Anya Bast

I just found out that Water Crystal finaled in Romance Writer’s Ink‘s More Than Magic contest!

Big congrats to fellow EC author Roxi Romano, who also finaled with Fantasies R Us!

I’ve always been a voracious reader. When I was a child my mom used to bring me to the library and I would pick out (literally) stacks of books to take home. I would never leave any of them unread. I carried the habit into adulthood, although my time to read is more limited now because I’m writing.

I realized this morning that, while I do read in the genre I write in, I go through these huge, long spurts of reading fantasy, horror and general fiction. I guess maybe it’s because when I’m reading romance I sort feel like I’m working, like I should be really paying attention in reference to my own writing. It prevents me from just relaxing and enjoying the story. Reading outside my genre is like taking a vacation.

If you’re a writer, do you read outside the genre you write in? If you’re not a writer, what genres do you usually favor? Do you go through spurts reading one genre over another?

Just wondering.

Bold the books on this list that you’ve read.

1. THE LORD OF THE RINGS- J.R.R. Tolkien.
2. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD- Harper Lee.
3. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE- Jane Austen.
4. The “Harry Potter” series- J.K. Rowling.
5. JANE EYRE- Charlotte Bronte.
6. THE HANDMAID’S TALE- Margaret Atwood.
7. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY- Douglas Adams.
8. 1984- George Orwell.
9. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
10. A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY- John Irving (This is one of my all-time favorite books)
11. ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
12. THE STAND- Stephen King (My favorite King novel)
13. GONE WITH THE WIND- Margaret Mitchell
14. LITTLE WOMEN- Louisa May Alcott
15. THE HOBBIT- J.R.R. Tolkien
16. LIFE OF PI- Yann Martel.
17. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (book 1) – Lucy Maud Montgomery
18. THE NAME OF THE ROSE- Umberto Eco.
19. THE MISTS OF AVALON- Marion Zimmer Bradley.
20. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE- J.D. Salinger.
21. WATERSHIP DOWN- Richard Adams.
22. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH- Ken Follett
23. PERFUME- Patrick Suskind
24. THE DAVINCI CODE- Dan Brown.
25. THE LITTLE PRINCE- Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
26. THE GRAPES OF WRATH- John Steinbeck.
27. FAHRENHEIT 451- Ray Bradbury
28. The Narnia Chronicles- C.S. Lewis.
29. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (SORCERER’S STONE) – J.K. Rowling
30. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN- J.K. Rowling
31. WUTHERING HEIGHTS- Emily Bronte.
32. DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL- Anne Frank
33. DUNE- Frank Herbert
34. THE POISONWOOD BIBLE- Barbara Kingsolver
35. REBECCA- Daphne du Maurier
36. PERSUASION- Jane Austen.
37. MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA- Arthur Golden.
38. THE GREAT GATSBY- F. Scott Fitzgerald.
39. A WRINKLE IN TIME- Madeleine L’Engle
40. THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE- C.S. Lewis
41. ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND- Lewis Carroll.
42. LORD OF THE FLIES- William Golding.
43. BRAVE NEW WORLD- Aldous Huxley (One of the few books I was forced to read in high school that I loved)
44. ANGELA’S ASHES- Frank McCourt
45. THE LOVELY BONES- Alice Sebold
46. THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS- Isabel Allende.
47. CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR- Jean M. Auel.
48. ENDER’S GAME- Orson Scott Card
49. GOOD OMENS- Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
50. LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
51. ANIMAL FARM- George Orwell.
52. OF MICE AND MEN- John Steinbeck.
53. THE COLOR PURPLE- Alice Walker
54. THE NEVERENDING STORY- Michael Ende
55. FAUST- Johnann Wolfgang von Goethe. (I think I was forced to read EVERYTHING Goethe ever wrote while I was in college. Gah.)
56. BLINDNESS- Jose Saramago
57. HAMLET- William Shakespeare.
58. EAST OF EDEN- John Steinbeck
59. CHARLOTTE’S WEB- E. B. White.
60. The “Little House” series- Laura Ingalls Wilder. (as a child)
61. BRIDGET JONES’ DIARY- Helen Fielding
62. SOPHIE’S WORLD- Jostein Gaarder
63. CATCH-22- Joseph Heller
64. THE SECRET HISTORY- Donna Tartt
65. GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING- Tracy Chevalier
66. MIDDLESEX- Jeffrey Eugenides
67. The “His Dark Materials” series- Phillip Pullman
68. A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN- Betty Smith
69. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY- Jane Austen
70. THE RED TENT- Anita Diamant.
71. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT- Fyodor Dostoyevsky
72. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO- Alexandre Dumas
73. AMERICAN GODS- Neil Gaiman
74. THE CIDERHOUSE RULES- John Irving
75. SHE’S COME UNDONE- Wally Lamb
76. WINNIE-THE-POOH- A.A. Milne. (but, of course!)
77. The “Anne of Green Gables” series- Lucy Maud Montgomery. (as a child, loved them)
78. NORTHERN LIGHTS/THE GOLDEN COMPASS- Phillip Pullman
79. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE- Anne Rice.
80. ROMEO AND JULIET- William Shakespeare
81. THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER- Mark Twain
82. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY- Oscar Wilde
83. THE SHADOW OF THE WIND- Carlos Ruiz Zafon
84. EMMA- Jane Austen
85. GREAT EXPECTATIONS- Charles Dickens.
86. A TALE OF TWO CITIES- Charles Dickens.
87. FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE-STOP CAFE- Fannie Flagg
88. THE SCARLET LETTER- Nathaniel Hawthorne.
89. THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH- Norton Juster
90. THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES- Sue Monk Kidd
91. THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING- Milan Kundera (Loved)
92. A FINE BALANCE- Rohinton Mistry
93. LAMB: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BIFF, CHRIST’S CHILDHOOD PAL- Christopher Moore
94. THE BELL JAR- Sylvia Plath
95. The “Discworld” series- Terry Pratchett. (I think I have some of these, but I haven’t read them yet.)96. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS- Wilson Rawls
97. THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS- Arundhati Roy
98. WAR AND PEACE- Leo Tolstoy
99. THE EYRE AFFAIR- Jasper Fforde.
100. NEVERWHERE- Neil Gaiman. (It’s on my night table, though…ready to be consumed.)
101. TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES- Thomas Hardy
102. STEPPENWOLF- Herman Hesse
103. HIGH FIDELITY- Nick Hornby. (I loved the movie. Does that count?)
104. ULYSSES- James Joyce
105. METAMORPHOSIS- Franz Kafka
106. ATONEMENT- Ian McEwan
107. LONESOME DOVE- Larry McMurtry
108. THE ENGLISH PATIENT- Michael Ondaatje.
109. THE SHIPPING NEWS- E. Annie Proulx (LOVES)
110. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM- William Shakespeare.
112. DRACULA- Bram Stoker.
113. THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN- Mark Twain

