#Fact vs #Fiction by Mackenzie Crowne

fic۰tion

/'fikSH(ə)n/

Noun

·         invention or fabrication as opposed to fact

The above definition may be technically correct but, in my humble opinion, imaginary events in literary fiction are based on fact. Or, more precisely, on our own unique version of reality.

Have I sufficiently confused you all? My bad. Let me see if I can explain what I mean.

The way I see it, fiction is a product of the imagination, but our imaginations are rooted in experience. From the day we’re born, we humans begin to observe the world around us. We can’t help it. The instinct is built-in. We learn by observing. In the process, we judge and categorize people, places and situations based on our personal perceptions and once we’ve learned something, that knowledge becomes a part of us.

In other words, our experiences are embedded in our subconscious where we tap into them as needed. For example, when a fiction author sits down to write. The following is true for every aspect of a story, such as season, language, point in history, and characters, but let’s focus on just one thing. Location. Whether the author describes a spot they’ve visited often or a fantastical imaginary world, the sights and sounds, smells and feel, all the distinct features of the location come straight from their mind’s eye – you know, where all those past experiences live.

Each one of us has a store of learned details tucked away in our minds. Yes, even you. They serve as the blueprint of our reality. They document our likes and dislikes, warn us away from repeating past mistakes, and form our biases.

Here’s a quick experiment. Two women are walking down the street toward you. One meets your eye and offers a polite smile. She’s a few pounds overweight with brassy red hair pulled into a bun. The other is tall and thin, her blonde locks combed back in a slick twist. Chin held at a lofty angle, she looks straight ahead, as if you don’t exist, passing by without a glance.

One of these women is a waitress, the other a senator’s wife. Quick! Which is which?

Got it? Okay, good.

So, if you all did as you were told, each of you imagined the women in the roles that most closely align with your past experiences. Now, I could be wrong but, based on my intentional description of the women’s looks and behavior, I’m betting most of you could easily picture the blonde holding a dry martini and fake smiling at the suckers attending the latest swanky political fundraiser.

However, since I purposefully flipped the stereotypes on their heads, hoping to expose your bias, you’d be wrong in this case. The blonde is the waitress. Her name is Margie, by the way, and she’s not one of those big-hearted women everyone who stops in the diner loves. Beneath her perfect exterior, she’s a bitter shrew who’s had a crappy life and has a sharp tongue she uses with far too much frequency.

Which sums up my point. As authors, we sometimes go with the obvious – like the big-hearted waitress and snooty politician’s wife. Other times we gleefully rub our hands together, slipping into our Dr. Frankenstein frocks to piece together unique characters or worlds. However, the details used to flush out the various elements of our stories are always drawn from the deep pool of experience that is our own unique reality.

When Mac isn’t confusing the crap out of the visitors to The Roses of Prose blog, she dons her Dr. Frankenstein frock to create unique characters like Cooper Reed and Riley Pierce, the hero and heroine of THAT DATING THING, Mac’s lighthearted Wall Street romance.

What Inspires Your #Romance by Mackenzie Crowne

If you were to poll one hundred authors on what questions their readers ask of them, “Where do you get your inspiration?” would most likely be in the top three. And “Everywhere” would be among the most cited responses. 

This is certainly true for me and those flashes of inspiration are one of my favorite parts of the writing experience. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is when a seemingly mundane sight or sound draws my attention and BAM! Bright and shiny possibilities swirl in my mind as the spark of a new plot line flares to life.

For example, news reports of the Bernie Madoff scandal are at the heart of ThatDating Thing, my light-hearted romance involving an assistant district attorney with political ambitions and the daughter of Wall Street’s most notorious stock swindler. 

Of course, not all my inspirations have been huge, game changer experiences. Most are of a far subtler variety. I’m telling you, I was definitely inspired by that super-hottie in line at the post office who, amazingly enough, looked exactly like Beau Walker, the sexy hero of my RONE award-winning romance, A Song for Sophie. In my small-town romance, The Billionaire’s Con, I wrote a heroine chef—right about the time my youngest brother was graduating from culinary school.

Then there is this guy. Murphy, my sister’s crazy but sweet dog was the inspiration for Gracie Gable’s trouble making canine sidekick in book 1 of my Players series, To Win Her Love. He is also the inspiration for today’s post. You see, this past week, those of us who loved Murphy said goodbye to him as he crossed the rainbow bridge. 

I naturally thought of Murphy when Gracie insisted she needed a dog. He was such a sweet boy, after all, with the added bonus of his crazy habit of… 

Well, I’ll let you experience his habit for yourself in the short excerpt below.

Enjoy, and thanks for the laughs, Murph. You were well-loved and will be well-missed.

