What is it about Twitter that’s so addicting? I think partly because it’s a fun and easy way to network and socialize. For someone like me who’s usually three steps behind the masses when it comes to a new social network, computer program, or gadget, Twitter didn’t take me long to get started.

I’m certainly far from an expert, and I’m still learning more and more while I mostly fumble around, lurk some, tweet a little and feel my way through twitterverse. Recently, I decided to do some research about “following”. Why do some tweeple have tons of followers and others don’t. I found numerous posts and blogs on this topic. I’ll share what I found and my own thoughts. Here are a few tips:

If you’re wondering why people are NOT following you on Twitter, maybe you’re using it wrong.

• Is your Profile incomplete? Easy fix. Post a picture of something, even if it’s not your face. What do you do? If you’re a writer, what do you write? Where do you live? (Not your exact street address) and do you have a website or blog URL posted?
• Are you ALWAYS talking about yourself?People aren’t necessarily interested in the mundane, day-to day stuff of your life unless you’re VERY famous, or you can make those topics interesting and entertaining. They usually want to know things that relate to them. For instance, they don’t care if you just cooked dinner unless you give a link to a fabulous recipe. Twitter is a social network so you will talk about yourself, but maybe not all the time.
• Then there’s the other extreme: Are you presenting yourself as a business, not as a person? No one likes to be spammed. We like to talk to people. Entertain, inform, and be social while sometimes promoting your business.
• Are you on a following frenzy? People look at the “following” to “followers” ratio. If you’re following 1500 people but only 50 people are following you, you may be guilty of this. This is a red flag that someone is looking to spam. Start a conversation, be social and people will follow you.
• Are your tweets negative and whiny? Whining and complaining turn people off—no brainer here—and can spiral into arguments.
• Always lurking, never Tweeting? Well, get out there and tweet. Reply to someone’s tweet. RT (Re-tweet) someone’s tweet that you found interesting. Brag about some else’s accomplishments.

 Give Twitter a try if you haven’t already. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/kathykulig And check out my article about Twitter in the August issue of Romantic Times Magazine.

Tags: Kathy Kulig, Romantic Times Magazine, social networks, twitter

Okay, I have to admit that I couldn’t seem to resize this cover, so I had to let the monster size fit in here. I wanted to present and oldie but goodie. My SIA series went for a long time at Ellora’s Cave and then ran out of gas. There comes a time, I think anyway, where a series has to end or it starts getting very, very stale. PRIMORDIAL is my one and only Romantic Times Top Pick reviewed with 4 1/2 stars. Believe me, that honor blew me away. But when this book came out, the kudos kept coming, such as an EPPIE final in 2005 and a JERR Gold Star Award. Plus, it finaled in more contests. Anyway, PRIMORDIAL came out of my love for writing paranormal mixed with romantic suspense.

This story is set in the fictional Central American country of Puerto Azul, which I based on the real country of Costa Rica. I spent considerable time researching everything I could about Central America to give this story a real flavor. But with the paranormal elements, I knew I was going to throw in some stuff that was different and wild. Here is a blurb and an excerpt! Hope you enjoy this story and others in my SIA series. Stop by my website at www.deniseagnew.com to see more excerpts in this series.

Warning: Explicit excerpt:

Some forces are too primal to contain… Some attractions too hazardous to acknowledge…When archaeologist Keira Jessop and her grandfather are accused of stealing an artifact with paranormal powers, the Special Investigations Agency demands she trek into a remote rainforest to locate the strange object. When she learns cocky, handsome special agent Zane Spinella will be her protector on this perilous assignment, she can’t help but be wary of him even if he is heart-stopping sexy and once saved her life. Zane doesn’t trust easily, least of all a woman who may be a criminal and makes his most primitive cravings boil. She has never encountered a more enticing or maddening male in her life. As they encounter a mysterious people and battle a twisted enemy who also wants the artifact for his own, they will discover sexual ecstasy and dark secrets are not the only dangers hidden in the dark and dangerous jungle.