Review for Blood of the Damned from eCataromance Sensual Reviews
http://sensual.ecataromance.com/reviews?type=&id=64

“I have been waiting and waiting for Niccolo’s story ever since Anya started her EMBRACED series and oh how well worth the wait it is. Jade and Niccolo sizzle with chemistry and the tender care that Niccolo takes with Jade makes their relationship even more engrossing. Both main characters have led hard lives and bear many scars on their hearts as well as their souls and their relationship is one of healing as well as love.

Of course, you can’t have an EMBRACED story without a creepy, evil villain and BLOOD OF THE DAMNED certainly delivers in this area. Drayden is a very complex character. Just as you begin to dislike him with a passion, he goes and shows a little peek of heart. Mr. Jones on the other hand, well, you’ll see. *shudder*

BLOOD OF THE DAMNED is a superb mix of romance and suspense that is just too hard to put down. Don’t miss this fourth installment in the EMBRACED series and if you haven’t read the others yet, what are you waiting for?”

– Susan

Blood of the Damned, by Anya Bast – Now available at Ellora’s Cave

Five Coffee Cups from Coffee Time Romance

“This is an exceptional vampire romance. Ms. Bast takes two characters, first [giving] them the background of pain and suffering, and then [giving] them hope as they are destined to meet and heal each other. This amazing story has everything, from fast exciting action to sizzling erotic romance. … This is a wonderful story that is on my keeper shelf.”

