Terri Molina: Just Like Starting Over

Just Like Starting Over

Hello Everyone! Thanks for stopping by. I’m Terri Molina, and I write Tex-Mex romance. You can learn more about me at www.terrimolina.com

I can’t believe it’s been a year and a half since I posted here. Thank you, RTG, for having me back.

So, what’s life been like since I’ve been gone? Crazy busy, pretty much.

As you may, or may not, know, my husband lost his job in 2015 and by the end of the year, we decided to uproot our family and move back to Texas to start our own tower lighting company, a job my husband had been doing previously. Basically, our job is to climb towers and change out the lights or beacons as needed. My sons do the climbing and occasionally I work on the ground. Since Texas has a large number of lighted towers, he decided it was the best place to open. Plus, it’s home and what better place to start over?

What a tower looks like in a book.

And  when you are working on it!

Anyway, as for the writerly side, it has its ups and downs. In all honesty, I haven’t been getting much writing done, or not as much as I’d like. I’m a neurotic writer. I go through spurts when I feel like everything I write is garbage and I’m a hack and I’ll never write another book. Sometimes I think my muse decided to stay in Arizona and taunt me from afar. Haha

 

Nevertheless, I do plan to get back to writing. I have a novel to finish and a few to start. The ideas haven’t lapsed just the motivation to sit-butt-in-chair has. But, I’m working on bringing my muse home.

Some things that help are, reading (for sure) books by the authors who motivate me like Nora Roberts, Jayne Krentz, Lisa Gardner, Lee Child…and occasionally I’ll read one of the authors sitting on my bookshelf just for a chance of pace (haha, writer joke).

Other things that get the gears working are long walks, long drives, attending writing workshops and watching detective type TV shows. Then, sometimes, I just go back and reread the synopsis of the book I’m writing (if there is one).

Eventually I will finish the book-in-progress and get it out there. Then my whole “ack, I’m supposed to write another book?” neuroses will start all over again.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to see a list of my books you can follow this link to my Amazon page

Vacation Memories

So we’re talking vacations this month. It’s a bit premature since most vacations happen in the summer. 

I never really took vacations until after I was married and had kids and my husband retired from the Coast Guard and found another job, because we just couldn’t afford to. Our first family vacation was 2002. A trip to Florida. My nieces Heather and Sierra joined us, along with Sierra’s brother Nik. We went to both Disneyworld and Universal studios and had a blast! The kids were all at the perfect age to enjoy the rides and shows.  As much fun as that was though, I think my most memorable vacation was the one I took in 1975, with my whole family. It was the first and only vacation I can remember us taking and the last because a few months later my mom passed away.  I can still remember when she came to tell us we were taking a trip. She just walked in the room while we were watching TV and said, “We’re going on a trip, so pack some clothes and get some sleep. We’re leaving very early in the morning.”  Yeah, it was a spur of the moment thing. I think my aunt and uncle talked her into it, they came with us.

So we all piled into our Suburban…seven kids aged nine to seventeen, a two year old toddler and three adults and took a road trip south along the Texas gulf coastline. I remember we made stops in Alice, Kingsville, Corpus Christie and Brownsville….visiting with family mostly. Then we took a trip across the border to Mexico to do some shopping.  I don’t remember which town it was, there are a few you can cross into that welcome tourists.  Along the river on the Mexico side, you’ll see children of all ages begging for money and scrambling like ants for the measly coins people toss down to them. Once you cross the river via the international bridge and you’re accosted by merchants trying to sell you everything from candies to clothing to wall hangings. Even children, some as young as five, will try to sell you packets of gum.  The streets are lined with stores and the sidewalks are crowded with carts filled with leather belts, handbags, jewelry,  everything you can think of. And, occasionally you’ll pass a store and your senses are filled with the spicy aroma of Mexican food.  I don’t remember if anyone bought anything, although I’m sure we did.  But, you have to be careful who you turn down because if it’s the wrong person, you could end up cursed. I saw a woman give my mother a dirty look when she told her no and a couple of months later mom got sick. (Superstitious much?)

