana, Slovenia.

I mentioned this city a couple of posts ago - about the prison hostel. This city is ancient but also open and clean with the requisite river through the middle lined by cafe and restaurants, oozing with flowers and aromas to die for.

No. 3: Bath, England.

Most English cities and towns have great character attached to them. Bath attracted me in particular for its sense of history, its beauty and the fact that Jane Austen lived here.No. 2: Edinburgh, Scotland.

I've probably mentioned before how much I love Scotland. When I first arrived by plane in Edinburgh, I was immediately captured by the small, identical houses lining the streets - so different from how we live in New Zealand. The centre is charming with its castle and lovely park. I was probably influenced by the sunny days we had there for I have heard it can be rather grim. However, to me it was everything a city should be - small enough to walk around easily, open and spacious, full of glorious gothic churches and of course a castle right in the centre. No 1: Rome, Italy

You already know this is my favorite city because I have told you so a few times. It is so rich in history and art that I walk around in a daze at the beauty of the place. It is a city that vibrates with life and atmosphere and can't help but entrance anyone who visits.

My Study

I thought you might like to see my study. This is where I spend most of time when not at work. I have decorated it to my taste with heaps of bunches of flowers, real and otherwise and my desk is littered with souvenirs from my travels around the world.