Wateena
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance

Yes, sure I love the alphas. I love the buff guys. Who doesn’t? They’re excellent eye candy. Candy, being the keyword.

But I have a guilty secret. I’m VERY attracted to intelligent men.

And I have the CRUSHIES! Crushies, I say.

On the way home last night I listened to NPRs Science Friday. They were discussing this book, Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos, by Seth Lloyd, who is a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT.

Oh, geekitude!! How intriguing and attractive. Not geekitude, that’s the wrong word…brilliance. My god. He even speaks French. *swoon* Here’s an NYT article about Lloyd and his book.

Anyway…it was instant crush. The discussion was interesting even though it kind of made my hair follicles ache. It’s one of those subjects that’s just a little too large to fit in my wee head. Crushies all the same, though I don’t think Lloyd would take much interest in a peon like me who has an I.Q. of, like, twelve.

I’ve been so busy lately working on writing projects, working the day job and editing that I can barely form coherent sentences outside actual contracted work. LOL!!

Therefore, have a meme. 🙂 This was pretty interesting, actually! I had no idea all this stuff happened on my birthday. You should try it.

Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year). List three neat facts, two births and one death in your journal, including the year.

Events:

* July 2nd is the middle day of a non-leap year, because there are 182 days before and 182 days after. It falls on the same day of the week as New Years Day (of non-leap years)
*

* 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappear over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator.
*

* 1947 – An object speculated to be a UFO crashes near Roswell, New Mexico, though the United States Air Force claims it is a weather balloon.

Births:

* 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
* 1942 – Vicente Fox, President of Mexico

Deaths:

* 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress (b. 1916)

My book, previously titled Tempted by Midnight, is now going to be called TEMPTED BY TWO.

It’s a menage a trois, so it makes sense, non? It has that…how do we say…Je ne sais quoi?

I like it. 🙂

This was a meme going around. These are things I’ve learned about writing. They might not be true for everyone. Accept at will.

1. Writers Write to be Read.
I don’t know why, but they do. Most writers don’t write manuscripts and then hide them under their beds or only let their relatives and friends read the book. Writers want to give their words exposure. I’m no exhibitionist…er, actually, let me rephrase…I’m pretty shy and introverted and would never want to be a celebrity or anything, but I want my words read. I want to share my characters and my worlds with others. That’s a strong motivator for me.

2. Write What You Love, Not for Market.
I know it’s a cliche, but it’s true. It’s always one of those things that women writers are told, (along with a condescending pat on the head), more than male writers are told. I do think to some extent a writer should be looking at the market, but within that parameter they should write something they love. I’ve watched writers trudge away at a book in a genre they don’t enjoy, just because they think it will sell. The problem is that their lack of enthusiasm comes out in the writing. That’s going to be a No Go no matter what, eventually.

3. Being Able to Butcher Your Baby Look at Your Writing Objectively is a Good Thing.
I have developed the ability to stand back (well, okay, mostly) and look at my book when it’s done and then say, “Oh! Lookee! That book should begin on page 50! That thar is a false beginning!” and then cut the first 50 pages out with a nary a blink of my eye. (Okay, I might blink, and I definitely wouldn’t use so many exclamation points.) It’s easy to get so attached to your work that you can’t cut text, or delete unnecessary subplots or characters. Eventually you have to learn to do it because sometimes cutting out some of your precious words makes the work stronger.

4. Crit and Be Critted.
Join a crit group or find a good crit partner. Although, caveat…it may take you a few times to find one you fit with. I learned so much by critting and being critted. Not only does it allow you to glean and share crafty-type knowledge and learn from the writerly travesties and triumphs of others, it toughens up your skin. You need to have a few callouses built up before you try and publish, and you *really* need them after you’ve published.

5. Make Friends With Other Writers.
So important. Only another writers know and understand common writerly angst. There is SO MUCH writerly angst. Plus, the sharing of knowledge is good — which houses and editors are acquiring, ect. Joining RWA as an unpubbed writer was one of the best moves I ever made.