I’ve made a few trips back to Mexico over the years and not much has changed.  The children are still begging for loose change, merchants are still trying to make deals, and you won’t find better Mexican food. Of course, I avoid eye-contact, for obvious reasons. Hah

A few years back, while I was working on my book Dark Obsession (available May 5th), my aunt, cousin and I took a trip back down the Rio Grande Valley (the gulf coastline) so I could get some visuals. Dark Obsession takes place in the valley….almost all of my stories do, actually.  I got some great stories from my aunt’s in-laws as well as some great scenery to use in the story.  

Anyway, speaking of Dark Obsession, the book is being re-released May 5th. I hope you’ll pick up a copy and help spread the word. =)

Here’s the blurb and a short excerpt for your reading pleasure.

 

DARK OBSESSION

A chance encounter seals the fate of a reclusive farmer and a mysterious woman who's on the run from a man who will stop at nothing to control her--including murder.

Ray Chavez  doesn’t believe in visions or omens or the mysticism of his Mexican/Indian heritage. When he’s awakened by the spirit of this great-grandmother with a message that something is coming, Ray passes it off as a bad dream. But he may just reconsider his position when he finds Lexie Solis stranded on the edge of town, in search of a new life. Ray feels an instant attraction, as well as a connection, to the skittish young woman, and he pursues a relationship with her. But what Lexie doesn’t tell Ray or his family, is that she is on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend and he may be more powerful than even she wants to believe. When Lexie is assaulted by an unseen force, they learn that the man she is hiding from is a master of the dark arts and his obsession with Lexie goes beyond his need to control her; he wants to possess her soul as well. As their past lives parallel, Lexie’s only hope for salvation is in Ray’s hands. But can he accept his destiny in time to save the woman he loves? 

Excerpt:

Sylvia dropped onto the kitchen chair and scowled at her brother. She’d rushed straight from work after her grandmother called and told her about their new visitor. She couldn’t help but wonder if it were the same visitor her cards had been warning her about for the past week and even after she voiced this concern Ray still had the nerve to patronize her.

“She’s not some stray puppy you picked up from the side of the road, Ray,” she said. “I’m just saying you don’t know anything about her.”

Ray leaned against the counter, crossing his legs at the ankles, and sent her a crooked grin. “Damn. And I was really looking forward to teaching her a few tricks.”

“Stop thinking with your glands and think with your head, Big Brother,” Sylvia snapped.

“I’ve been thinking with my glands since I was fourteen. It’s a hard habit to break.”

Sylvia curled her lip at him and turned to her grandmother for support. She had sensed a mal puesta in the young woman and performed a limpia to heal her. It was a ritual they often worked for the families in town who came to see them about their curses. The inflicted would lie on a small cot and her grandmother would wave an egg over them, chanting a series of novenas.

She did this same cleansing on the young woman in Ray’s old bedroom. When she finished she took the egg and cracked it into a glass of salt water. The egg sizzled and cooked, curling its way to the surface like a snake trying to escape the flames of hell.

 Look for this and other works at my website: www.terrimolina.com

I'm thinking.....

......... still thinking..........

I knew my blog day was fast approaching and kept telling myself I have plenty of time, even though February always flies by so fast because there are only 28 days in the month...two or three less than any other month, yet the lack of those two days seem to make a difference in how long you have to procrastinate.

So, of course, here I sit, staring at my computer screen hoping inspiration will hit between games of Spider Solitaire and Words With Friends. I’m usually really good at thinking quick on my feet, but writing a blog post (even one I do once a month) can be daunting. You’d think as a writer, writing a blog post would come easy....not so much. When you’re penning your missive there is always one thought niggling at the base of your brain: is anyone going to enjoy this post--if they bother to read past the babble, that is?  Of course that thought is quick-stepping around my skull with everything else I’m doing. It’s been a busy year!

Along with my good friend Heather Palmer, I volunteered to coordinate my chapter conference...Desert Dreams. I knew it was going to be a lot of work, and I wasn’t worried about that. Heather and I work well together and we’re both perfectionists. We’ve put together a fantastic conference with some fabulous speakers and workshops and TEN agents and editors! If you’ve never been to a writing conference and you feel somewhat intimidated about them, then Desert Dreams is definitely the place to ‘get your feet wet’. It’s such a fun, relaxed atmosphere with so many wonderful people, it’s like going to a giant family reunion!

