February 20, 2016 by kira a. gold

Echoes

loana I saw The Name of the Rose when I was sixteen, in the theater, and so began my love of Umberto Eco and Christian Slater. The movie led to the book, which was-unlike the movie-about books, and their meaning and the written communication that can shape a culture.

The semiotics at the core of the book brought me to the terrifying and delightful realization that books have the power of time travel and telepathy. An author from centuries ago still marks the mind of those reading their words today.

Decades later I read Foucault’s Pendulum, during my Forgotten Year-so I shall have to read it again-but I do remember being struck by the notion that people want to believe conspiracy theories. We want our stories to connect, to have a purpose and great import, a life of their own.

A few years ago, I read The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, ironically enough about a man who loses his memory and searches through the literary mementos-books, magazines and comic books-that shaped him growing up, to discover what he has forgotten.

Umberto Eco’s books always give me a deeper understanding of the power of language, of words, the transference of thought through time. I am sad that there will be no more them, but I love the idea that his books, because they have shaped me, will have, somewhere, a mark on my own.

February 13, 2016 by kira a. gold

Writing Advice

draft This time a year ago, I started scribbling a goofy little story just for fun. I titled it “The Artist and the Architect,” because I’m literal like that. Six weeks from now, THE DIRTY SECRET will be released from Carina Press, an imprint of of Harlequin.

One of the promo bits I was asked to participate in was a Tuesday Tip for So You Think You Can Write, Harlequin’s new voices in romance project.

But who am I to give advice? I’m still a novice at this.
In the past six years, I’ve published nearly half a million words across various platforms, and every single process was different. My only constants:
I hand write my first drafts.
Climbing out of my research-holes requires Elvish rope, every time.
My love for the Shatner comma is epic.
But here are a few things I’ve learned in this crazy journey of words that might be useful to beginning writers:

Get involved with other writers.
Write in a fandom and get some feedback. Play on a forum outside your comfort zone, where you can learn something new. Go to a crit group at your library. Don’t do this alone.

Let your first draft be rough.
This is your gesture drawing, your first exploratory jog in a new park. Let it be messy. Spending a lot of energy in making it technically perfect can cut into the creativity, or worse, keep you from finishing. Get it down, and clean it up later.

Make it a sensory experience.
How do your words appeal to your readers physically? Are you describing what your characters feel? How are their thoughts and actions affected by a perfume, a texture on the skin?

Read your final drafts aloud.
Where your tongue stumbles-where you hesitate in the sentence, wondering which word needs emphasis-your reader will too. Rework these places so that your language doesn’t detract from the story.

Above all:
Enjoy yourself.
Write what you love.

And live, long, and prosper.

THE SCENT OF FLAMES

THE SCENT OF FLAMES
Something is rotten in the town of Hortonville.
Lars Fjorden just wants to talk to Violet without making an idiot of himself. But keeping cool isn’t easy with a mother overwhelmed by grief, a brother bullied at school, and a best friend unable to get past the accident that killed both their fathers. Add arson and recurring dreams of an awkward angel, and he might not survive his senior year–at least not sane.
Seraphima is called down to a tiny Vermont town of unusual girls, unpredictable weather, and unresolved tragedy. Her mission: to keep her nephew safe as he discovers his powers, while getting used to her own mortal body, college prep classes, and boys who ask her to dance.
Sera must teach her charge there are more things in Heaven and Earth than he’s ever dreamt, as Lars battles the fires that threaten those he loves.

Available at amazon.com

January 12, 2016 by kira a. gold

A Duchess in Name

duchess

My friend and colleague Amanda Weaver wrote this amazing story that I will gush over until I die. The cover is exquisite and the plot and the characters are superb.

The blurb from amazon:
After graduating from British finishing school, an American heiress fulfills her duty and weds a destitute earl. A lie brought them together, but will it also tear them apart? Find out in this can’t-miss Victorian marriage-of-convenience story from a compelling new voice in historical romance.
(Read more here.)

My review:
So good. The characters were so well crafted that my heart was bleeding for them the whole book. Gorgeous and sexy, angsty and delightful. One of my biggest critiques of period romance is that the clothing is described inaccurately, but I was safe in Weaver’s hands. Her costuming background makes for perfectly drawn details–my absolute favorite scene takes place in a dressmaker’s shop.
A fast read that tugs on the emotions the whole story, with the bedroom door left wide open for some delicious moments.
I can’t wait for the next one.

December 31, 2015 by kira a. gold

The Forest’s Son

forest I was outside taking a reading break while waiting for a Papageno mask to dry and the redbud tree overhead dropped a few leaves on my iPad. One of those perfect moments.
Cyndy Aleo released THE FOREST’S SON as serialized novel, and I clawed the walls for each installment. The tease:

HIDDEN FOR TWO CENTURIES. HIS TRIBE WANTS HIM DEAD. HIS BEST FRIEND WANTS HIS HEART.
Two things differentiate Vance Welburn from the rest of his college classmates: his loyal to the point of social suicide female best friend and forgetting everything including his own name approximately once a month.
Each time Vance loses his memory, his best friend Donovan grows more frustrated. Then they both discover the secret Vance has been keeping even from himself: He’s part of a legendary tribe of women said to live in the forests of Poland. They kill all male children. And he and his mother have been on the run for nearly 200 years.
Before they know it, Vance and Donovan are fighting for their lives against this tribe most believe is mythological. Realizing their feelings go deeper than friendship leaves him with a choice: Donovan or destiny?