Murphy landed sure-footed, only to skid across the hardwood floor. Momentum carried him strait for Jake’s long legs.
No stranger to dexterity, Jake danced to the side. He snagged the dog’s collar and halted his progress. Murphy wriggled wildly, the claws of his scrambling paws clicking on the hardwood floor. He bucked, and Jake pivoted his upper body sideways.
The move would’ve worked, too, if Murphy was a normal dog, intent upon jumping up to plant his paws to Jake’s chest. Gracie knew from experience that wasn’t the case.
“Murphy, no!”
Quick as a flash, he dropped his nose and whipped up his head. She cringed as his skull made solid contact with Jake’s unprotected crotch.
A loud oof accompanied the unexpected head butt. Jake’s briefcase clattered to the floor. Stunned pain etched his features.
“What the fu—” He bent forward and the duffle slid from his shoulder to join the briefcase at his feet. He cupped one hand over his injured crotch and shoved the dog away with the other. Jaw clenched and long legs bent, he crossed one knee in front of the other. His eyes slid shut on a pained moan.

To find out how things worked out between Jake and Murphy,

pick up your copy of To Win Her Love at

Kensington Publishing, Amazon, 

and wherever books are sold.

My Favorite Reading Memory by Mackenzie Crowne

I’m a reader and have been since I was a very little girl. I distinctly recall the surge of power I experienced as I sounded out the word Mayflower on the side of a big rig parked beyond the window of the truck stop diner on one of my family’s many road trips. From then on, I was hooked.

As a teenager, I often found myself slogging through the halls of my small town high school, bleary-eyed from staying up way past midnight to finish just one more chapter. In my twenties, when I was part of the corporate world in Boston, I normally read through my lunch hour and the daily commute to and from the city was spent with my nose buried in the pages of a paperback. Later, once I’d become a mother, I learned the art of turning pages while juggling babies, bottles and diapers.

I have fond memories of reading wherever I happened to be, including some unusual places. My girlfriends love to tease me about the day they found me curled up with a book in a public ladies’ room at the Bellagio Hotel on one of our girls’ trips to Vegas. Then, there was the time I accompanied my husband to his company Christmas party. No, I didn’t bring a book along that night, but was reminded of another time I had while being introduced to one of his colleagues’ wives. The woman grinned and said, “I remember you. You’re the lady who brought a book to the Diamondbacks game the company put together last summer. I was so jealous,” she added and shot her husband a chastising glare. “I planned to bring my own book that day, but he wouldn’t let me.”

But, my all-time favorite reading memory is from my eighteenth year. Summer was in full swing and I was working at the local cinema. My best friend earned mad money slinging pizza dough at her parents’ sub shop. As it happened, we discovered we both had a rare day off, so we headed to the beach, of course. As usual, I brought a paperback romance along.

We arrived at about eight in the morning and set up our blanket and chairs. Then I started to read. Out loud, while my friend listened. We were interrupted a few times, by friends who stopped by to say hello and for a half hour as we walked down to the café to buy a sandwich, but ten hours later, I finished and closed the book. My friend and I shared a sigh and a grin, then both spent the night nursing the blisters of our severe sunburns.

And if I got the chance to do it again, I’d do so willingly. I’m not exactly sure, but I believe the book was a Kathleen E Woodwiss title, however, the title and author don’t matter. Only the memory does and the continued love of reading that day inspired.

My phone doubles
as a paperback.

Thirty years later, my love of romance still holds true and my favorite place to read is the beach. Unfortunately, shorelines are scarce here in Phoenix, which is another reason I’m thrilled my son and his fiancé have chosen a cruise for their wedding this December. I see some beautiful reading spots in my future, but in the meantime, my backyard pool is a fine alternative. 

(Yes, that's me poolside in my back yard.) 

What about you? Do you have a favorite reading memory or place to read?

When Mac isn’t lounging poolside with a new romance, she’s busy weaving happily-ever-afters for her characters, like Chef Meggy Calhoun, the heroine of The Billionaire’s Con, Mac’s small-town romance (inspired by her home town of Saugus, MA) available at The Wild Rose Press and wherever e-books are sold.

See all of Mac’s titles at Amazon and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Finisher or Flinger? by Mackenzie Crowne

For a lot of years, I couldn’t bring myself to quit a book I’d started until I’d read the words “The End”. My inability to set an unfinished book aside worked out just fine for the most part, resulting in many hours of satisfying entertainment. There were, of course, those times when the genre wasn’t my favorite, or the story was okay, just not my style. On other occasions, however, I’d find myself gritting my teeth and asking, “How the hell did this book ever get published?”

