Raine Balkera - Romance Author

It Reeks of Thirst I'm on a one-woman crusade to bring back David, Thomas, Michael, and Rory; Bettina, Louise, Susan, and Mary in Historical Romance novel Character names. As for Contemporary Romance... this is even more of a problem and wouldn't mind seeing a return of the once-popular Jason and Jennifer overload. Because I never liked my own name and didn't have a middle name to fall back on, names have always been something of a rawhide issue with me. I adore some, cringe at others, and today, through social media, names have taken on even more meaning for me. Name memories have a far greater impact on my psyche than I care to admit or even want them to do. I think most of us can agree that when we meet someone (Laura) we can't help but be thrust back in time (Jr High) to that awful bullying period that ruined your Jr High experience AND your self esteem. And, yeah, with time the wounds do heal themselves. One of my favorite movies of all time...

I'll jump right in on this one because it's been on my mind for a while now and today encountered another 'trigger' instance that pushed me to write about it. I'm talking about Romance Reader / Reviewer reviews again. It's obvious (to me) that there are quite a few Romance readers (perhaps readers of other genres, too) who are very narrow-minded and live in-the-moment so as not to be taken seriously. However, when they under-rate a novel based on that way of thinking/believing, it does the author no justice -- which is why I've decided to speak my mind on the topic. If you follow me (lol) then you're aware of my having read a number of novels in a variety of genres. However, my favorite remains Romance novels, and I write Contemporary. On a daily basis, I browse this category in search of new reading material and will habitually scroll down to the reviews section and read them. I'll admit that most reviewers are honest when they...

Transition Week With my 2003 Hyundai Elantra finally repaired, insured, and road-worthy after nearly two years sitting idle in the driveway, I am once again a Road Warrior as well as a Weekend Writing one. And with that awesome fix comes new job opportunities. I started a new ParaPro assignment at another Preschool, but this time the students are not special needs so... no biting, kicking, punching, random screams to induce heart attacks, and no child's general lack of social engagement. However, one of the three educators I help has a very bad attitude toward the parents of these At-Risk preschoolers, which is sad, but I'm learning how to ignore negative vibes. New News I have a new camera (Nikon), so on overcast days I'll be back to my old habit of hunting down the ideal images to shoot, and with Fall in full swing now, this should be an exciting and (hopefully) impressive endeavor. Also acquired a new work space. Which isn't nearly as clunky...

AUTHOR BLOG CHALLENGE To be honest, some of the Post Topics for this challenge do not apply or interest me (right now) so I'm skipping around with this one. Character Inspiration A lot of different factors go into the creation of any, one character in any of my novels. Most often, however, they are based in-part on someone I actually know who went through some type of adventure-mishap-calamity that intrigued me to the point of devising an entire novel derived from said instance. For example, in Sing to Me , Liv is loosely based on a girl from my high school years who was attacked for being 'too pretty' as the truth became known. She was transferred to Franklin after the insane kidnap and hours of mindless torture the girl suffered at the hands of an immature girl who couldn't quite deal with her own insecurities. Liv's circumstances in my novel are not dramatized but my own idea of something similar in order to avoid a lawsuit. Neal, th...

THE WEATHER It's raining here in SE Michigan, and after a severe drought that began in late May and lasted until late August, RAIN is a welcome weather occurrence. Except when it lasts for days (like it has) and causes flooding (which it is). please ignore the word EPIC The clouds are rolling in not from the West but the East to bring Atlantic moisture, which means heavy downpours (since Wednesday). It also means clean, fresh air that smells semi-tropical, and I love that. Of course, this puts a "damper" on my nightly sky viewing pleasure, and it's also being reported that the Northern Lights (aurora) may be visible as far south as here for the next few nights. In other words, once this Low moves off to the east in a few days, the sky will clear and the Aurora sightings will have passed. It's a bucket list item, and one of these days I'm going to head WAY up north with camera in tow, hopeful about catching a glimpse of ...

Because I Want To It is true that I read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, but the only genre that interests me enough to want to write my own versions is Romance. www.zazzle.com Because I Love to Read  I've enjoyed reading Romance novels since I fell in love with them at age fourteen, which was around the time I began to notice boys and my head became filled with silly, zany things like appearance, body contours, eyes, mannerisms, and sex. Because I Want to Experience True Love While romance itself has managed to elude me all these years, I still find the topic fascinating and want to pursue the fantasy versions via my imagination and the ability to write. Because I Need This Outlet I still beat myself up for not pursuing this dream much earlier in life, but that I let too many outside sources dictate my life is neither here nor there anymore. One day I decided to stop the unhappy merry-go-round and take back what I'd let s...

A long time ago I read an article about a 'famous' Playboy photographer who let us in on his biggest 'trade' secret to capturing the best photos for the magazine. He said when he starts with a new model, he is silent and refuses to offer the woman any words of encouragement. That way, she becomes desperate and starts to expose herself more, works harder to attract him as a woman, and ends up making love to the 'camera' so-to-speak. This was an eye-opener moment on Manipulative Behavior because at that time, a friend's photographer friend wanted to work with me, and I hated him. He rubbed me the wrong way and was the most insulting creep I had ever met. It confused me why he wanted to take my picture if he had nothing nice to say and treated me like dirt. After reading that Divine Providence article, it made perfect sense. Especially since he wasn't the first rude guy I had encountered back in the day. From about the 6th grade on, I met m...