Writer TipsThe nuts and bolts of the writer’s toolbox During the DFW Writer’s Conference writers had a chance to register for a ten minute scheduled appointment to sit down and pitch a piece of their work to an agent. But for first time writers sitting down with an agent for the first time is a heart pounding, stomach flipping experience. I know. I was lucky enough to sit down and talk with Laurie McLean, of the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents, about one of my literary works. I had known for a couple weeks which agent I was meeting with. I didn’t feel nervous until the day of my appointment. At fifteen minutes before my appointment I stood outside the room, waiting to be ushered in for the actual sit down had my stomach doing back flips and my heart racing like a galloping horse. I wasn’t alone, nor was I the first to arrive. Other writers were waiting for their turn with their chosen agent. Some were nonchalant, others dressed up for it like an interview, and in a way it was. I spent the entire time telling myself that regardless of what happens I’ll still gain the experience of talking…

What makes you laugh? I find all sorts of things funny, although they are rarely jokes in the traditional sense. I can only remember one joke in fact – the one about the inflatable headmaster at the inflatable school telling the inflatable boy caught with a needle that not only has he has let the school down; worst of all he’s let himself down. But the best fun is when people are being amusing without knowing it. In my past as a glossy magazine journalist I worked with some staggering characters (sometimes literally if they’d been on the white wine and, as usual, hadn’t eaten). One editor asked me in all seriousness if I knew the difference between aristocratic legs and those of common people. Another had some good party tips: champagne made your breath smell, canapés were to be avoided because those that fell on the floor were put back on the trays and MTF men were to be avoided at all costs (MTF = Must Touch Flesh). Oh, and Desserts was Stressed in reverse. An assistant of mine once failed to show up to work because she was testing different shades of white paint on the wall of…

April 2010On Sale: April 1, 2010352 pages ISBN: 142010876XEAN: 9781420108767Paperback$6.99 Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com Something Scandalousby Christie Kelley Her Shocking Past. . .Raised as the youngest daughter of the Duke of Kendal, Elizabeth learns a devastating truth on his deathbed: he wasn’t her father at all. And because the Duke had no sons, his title and fortune must go to his only male heir: a distant cousin who left England for America long ago. Anticipating the man’s imminent occupation of her home, Elizabeth anxiously searches for her mother’s diary, and the secret of her paternity. . . Her Unexpected Future. . .Arriving in London with his seven siblings, William Atherton intends to sell everything and return to his beloved Virginia farm, and his fiancée, as quickly as possible. But as Elizabeth shows William an England he never knew, and graciously introduces his siblings to London society, it becomes clear the two are meant for each other. Soon, Elizabeth finds herself determined to seduce the man who can save not only her family name but her heart. . . Excerpt London, 1817 As the door to Elizabeth’s home slammed shut, she braced herself for the inevitable confrontation. They hadn’t even…