A Cinderella Wedding Romance with a Twist

by Madelle Morgan

New Adult romantic comedy Caught on Camera is the first in my “Upstairs-Downstairs” romance series. The premise – “Hollywood in cottage country” – is that Hollywood A-listers fall in love with local service providers in Muskoka, a beautiful lake district.

Caught on Camera, Book 1, has a Cinderella theme. However in this wedding romance it’s the stand-in bridesmaid who gets the make-over.

Backcover Blurb

To achieve her dream of working on Hollywood film sets, star struck chambermaid Rachel Lehmann needs $35,000 for film school tuition by the end of the summer. When she’s asked to fill in for a missing bridesmaid at a movie star’s wedding, it’s her big chance to take candid photos of celebrities and sell them to the entertainment gossip magazines. Then groomsman Mickey McNichol, agent to the stars, sweeps her off her feet.

Mickey’s bitter experience is that everyone in show business fakes emotions. When he falls for the stand-in bridesmaid, he thinks he’s finally met a beautiful woman he can trust. But if Rachel betrays his friends’ privacy, Mickey will ensure she never works in Hollywood.

Excerpt

Rachel bit her bottom lip as she regarded her reflection in the Bridal Suite’s floor-length mirror. An awed part of her brain struggled to accept the extraordinary image of herself barefoot and clad in an exquisite pale-lilac strapless, tea-length chiffon dress with fitted bodice.

The practical part fretted about falling behind schedule. She kept one eye on the digital bedside clock and the other on the ball of white fur rolling over her chambermaid uniform on the unmade bed.

“I need to call the housekeeper, Ms. Kane. I have rooms to clean.”

“Wanda will take care of that,” the bride-to-be said airily. She turned to her personal assistant. “Inform the hotel manager that I need Rachel until Sunday.”

“Right away.” The PA bolted for the exit.

“We booked the entire hotel for the wedding,” assured the tall, slender woman with a medley of blond highlights in waist-length hair. “What the bride wants, the bride gets. Relax and show me a few smiles. Mouth open. Mouth closed. You know the drill.”

“Drill?”

“Your smile for the wedding photos. I need to approve it.” She grabbed Rachel’s bare shoulders and twisted her around for a close-up.

“Photos?” Rachel squeaked. Her heart leaped to her throat. With her beyond-ordinary face and small boobs, she’d stand out among all the beautiful people and not in a good way. “You don’t want me in your wedding photos, surely?”

Ignoring her protest, Ms. Kane tapped a scarlet, French-tipped nail against her perfect chin. “Mouth closed, I think. Yes, a sweet but sexy smile puts the focus on your big brown eyes.”

“Ms. Kane?” Rachel burbled, an embarrassed flush warming her cheeks. “I’m not pretty enough for celebrity photos. I belong behind the camera, not in front of it. You need to find someone else—”

As Rachel gestured at the mirror, she caught sight of the tiny white dog on the bed behind them. Its devilish black eyes stared straight at Rachel’s backside. To her horror, she noticed a dark stain spreading out from under its butt and over her uniform.

“Oh my gods. Your dog just urinated on the bed!”

“Did she?” With Ms. Kane’s good humor restored, she merely glanced at her pet sitting innocently beside a puddle rapidly disappearing through Rachel’s uniform into the eight-hundred-thread-count Egyptian-cotton duvet cover.

“Naughty Mopette,” she cooed. “It’s Wanda’s fault. She’s supposed to walk you every four hours. The maid will clean it up.”

“I’m the maid!”

“Not anymore you’re not. This weekend you’re my bridesmaid. A distant cousin on my mother’s side from…from…”

“Toronto,” Rachel supplied.

“Right, Toronto, Canada. Where they have that international film festival.”

“And the largest city in Canada,” Rachel added dryly.

“So it’s settled.”

“But”—Rachel flung an arm toward the mirror—“look at us,” she wailed. “Standing beside you I’m…I’m the beautiful princess’s ugly stepsister.”

“Not stepsister,” Ms. Kane scolded, wagging a slender, elegant forefinger. “Cousin, remember? And give me some credit for the ability to make you presentable. You must know that I was a model before I launched Candy Kane Cosmetics? It’s my business to transform women’s faces into the best they can be. A skillful application of makeup, and you won’t recognize yourself.”

Rachel heaved a tremulous breath, then another. She’d viewed hundreds if not thousands of films, so she knew all about the magical transformation that actors underwent in a makeup artist’s chair. All eyes would be on the bride anyway, right?

I’ll merely be a secondary character. Not even that—an extra. No one pays attention to walk-ons. I’ll be practically invisible. Her galloping pulse slowed.