Excerpt from Denise A. Agnew’s EPPIE 2005 Finalist Nominee and RT TOP PICK, PRIMORDIAL:

Available now from Ellora’s Cave www.ellorascave.com

San Cristobal International Airport

The Republic of Puerto Azul

I really hate the tropics.

This entered Keira’s head the minute she stepped off the plane. From the outside, through the small windows on the aircraft, the airport looked modern and sleek. But as she walked through the air conditioned tube connecting the plane to the terminal, she remembered a hot, humid blast of air would feel like a wet, smothering blanket. She’d spent time in enough out-of-the-way and not so out-of-the-way tropical locales to regret it.

As she rolled the small carryon behind her, she wished she’d worn shorts. The heavy-weight green sweater over the tank top would have to go. Her good luck charm, a square pewter Celtic design necklace, stuck to her flesh where it lay against her skin. Long khaki pants would work for the jungle, but they clung to her body in uncomfortable places. Her fanny pack felt too tight around her waist and she couldn’t wait to loosen it.

Her head throbbed and she rubbed her left temple. She knew part of the problem. Flying left her dehydrated. She could never get enough water rushing from place to place while traveling.

She’d flown into Mexico and stayed there overnight at the hotel connected to the airport. Unfamiliar with the country and exhausted, she’d fallen into bed to sleep. She knew meeting Zane Spinella in Puerto Azul wouldn’t be a good idea if she was jet lagged to the nines. After managing ten hours of sleep, she’d made the rest of the flight to San Cristobal this afternoon.

Now she could face Agent Spinella. At least she hoped she could.

First impressions bombarded her weary body as she trailed behind an elderly couple walking feebly toward the welcoming arms of two young women. Keira glanced to the left into the open terminal, which bustled with noise and what seemed like hundreds of people greeting disembarking passengers. The terminal, built with bright chrome and glass motif, hummed like a beehive without the organization. Advertisements for car rental companies, hotels, and the usual tourist information plastered the walls in several different languages. Wildly colored posters across the room proclaimed Puerto Azul the new adventure capital of the world. Laughter and the ringing of a cell phone reached her ears. She winced as the noise made her head pound that much harder. Her gaze cornered at least two men along the perimeter of the crowd wearing dark navy-blue uniforms and patches that declared them military. Both of them held automatic weapons.

She glanced at faces around her and noted that most of them appeared of Spanish decent. Many natives mixed with the crowd of bustling tourists eager to get to their hotels and enjoy a drink next to the pool.

Then she saw a tall man standing above many of the smaller people in the crowd, his stance bristling with anticipation, as if he expected the need for action any second.

Zane.

She’d never been good at remembering faces but after her encounter with him in Egypt and the photograph in her folder, she couldn’t forget him. This man relayed hard-edged danger no one could forget. His eyes lit up with acknowledgement but he didn’t smile. In fact, his gaze looked downright hostile for a few seconds.

Oh goody. A guy with an attitude. Just what she needed.

The crowd surged forward and blocked any chance for her to head his direction immediately. She gave him a hint of smile, her mouth feeling like stiff cardboard. Struggling through the maze of humanity, she finally made it to his location near a pillar. He grinned as he stepped forward, a self-assured, striking smile that took some of the darkness from his eyes and surprised the hell out of her.

His photograph, as they say, didn’t come close to doing the agent justice. A mere picture couldn’t send an untamed, inappropriate shiver straight into her tummy and down to her loins. A photo couldn’t express the high-test masculinity that permeated him. A male animal like this didn’t come along often, and every female within fifty yards would have difficulty keeping their eyes off him.

Ruggedly handsome described him in a superficial way, but up close she saw he possessed enough imperfection to make him that much more delicious. His nose looked a bit crooked at the tip, and a new scar formed over his left eyebrow. She hadn’t noticed these things trapped in the alcove that day in Egypt. No, she’d been too busy trying not to notice how his body felt pressed up against hers.

She couldn’t remember ever feeling small next to a man, but Zane must be at least six-four. And what a gorgeous body. Not noticing his wide shoulders encased in a muscle-hugging navy T-shirt with Puerto Azul splashed in tropical fruit colors on the front and not noticing the well-developed biceps and forearms would be damned difficult.

