Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 56: One Part Clerks, One Part High Fidelity

You’re going to love the hell out of today’s RNRHS with Cara McKenna. I just know it. It’s the perfect blend of rich musical musings and self-deprecating teen angst, two things with which I am well acquainted. And if you don’t love it, I’m afraid to say there’s something wrong with you, but it’s nothing a little good music won’t cure.

Cara McKenna

Coastal Maine, Class of ’98, Currently: Smut Merchant

Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: Nine Inch Nails. Make of that what you will, but I would not have survived high school without Trent Reznor’s help. At sixteen I was skulking full-time in combat boots and an army jacket and stripey tights, as what we would later coin a goppy—not a proper goth, not a proper hippy, but a confused and non-committal hybrid of the two. But come my junior year, I landed a job at my local indie record and video store—one part Clerks and one part High Fidelity—as the lone teen amid a mismatched gaggle of slacker twenty- and thirty-somethings. There my ears got opened to a transcendent mix of new-to-me music: Tom Waits, the Specials, Portishead, Elastica, Soul Coughing, Patty Griffin, the Toasters, the Pogues, the English Beat, Kim Lenz… And at some historic moment on some fortuitous night, the song The Other Side of Summer came up on random shuffle and changed my life forever, turning me overnight into a rabid Elvis Costello fangirl, and graduating me out of Trent Reznor’s gloomy—if formative—tutelage.

Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: Oh gosh. Surely my 12” vinyl single of Nine Inch Nails’ Sin, with its most inspired B-side cover of Queen’s Get Down Make Love. Bought it at cost, kept it in the shrink wrap, sold it a decade later for a tidy profit.

Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: The Grateful Dead. Circa 1995, every guy in my high school wore the same uniform: cords, Tevas or Birks, and a tie-dyed Grateful Dead skull tee-shirt under one of three distinct plaid L.L. Bean flannels. I never got it. Don’t see the appeal of the Dead at all. My loss, I’m sure.

Best show or concert you saw in high school: Oh, this is so sad, but I didn’t go to a proper concert until I was about twenty! There were a few random ska and punk bands I can’t remember the names of, at various and sundry all-ages shows in Portland, but nothing glamorous. My first real concert was during college, when I saw Elvis Costello in Boston, the first of many times. I should give the Orpheum Theater a shout-out. Their seats may be cramped, but I saw the Kids in the Hall there, and Janeane Garofalo, and Elvis quite a few times, among other excellent offerings that make me sound woefully piney-for-the-nineties.

Best high school make-out song: Hmmm… The only song I specifically remember making out to was Prison Sex by Tool. Romantic, right? If you’re familiar with the show Daria, I was a perfect mix of both Daria and Jane. Daria’s esthetic, with Jane’s snide artist sensibilities. Let’s just say I was not exactly rolling in eager, handsy jocks. But I bet if you’d asked what song I’d have liked to have been making it to, it might have been The 13th by The Cure, which I always thought was a terrifically joyful track. Or if we’re talking a real fraught, hot-and-heavy make-out session, then Natural One by the Folk Implosion. And later, Morphine’s Super Sex, and even later still, Tom Waits’ Jersey Girl or Little Trip to Heaven. But to be honest, I’d have made out to most anything, with most anything, at that age. Even my own hand, if I could be convinced it was actually Trent Reznor’s face. It’s just not a choosy age, is it?

Cara’s latest release is Coercion, the first of the Curio Vignettes, short follow-up novellas to Curio (aka the Parisian man-whore book). You can visit her at caramckenna.com or chat with her on Twitter @caramckenna.

Some Things Are Meant To Be

This week is an important milestone in my writing life, but it has very little to do with me. This week is all about my critique partner, Karen Stivali, and her stunning novel, Meant To Be, which finally gets to have its book birthday!

Karen was polishing her first draft of Meant To Be when she and I met on former literary agent Nathan Bransford’s message boards. I remember it vividly…the story was fully written, but she couldn’t decide on a first chapter. My novel, Bring Me Back, was in a similar stage and I was relieved that there was someone else out there who was as driven to finish their first novel as I was.

When Karen and I went about getting to know and trust each other, we exchanged blocks of chapters from our books. I couldn’t read Meant To Be fast enough. Daniel and Marienne had me so firmly in their clutches (and please, Daniel, put me in your very capable clutches) that I couldn’t keep from thinking about them, wondering what would happen, marveling at the way Karen had assembled the story. I specifically remember sending her an email calling her a slut when she left me off on a very suspenseful chapter. She replied that she was only a tease for leaving me hanging and promptly sent me the rest of the book.

