Raine Balkera - Romance Author

Hello! Welcome to Week 18 of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge . This week, our topic of discussion is: How I Work Up Character/Setting Profiles . If I'm not mistaken, we've discussed this before, only it was worded differently. And, if I'm not mistaken, this is asking me to discuss how I create or devise my characters and/or setting for each novel I write. Before I begin, let me apologize to those of you who participate, because, for the past few weeks, I've been suffering far more than usual with seasonal allergies. It affects a strip of my face and head that is crucial to writing and reading... the ears, the eyes, and the nose. Plus, I cough a lot, which causes a sore throat. Anyway, my eyes are crossed, blurred, double vision, and constantly itchy, making it nearly impossible to see, much less read. Then I get headaches from trying to read or stare at a screen, so... *Sigh, enough with the problems and on with the show. S...

Hi, there! This is Week 16 of the MFRW Author Blogs 52-Week Blog Challenge , and this week's topic is: Family, Friends, and Pets I've Written Into My Books. My immediate response is NONE, but something tells me I included my first dog in my first novel, and it probably sounds even worse that I don't remember, right? I know it is a dog that finally brings my H & h together near the ending, but I don't recall if I used Yukon or just a random doggy to do the job. Elelur.com Anyway, it isn't that I don't like the idea of using people I know and inserting them into my stories. For me, it just isn't Romance-inducing to think about Family, if that makes any sense to you dear readers. Thinking about my mom or dad while writing a Romance novel is counter-productive... the same way thinking about either one of them during sex would be. Right? However, and more and more, I've come to like the idea of slipping myself or someone I...

Hi, folks! Sorry about opting out last week, but the topic had no appeal, and I also had nothing to contribute to it, either. This week, Week 14, the Topic What I Learned from My Worst Review,  isn't much better, but I want to try and complete as many of these as I can without dropping out. I do have two ePub novels listed on Amazon, but no one is reading them, so I don't have any reviews. Well, I do, but they are from the five friends who said they were interested in reading it, which just means they left complimentary reviews of the high-caliber variety (in order not to hurt my feelings). So, for this post, I thought I could give examples of some really scorching reviews I've encountered when searching for things to read at Amazon, share them with you, and tell you how I would respond if they were directed at me and my work. So, without further ado... found at Amazon This is page one of three total, in the 1-star category, for a Historical Romance...

Hello, and welcome to Week 10 of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge . This week, our Challenge questions is: Things Only My Family Would Understand If this is supposed to be about me, then I'm afraid you will be disappointed because even as old as I am, I have NO IDEA what others think of me other than I'm odd, weird, ridiculous, and the black sheep of the family. Sorry to have to sound really BORING this week (maybe every week?), but in our family, we've continued to live by the What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas motto. You won't be reading any juicy, insider gossip meant to make your toes curl or your cheeks flame because that just isn't in my (our) DNA. As a matter of fact, when I returned to college for the second time, I was already moved back in with Ma after she'd had her heart attack, and I had to leave my place 'up north' to take care of her, so I thought why not try (again) to get that stupid deg...

5 Authors (Dead or Alive) whom I'd Like to Meet Hi! It's Week 6 already, and today our Challenge Question is:  Five Authors (alive or dead) I'd Like to Meet This will be a post I'm going to kick myself over in a few days (if not hours) because I only came up with three. When all is said and done, the other two are going to come to me, and I'm going to be like, "You dumbell, of course!" Also, and while this has zero to do with today's topic, it at least possibly explains my brain fog: we are currently under a Severe Winter Storm Warning through tomorrow afternoon. (sad face) We've had at least 3 to 5 inch snowfalls for the past seven days now, but tonight, starting at around 1:30 a.m., we're supposed to get another 7-10" before noon tomorrow. I've lived here all my life and still haven't adjusted to the weather in winter, so I've been pondering such things as getting my Diet Coke (fountain only) tonight or cha...

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring Hello, everyone, and HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! Welcome back to Week 5 of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge. This week, we're asked to discuss: A Book That has Influenced My Life The word 'influenced' threw me for a time, and it wasn't until I began to query others that the dawning of realization hit. Honestly, I am one-track minded when it comes to books. Books = Romance Novels to my mind, and I have yet to read one that made me sit up and think, "Y'know, it's about time I did something like this in order to better myself!" LOL Also, at my age, I don't necessarily read to 'learn' anymore... and I know that sounds odd or wrong to most, but bear with me, please. When we were on the topic of Earliest Memory, I should have mentioned my earliest Reading experience when I was probably late three or four. I was on my father's lap, helping him turn the pages of a...

  Welcome to Week Four of the MFRW Author Blog Challenge, 2018! This week's challenge question is: What I Would Do if I Couldn't be a Writer Easy... shoot myself. JUST KIDDING! If the question is geared toward those who are established Romance Authors making a decent income (enough to quit their 'other' job) then I don't qualify to respond. Which means my answer would have to be based on reality MINUS my aspirations of becoming a viable author, so this just means I'd have to go with An Office Worker --  closing in on retirement. I'm thinking if it hadn't been writing novels, it would have been photography since that is my close second passion and something I can't resist doing when the mood strikes or if something really cool, or pretty, or exciting, or interesting, or brightly colored is at hand. I actually LOVE being inside a Michael's or a Hobby Lobby, so maybe my parallel universe me would be into jewelry making or...