Trust me when I say I’ve read some really BAD books from cover to cover. I’m talking major stinkers that left me groaning and thinking, surely, I could come up with a more believable plot line and dialog that wouldn’t make readers cringe in embarrassment for the author. The excruciating hours I spent working my way through those books are partially responsible for my decision to finally do something with my writing compulsion.

But, I digress…

The birth of my boys changed me from a finisher to a flinger and I became very selective when choosing my next escape. With my personal entertainment window shrunk to stolen minutes and nap schedules, I no longer had the time to put up with stories that didn’t hold my rapt attention. I knew firsthand that judging a book by its cover is fraught with peril, which left the blurb. The trouble with that selection process is, an interesting blurb doesn’t always translate into a well-written story, nor does it always give an accurate representation of an author’s voice. But hey, I can’t come down hard on an author for a murky blurb. As someone who’s had to produce a number of them, I can honestly say that whittling a 100k story down to 500 words is a real bitch. 

But that’s a whole other story…

Bottom line, the only sure-fire way to know if a story is any good is to dive in and read. Then, if the story isn’t for you, go ahead and fling. Life is short, after all. On the other hand, don’t be too quick to break up with that book. You never know when you’ll stumble onto a little gem that starts out iffy only to end up an all-time favorite.

For me, one of those sparkling jewels is Warrior’s Woman, book 1 of the Ly-San-Ter series by Johanna Lyndsey. The sub-genre was my problem. I’d never read a Space Travel romance and wasn’t sure I wanted to, but I persevered. (Mostly because I was on a beach vacation and only had a couple books with me. I didn’t want to waste one – and I’m SO glad I didn’t.)

This book introduced me to one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t sampled Johanna, I highly recommend her. Years later, many of her titles, including the entire Ly-San-Ter series, hold a treasured place on my re-read shelf.

So, what about you? Are you one of those people who can fling a book to the side midway through the reading because it just isn’t working for you? Or are you the type who must always finish what you’ve started?

When Mac isn’t bashing her head against her keyboard as she struggles to write the blurb for her latest release, she’s busy weaving happily-ever-afters for her characters, like the heroes and heroines of her PLAYERS series available at Kensington Publishing and wherever e-books are sold.

Small Town Inspiration by Mackenzie Crowne

Ever been to new England? I have. In fact, I grew up in a small town just north of Boston, and with Independence Day just around the corner, the revolutionary spirit of the region seems a perfect topic for today’s post. New England is a beautiful mix of coastal ports, rolling hills and forests, quiet villages and metropolitan centers.

Then there is the history. Everywhere you look are reminders of the revolutionary war era, like the patchwork of stone walls crisscrossing just about every field and forest. Seriously, they're everywhere and my childhood imagination was sparked each time I spotted one. I'd find myself wondering who built them and why - when I wasn't picturing militia soldiers ducked behind the piles of stones as they battled the redcoats.

As I’ve grown older, my fascination with the history of the area has only grown more profound. Imagine the guts and pure determination of our founding fathers as they put their lives and treasure on the line to face down tyranny. Their strength of character gifted us with the legacy of freedom we enjoy today. I’d like to believe I would have joined their ranks, fighting alongside those brave souls as they forged the greatest system of rights the world has ever known, but I honestly don’t know if I have the courage required.

Centuries later, the cobbled streets and byways of New England lead eager travelers through the early steps of a young nation. If you’ve never had the opportunity to explore New England personally, I highly recommend the experience and when you do, here are a few of my favorite haunts.

For history buffs like me, the Freedom Trail is a must!

The Old North Church is just one stop on the Freedom Trail,
but it's a great one.

Hammond Castle in Gloucester combines American and European history
with thrilling results.
hammondcastle.org

 Mac’s memories of small-town New England life inspired the location of her small-town romance,

Cara O’Shea’s Return

available at Amazon.com. 

Beating #Writer’sBlock with a Good #Book by Mackenzie Crowne

Writer’s Block. Gah! Just typing the phrase makes my skin crawl — a reaction I’m sure makes perfect sense to those for whom writing is compulsory. It is for me and finding myself frozen in front of the keyboard without a clue as to why the words won’t come is a nasty, horrible, utterly frustrating state of affairs. Unfortunately, I’m not a novice when it comes to the phenomenon, having found myself staring at a blank screen a number of times over the years. Yet, knowing I’ll eventually make it through to the other side is of little help while I’m waiting. I want to write. I NEED to write and none of the countless tricks I’ve used in the past to overcome this painful lack of creativity seem to be working.

So, I’ve decided to go back to the beginning. Back to those stories that first touched my heart and lured me into the world of romance when I was little more than a girl. Back to those paperbacks that claim a permanent place on my re-read shelf. Here’s the plan: For the next seven days, I will be spending my free time with some of my all-time favorite characters — old friends I’ve neglected for far too long. I plan to immerse myself in sweeping adventures that came from the creative and talented minds of none other than Linda Howard, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Johanna Lindsey, Nora Roberts and Elizabeth Lowell to name a few. I’m talking classic romance, written in the 70s and 80s before I’d ever heard of such things as plot development, linear vs non-linear, character arcs, head-hops and dialog tags.