“Welcome to Puerto Azul, Dr. Jessop.” His voice, deep and sinfully husky, rolled across her body with a tingle of electricity both thrilling and soothing.

She reached out to shake hands and his big fingers felt callused and strong, his palm warm and firm. He shook her hand without smashing her fingers together, his strength tempered by caution.

“Agent Spinella. Pleased to meet you. Again.”

“Call me Zane, please.”

She nodded, encouraged by the warmth in his handshake. “I’d prefer Keira. Dr. Jessop makes me sound like I’m ready to perform surgery.”

One of his dark eyebrows spiked upward. “Are you?”

She sniffed. “I have a doctorate in Anthropology and Archaeology.”

“Ah, just as your dossier said.”

Dossier. A word that sounded so important. So…criminal.

Someone bumped into her and he reached out as Keira stumbled forward. His fingers clamped her waist to steady her.

Zane’s fingers slid from her waist around to her mid back and her breasts brushed a chest as hard as it looked. She inhaled as her nipples beaded into tight points. His gaze captured hers as he kept his touch on her mid back. Those black eyes heated, his nostrils flaring the slightest bit as he looked down on her.

Man, he smells…yep, like all man. Earthy and blended with a delicious musk, his scent stimulated a primitive stirring low in her stomach.

She’d wondered if her attraction to him in Egypt had been false, a reaction to danger rather than genuine interest in the man. Now she knew her pull toward him wasn’t happenstance.

**

Happy love in the jungle to you all!

Denise A. Agnew

www.deniseagnew.com

Tags: Denise A. Agnew, EPPIE Finalist, Primordial, Romantic Times Top Pick

Okay, there’s nothing desperate about my dreams. J I just like the alliterative title that plays on a couple of words in two of my book titles, which feature in this week’s post.

First, The Man of Her Dreams released this past Tuesday through Samhain Publishing. One of the novellas in the shapeshifter anthology, The Man of Her Dreams is available as a stand alone story in electronic format. The print version—called Shifting Dreams will be available in April 2010.

The other two stories in the collection are: Serengeti Heat by Vivi Andrews and Kiss and Kin by Kinsey Holley.

Here’s the blurb for The Man of Her Dreams:

Three days. One wish. If the Fairy Queen keeps her promise…

Workaholic web designer Megan Jones exudes sensible and practical by day, but in her dreams she truly lives. Her nights are filled with erotic trysts with a dream lover—who also defends her against the dangerous wild stallion of her nightmares.

When she inherits a Victorian-era Welsh locket, she opens it to a shocking revelation. The tiny portrait of a black-haired man with a sardonic smile is none other than the man in her dreams. There’s only one way to learn the truth about him—head to her ancestral home town in Wales.

A member of the ancient race of Tylwyth Teg, Owain Deverell has spent the last 170 years suspended between man and beast—punishment for loving a human woman. Weary of his cursed existence, and longing to be more than the object of Megan’s dream desire, he strikes a bargain with the Fairy Queen. In exchange for retaining his human form, she grants him three days to win Megan’s unconditional love.

Or remain the object of her nightmares. Forever.

Actually, my latest release is the second piece of good news this past week.

I’m very pleased to announce that Desperate Alliance—my futuristic erotic romance, which I affectionately dub “the Bionic woman and The Fugitive go after a traitor” is a Dream Realm Awards Finalist!

Here’s the blurb:

Hallie Clearwater is about to meet her match. He might not be cybernetically enhanced like she is, but Daniel Highcliff is one formidable man. When she collects him from prison to help her catch a traitor, even in his weakened state he possesses an aura of danger. His murder charges aren’t the half of it.

On an Earth where environmental disaster and hostile takeovers have permanently changed the lay of the land and the political climes, Hallie and Daniel must learn to trust each other. By day, they deal with a corrupt government and the rift between “pure” humans and enhanced ones. By night, they explore an even rockier terrain — the intense passion between the two of them.

