Weighty issues...

This has nothing to do with writing, but since it has to do with my life I figured here is as good a place as any to share.

My daughter and I are three weeks into dancing our way thinner. Just about every day we have danced to the program called Rockin' Body (from BeachBody.com) and we are each down several pounds. It took a while to get the routines, but now that we know them, I'm optimistic that we'll be shedding weight in no time!

Like many others, I've had love-hate issues with my body through the years. In the last year or so I've been able to come to terms with it and have learned to be happy in my skin. For me it's not so much an issue of how I look (though I want to look HOT this summer in skirts or a nice bathing suit!), I'm more concerned with how I feel. I'm tired of being tired.

Technically I haven't set a goal weight or date, but I'd like to see some serious results (down 20 pounds) by June. How about you? Got a weight loss success story or exercise program that you've tried with good results? Please share it here.

dot com

I've officially launched my website. Check it out: www.rosemarygunn.com

You did WHAT?

Some friends of mine were at a small local park tonight, just hanging out and talking. A couple of girls strolled into the park, pulled down their pants, squatted and pee-d right where they could be seen by my friends. The two guys were completely shocked by the girls' behavior. This is a lighted park in the middle of a quiet subdivision.

We've all done bizarre stuff in public places. What's something you've done that raised eyebrows of anyone watching?

Why erotic romance?

I've spent my life writing. As a kid I would make up tales about the little cutout scenes I created, then I moved on to poetry and essay-style stuff. For years I wrote a newsletter for my family and friends. Wrote some things for a local newspaper, and also had some short sweet romances published in now-defunct small press magazines.

Of course, writing isn't only about what we create, it's also about what we read. What we are drawn to when we have a few minutes of free time. I've been an avid reader all of my life, and a romance reader since my early teens. First YA (excellent stories that left me craving so much more), then Loveswepts and Desires (beautifully written stories that tried to push the envelope of the times, but still restricted in what they could contain), and also some single titles that were allowed a more liberal canvas. Penthouse and the like were okay for getting down and dirty fast, but lacked the emotional content I enjoy in a romance.

I read Twin Peaks in the summer of 2007 and loved it...so much I thought I'd spontaneously combust. All I could think was: Women really write like this? But I'd borrowed it from the library and one of the authors that I really enjoyed, Jasmine Haynes, didn't have any others available at the library. Now that I've read nearly all the books of my wonderful friend, I'm not surprised that the library doesn't carry them, though I'm sure not the only one in my community that would enjoy them!

In November 2007, I participated in the NaNoWriMo--National Novel Writing Month, and won...which is to say I reached the goal of 50,000 words in thirty days. It was a huge cluster though that has yet to be untangled. What the NaNoWriMo showed me in the last twenty pages that month is that I like to write love stories, yes, but not with sweet or even mildly hot sex. The stories that I needed to write would be filled with playfulness and love, but also darkness and kink. Not always dark, but always lusty.

Why erotic romance? Because I love sex. It's fun and should be explored with all the senses, including the largest sex organ of all--the brain.

Next...

With the groundwork out of the way, I was able to begin writing my next book, Salvage My Heart, the first in a trilogy tentatively called Reclaimed Love. Be sure to watch the progress of this new one with the little Writertopia widget at the bottom of the homepage of this blog.

Possible OP blurb

Samantha and Eve have it all: a beautiful home, successful careers, and a loving relationship. When the use of a sex toy brings Sam's latent desires to the forefront, the women decide to find someone who can give Sam the one thing that Eve cannot.

Roman--Eve's best friend from childhood--is surprised by their unusual request, but agrees to play anyway. Eve has always been able to count on Roman to be there when she needed him.

What she hadn't counted on were her own feelings regarding him. Will an open proposal mark the end of a friendship or the beginning of something more than any of them could have anticipated?

Cover art

In order for the artists to create the amazingly sexy covers that they do, it's important for the authors to fill out all the tiny details about the book, characters, mood, tone, colors, etc. The LSB cover art form was quite specific about the needs and, after agonizing over it for several days, I returned it last night...well, very early this morning. Whew...another step in the process checked off.

House of SiN

So I've finally made it into the House of SiN (Silver Net Forum). I was tripping over myself, which is something that I tend to do on a regular basis. I have a link in the Books Coming Soon area: Open Proposal - Rosemary Gunn. If the link doesn't work, go to LiquidSilverBooks.com and click on the Coming Soon tab...there's a link to be redirected to the forum. Scroll down...it's there.

Sold!

Liquid Silver Books has bought Open Proposal, my first book!! I'll let you know more as soon as I know more. WhooHOO!!