Anyway, the conference is in April and once that’s done, I’ll head to Denver for the RomCon convention....I think I’m doing a workshop...but I haven’t heard yet. After Denver I’ll head to San Antonio for the RWA conference, where I will be chairing the Literacy Signing for the third year in a row! After San Antonio my daughter turns twenty one and we’re going to celebrate in Vegas Baby!  But, between now and all of that, I’m in the process of reading nine books before March 19th for two different contests as well as preparing to re-release my fourth book Dark Obsession (May 5th) and complete the follow-up Body & Soul. Does it make you tired just reading that?? Yeah...it’s no wonder my muse goes into hiding.  

Lucky for me, I’m a good multi-tasker and I love a challenge...and believe me, it's been challenging. ;-) 

Blending in the Flavor of the Southwest - Multi-Cultural Romance Author Terri Molina

 

Hello All, thank you for stopping by. I’m thrilled to be a part of Multicultural Highlight here at RTG.  I’m Terri Molina and I write Latina Romance.  

It’s kinda funny to me to refer to my work in a specific culture. When I started writing it was just fiction. Yes, my characters are Hispanic, but that’s because it’s my world. I knew I could write believable Hispanic characters because it’s who I know. It wasn’t until I’d completed my second novel when a writer friend I’d met in a writing forum told me I should be pitching my books as Latina romance (because editors and agents were looking for those types of works). It felt strange to me, but I did and  landed an agent a year later, but it took some time before my first novel sold.

 During that time of submitting, I was getting word from agents and editors saying they were looking for Latina characters and novels with strong, smart, successful women. Uh.....no offense to my family or the Latina community, but to me, that just wasn’t realistic. How could I write those types of characters when I didn’t even know any? Growing up in Southeast Texas, as a orphan with six brothers a sisters, all I saw was poverty and living month to month on welfare. My aunt (who I lived with after my mom passed) was ‘old school’. She didn’t foresee a future where women ‘ruled’ or Mexican’s were anything more than migrant workers, so she didn’t encourage us to ‘reach beyond our potential’. In fact, no one really did (including my teachers in school) because all they saw was a family on welfare who’d never be able to afford college so don’t bother telling them their options.

Yeah, that’s what I came from.

So that’s what I write.

My characters are based on real life people I know, or people I’ve met over the &*&^% years I’ve been alive (heh), or situations I’ve been in. My characters and settings are stored memories of my home and family and writing about them keeps me close to them.

I often say my stories are loosely based on actual events (although not always my actual events) *wink* 

To read an excerpt of my works, seek me out at:  http://www.terrimolina.com/read-an-excerpt.html

You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or my blog Behind Brown Eyes

And, just for stopping by, I'm giving away a copy of your choice to one of my works (that makes sense in my head).  Just leave a comment below, then email me your choice of story at TerriMo2@yahoo.com

And, check out my website for the cover reveal of my upcoming re-release of DARK OBSESSION.

Wonder Where Terri Molina Is?

This is what Terri's been working on. She's the Chair of the Desert Dreams Conference being held April 4 - 6, 2014 in Tempe, AZ.

Registration is open and 10 of the first 50 who register and pay by 10/31 will win an extra agent/editor appointment. These are ten minute, one-on-one appointments.

Registration fee includes Friday Dessert Mixer, all day Saturday workshops, Saturday
luncheon, editor/agent appointments, editor/agent panel, hospitality suite, brainstorming session,
book signing, networking, and more.

Authors include Keynote speaker, Christie Craig, as well as Sylvia Day, Toni McGee
Causey, Allison Brennan, ward winning author and speaker Mary Buckham and
more.

Register online now, at www.desertroserwa.org to take advantage of our early bird
pricing and be entered in the drawing.

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/desertdreamsconference.

Thank you!!

Terri

www.terrimolina.com
Romantic Suspense
blending in the TexMex flavor of the southwest

PS: The Blog Queens will be there! I (Judith) love Desert Dreams - this will be my 5th Conference. If you can't afford RWA or RT, this is one of the best Regional Conferences out there.

Who's that Girl??

**This is a repost from an older blog floating around the internet

As a writer and a Gemini, I'm considered to have double personalities. So, I thought I'd sit down with myself and ask the questions you're all dying to know!