With a little luck, these old friends will remind me of why I started writing romance in the first place, and if not, who cares? Re-reading a favorite romance used to be one of my most enjoyable ways to pass an afternoon. It’s time I got back to that bygone pleasure. I’ll let you know how the plan works out, but in the meantime, what about you? Do you ever re-read or do those new adventures waiting to be experienced claim your heart?

When Mac isn’t bashing her head against the keyboard and cursing the dreaded writer’s block, she spends her time providing happily-ever-afters for her sassy characters like Rylee Pierce, heroine of

THAT DATING THING 

Who's YOUR daddy? by Mackenzie Crowne

If you’re an avid romance junkie like me, you know heroes come in many yummy delicious packages. We all have our favorites. Mine is the darkly sexy brooder - dear Lord, be still my heart. Seriously. Even as a teenager, my ideal had dark hair and a five o’clock shadow. In fact, the only poster I ever put on my wall was this life-sized pic of Clark Gable.

Who’s your daddy, baby? Mmm mmmm. So hot.

That doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the other types. I mean, who among us can resist the charming and playful blond? And hey, a mature hero with a smooth skull can be incredibly sexy. (I know this first hand. Mr. C. has been follicly challenged for years.)

Then there is the hulking Scot whose auburn waves bring sighs to many. While I love a man with a little fire in his hair, I avoid them for my own stories. My youngest son is a handsome, six-foot-four ginger and the idea of imagining certain sexy scenarios with a red headed hero is....

Well, you understand. *shudder*

My baby boy also has a full beard which, for some reason, is currently a wildly popular look that does nothing for me - other than make me think of the Smith Brothers – and that makes me cough.

(If you’re old enough to understand this reference, you probably agree a mature hero with a smooth skull is a total HOTTIE!)

As an author, my heroes are each distinct in my mind and on the page. I tend to lean toward the dark-haired type like Jake, Max, and Sam, but if you ask Tuck and Wyatt, the two remaining hotties from my Players series, they’ll no doubt tell you it’s true that blonds have more fun. As a reader, however, it doesn’t really matter what the author’s description tells me when it comes to the hero. The moment I become engrossed in a story, my mind provides its own picture of my current book boyfriend. Surprise, surprise. He inevitably resembles a certain dreamy movie star of old.

What about you? What type is your favorite and does your mind rewrite his image in your head to match your ideal?

When Mac isn’t imagining scenarios for her non-red-headed heroes, she’s providing happily-ever-afters for her lucky heroines like Sophie Taylor, heroine of Mac's RONE Award winning 

A SONG FOR SOPHIE 

The Spring Selfie by Mackenzie Crowne

As a woman with a clear memory of the first moon landing, I consider it an accomplishment that I even know what a selfie is, never mind having mastered the art taking one. Okay, just kidding. Well, maybe not about the taking one part. I haven't quite mastered the talent and usually end up cutting off most of my head, but the truth is, while I can be old school about some things, I raised two new millennial kids and I'm hip! J I'm also a romance author. I write stories for women of all ages, therefore I must keep abreast of what today's trends are so my stories are fresh and up to date. And speaking of a breast - I've understood the concept of a selfie since long before it was named word of the year a few years back. In fact, a selfie saved my life.

Yep, you read that right. If not for a selfie, I wouldn't be here. I'm talking about the original definition of the word of course - the breast self-exam - and it's the best gift I ever gave myself. So this spring, why not share the gift of life? Remind your friends and loved ones to do those selfies. Then go ahead and be a little selfish. Give yourself a selfie too.


This spring breast care reminder is brought to you by WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR NIPPLE? A survivor’s guide to navigating the breast cancer abyss with humor and hope. Available at Mac’s Amazon page.

When Mac isn’t reminding her friends to do life-saving self-exams, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like Meggy Calhoun, the heroine of THE BILLIONAIRE’S CON, available at Amazon and wherever e-books are sold.

When a #Literary #Cliché Becomes a Reality by Mackenzie Crowne

Cli·ché

/klē’SHā/

noun

1.      a phrase or opinion that is overused and portrays a lack of original thought.

2.      a very predictable or unoriginal thing or person.

As a brand-new author (meaning after years of penning stories, someone from the professional literary world was finally seeing my work), I recall being advised to avoid clichés. I don’t remember my specific offense, but that doesn’t matter. There are many examples of literary clichés and I’m sure I’ve been guilty of including quite a few of them in my various writings, especially in those early years. I like to think I’ve grown in my craft, but let’s face it, some clichés are almost impossible to avoid simply because they are so prevalent in real life.