6. Develop a Writing Habit.
Set aside time to write no matter what. If the muse isn’t working with you, if the words aren’t flowing, write anyway. Shite can be revised. You can’t wait for inspiration all the time. Sometimes that’s a long wait for a train don’t come, (2 pts for anyone who can name the movie I took that from). Sometimes you have put your ass in the chair and just write. “BICHOK” say the category romance authors — Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard.

7. You Can Always “Deepen” Your Character(s).
I have found I can always go back to a manuscript and find new ways to bring depth to my characters, whether it’s in the characterization or in their overall development. There’s always somehow I can make my characters more “real,” or show the changes they’ve undergone a little better. Always.

8. The Publishing Industry is about Money and Marketability, Not About “Art”.
The publishing industry is not an industry filled with fluffy bunnies. Editors are looking at the bottom line. They’re looking at marketability. That’s how badly written books make the bestseller list and some well written books never see print. It’s just a fact.

9. You Must Put Yourself Out There.
Over and over and over. Initially it’s sending your stuff out to be critted. Then it’s sending your stuff out to be assessed by editors and agents. Finally, it’s with the readers. Every day I throw myself out there, whether it’s socializing on my loop, posting excerpts, or arranging chats. I throw myself out there knowing that sometimes I won’t get responses, my excerpts will be ignored, ect… It’s just something a writer has to do. Throw ourselves out there and know we might be rejected. Over and over and over, and in many different ways.

10. I’m never happy with the finished product.
I’m never happy with my finished work. I can always go back and find flaws and things I’d like to change. I actually try very hard to never read my work after it’s been published because of this. If I must, I do it through my fingers (you know, like how some people watch a horror movie?). I’m extremely critical of my work. I’m probably my own worst critic, in fact.

Recap of my mini cross-country booksigning spree.

Elizabethtown, KY is MUCH bigger than they protrayed in that movie. Misrepresentation! We didn’t have a problem finding the bookstore, but were amazed the town was as big as it is. The booksigning went well. It consisted of me, Shiloh Walker, Veronica Chadwick and Heather Grothaus.

I know Shi, but it was the first time I’d met Veronica and Heather. Veronica is extremely warm and friendly. I liked her instantly. The same with the lovely and personable Heather. All of us nattered throughout the whole booksigning. Oh, I started reading Heather’s book last night and it’s GOOD. I used to read historicals all the time, but stopped for some reason. Her book may herald a return. (She has a gorgeous husband, by the way.)

Three of my friends drove down for the signing and bought books. Hee. They raffled off two beautiful gift baskets crammed with books and other goodies and two of my friends won them! I swear it wasn’t rigged. I didn’t even pull the names.

Then my husband and I drove to Nashville. We chilled out Saturday night, went to dinner and soaked in the hotel spa. Before the signing the next day we met a writerly friend of mine, her husband and her cutie kid for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. I think her child was *very* impressed with the animatronics and the thunderstorms. The visit was too short, though. I need to spend more time on the next visit.

Authors at the Nashville signing besides me were: Phyllis B. Williams, Lani Aames, Shiloh Walker, Veronica Chadwick and Heather Grothaus. I didn’t get to talk very much with Phyllis and Lani, which was a pity.

Connie, a reader, made little gifts for some of the authors! So sweet! If you’re reading this, thanks again, Connie!! I love it!!! She has a delightful and attentive husband, too. Lucky girl.

After the signing, my husband and I high-tailed it home and slept like two big fur-covered rocks (the cats, you see). This morning I wake up to find one of my cats playing with a CENTIPEDE in the hallway. *shudder* Okay, I’m not squeamish about bugs. I’m fascinated by spiders and refuse to kill them (I trap them and put them outside). I don’t mind snakes. I think they’re cool. But centipedes give me the heebies like nobody’s business. I pounded that sucker into the floor with a shoe before it could BLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAARRRRRGGGGG scurry away on all those little legs.

Now I’m freaked out that there could be MORE. If there’s one, there must be…..*shudder*….MORE.

Urg.