Taking Rachel’s acceptance for granted, Candy Kane’s mind was already on a different track. “Don’t you dare tell any of the guests you work here.” Candy swiped fingers across her mouth in a zipping motion. “There’s a big tip in it if you keep the secret and pull this off.”

How big? Rachel wanted to ask, but kept her “sweet but sexy” lips clamped shut. Truthfully, a generous tip wasn’t the reason a shiver of excitement rippled across her exposed skin.

Panic receding, she’d belatedly begun to appreciate the photo-taking opportunities associated with being on the set in a supporting role, so to speak, instead of as a hotel employee with no legitimate excuse to approach a celebrity wedding guest.

Listen to the Playlist for Free

Each novel in the series will have a YouTube Playlist. Find the link under the description here.

Enjoy the summer!

Madelle

CAUGHT ON CAMERA BUY LINKS 

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au | Kobo | Apple Books | Walmart

SEDUCED BY THE SCREENWRITER BUY LINKS

Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com.au

Kobo  | Apple Books | Walmart

Madelle's romantic thriller DiamondHunter is a free read in Kindle Unlimited.

Follow Madelle on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. For giveaways and new releases, subscribe to Madelle’s blog at www.MadelleMorgan.com.

Canadian Romance Authors

by Madelle Morgan

Canada has some wonderful romance authors. No wonder. We do a lot of research on those long, cold winter nights... 

You can sample awesome authors Kayla Perrin, C.J. Carmichael and Brenda Gayle in this new anthology published by Lachesis Publishing, a Canadian small press. Love & Hope offers three stories of hope, healing and the power of love. All proceeds support Ovarian Cancer Canada.

Kayla Perrin is a USA Today bestselling author from the Toronto, Ontario area who writes very hot romance. Kayla is a trailblazer in African-American fiction. In 2001 she was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for excellence in multicultural romance.

C.J. Carmichael, a USA Today bestselling author, lives in western Canada. She started out as a Harlequin Superromance author, and wrote 35 Harlequin romances. She also writes mystery series and western romance.

Brenda Gayle and I belonged to the same Ottawa RWA chapter for years. You could say we developed the craft of writing contemporary romance along side each other. She was published by Wild Rose Press before being picked up by AmazonEncore. 

Maureen Fisher is another Ottawa writer. We share a friendship and a love of writing romantic suspense and humorous, hot contemporary romance.

Free Book Giveaway on Amazon June 23-26

Mark your calendars for June 23-26, 2017 to download Diamond Hunter, my romantic suspense about diamond smuggling set in Canada's far north in July—24 hour daylight. Diamonds weren't geologist Petra Paris' best friend!

About Madelle

Madelle Morgan is a Canadian author who writes romance with heat, heart and humor. Her new release, Caught on Camera, is a Hollywood wedding romance set in Muskoka, Canada—summer playground of the rich and famous.

Subscribe to her blog at MadelleMorgan.com and follow her on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

Writing Productivity, NOT

by Madelle Morgan

Some authors publish a new book every month or so. Apparently volume is the freeway to success. Write fast, get them online, and sales will roll in.

Well, I'm stuck on a back road, having taken too many detours...

I've indie-published a book a year, for a grand total of two. 

Not twenty. 

Two. 

And, I'm behind schedule to revise and publish the next in the Hollywood in Muskoka series this fall.

What's new with me is that I decided to find out if I could write faster. I signed up for a course called, what else, Write Better Faster, taught by Becca Syme at MargieLawson.com. It started May 1. 

Meanwhile, I've been analyzing why I don't seem to have a block of time to write. The answer?

"My brain has too many tabs open."

Source: Business2Community.com

I saw that quote online. And I'm online a lot. 

There's so much valuable information about writing, publishing, marketing, what's going on with my friends, those funny memes... you get the gist. What if I miss something important?

For example, Sunday morning, prime writing time, I was browsing through a favorite Facebook writers' group posts, and discovered a link to a Myebook.co.za article on how to create 3D book covers.



Of course I had to try it. Marketing is so important for indie authors, right?

Then I went to Canva.ca, a free design site, and created this.

And this:

The end result? All my books have 3D images. Writing word count on Sunday? Zero.

You already know what I need to do in order to carve out time to write.

Disconnect

Ah, easy to say, not so easy to do. Social media is like a box of chocolates--difficult to resist.

I discovered, online of course, that there are applications to force a person to disconnect from those time-suck distractions. Efty Konick published a list in a Linkedin post entitled 5 applications to disconnect from the Internet and be more productive.

The post is three years old, so there are probably many more apps available today. I'd search for them, except for the fact I'm trying to limit my time online. 

As of now.

Seriously.

After I play my Scrabble turn on Facebook...

Happy spring!