Q:         So....I'm here today with Terri Molina enjoying a cup of herbal tea...
Terri:    Uh...excuse me...Herbal Tea?? Do I look like I drink Herbal Tea?? Where's the coffee?

Q:         Sorry. She's having coffee (like she needs the caffeine) I'll have the tea....anyway....let's get started with the interview. So, let's start with the most often asked question:  When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
Terri:    I don't think anyone really decides to become a writer...they just do. But, my wanting to become an author began about 15+ years ago when I decided I finally wanted to share my work with the public. It was shortly after my Aunt Gail and Uncle Tony died (within a couple of hours of each other on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day). My first novel was actually a dedication to them, but I never finished it (long story). Suffice it to say, I wasn’t ready to be a writer. After a few years of studying the craft  I decided to write another book. I sat at the computer every night for two months and wrote the first draft of book one then put it away and spent the next two months writing the first draft of book two. I never dreamed I'd ever complete them, much less sell them...but I did. Crazy, huh?

Q:         Why did you choose the style or the sub-genre?
Terri:    Style? There's a style? Actually, the first novel I tried to write was a family saga (explained above). I never completed it, but I may return to it one day. Anyway, a couple of years after "training" myself to write I decided to try my hand at writing a suspense. I'd been a big fan of Nora Robert's single titles (Montana Sky being my all time fave!) and just loved how she mixed the suspense and romance into such a great story, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I took an incident from my (younger) life and expanded it with What If..... To be honest I didn't consider making it a romance, it just kind of happened. My second book, which is Dark Obsession, also a romantic suspense but with paranormal elements, happened the same way. (Chalk it up to a traumatic childhood----uh, therapy anyone?)

Q:         What's your favorite line from one of your books?
Terri:    Hmm....I guess the one in chapter one of Dark Obsession. My character Ray is awoken at three in the morning by the spirit of his great-grandmother and when she appears to him he thinks "Great, thanks to too much bourbon and Bruce Willis, I'm talking to dead people."

Q:         When do you find time to write?
Terri:    I’ve been a stay-at-home mom since child three was born, mainly because my husband was in the Coast Guard and we moved every two years. Our children were still in elementary school when he retired and got a civilian job and it was just easier to not work and cart them all around, plus child two has health issues so I spent a lot of time with her at various doctor appointments....ANYWAY...despite my rambling, my inspiration usually hits late at night or when I'm in the shower. Go figure.

Q:         You don’t consider yourself an erotic romance author, yet your stories (save one) each have very sensual love scenes. Is it hard (no pun intended) to write outside of your comfort zone?
Terri:    Actually, yeah. The love scenes weren’t even in the books (as detailed as they are) in the beginning and I only added the eroticism because my first agent asked me to. I have to admit I still feel a bit awkward when I write them. But I was really out of my comfort zone when I was asked to write Her Will His Way (by an editor--now formerly from Kensington). She had three stipulations. (1) it had to be contemporary. My books and future books are all suspense/mystery (2) it had to be erotic. She had read my other books, LOVED the "sex" and wanted me to made the new story even HOTTER (3) the story had to be 60-65 pages. That may sound like a lot, but it isn't. I was completely out of my element. But I managed to get the story done.

Q:         What do you do when you're not writing?
Terri:    I pretty much just take care of my family. I also like to read and I'm currently putting together my summer reading list. I also try to keep up with my friends all over the US. Since the kids are older (teens and younger twenties) and have their own lives my husband and I have date night on the weekends. Usually dinner and a movie.

Q:         What are your goals as a writer?
Terri:    Hmm....I'm not really a goal making person. But, I guess if I had to make one it would be to write what I most enjoy reading and not worry if it's ever going to get published. Is that a goal? Uh... I'll let you know when that's working out for me. Oh...wait, I do have a goal I'm currently working on. Trying to hit the top 100 in Kindle reads at Amazon. Yeah....it's a bit lofty, but ya never know....with the great reviews I've been getting and more word of mouth...it could happen. (have I mentioned I can be a bit of a dreamer at times??)

Q:         Uh....yeah. Moving on. I know you are an active member of RWA, what are some of the things you have done with RWA?