In my opinion, one of the most commonly seen examples of a literary cliché is the use of cancer as a vehicle or plot element. Think about it, how many stories have you read where someone connected to a main character has died of cancer? When viewed from an unemotional standpoint, a character’s diagnosis of one cancer or another is a logical happening. After all, cancer is the second leading cause of death. People die and that goes for fictional people as well. In the romance genre, where I write, characters often project an underlying sadness that defines them. What is sadder than a hero or heroine who has lost a loved one to such a vicious and indiscriminate disease?

I freely admit I’ve been guilty of using this ready-made plot element in the past. As a survivor, I vainly believed I had a special insight into the matter. On a certain level, I guess I did, but this week I learned how ignorant I was to the horrid reality of those who have lived through a tragic loss due to cancer.

Pat, Mac and Deb

For the past two years, Deb, one of my best friends for close to thirty years, has waged a heroic battle against peritoneal cancer. This past Thursday, this amazing woman decided she was weary of the fight and said goodbye to those of us who love her. Everything I thought I knew about cancer has been uprooted and flipped on its head. By the same token, my concept of the "cancer cliché" has been irrevocably altered as well and not just because a broken heart changes one’s perspective. 

Deb's strength and fortitude, her determination in the face of cruel odds, her debilitating pain as the end drew near, and the crushing grief shredding her children, family and friends now that she has she slipped away from us are not plot elements and could never be. They are a story in and of themselves. A story of amazing courage, humbling faith, and raging grief.

Perhaps one day I will tell that story, but I will never look at the use of cancer as a convenient literary vehicle again. After what I witnessed over the past two years, I simply can't. 

   

When Mac isn't relishing time spent with good friends and family, she keeps herself busy weaving HEAs for her characters, like Nicki Guimond Everson, the heroine of IRRESISTIBLE DECEPTIONS, Mac’s romantic suspense available from Entangled Publishing.

The Holiday Table by Mackenzie Crowne

© Adobe Stock

For a girl who grew up in a large Irish clan full of loving loudmouths, Thanksgiving Day kicks off a time of family, food, fellowship, and…football, of course. 'Tis the season of goodwill and, for our family, the holiday table has always been ground zero for experiencing the joy of the season. Each year, beginning in mid November, the table expanders were pulled from the closet to accommodate the extra bodies that inevitably joined our gatherings. Stampedes into the living room to secure the best seat for the game followed the hours of overeating, conversation and laughter.

Come to think of it, that describes my memories of pretty much any given fall or winter Sunday when I was a girl.

With eight kids, our table was large even before the expanders were inserted. On normal days, that scared stretch of wood sat ten and there was rarely an open seat. One side didn’t actually have chairs. Instead, there was an oversized, hard wooden bench that stretched the full length of the table. Thank God we were a skinny bunch, since most of the time, those relegated to the bench shared it with four other bottoms.

The fact is, the only thing that distinguished Thanksgiving and Christmas from just about every other weekend at our table was the expanded menu. Christmas meant roast beef, one of Dad’s specialties and a personal favorite of mine, while Mom oversaw Thanksgiving and the dry bird. She made a mean cherry pie but, unfortunately, like me, she wasn’t much of a cook. (Hence the skinny butts)

Many years have passed since our clan gathered around that scarred table, but the raucous and wonderful memories we made there never fade—like the yearly battle over the wishbone, or the year dad choked out a laugh at something my brother said, and spittled dessert over all of us. We have our own tables now in Boston, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix. Mom, Dad, and a beloved brother share a table in Heaven these days, and thousands of miles separate the rest of us, but the love and laughter we found at that table draw us back together often.

So, as we enter this joyous season and you and yours gather around your own holiday tables, here is my wish for you. May your Turkey be juicy, your favorite team victorious, and your bottom skinny.

When Mac isn’t gathering for the holidays with family and friends, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like Gabe and Jane, the hero and heroine of A CASE FOR CALAMITY, a Christmas novella via

The Wild Rose Press.

The Best Part of Halloween By Mackenzie Crowne

With Halloween just a few days away, my G’boy could barely contain his glee as he posed for this pic in his Captain America costume. I’m here to tell you, there are few things cuter than witnessing the unbound excitement of your grandbabies, and when the excitement involves Halloween? Oh, yeah, then I’m toast.

You see, I’ve always loved the holiday. Not so much for the spooky stuff. I’m a major weenie, after all. And not for the candy, either. I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth. No. For me it’s all about the costumes. Seriously, who doesn’t love the idea of dressing up as something clever or sexy, frightening or downright silly?