Madelle

Madelle has written and published Diamond Hunter, a romantic suspense, and Caught on Camera, a Hollywood wedding romance.

Subscribe to her blog at MadelleMorgan.com and follow her on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

True Love Stories Never Have Endings

by Madelle Morgan

The title is a beautiful quote from Richard Bach. Even if sweet love sours and we move on to new partners, I believe that the experience of loving someone expands our hearts' ability to love and appreciate love.

February 14 is the day couples traditionally express their love with flowers, cards, chocolate, jewelry, and/or a romantic dinner.

Why Chocolate?

The tradition of giving a sweetheart chocolate on Valentine's Day originated with Richard Cadbury in the 1840s.

In 1861, Richard Cadbury created the first ever heart-shaped box for Valentine's Day. The chemical phenylethylamine in chocolate (stimulates) feelings of excitement, attraction, and even pleasure. (Source: The Happy Chocolatier)

Why February 14th?

I gleaned these facts from History.com:

The Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day.

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.

During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February should be a day for romance. - Hey, we should be eating egg-shaped chocolates for Valentine's Day instead of at Easter!

The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

Marry Me, Sweetheart

Many proposals occur on the most romantic day of the year, as do winter weddings. 

Hmmm.... Do you think men might have an ulterior motive for choosing February 14 for their wedding day?

Here's an excerpt from my romantic comedy Caught on Camera that eavesdrops on the groomsmen's conversation as they wait for the bride to appear.

Halden and the groomsmen wore dark formal tailcoats, striped gray trousers, white shirts, and lavender cravats and waistcoats.

At intervals during the interminable delay, they bemoaned the wedding planner’s order for traditional English attire. Who knew it’d be as hot as hell in June in the Great White North? Apparently not the wedding planner or Candy. Or more likely they didn’t care. To them, it was all about appearances.

“She’s twenty minutes late.” Garth inserted one finger inside his collar and tugged at the garment constricting his neck. “If I ever get married, it’ll be in January.”

“Make it February fourteenth,” Mickey muttered out the side of his mouth. “Then you’ll never forget your wedding anniversary.”

“Good tip. You always think ahead, Mick.” Garth fist-bumped him behind Wade’s back.

Did you receive a proposal or get married on Valentine's Day?

Madelle

Madelle is the Canadian author of two novels, Diamond Hunter, a romantic suspense, and Caught on Camera, Hollywood in Muskoka series, Book 1, a New Adult romantic comedy.

She tweets and posts on the topics of writing & publishing, filmmaking, dogs, and the settings for her stories.

Subscribe to her blog at MadelleMorgan.com and follow her on  Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

Editing Your Book, Part 2 Polishing

by Madelle Morgan

You've finished the second or third draft after the developmental edit (see Part 1), you've sent the manuscript out to beta readers and received their comments, and now it's time to polish the story.

At this stage, the scene structure is locked in. You will now go through the story paragraph by paragraph to:

• improve the flow;
• rewrite for clarity;
• strengthen plot and romantic tension;
• heighten emotion; and
• add details such as what each character is feeling, thinking, smelling, seeing, and hearing.

Here's an example of the difference between the draft and polished versions of a Caught on Camera scene snippet. Rachel, dressed in an oversized white bathrobe, is taking the little Maltese dog for her evening walk.

DRAFT
Blurry movement in the deep gloom under the pines beyond the terrace caught Mickey's eye. A ghostly wraith drifted between trees beyond the corner of the building. A white ball appeared to roll at lawn level. He inhaled sharply.

Holy Hotel California. Twenty feet from the terrace, at the limits of the flickering torchlight, the creepy forms halted.

"Mickey," the taller phantom hissed, beckoning with an undulating wave of an unearthly arm. "Over here."

Mickey cautiously stepped off the flagstones onto the grass. "Who are you?"

FINAL: I punched up Mickey's reaction, added a movie reference, and hopefully made the exchange more amusing.

Blurry movement in the deep gloom under the pines beyond the terrace caught Mickey's eye. A ghostly wraith drifted between trees. A white ball appeared to roll at lawn level.

Mickey inhaled sharply. Holy Hotel California. He held his breath as the creepy forms advanced to twenty feet from the terrace and halted at the limits of the flickering torchlight. Where are the Ghostbusters when you need them?

"Mickey," the taller phantom hissed, beckoning with an undulating wave of an unearthly arm. "Over here."

"No thanks," he demurred. "It's not my time yet."

"Mickey!"

He cautiously stepped off the flagstones onto the grass. "Who or what in hell are you?"

Read the Story Aloud

By this stage in the book crafting process, you've read the manuscript so many times that it's impossible to notice the problems. Listening engages another part of the brain, helping to identify what needs to be fixed. While reading your story aloud, or having someone else read it aloud, you'll be taking notes on these issues:

1. Does the dialogue sound like something a man, woman, teen or child of that age would naturally say?

I have to remember that I'm writing for ages from "Does your mother know you're reading this?" to "My granddaughter recommended this book and I love it too!"

