Raine Balkera - Romance Author

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...

Hello! It's Friday the 13th, y'all! I don't want to 'jinx' myself, but I tend to have good Friday the 13ths and not bad or clutzy ones. Anyway... Welcome to Week 15 of the 2018 MFRW Author Blog Challenge , where each week we are asked to discuss a topic, (usually) pertaining to our career choice, which is Writing. This week's topic is: How I Celebrate Completing My Manuscript Before I begin, let me just say that I am fully aware of the fact that my total honesty when answering these challenge questions will never win me any Popularity Contests. I'm okay with it, though. As a self-proclaimed Superficial Person who hates that fact about herself, when it comes to this PERSONAL blog that people are likely to read, I've long-ago decided that this is MY space, like it or not. And, by Superficial, I just mean that in-person situations are always uncomfortable for me BECAUSE I am too superficial. I tend to smile too much, go with the fl...

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Week 11 of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge . Today's topic is: If I Never Had to Do This One Task Again.... Oh BOY, am I going to get FLAMED this week, but here goes. Yeah, I hate work as much as the next guy, believe me, and being the Queen of Lazy isn't as easy as it sounds. I used to be a Teacher and am now a Sub, but my 'love' for the kiddies decreases by the assignment, so to say I wish I never had to Work Outside the House another day of my life is extremely tempting! Can I just say that if you are raising your child(ren) to believe they are super-special snowflakes, flawless and without guilt or the crime gene, or simply refuse to discipline them, will you please stop it now? CASE IN POINT This week, a second grader refused to shut her mouth all afternoon and despite numerous "Please, stop talking when I'm talking" and "Please don't talk when your friends are t...

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...

Yeah, pretty harsh if I do say so myself. I'm frustrated, though, so (for me) it's natural to get all worked up, want to break things, and just shout every cuss word known to man. Like, F*ck you, stupid *sshole Video Editing software for SAYING you convert files but then don't. But, that's not MY fault, it's theirs! They are liars who trick people like me, who don't know sh*t about editing, into thinking they are getting what they need only to find out they aren't. And, kiss my fat *ss, Video Editing Software, for showing me how to insert clips and audio, but then when I go to upload the file to YouTube, YouTube tells me, "Nuh-uh! All this is is an Audio File. Click here to find out how to add Video to your... um... video." Right. Like, the 3+ hours I just spent working on what I know was VIDEO with audio added wasn't actually video? Again, that wasn't ME being a stupid *ss but the software. The piece of sh*t Vide...

Hello, y'all, and welcome back for Week 44 of the MFRW Author Blog 52-Week Blog Challenge, and the question posed is: A Person That Inspires Me . FIRST I just can't ignore this, and I unapologetic-ally bring to your attention the following: Human or not ? ... who, that, and which can all function as relative pronouns in a sentence or clause. This means that they are used to refer back to a person or thing that was previously mentioned. One of the distinctions between that, which, and who as relative pronouns is based on whether you’re talking about people or things . ~oxforddictionaries.com ... because I am the sort of person who will point these things out and not feel bad about it. You're welcome. On with the Challenge! A Person WHO Inspires Me would be someone who does something that actually gets my attention and makes me feel better about myself. Easy. Long story short, I never met a single person in all my years of higher learnin' who wen...

Good Day to you all, and welcome back for another installment of the MFRW Author Blog's 52-Week Blog Challenge . It is Week 38 today, and the topic of discussion is: The Best Parts of Each Season With it being the first official day of Autumn today... and a sweltering 91 degrees F outside, I'll begin with Autumn and work my way around the Four-Quarter cycle of life. AUTUMN Autumn As an amateur photographer, Scenic shots are what I most gravitate towards (and are likely the simplest form of the hobby to obtain). It isn't my favorite season in a year, and in my head, it comes second as far as prolific beauty, color, and attraction go. What I think is cool about Autumn are the shift in sun's position from our backyard to the front yard, yes, the trees and shrubs going from green to WOW!, and especially the gradual (sometimes abrupt) change in the temperature. Autumn is a sad time for me, though, because I know what's coming, and in Michigan, i...

(In case you haven't noticed, I spent a few days revamping my Blog. The color scheme never seems quite right to me, and if there is something about the whole thing that sets you off, jars your senses, or makes you want to look away, I'd really like to know!) Hi everyone, and welcome to another installment of the MFRW.org 52-Week Blog Challenge. Week 28 here, and this time we are asked to talk about any Life Lessons in My Novels . Um... This is a bit like asking if I believe violent video games promote violence. Or if I agree that rap music is morally and ethically unstable. That wearing a seat belt is the law for a reason . All of which are valid points to ponder but none of your business and certainly not worth arguing about or berating someone for not agreeing with your opinion on. And, I'm beginning to suspect that whoever came up with these weekly challenges left my personality out of the equation. (sad face) Here is a cool pic I took of a s...