As a child, I would spend hours rummaging through the old sea chest in my mother’s cedar closet where the Halloween stuff was kept. I fondly recall the year I slipped into the beautiful, too-long, gauzy red skirt of the hand-me-down fairy dress that no longer fit either of my older sisters. A major score for my young heart.

I could barely wait for dusk to arrive, choking down the dinner Mom insisted we eat before we could go. And then it was time. Out the door into the darkness my siblings and I went. Along with hundreds of other neighborhood kids, we spent the next few hours rushing from house to house until our pillow cases bulged with treats – that then had to be hand checked by Dad before we could indulge.

To me, donning a Halloween costume has always been a magical experience. In fact, I was disguised as Peter Pan the night I met my husband. What was he dressed as, you ask? Tinkerbell, of course, complete with tutu, blond wig and makeup. With all of my heart, I wish I had a picture to show you, but alas, you’ll have to settle for one of me taken with my father an hour before hubs and I met.

And remember not so long ago, my post about my experience with that old lady’s sewing machine? 

You guessed it. I tried my hand at costumes for my boys - with pretty good results, if I do say so myself. They didn’t come out so bad. Then again, my guys were too young to complain. Either way, my enthusiasm for the holiday was passed on to them. Especially the youngest. 

He's the littlest caveman and that's him again, all grown up at 6'5" over there with my future DIL in their pixelated costumes. My, how costumes have changed, but I have to admit, theirs was genius. And, apparently she loves dressing up as much as he does. One more reason to love her.

I believe dressing up liberates people in a way, freeing them from some of their inner restrictions. That’s not such a bad thing in my book. What about you? Does the idea of dressing up fill you with horror or glee?

When Mac isn’t slipping into a fun Halloween costume to entertain the trick-or-treaters arriving at her door, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like Nicki Guimond Everson, the heroine of IRRESISTIBLE DECEPTIONS, Mac’s romantic suspense available from Entangled Publishing.

Oh, and be sure to check out Nicki and her sexy hero, Rhy, at the link below. 

IRRESISTIBLE DECEPTIONS BOOK TRAILER

  

Lemons, Breast Cancer, and Fulfilling Your Dream by Mackenzie Crowne

Have you ever had one of those When life hands you lemons moments? I’m not talking about a disastrous new haircut or even that moment when you can no longer zip your favorite pair of jeans. I’m talking about one of those Holy crap, what am I going to do now? moments.

Before the fall of 2007, I hadn’t. Like J. Thaddeus Toad on his wild ride, I’d been happily racing through life, enjoying the scenery and signing on for whatever new adventure presented itself. A constant stream of fads and manias drew my interest. You see, like Toad, I had a short attention span. Inevitably, some new bright and shiny notion would send me off in another direction. My switch from one mania to another was never a conscious decision, it just sort of…happened.

Over the years, I dabbled in many things. At one point, I filled my spare room with craft supplies because a good friend was a marvel at creating gorgeous Christmas wreaths. However, it wasn’t long before I discovered how badly I sucked at crafting. The subsequent yard sale earned a whopping thirty-four dollars, but my spare room was clear of twigs and bows once more.

Obviously, this isn't one of my boys.
Just making the point that
I'm apparently not the only
one who sucks at sewing.

Another time I purchased a used sewing machine from a charming eighty-year-old woman whose fingers were bent and curled with arthritis. The new valances over my windows were presentable enough but, before I destroyed all the evidence, I used to cringe whenever I'd come across a photo of my boys wearing the result of my short foray into the world of patterns and thimbles.  

Don’t most people have one arm much longer than the other? Dr Suess would have been proud of my handiwork. I, ahem, gifted the old lady’s machine to a friend.

I don’t want to give the wrong impression. I had occasionally gotten involved in something I felt strongly about and managed to see it through to an acceptable conclusion, but other than enjoying time with family and friends, the only mania that hadn’t faded over time was my writing. I was ten when I penned my first short story and dreamed of sharing it with others. Unfortunately, I never gave that lifelong passion the attention it deserved. Busy running in a million different directions, I treated my writing as more of a hobby than the burning need it was—despite the persistent antics of the characters living in my head.

Then, on a crisp late September morning, I faced a moment unlike any other. Within the confines of a small, windowless room, those lemons life occasionally delivers slammed into me like an out of control freight train. Facing a tiny sprite of a woman, an oncologist, J Thaddeus and I were introduced to the concept of mortality. From that moment on, Toad was on his own. After all, if I was going to battle and beat breast cancer, subjecting myself to physical disfigurement and debilitating treatments, I owed it to myself to do whatever it took to bring my dreams to fruition.