I can’t speak highly enough of Meant To Be. I absolutely adore Karen’s characters, especially Marienne and Daniel. Their complex and unconventional relationship rings true at every turn, allowing them to leap off the page and worm their way into your psyche. Karen left it all there on the page and the reader is richly rewarded with a compelling, funny and sweet tale that will break your heart and put it all back together. So, please, do yourself a humungous favor and buy and devour this book. You’ll be so happy you did.

Meant To Be

Sometimes you’re already committed to the wrong person when fate finally brings you the right one.

When NYU professor Daniel Gardner’s career-obsessed wife convinces him to move to the suburbs, he hopes it’s a first step toward starting the family he longs to have. Instead of domestic bliss he finds his neighbor, Marienne Valeti. She loves her freelance design job, but must contend with a growing sense of isolation created by her husband’s indifference. A penchant for good books, bad movies, and Marienne’s to-die-for brownies sparks a powerful bond between them. Passion simmers, but they resist its lure, surrendering only in the seclusion of their minds. Their friendship helps them weather every hardship, from divorce to widowhood, leaving them both secretly wondering if it can survive a first kiss.

Meant to Be is available from:

Turquoise Morning Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords | All Romance e-Books

Karen Stivali is a multi-published author of steamy women’s fiction and erotic romance. You can learn more about Karen and her awesomeness at karenstivali.com.

Foreign Affairs with Karen Stivali: All I Need

Karen Stivali is here today to tells us about her story for the Foreign Affairs anthology, a collection of romantic tales about men from faraway lands and the women who can’t resist them. Foreign Affairs is available from:

Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance

Karen’s contribution, All I Need, is a fabulous story starring the to-die-for Daniel, a Brit for whom any woman could easily fall head over heels.

Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?

Daniel is irresistible because he’s charming, sweet, funny, smart and gorgeous but isn’t the least bit egotistical. Justine is a beautiful woman and has never had any trouble attracting men, but she’s drawn to Daniel because he’s different. Unlike all the other handsome men she’s dated, he’s not just interested in her for her looks. He listens when she talks. He takes her seriously. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s sexy as hell and great in bed.

How did you choose your hero’s nationality?

I’ve had a lifelong weakness for men with British accents and for this particular character, from his subtle charm to his dry wit, there was never any doubt in my mind that he was a Brit.

Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?

My most recent release is the short novel, Marry Me, published by Ellora’s Cave in June 2012. It’s a sweet, erotic romance about a widowed British drummer who learns to love again when he meets the right American girl. Did I mention my weakness for British accents?

Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?

The characters in All I Need are the main characters in my full length novels MEANT TO BE and HOLDING ON, due out August 26, 2012 and November 26, 2012 respectively, so if you’re looking for more Daniel, there’s plenty to come!

I don’t have multicultural romances planned in any of the stories I’m immediately working on, but I’m quite sure they’ll factor into a story at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Meant To Be will be available from Turquoise Morning Press as an e-book August 26 and trade paperback soon after. To find out more about Karen Stivali and her work check the following links:

Author website | Amazon author page | Goodreads | Twitter

Foreign Affairs with Michelle Garren Flye: Agapi Mou

We’ve got more about the Foreign Affairs anthology today, with author Michelle Garren Flye. Michelle’s story gives us a Greek hero, and what a hero he is! Foreign Affairs is available now from:

Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance

Tell us about your story for Foreign Affairs:

“Agapi Mou”, which means “My Love” in Greek, follows the romance of Myron and Lisa and takes place on a vineyard in eastern North Carolina. Myron and Lisa have known each other for several years. Lisa owns the vineyard that grows the scuppernong grapes that Myron’s winery in Greece uses to make scuppernong wine. Circumstances have kept them apart but on one of Myron’s visits, a simple kiss awakens their attraction to each other. Is the attraction just eratos (erotic love)…or could it be agape (true love)?

Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?

Myron is sexy and Greek. What else do you need to be irresistible? He lost out in love once before. He was married to a woman he’d loved for a long time, but she didn’t love him, so he let her go. He is kind and concerned about Lisa, who is lonely and finds herself working too much to make up for her lack of a social life. The combination of their friendship and their mutual attraction to each other finally convinces them both to explore new depths of their relationship.

How did you choose your hero’s nationality?

I was researching wines for another work-in-progress and had never tasted Greek wines. I fell in love with them first, the country next and it was a natural progression to create a Greek man for my heroine.

Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?

My contemporary romance Where the Heart Lies was just released in July by Carina Press. Here’s a little about the story:

All widowed Alicia Galloway has left of her war-hero husband are the flag that draped his coffin and his final wishes: to move to his hometown, take over the family bookstore and enjoy a simple, quiet life with their two small children. When she arrives, her husband’s best friend makes that new life anything but simple. How can she be so drawn to Liam Addison?