Terri:    I joined RWA in 2004 (after an agent I queried wrote on her rejection letter "RWA is in Houston-JOIN") and figured, even though I'm basically a shy person, I needed to jump right in if I wanted to be published like the rest of them. I went to my first National conference in Dallas that year and was instantly recruited to work the Lit signing. The following year, Angie Platt grabbed me in Reno and it was a given that I work again in Atlanta. I served a year as president of the NW Houston chapter before our family moved to Arizona, where I also served as chapter president. I'm still a member of the Houston chapter because I still have friends I adore there. I’m still active with the national organization and this year will chair the literacy signing in Atlanta.

Q:         I noticed on a few websites you will give a writer feedback on their posted samples. It's been said you're a very straightforward person, some would say blunt, especially when it comes to critiques.
Terri:    Straightforward? I guess at times I am...but those who actually know me would find that statement extremely amusing. Lol  However, I don't offer my opinions or feedback on someone's work unless I am asked and I will not give dishonest feedback when the whole purpose is to learn. I've been doing this a while, I've been cut to the bone by harsh critiques. I [was] even told (by another writer) that I'd never get published and I would never say that to anyone. So when I offer my suggestions (which is all they are) I do so with the intention of helping that person see what they could do to improve their manuscript and get it ahead of the slush pile. Of course no one likes to hear their work isn’t ‘there’ yet so on occasion it’s not worth the time. But I am proud to say that there are a few authors out there who’ve sold after my help.

Q:         Is it hard for you to receive critiques of your work, especially if you don't agree with them? How do you handle that?
Terri:    Of course. It's hard for anyone to receive critiques on a work you spilled blood for. I don't take them personally unless they're delivered as a personal attack...in which case, I'll vent to a friend or two and wait for them to "talk me down" from my anger. But a critique, whether delivered by me or you or anyone, is just an opinion offered to help. I listen to all the feedback I'm given on my work...I don't necessarily follow it unless it's said more than once. But, the bottom line is, the book belongs to the author who wrote it and only he/she knows what story they want to tell.
Now...enough of those questions! Ask me something fun!

Q:         Okay. Tell us something interesting about yourself no one else knows.
Terri:    Oh...uh...well....hmmm....when I was thirteen I stayed the summer with my aunt and uncle in Angleton (Texas). We went to New Braunfels for a week (to ride the rapids). I lied and told them I knew how to swim. It wasn't until I fell into the deep end of the swimming pool and nearly drowned when they realized I couldn't. Luckily my aunt was sitting right there and reached in to grab me....by my hair. And that is also one of my most embarrassing moments.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to yourself....like that never happens. Haha

And thank you all for reading. As an added treat, here’s an except from my latest release House of Cards—a romantic suspense about a young woman trying to find her missing sister and prove her brother-in-law is a killer.

Excerpt: House of Cards

By five o’clock, the story was all over the news. Within two days, it had gone nationwide. Every television reporter from CNN to Fox News had arrived in town setting up camp in the quiet neighborhood of Rancho Viejo and their hunger for a story left little room for the truth.

Michael settled at his desk with a mug of coffee and opened the file they had started on Alicia Vega. Behind him, the late afternoon sun radiated through the open blinds, reflecting off the veneer top of his desk.

Over the past three days since Alicia Vega had been reported missing, they’d set up a recovery center, made several hundred flyers with her picture, launched a door to door search of the neighborhood and started a hotline offering a ten-thousand-dollar reward to anyone with information leading to her safe return.

He’d given a brief press conference on the evening news and because Michael knew the importance of the media in these situations, he’d encouraged Jesse and Marcus to use the press as well. However, since Jesse refused to stand with Marcus, Michael accompanied her to the local ABC affiliate to give a video interview with Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America while Oscar appeared with Marcus on the Today show.

Jesse had kept quiet throughout most of the discussion, leaving him to answer a majority of the questions. He could see she was trying her best to keep her hostility toward Marcus in check, but when the journalist asked point-blank if Jesse thought her brother-in-law had something to do with his wife's disappearance; she'd looked directly into the camera and said yes.

Had Michael known Jesse would outwardly accuse her brother-in-law of murdering his wife he’d have kept her under lock and key. Now, because Marcus had friends in LULAC--The League of United Latin-American Citizens–the police were not only being accused of discrimination, but LULAC was using its influence to make sure Vega wouldn't be railroaded.