Breast cancer handed me an entire bushel of lemons, and while I wouldn’t wish the experience on my worst enemy, the diagnosis forced me to make lemonade. In the process, I quenched a soul deep thirst I’d been ignoring for years. Earlier this week, I sat in that same windowless room where that tiny sprite of an oncologist and I shared grins and high fives. You see, ten years later, having recently published my thirteenth title, I’m cancer free. Yeah, baby!

I could say mission accomplished and stop there, but that would be so Toad. He and I think differently these days. He's content to spend his life racing from one new fad to another. I, on the other hand, have experienced the sheer joy of fighting the battle and winning, in both my health and my writing. I’m a survivor, and with the concept of mortality firmly in place, I refuse to settle for just a piece of my dream. I insist on having it all.

What about you? Has life ever handed you lemons? And what did you do with them?

When Mac isn’t busy celebrating 10 years of cancer free living, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like Sophie Taylor, the heroine of her RONE AWARD winning romance, A SONG FOR SOPHIE, available via The Wild Rose Press and everywhere else e-books are sold.

Julie, Julia and Me by Mackenzie Crowne

I’ve got a short but heartfelt post this month since I’m in Manhattan with family and there is a lot going on around me and, well, I don’t want to miss anything. So, last week, I found the movie Julie and Julia on the listing and settled down with an adult beverage and some popcorn to watch. I’d seen it before, years ago, before I was published, and enjoyed it. At the time, I considered it a movie about cooking, but watching it again, I was surprised to discover the publishing industry is a main theme…and how much Julia Child and I have in common. We both cook. Oh, wait. That's wrong. I don't cook. But I do drink, and so too did Julia, apparently. :-)     via GIPHY

Like me, Julia was a published author and it took a while for that to happen. Unlike me, however, Julia found major success, by industry standards, that is. But, back to the movie.

 As is the case with most movies involving writers, both Julia and Julie found their successful HEA’s in the publishing industry. Which brings me to the point of my short post. I’m here with a gentle warning to those would-be writers out there. You know who you are, the ones with stars in your eyes. And here it is: If fame, fortune, and fawning is the reason behind your writing mojo, you are probably going to be disappointed. Sad, but there it is.

That's not to say major success is out of reach. If it weren't attainable, there wouldn't be a NYT Best Seller list, would there? But, the space between publishing and that list may as well be a cavern. Many dream of spanning it - few achieve the crossing. The cold hard truth is, most of us hit somewhere much lower on the success scale than Julie or Julia achieved, but if you’re like me, and writing is compulsory, seeing your stories shared with others is, in itself, success. My most heartfelt advice for you is to write for the sheer joy of it. Write for yourself because there WILL be those out there who will not support your efforts. And lastly, write for the love of writing and you'll never go wrong.

When Mac isn’t in Manhattan having fun with her family, she keeps herself busy doing what she loves. Writing sensually romantic stories with a side of sass like To Win Her Smile, the latest in her Players Series from Kensington Publishing.

What Makes a Hero? by Mackenzie Crowne

Like many authors, I write what I know and I have solid ideas about what makes a hero. At the top of my list of hero characteristics is strength, or perhaps a better word would be toughness. Not that that trait doesn’t have its drawbacks. Believe me, it’s not always comfortable to be attracted to a tough guy. I know this because I will have been married to one for 34 years next week, but hey, tough guys do it for me. 

If my father were still alive, he’d tell you he always knew I’d marry one. I know this because he told me so as we waited in the vestibule of that church 34 years ago just before Dad walked me down the isle. He wasn't a tough guy by anyone's standards, but he was a strong man, witnessed by the day he picked up a baseball bat and attempted to track down the guy who attacked me in a town park when I was thirteen. Thank God we didn't find him that day, because I have no doubt my fun-loving father, who never lifted a violent hand, would have crushed the cretin’s skull for preying on his little girl if we had.

That’s what strong men do. They act when action is required and they fight for those they love. It’s in their genes. Some women like their men that way. It’s in their genes. I’m one of them. As a strong woman who knows her worth, I need a strong man who won’t crumble beneath my confidence. I appreciate a man who sees my feminine confidence as a strength rather than a symptom of PMS. And I like a man who is willing to go after something he wants, especially when that something is me. I like a man who is willing to stand up for what he believes. A man who speaks his mind and is willing to die for me, even if I don’t deserve it.

The man I’m describing has faults, as do I. He gets angry, like me, but when the dust settles, he apologizes if he’s in the wrong. Sure, he has definite beliefs and isn’t afraid to voice them, but he also listens. He’s a guy. He’s quite often wrong, but he’ll never let you down when you really need him. That’s the man I married. Not perfect, certainly, but dependable as a Timex. I’d trust him with my life, and do.