The Dream Realm Awards winners will be announced mid-August. I’m not one to sit on my laurels, so I’m hard at work on my next project, but I have to admit it’s a rather challenging typing with my fingers crossed. LOL

Tags: contests, Desperate Alliance, Dream Realm Awards, futuristic, Kinsey Holley, Kiss and Kin, Robie Madison, Samhain Publishing, Serengeti Heat, The Man of Her Dreams, Vivi Andrews

It’s everywhere you look, whether you admit to it or not. Everytime you look up at the sky and wonder what’s up there, you’re dabbling in science fiction (or fantasy, depending on how you’re thinking about it). Science fiction is a lot like romance: It’s everywhere you look, whether you identify it as such. Just like movies that would never be classified as romances almost always have a love interest (and if they don’t, they tend to be very serious movies and too often depressing), movies that certainly would never be classified as science fiction quite often have an element of sci-fi.

And why is that? Because it’s like introducing a little romance: It’s FUN. It’s wondering about that shooting star you saw cross the sky and whether it’s an alien coming to Earth. It’s noticing a fly on the wall and thinking about those sophisticated listening devices you’ve read about (I don’t know about you, but anyone monitoring my life would fall asleep). Science fiction allows you to explore the “what-ifs” around you. It allows your imagination to roam free, thinking about all the different what-if scenarios. A simple act of drinking a glass of water could be exotic, if you think of the possibilities. What if water were in achingly short supply and that glass of water was your ration for the week? What if that glass wasn’t filled with water after all, but maybe blood? (I’ve been watching TRUE BLOOD on DVD, so that was a logical leap.) What if your system wasn’t designed for water absorption, but something else entirely, not even liquid? The possibilities, as they say, are endless.

Similar thoughts went through my mind as I was plotting out ECHOES OF PASSION, my entry into the Hunters for Hire series for Cerridwen Press. I’ve read my share of sci-fi, courtesy of an older brother who was a science fiction nut from his earliest days. (And he would be turning over in his grave if he knew that the term “sci-fi” was now synonymous with “science fiction.” I was instructed from infancy that “SF” was the correct way to refer to science fiction in second reference!) In ECHOES, I started to think about how leaving home to settle in a new place would be different in another place, another time. And what if you actually met someone you’d dreamt about all your life, only to have that person turn and run from you?

See? What-ifs can be fun … and you can spin all sorts of stories to your heart’s content that way. My brother George would certainly have agreed.

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09 (only 7 more days!)

Tags: dreams, fun, science fiction

Guys, rather than duplicate posts here at Danger Zone Authors and also at Access Romance, I’m directing you over to Access Romance www.accessromance.com today to participate in my contest over there today! See you there!

Denise A. Agnew

www.deniseagnew.com

Tags: Denise A. Agnew, Under His Protection

I’m all over the place this week. I’m working very hard on a book that is fighting me. Details are getting the best of me in this historical. To top it off I’m trying to get everything ready for the RWA (Romance Writers of America) National conference in July. I’m going to be on vacation with my extended family (including my future sister-in-law, who is flying in from Australia) at the beach the week before the conference, so it’s a mad rush to get everything done before the vacay starts.

I’m having one of those days where nothing I write sounds right, and clever, witty dialogue is escaping me. On paper and off. Not good fodder for blogging.

Ugh. That sounds whiny. I hate whining. I think it’s more the frustration of perhaps having bitten off more than I can chew for the month of June. Liddy Midnight accused me not too long ago of stealing her May and then she threatened my July. I should have just offered her June and been done with it.

If I’m off the radar for a while I’m trying to get my head on straight and my butt headed in the right direction. Wish me luck.

I got my author copies of ECHOES OF PASSION a couple of days ago, and I was pleased when I saw the final product. For one reason or another, I didn’t see the book after I turned in the manuscript, and so I was in the dark as to whether it had weathered the editing stages well. As a rule, after I finish writing a book I don’t revisit it (I mean, if it’s done, it’s done, and I don’t see any reason to go back unless it’s to look something up), but it had been so long since I had seen it I felt I had to do something. So I did: I sat down and read my book.