Though the case had yet to be classified as anything more than a missing person, Michael planned to follow his gut and record everything he could about Marcus's behavior. Because, if he really did kill his wife, Michael was going to make sure there was enough evidence to put the son-of-a-bitch away. Regardless of whom his friends are.

**If you want to learn more about Terri you can find her at any of the following:

www.terrimolina.com

http://right2write.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/terri.molina

https://twitter.com/#!/Terri_Molina 

http://www.amazon.com/Terri-Molina/e/B004S2VMV2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

It's Not a Mystery Where Ideas Are Born

As writers we’re often asked, “where do you get your ideas?”  Okay...so far, no one has asked me that, but I’ll tell you anyway. I think my answer is the same as everyone....life.  Stories are everywhere and all it takes is an active (or warped) imagination to bring them to life.  Take any scenario within your life or the person’s beside you, and ask “what if this happened?”  There, you go...you have the basis of the story.  Okay, it’s not really as easy as that. There’s a lot of research involved when developing a novel, especially if you’re planning to make it a suspense.  

When I was writing my first novel Forget Me Not, I did a lot of reading about police procedurals and serial killers. For book two, Dark Obsession, I looked into the world of black magic within the Mexican culture. Since my novels are considered ‘Latina Lit’ because they involve Latina (or in my case, Mexican) characters, they contain some of the beliefs and superstitions found within that culture. Of course, it is fiction, so much of it is artistic license.  Anyway, the more information I gathered, the more my story came to life, but not only that, the wheels started spinning in my head for another story, and soon, my research started branching out into other areas I found just as fascinating (if not disturbing). 

On the 15th, I released my third novel, House of Cards. The story is about a young, pregnant woman, who goes missing and her younger sister’s fight to prove her brother-in-law is a killer. But she can’t get anyone to believe her because everyone believes she’s mentally unstable.  I based this story on three of the news articles and stories I came across during my research and of course I asked ‘what if?’.  

And, just to whet your reading appetite, here’s a sneak preview.   

CHAPTER ONE

The needle wavered at sixty-five miles per hour. The engine gunned and the car shuddered seconds before the tires left the pavement. Metal crunched against metal, sparks igniting across the highway. Jesse squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact. Her body bucked against the backseat as the car rolled, the seatbelt strap pinning her against the vinyl and cutting into her neck. Glass shattered against her skull as the car tumbled to a stop in a shallow ravine. Jesse struggled with her seatbelt, fighting to unclasp the latch.  The burning odor of gasoline stung her eyes. 

Outside a shadowed figure stepped forward and crouched beside her door.

“You should have left it alone,” the voice said.

Even through her petrified fear she heard the unmistakable scrape of a match. The figure took a step back and tossed the tiny stick into the car. 

Her scream woke her. 

Jesse bolted up on the sofa, her arms flailing, fighting the restraints of the chenille blanket tangled around her. The soft glow of light from the laptop on the coffee table caught her attention and it took her a moment to realize it had been a dream. She wasn’t that helpless child anymore. She wasn’t trapped in a burning car with her parents. She was at home, in her apartment where she’d lived for the past five years.

She shoved the blanket off and pressed the heel of her hands to her eyes to push back the burning tears. She was safe. She was fine. She was alive. She tried to repeat the mantra but the images from her nightmare continued to play in her head. 

“Damn it.”

After giving herself a moment to steady her pulse she slapped the computer closed and staggered into the kitchen. She didn’t need to look at the clock above the sink to know what time it was. Three o’clock in the morning. Same freaking time every night for the last two weeks.  With a frustrated sigh she yanked open the refrigerator and grabbed a water bottle.  She took a long drink, the cold liquid soothing the rawness of her throat.  Outside lightening flashed, followed by the sonic boom of thunder. She jolted, her heart slamming against her breastbone like a sledgehammer. The dream flashed in her mind. The car tumbling across the highway. Her mother’s terrified screams. The explosion that turned her parent’s flesh to bones and ash. 

Jesse closed her eyes and held her breath, counting against the thump of her pulse. After the accident the doctors had told her she’d lead a normal life; that her injuries, though life threatening at one time, wouldn’t keep her from doing whatever she wanted to do. She slowly exhaled and slid a look at the orange pill bottle on the window sill. They just didn’t say anything about her mind debilitating her.