I loved loved loved this book. I wanted illustrations by Brian Froud, and a movie by Guillermo del Toro ala Pan’s Labyrinth.
Cyndy has since collected the sections and published them as a single book. Here are my goofy reviews per installment:

Unknowing: A gorgeous opening- it’s like walking into a forgotten myth and discovering you have deeper roots than you thought. It’s a little sexy, and a little dangerous, and I can’t wait to read the rest.
Awakening: I love the way this is unfolding; Vance is fascinating, and I really like Donovan’s voice. I’d forgotten how fun it is to read serialized stories.
Supplanting: Edge of my seat–so much tension and I don’t want to leave spoilers but lots of action twists that I didn’t see coming-
Leaving: This section ran in fifth gear for me, angsty and gorgeous and sexy!
Ending: So good. I wanted more, a second helping, an invitation to the next party, but there’s closure and icing on the cake.

Find it on amazon here.

ODIN’S MURDER

ODIN’S MURDER is no longer in print. I’ve left these entries up for those readers who have copies and enjoy Easter eggs and background info. I still have a few trade paperbacks squirreled away–catch me in person and I might have one!

“Being near her is a lot like the knife blade in my pocket; one careless move and I’m sliced open in a very personal manner.”

Ethan Tyrell has no idea how he got accepted to the Scholastic Honors Program for exceptional students, but going to college is a hell of a lot better than going back to a prison cell. Keeping his temper isn’t easy though, and keeping his hands to himself is especially difficult when he’s around his roommate’s sharp tongued and glamorous sister.

Memory Erikssen is not the kind of girl a boy can forget; she makes sure of that. Quick with both a charcoal pencil and a lipstick, she won’t draw the same line or walk the same path twice. The tension grows explosive between these two when members of their team go missing, and they must learn to trust each other as they unravel a dangerous mystery that spans centuries of local and distant legends.

September 1, 2015 by kira a. gold

A whiff of FLAMES

From THE SCENT OF FLAMES, Chapter 1: Sentinels

perfume2 I nose the Ford over the speed bumps and turn right, driving through town rather than taking the highway. The lake road is busy, pickup trucks hauling boats, kids out making the most of the last days of summer. I honk at a few people I know. We drop Olle off at the house, and head up Route 30. Dane lives a half mile away from us straight as the fish swims, but it’s a five-mile drive to his side of the lake.

“Thanks for the ride,” Dane says.

“So how long are you grounded?”

“Until this wedding garbage is over. You coming? It’s not every day a guy becomes his own cousin.”

“So when you jerk off now, will it be incest?” I ask.

“Y’know, I hadn’t even thought of that. C’mon, Lars you gotta go to this thing. The whole town will be there, and the guys are playing. I’ll need someone to hang out with.” He stops talking as I pull up to Floatbridge Road. I glance at him as I look for oncoming traffic. He’s smirking at me. “Minnie Largo is catering it, so the girls will be there. Including Violet.”

The truck lurches as I grind the gears. “When did she get back?”

“Yesterday. She was there, today, at school. Figured you’d bump into her at the theater.”

I say nothing and the grin spreads like grease across his sooty face. “Surprised you didn’t see her at the fire.” I pull into his driveway, but not up to the house. “She cut her hair,” he says. When he opens the door, I roll the truck another foot–and when he tries to get out, another two–but he just laughs. “Don’t even pretend, Lars. You watched her ass your entire sophomore year.”

“Out of my league, man.”

He slams the truck door. “And wear a tie to the wedding.”

“Why do I have to wear a tie?”

“Because I have to.”

Dane’s uncle calls him in, and I head back up Route 30, following the line of lake houses to the smallest one. I leave enough room in the driveway for another vehicle, but mom has left a sticky note for me on the kitchen counter saying she’ll be back on Tuesday. I peel it off, and toss it in the trash. There’s another on the bathroom mirror for my brother. It curls as the room fills with steam from the shower. In the foggy glass, I search for a glimpse of the ghost, but the only resemblance I see of my father is the ash of the fire on my face.

~~~~~~

Available at amazon.com

August 1, 2015 by kira a. gold

Songs for Seraphima

“What are you?” His voice is raspy with sleep. “I’ve never dreamed of an angel in a mask before.”
“In China, we get to be dragons.” A sharp pinch on her toe snaps Seraphima back into her bones, the boy and his room sliding into the astral plane like a morning star.

–The Scent of Flames, Chapter Three: A Borrower

the lovers

Dido – No Angel

Talvin Singh feat. Amar – Jaan

Temple of The Dog – Say Hello 2 Heaven

Hildegard von Bingam – O Euchari In Leta Via

Black Mountain – Angels

Eurythmics – There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)

Lesiëm – Fundamentium

Beyoncé – Halo

Enigma – Sadeness pt. 1

Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing

A MIDSUMMER FLIGHT’S DREAM

Twenty years ago, on a quaint island off the coast of Sweden, a boy promised to catch Jolie if she fell from her aunt’s roof. Now, her life has hit rock bottom, and she must fight her way through the airport security determined to impede her journey back to Öland, where she is met with new challenges, forgotten memories, and Mattias—now a successful and wealthy family man. Can Jolie rediscover who she is, and get home in one piece?