Liam only intended to help Alicia get settled. But one unexpected kiss awakens his long-held forbidden feelings. Soon, the town busybodies swoop in to warn Alicia away from him. Because no matter the man he’s become, he’ll never live down his reputation as town troublemaker and wolfish womanizer.

No one wants the war hero’s sweet widow and the supposedly former bad boy together. But the more everyone tries to keep them apart, the closer he and Alicia get. And the more determined Liam is to prove he’s a changed man. Will it be enough to convince Alicia to let a new love in her life? Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?

I think Lisa and Myron’s story is told, but I’d love to write more romances about the Greek culture. I did a lot of research into it when I was writing Agapi Mou, and it was fascinating. Of course, I have nothing against any sexy foreign male character who’d like to creep into my subconscious and make his way onto the page!

Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited ® and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.

Michelle Garren Flye’s latest is Where The Heart Lies. You can learn more about her and her books at the following links: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Foreign Affairs with JM Kelley: Siren Song

Author JM Kelley is here today to discuss her fabulous contribution to the brand new Foreign Affairs Anthology, Siren Song, and her dreamy Irish hero Declan. Foreign Affairs is available from:

Amazon | Turquoise Morning Press | Smashwords | All Romance

Tell us about your story for the Foreign Affairs Anthology:

Lorelei Dupree is a legend in her hometown–not because of a deliciously scandalous life, but for her uncanny ability to get herself into pinches. From errrant lightning bolts to runaway pianos, chances are if something is amiss, Lorelei Dupree isn’t far from the scene.

Irishman Declan Healy has dropped anchor in the quiet seaside community of Lark’s Cove, South Carolina, a town in transition in the summer of 1956. Starting out on his own as a fisherman, the last thing Declan expected was to fall victim to the siren song of a bewitching local.

A chance encounter brings Lorelei and Declan together, and they quickly bond. Passion may blossom, but can Declan convince his siren that his love for her won’t lead him to certain doom?

Tell us about your hero. What makes him irresistible? What attracts your heroine to him?

Declan is a simple man. He’s not sophisticated, he’s not worldly, but he’s got a good heart, and Lorelei recognizes that. His immediate and total acceptance of her and her quirks makes it quite difficult for her to find an excuse to do anything but give him her heart.

How did you choose your hero’s nationality?

Simple enough reason-I just adore the Irish brogue. It was fun to figure out Declan’s turn of tongue, to bring out the Irish. His personality—a little brash, a little awkward, all loveable, seemed to fit perfectly with the Irish voice I heard in my head as I was writing.

Do you have anything new coming out in 2012? Any recent releases you want to tell us about?

My debut novel, Drew in Blue, is a contemporary romance available in ebook format, and soon to be in print. Drew in Blue is the story of a perpetually single guy who is forced to grow up and confront his past, and his future, when he is forced to become the primary caregiver for a son conceived out of wedlock. It is available online at Amazon.

My next release will be Daddy’s Girl, a work of women’s fiction, coming in January 2013 from Turquoise Morning Press. Daddy’s Girl is the story of Janie McGee, the black sheep of the family who must return home to care for her gravely ill father. As she copes with the harsh realities of her father’s diagnosis, she must find a way to open her heart to a love she never expected to find. Daddy’s Girl was so close to my heart as I wrote the novel, and I can’t wait to see it in print!

Any plans to write anything more about your characters from the Foreign Affairs Anthology? What about more multicultural romance?

Declan actually started out as a very small character in my work in progress.  The story is set in modern times, whereas Siren Song takes place in the 1950s. Originally, he was an eccentric older resident who would pop up once or twice in the storyline, but my beta-reader convinced me to flesh him out for this anthology. I’m so glad I did, and I am looking forward to allowing his back story to color this particular tale.

After one too many Snowmageddon shoveling catastrophes, J.M. Kelley, a native of Pennsylvania, loaded her car with all of her belongings and moved to sunny South Carolina.

Now, she finds herself shivering when temperatures dip to fifty degrees, and battles against the slight Southern accent she seems to be developing. When not toiling away at her day job, she can be found huddled over her laptop in a quiet corner of her favorite coffee shop, slurping a caffeine-laden milkshake as she writes.

J.M. Kelley is a proud recipient of a Carrie McCray Memorial Literary Award from The South Carolina Writers Workshop, and is pleased to announce she will join the faculty roster at the October 2012 SCWW Conference. Drew in Blue, her debut novel, was nominated for Best Contemporary of 2010 by The Romance Reviews, and is a TRR and Night Owl Reviews Top Pick.

You can learn more about JM Kelley at jmkelleywrites.com.