She took another pull from the bottle, her gaze shifting to the blinking light on the old answering machine buried under a newspaper. The calls she’d ignored earlier. She mentally ran through a list of possible callers–her boss at the paper, a student from her computer research class wanting her notes again, or her friend Amy dying to tell her about her latest date. Most days she enjoyed living vicariously through Amy’s erotic encounters, since Jesse hadn’t had a serious relationship in over three years but, thanks to her nightmare, she was no longer in the mood.

“Whoever you are can wait.” She finished the bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin before leaving the room.

After a hot shower, where she stood for half an hour to let the beating spray massage the tension in her muscles, she poured herself a glass of wine then pressed play on the answering machine. A soft rustling sounded before a voice came on the line.

 “Jesse. Are you there? Pick up. I know you must hate me and I’m sorry. You were right. I should have believed you. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. Please, pick up the phone. Mierda. Where are you?  I need you. Ay, dios mio, I don't know what to do. Please Jesse, you have to help me. I think he’s going to kill me.”

From now until the end of October, I will donate $1.00 of every book sold to the Texas EquuSearch Organization. Just click on the link to learn more about them.

Holidaze (& a Contest)

It’s hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving (for those of us in the U.S). Seems like just yesterday we were ringing in 2011, now we’re about to ring in 2012. The years rush by so fast, it’s enough to make your head spin, ala Linda Blair in the Exorcist but on speed.  I’d barely grabbed the candy off the shelves for Halloween when the stockers started pushing me aside to make room for the Christmas displays!  Even the local radio station has started its round-the-clock holiday music….which doesn’t quite help with the Christmas spirit when it’s still 80 degrees outside. And, the department stores, along with the grocery stores are a mad house…almost makes me want to lock myself away until it’s all over…almost. 

Okay, I confess, I’m not really complaining too much. I--like 99% of the world--love the end of year holidays, because it means lots and lots of great food and sweets! My kitchen is going to be a wonderland in itself because of all the baking my kids and I will do.  In fact, I’m planning to include some fresh baked treats in two baskets I’m giving away in a contest.

From now until December 15th, I’m having a contest to help promote my novel Forget Me Not. You don't have to go to my blog but if you want to enter the contest you just have to email me the answer to this question:  

In the story Forget Me Not, Casey is on the phone with her sister-in-law. With Scott on the extension, Casey says something in Spanish to Jennifer. What does she say?

 Again, email me the answer at TerriMo2 @ yahoo.com (remove the spaces) and you'll be placed into the drawing to win one of two gift baskets. Basket one will contain a Kindle, some chocolate and the yummy baked snacks and Basket two will contain a $25 VISA gift card, a mouse pad, chocolate, and some yummy home-baked snacks. ;-)

The drawing will be midnight, December 15th and the baskets will be mailed by the 18th to arrive by Christmas....hopefully.

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Forget Me Not, you can order it here: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=361&osCsid=3ef4da97661f7125bf680f5f9fb4e060

Or here:  http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Me-Not-ebook/dp/B005T4XVC6/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1

Have a wonderful and joyous holiday season!!

Terri's in the House

Okay, that was lame. =)

Hi! Welcome to my first post. I’m so happy to see you. My name is Terri Molina and I would be the shy one of the group. (yeah I hear your guffaws and see the eye rolls…but it’s true.)

I’m really excited to be a part of Romancing the Genres, Judith and Sarah have done an awesome job with the place and I’m looking forward to interacting with you all each month.

A bit about me, cuz that’s why you’re here, right? ;-) I’m a mix of Mexican (my mother) and Honduran (my father) and I’m originally from SE Texas--and here's a trivia question for you-- my town’s claim to fame is it’s the hometown of Janis Joplin (and for you sports fans, former Dallas Cowboy head coach, Jimmy Johnson)--can you name the town? Anyway, I grew up with six brothers and sisters and a town full of aunts, uncles and cousins…who are the inspirations for my books. I write a variety of sub-genres, from contemporary to suspense to mainstream…sometimes they’ll even contains elements of the supernatural. The common link in my stories is that they each take place in Texas, mostly the Rio Grande Valley because my main characters are Hispanic.