As I did, a few memories of the writing process came trickling back, little by little. I remembered writing descriptions, piecing together the descriptions of a war that was waged twenty cycles (approximately two and a quarter years per cycle) ago, the battles and the outcome. I remember writing the descriptions of a settlement that had seen more than its share of sorrow and mystery, the descriptions of a lover who never was. Sometimes the descriptions came on like a waterfall, while other times … well, they didn’t. (I’m sure you know that feeling.)

Most of all, as I was reading, I remembered shaping the people. The green skin of the Neoti and the golden skin of the Vozuan, so close in so many things cultural and physiological but so far in others. And I remembered why I write; shaping those people, the places, the stories can be an amazing experience.

Only 14 more days until launch! I can’t wait!

Eilis Flynn
ECHOES OF PASSION, 7.2.09

Liam Neeson in Taken

I watched the movie Taken with Liam Neeson and for most of the movie, I literally sat at the edge of my seat, feeling my heart pound. Sure Liam is a hottie but the story hooked me. Neeson, semi-retired spy and estranged from his teen-aged daughter, is on the phone with her while she’s in Paris—AND—getting abducted.

“You’re going to be taken,” Neeson says to his daughter when she tells him men broke in and they have her friend. It gave me chills.

Action scene with Liam Neeson in Taken

Some of the scenes were a stretch for suspension of disbelief but I didn’t care because I was so into the story and I was invested with what was going to happen to the characters. While my fingernails were digging into my sofa, I was thinking: how did the writer and director do this? How did they have me hooked, have my heart pounding and have me caring about the characters?

In the beginning of the movie, Neeson was stressing over a birthday gift for his daughter. Later, at her party, it was obvious the ex-wife was a real bitch and did everything to make him look bad in front of the daughter. So already you sympathize with him, and like the daughter because you know she loves him too. Even though she’s a bit spoiled by the new step-father.

Instead of saying Neeson has military-like skills as a semi-retired spy. We’re shown this when he agrees to take on a job as a body guard for a female rock star at her concert. Things go bad and Neeson has to rescue her. As the story unfolds, you’re only given hints to what’s coming, so just when you think you’ve figured something out, the story goes into a different direction. Good plot twists keep the story moving.

I hope by watching movies like this, I’ll learn how to make my books as compelling.

Tags: Kathy Kulig, Liam Neeson, Taken, thrillers

Hey all, UNDER HIS PROTECTION, the next book in my HEART OF JUSTICE series is now available at Liquid Silver Books www.liquidsilverbooks.com! WHOOOHOOOOO! Happy dance. Here’s a blurb to tantalize you.

SWAT sniper Trey MacGilvary likes his women wild and hot…

Trey’s adventurous streak once served him wrong, now it makes him dangerous to criminals and devastating to female hearts. Englishwoman Olivia Scott’s quiet life as a librarian is about to fall apart…

With nothing more exciting to cogitate on than which video to rent on a Friday night and which pie to create for the local bake off, Olivia isn’t prepared for violence. When Trey rescues her from a man’s brutal attack, he vows she’ll be under his protection from that point forward. The enthusiasm and unpredictability of his life stirs erotic passions within her that threaten to reinvent the woman she always thought she was. Trey attraction for the plucky, bookish woman boils sky high but he’s not in relationships for the long term. Still he battles with emerging feelings he never thought he’d have again for a woman. After all, she’s returning to England in six months. There’s no way they can forge a lasting relationship, even if they wanted to. As a vengeful criminal resurfaces with revenge in mind and promises to harm everyone he loves, Trey’s skills as a sniper, a brother and a lover are tested. As danger closes around her, Olivia must find a core of strength she never knew she had, and capture a red hot passion she never hoped to find.

**

Hope you enjoy this new story in the SWAT series. You can find UNDER HIS PROTECTION and the other stories in the series at Liquid Silver Books www.liquidsilverbooks.com  Yes, there will be another book in the series, and a bonus short story, too. As soon as I know when those will be available, I’ll be sure to scream and let you know.  You can read  profiles of all the heroes in the series on my website at www.deniseagnew.com, plus excerpts!

Denise A. Agnew

Tags: Denise A. Agnew, Under His Protection