2. Is the vocabulary suited to the target readers? Are you using a sophisticated or old-fashioned word when a simple, more current word would do?

A young Wattpad.com reader commented that the draft's language was "so 19th century." It compelled me to revisit my word choices in the entire manuscript. For example, the hotel general manager has a staff policy against "fraternizing" with the guests. The prim and proper GM might say "fraternize" but the young staff would use the term "hook-up". I made many similar changes to update the vocabulary.

3. Are the pauses in the right place for reading aloud at a public reading or in an audiobook?

Even if long sentences are grammatically correct, they can be problematic if and when your book is made into an audiobook. 

4. Are you using certain words over and over and over?

Replace words that occur frequently. For example, I tend to use "sprang", "wildly", and "dragged" repeatedly. An online dictionary and thesaurus is a writer's friend. Use the software's "Find" function to search your document for specific words. You'll be amazed at how frequently—oops, I mean—often you used them on the same page or even in a single paragraph without noticing.

5. Is the meaning what you intended? Can it be misinterpreted?

A beta reader saved me from considerable embarrassment. Micky and Halden, the groom, are discussing Halden's sister Asta, who is a stuntwoman.

DRAFT
Mickey said only, "Speed is Asta's drug of choice."
"She's a daredevil, all right. Keeps Mom up at night worrying."

FINAL
Mickey said only, "Adrenaline is Asta's drug of choice."
"She's a daredevil, all right. Keeps Mom up at night worrying."

I totally missed the fact that "speed" is the street name for amphetamine!

After you've spent a week or longer polishing the story, it's time to send it off to the copy editor. In Part 3 I'll describe the copy-editing of Caught on Camera.

Goodreads Giveaway!

Enter a Goodreads Giveaway starting October 13 to win one of two paperback copies of Caught on Camera (Hollywood in Muskoka, Book 1). This giveaway ends October 20, and is open to residents of the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as the United States.

Caught on Camera is available for $0.99 and £0.99 on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks, and is now available in paperback on Amazon for $9.99 and £5.99. See the description, playlist and buy links at MadelleMorgan.com . 

Subscribe at MadelleMorgan.com for news of the October 26 Five Secrets about Caught on Camera guest post, November blog tour, ebook giveaways and grand prize giveaway.

Madelle tweets and posts about Hollywood, filmmaking, the settings for her stories and of course, writing.

Follow Madelle on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad. 

Book Launch: Caught on Camera Has a Playlist!

by Madelle Morgan

Two years in the making, Caught on Camera, my New Adult romantic comedy, is finally published!

In an awesome coincidence, Cosmopolitan.com is featuring an "excerpt from an exceptional Wattpad fiction story. This week, "Caught on Camera, a very hot story by Madelle Morgan."

Caught on Camera is a fun, light, sexy read with a Cinderella trope and several special features.

Playlist

In my (ahem) several decades of life I've listened to a lot of music. In creating the playlist, I had fun selecting a variety of songs to complement the storyline—everything from The Work Song, from the Disney film Cinderella, to Michael Bublé's infectious song Hollywood. I posted the playlist on my website for people who read on ereaders.

Character Names

In the RTG post Here Comes the Bridezilla, two Romancing the Genres authors suggested songs for the wedding reception and named two characters.

B.A. Binns chose "Juanita Ramirez" for the Reception desk agent. I used her song suggestion, John Legend's hit song "All of Me", for the wedding reception scene.

Sarah Raplee selected "Derek" for Rachel's server friend. He'll star in a future Hollywood in Muskoka story.

Mopette

The character of the bride's pet Maltese, Mopette, was inspired by my sister Lorraine's dog Rudy. Here he is at a cottage in Muskoka on Penninsula Lake.

$0.99 Promo Price

Caught on Camera will be on sale for $0.99 or the equivalent world-wide for an extended launch period this fall. The regular ebook price will be $4.99 USD. As I write this post, it's available on Amazon and Kobo, and will be on iBooks soon. A print version will be available in October, 2016.

Buy Links and Description:  MadelleMorgan.com

Reviews

Caught on Camera needs several dozen reviews to generate marketing momentum! If you can spare a minute or two to post a short review and give it a multiple star rating on Amazon or Kobo, I'd really appreciate it!

Subscribe to MadelleMorgan.com and receive a free copy of the sexy short story, The Next Big Thing.  

Madelle tweets and posts about Hollywood, filmmaking, the settings for her stories, and of course, writing.

Follow Madelle on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, and Wattpad.