I write what I know and because I want my heroines as happy as I have been all these years, I give them similar heroes. Unfortunately, an occasional reviewer disagrees. I recall one who trashed one of my heroes as a scary violent guy because he was pissed at the heroine and said so. Mind you, I don’t do violence in my romances, so I can't help wondering what this particular reviewer’s perfect hero looks like. For that matter, what type of men is she dealing with in her life? Are they so perfect, or docile, they never have a moment of anger? If so, she should probably watch out. Either they’re in love with their sister, haven’t come out of the closet yet, or they’re conning her royally. I have yet to meet a man, or woman for that matter, who doesn’t lash out in anger in times of conflict, and if you’re reading a romance…hello, conflict is essential.

The truth is, as in real life, no hero or heroine is perfect, but we all have our tastes. What qualities are necessary in your perfect hero and are there ever deal-breaker traits that make you toss the book aside, or worse, trash the book in a review?

When Mac isn’t hissing at stupid reviewers, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her tough guy heroes and their ladies, like Wyatt and Piper, the hero and heroine of To Win Her Smile, the last in her Players series from Kensington releasing 7/18/17 

I’d Throw It at The Wall, But I Don’t Want to Break My Kindle by Mackenzie Crowne

With a single glance, each of you could accurately determine which of the nearly one hundred novels on my re-read shelf are my favorites, simply by the amount of wear on their bindings. However, my shelf of paperback keepers is little more than a testament to bygone days. To a time when physical books were all we knew and a handful of publishing houses set the rules.

Those days are over. Epic changes have hit the book world since the advent of digital formatting. Some of those changes were long overdue. Others, I could live without. In the “Wow, that’s cool” column is the convenience of the “one click” purchase. How sweet is it to no longer have to run out to the book store in search of the perfect weekend read? And I have to tell you, travelling is so much easier these days.

Instead of a dozen paperbacks hogging space in my luggage, my trusty Kindle fits in the pocket of my purse. Along with many favorites, it’s jammed full with books by unknown authors who’ve tempted me into giving them a try via bargain basement sales. There are at least one hundred TBR titles on that sucker that I haven’t had the time to read. Having such an extensive selection, picked up at rock bottom prices—or for free—is another point for the “Wow, that’s cool” column.

Or is it?

One of the biggest changes brought about by the digital revolution is the explosion in self-publishing. As an author, I’m thrilled for the many talented writers out there who can now bypass the time-consuming and seemingly arbitrary submission process common to traditional publishing houses. As for the avid reader in me, a million new books hitting the digital shelves each week is a giddy reality.

Available at the
bargain basement price
(snicker)
 of $.99 

On the flip side of that reality is the “Well, that sucks” column. What’s the old saying? Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should? Let’s face it, in today’s market, anyone can self-publish. And before you freak out, I’m not saying anyone who self-pubs writes crap. Believe me, I’ve read some total crap that came from the Big 5 and, in full disclosure, my first foray into the publishing world was an Indie project, my breast cancer memoire, Where Would You Like Your Nipple? available at Amazon. (Ahem. Shameless plug.)

All I’m saying is, like the title I deleted off my Kindle last night after a single page—the impetus for this post—quite a few of the books that hit the market each day should never see the light of a tablet screen. Seriously, knowing how to use a computer keyboard doesn’t make you a storyteller. Which, I’m thinking is a strong justification for the existence of seasoned acquisitions departments in all those publishing houses who insisted on setting the rules for so long.

But who am I to toss ice water on someone else’s dream? If there is a story inside you that needs to be told, by all means, go for it. Just, please, understand there are some very important benefits to your manuscript spending some quality time in the hands of a hard-nosed editor. Do yourself and the reading public a favor. Find one.

Bottom line, whether you’re an old hand in this industry or a wide-eyed newbie, choosing between seeking out a publisher or becoming your own is a complicated decision filled with countless variables unique to each situation. No matter which road you choose, there will be pitfalls.

(Ask me about the cover I recently received for the next and final book in my Players series. No, wait. Don’t ask. I’ll start crying again.)

Because my publisher is awesome, they are rectifying the cover situation, but that kind of cooperation isn’t always a reality when dealing with a publishing house. On the other hand, going Indie and having to handle absolutely everything, including formatting, marketing, and promotion, has its drawbacks as well.

I’ve experienced both, and for complicated reasons, I’m ramping up to jump back into the self-pub market with a fantasy romance series I hope to release beginning this fall. I’ll be taking my own advice, of course. There will be multiple editors involved before anything goes to print, because I would hate knowing someone had tossed their Kindle at the wall because of me.

When Mac isn’t throwing her Kindle at the wall, she spends her time weaving HEAs for her characters, like the latest in her Players series, Wyatt and Piper from TO WIN HER SMILE, now available for preorder via KensingtonBooks