Moonless Blog Tour!

I'm super excited to host Crystal Collier today as part of her blog tour for MOONLESS. Take it away, Crystal!

Top Ten of Florida

You know you live in Florida when...

10. You've got "Sunshine" when most people are dealing with rain, snow or other inclement weather.


9. "Eek it's a mouse!" You shriek and jump. "Oh, no, it's just a roach." You deflate.

8. You fear standing water.











7. You can casually say, "Oh yeah, it's hurricane season."









6. To go exotic bird watching all you have to do is pull up a lawn chair, sit in your front yard and wait until exotic birds start picking bugs out of your lawn.









5. You are tan 24/7.








4. You can drive an hour any direction and be at a different beach.







3. CRUISE PORT. Need I say more?











2. The question isn't "What should we do tonight?" It's "Which should we do tonight?"





1. The worst torture in the world comes from the smallest people in the state. (Scar must be a Floridian.)

What's your favorite and least favorite thing about where you live? And what about your local defines you?

Crystal Collier, author of MOONLESS, is a former composer/writer for Black Diamond Productions. She can be found practicing her brother-induced ninja skills while teaching children or madly typing about fantastic and impossible creatures. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, three littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese. 

You can find her on her blog and Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Buy MOONLESS HERE or add it on Goodreads.

Guest Post by Ana Blaze!

I'm very excited to be hosting Ana Blaze, author of A LATE THAW (also the author of my favorite story in the LOVE AND OTHER GAMES anthology)! Take it away, Ana!

On Naming Characters.

One of my favorite parts of developing a story is choosing names for my characters. I suspect I spend about as much time researching and considering the options as many prospective parents do. That makes sense because, in many ways, the characters are a piece of me. Not to get too sappy about it, but I am the one that gives them life. They’re my babies and I don’t want to saddle them with an unflattering or inappropriate moniker. So I consider several things before settling on name.

 First I try to match the name with the personality. A more formal character, someone who is maybe a bit introverted and uses an impressive vocabulary might need a classic, reliable name. I’m thinking about William, Catherine, Matthew, Nicholas, Emma or Sarah. A more, shall we say colorful, character--the type of person who people describe as walking to the beat of their own drum--would be better suited with an unusual name. I like names that come from myths and legends for these folks, like Maeve, Cassiopeia and Tristan.

Next I consider when and where a character was born. A two hundred year old Victorian vampire named Zoey wouldn’t make as much sense as one named Josephine or Winnifred would. Even when dealing modern characters place can have a great influence on name. A man born in the southern part of the United States could have a very different name from one born in Scotland or Australia.

As a strangely specific example, take the name Brayden. It was the 15th most popular boys’ name in Alabama last year. It was 13th in Kentucky. It wasn’t even in the top 100 in Washington DC.

So I do some research--The official Social Security website is great for checking popularity of specific names in various places in the US over the past fifty years. In 1965 it didn’t matter if you were born in Hawaii, Alaska, Connecticut or Indianna--there was very good chance your name was Lisa. There is also no shortage of baby name meaning sites.

Which brings me to the next thing  I consider. I do like to choose names that have meanings that suit the characters. For example, Abigail would be a lovely name for a character with a close relationship with her father as it means father’s joy. In A Late Thaw I chose an ironic name, Kiley, for my main female character. Kiley means graceful, but the character is known to be rather klutzy.

Finally, I like to say the names aloud and together. Yeah-I test them out like a twelve year old girl with a crush would.

Kiley and Cole 2gether 4ever!

Beth + Colin= True Love

Are there any names you love or hate to see used in romances? Which ones? Tell me in the comments.

Haha! I love it! Check out more from Ana in A LATE THAW!

Title: A LATE THAW

Author: Ana Blaze

Publisher: Entranced Publishing

Imprint: Kissed

Genre: contemporary romance

Length: 57 pages (novella)

Release Date: October 28^th, 2013

Blurb:

The town’s too small for Kiley St. Claire’s reappearance to be a surprise, still seeing her hits Cole Thomas like a punch to the gut. She ripped his heart apart when she turned to ice and ran away all those years ago. Now that she’s back, Cole’s going to say his piece and move on.