Raine Balkera - Romance Author

Of the seven Deadly Sins, invidia (envy) is probably high on my for-shame list. And despite what you've been told, it happens to be a 'healthy' emotion and not as you're-going-directly-to-hell as most want us to believe. As long as the person feeling this way doesn't act on the negative outcome, that is. Although voodoo dolls are an acceptable form of anger management whenever the green-eyed monster rears it's ugly head. Pictures used as a Dart Board are okay, too. Anything else and you risk being labeled as petty or sounding like sour grapes. Unlike most other negative personality traits, Jealousy is probably as easy to control as it is easy to let get out of hand. As with ALL vices, though, it depends on you and how you deal with it. No, it isn't. J ealousy can become an issue of self-confidence if you lack self-control -- which can be said for everything else in life that is difficult to overcome. Overcome it we can, but it...

I pronounce it with the L, but whatever A woman is at the club with some friends when she notices a guy staring at her, and he smiles. Minutes later, the guy approaches the woman and asks if she'd like to dance. The woman politely declines and the guy walks away. Stalker stalking? No. A woman is at the gym and a guy in another section notices her, makes eye contact, smiles, walks up to her and asks how she's doing, is she single, and would she like to go out sometime. The woman smiles to be polite, says she's seeing someone right now, but thanks for the compliment. The guy says No problem, he's getting together with some friends later on, and if she's interested, here's where the party is at. He then leaves. Stalker stalking? No. A man on a bus/subway train/plane notices a woman seated nearby and is instantly attracted. After summoning up his courage, he approaches the woman, asks her if she'd mind if he sits beside her -- or he a...

In keeping with my unintentional theme on what to look for when editing/revising our Romance novels, I'd like to discuss the issue of misspelled, misused, and misinterpreted occurrences in our work. And, yes, none more so than in my own. This isn't a gripe post and more of a help post (I hope). In all honesty, I don't look at this as complaining or wanting to sound better than some and more of an attempt to help elevate our genre to a higher, more acceptable status than what it is right now. We deserve it. Heroin vs. Heroine An opioid painkiller vs a Female hero Blond vs Blonde This derives from French, and in keeping with their gender-based language, it should remain that in French, blond is masculine and blonde is feminine. So, a man has blond hair and a woman has blonde hair. Damn it vs Dammit Not entirely sure how this one got started or even why. Research indicates that this is profoundly American, and that our Southern neighbors even go...

It's great to learn something new. Especially when it is relevant or makes perfect sense. Like the word Butt-Hurt . . . which is probably supposed to be TWO words and not one, like in this grammatically challenged meme I found online. And, speaking of butt hurt  . . . We've all come across blog posts such as this one from Writer's Write that offer up useful suggestions and opinion on everything from how to write successfully to how to drive more traffic to your own blog by following the guidelines, rules, and regulations (opinion) of others. For as long as I can remember, I never liked rules and rarely, if ever, obeyed them. I never liked being told what I can or can't do or even that I can or can't do something (there is a difference). Sure, I was terrified of authority figures and tried my best to be obedient, until about age 13, when I started noticing discrepancies between what was preached and what was practiced. I am a Capricorn after all A...