One of my works in progress is a science fiction romance entitled The Star Tripper. [Think Xena, Warrior Princess meets Star Trek meets Pirates of the Caribbean.] I aimed for 400 pages worth of manuscript. Star Tripper topped out at 598. Whoa. Talk about verbose. Apparently, I write the way I speak—too much and too long. ::sigh::
Star Tripper needed a trim. A few months back, I went through it to cut here and there, hoping it would do the trick. It didn’t. I was too emotionally attached to my brilliant prose to eliminate very much of it, and I didn’t make a dent. I cut only ten pages. Major fail.
Something, maybe many things, had to change. My work habits for one. I took some advice I received at a recent Mid-Michigan RWA luncheon program [Thank you, Darcy Woods!]. I ignored my email. ::gaaahhh:: I weaned myself off social media. ::gasp:: I turned off my Wi-Fi connection altogether. ::gulp:: I stopped watching TV. ::funny, didn’t miss that:: I did it all cold turkey and it was amazingly freeing.
I needed to change my mindset too, obviously. I was far too enamored with every word I wrote. Not long ago, I did some editing for an online publisher. I was objective and professional with the work of others. It occurred to me that I need to adopt that attitude when editing my own work. I needed to be objective. I needed to be ruthless. I needed to be page-slashing Machete Woman.
On my first day as my new persona, Machete Woman, I cut five pages from chapter one. On the second day as my new super hero MW, I cut five pages from chapter two. That was as many pages total as I cut during my first round of cuts. Wow! On day three, I cut four pages from chapter three. I cut four pages from chapter four on day four. Yay, me!
Last night, I revised chapter twenty-two, cutting seven pages, my best effort to date. As of yesterday, my total of pages cut is eighty-six. I have twelve more chapters to go, and the new me is rocking the cutting.
Machete Woman rules!
About the Book
A Friendly Flirtation (Friends First – Book 3)
by Christine Warner
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published by: Entangled Publishing
Release Date: February 15, 2016
Length: 244 Pages
One kiss can change your life…
Allison Hall is fed up with being a social outcast. Even at the tech company where she works for her brother and his best friend, Jared, she’s the invisible nerdy girl. What she needs is confidence—and that requires a makeover and dating tips. And she knows just the man to help…
Jared Esterly is shocked when Allison asks for his assistance and turns her down, knowing that her brother—his business partner and best friend, Nick—would kill him if he dated her, even if it is just for practice. But when Al’s attempt to make changes on her own fails spectacularly, Jared reluctantly steps in. Things heat up quickly, and soon lessons move from the salon to the bedroom.
When overprotective big-brother Nick discovers Jared is dating Allison, their friendship and business partnership sour. Allison, consumed by guilt, must make a choice: stay with Jared, even though that means ruining his friendship with Nick and possibly his career, or leave the one man who sets her on fire.
“Witty, fun, and sizzling- Christine Warner never disappoints!” – Nikki Lynn Barrett, USA Today bestselling author
A Friendly Flirtation – Excerpt
She leaned her forehead against his chin, then tilted her head back, parting her lips and inviting him in for another kiss.
And he wanted seconds. More than he’d ever imagined. The soft blush creeping over her face, the way her breasts strained against her blouse as she tried to regain her breathing only encouraged him. Holy. Fuck. With her it’d be too easy to forget where the hell they were. And he didn’t like an audience. Not now. With Allison, not ever.
But that didn’t stop him from running his thumb over her bottom lip. For a second he lost sense of where they were when her eyes grew dark and her lashes fluttered gently over her skin. She looked so beautiful, and that protective urge— or maybe he should just call it what is is…lust—overtook him. He couldn’t picture her with anyone but him. Fuck. He didn’t want her with anyone else. Screw Nick. He’d deal with him later.
If anyone would teach Allison how to please a man, let a real man do the job.
Him.
She was ready, so was he. He was willing, and so was she. And they were both adults.
“Al, I don’t want you with any of these men.”
She sighed, sagging against him. “Are we really going to have this conversation again? I—”
He took her mouth in a hard kiss, parting the seam of her lips with his tongue and thrusting inside, swallowing her gasp. She melted against him. He slid his hands down her throat, past her shoulders, and lower still until he curved his arm around her back and squeezed her rear. She smiled into their kiss, and this time he melted.
“Do I need to rephrase?” he whispered against her mouth.
She shook her head, their mouths still touching. “I really only wanted one man in this room, but I didn’t think he wanted—”
“You better be talking about me.” He leaned back just far enough so he could watch the way her emotions flickered across her eyes. Excitement. Uncertainty. Acceptance. She nodded, her lips parted and moist.
“Are you telling me—?”
“I’m telling you I’ve come to my senses. Or lost them completely.”
About Christine Warner
Christine Warner is living her dream in Michigan along with her family, three laptops (she might have a slight addiction, or maybe it’s a fear of one imploding from overuse) and a much loved assortment of furry friends.
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Besides laughing and a good round of humor, she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, reading, writing but no arithmetic. A confessed people watcher, she finds inspiration for her stories in everyday activities. She loves to read and write about strong heroes and determined, sometimes sassy heroines.
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A girl gone wild, at least where social media is concerned, she enjoys meeting other avid readers and writers on Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and her website.
Welcome, Diane.
Thanks, Jolana. I’m happy to be here.
And here we go!
ME: Do you remember the first story you ever wrote and how old you were when you wrote it?
DIANE: In high school, my best friend and I wrote what’s now called fan fiction. We’d write episodes of our favorite TV shows where the hunk we had a crush on would fall in love with us. I was writing romantic fiction back then. Who knew?
ME: Knowing what you know now, if you could go back in time to visit your younger self, what advice would you give her?
DIANE: Start writing sooner. I wish I hadn’t quit writing in high school. Also wish I’d started writing those stories that rattled around in my mind for years before I started writing for real.
ME: In addition to action and romance, you have a lot of humor in your novels. What are some of the things that make you laugh? Is there a particular comic whose humor resonates with you?
DIANE: My grandchildren’s giggles, romantic comedy movies, Stephanie Plum. My favorite comic is Rita Rudner. Her standup comedy about marriage is dead on. Bea Arthur did deadpan so well. I also love Bette Midler, Cameron Diaz, Madelyn Kahn, and Betty White.
ME: The main characters in your novels are strong, capable women. Who is your favorite female superhero? Do you have a real-life personal heroine?
DIANE: Fav superhero: Natasha Romanov/Black Widow in The Avengers. In real life, the parents of children killed in school shootings and the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing. I don’t know how they were able to move on. What strength.
ME: Both your Switched trilogy and your Outer Rim series are science fiction romance novels. What attracted you to science fiction and inspired you to write in the science fiction romance sub-genre?
DIANE: I was fascinated by the space race in the 1960s. I knew all the astronauts’ names, watched each launch, and stayed glued to the TV for the moon walk. I love Star Trek (all the original series plus the reboot). But I think the impetus for my writing sci-fi romance was Star Wars. Action, adventure, romance. It’s all there.
ME: This one is just for fun. If you were casting a movie based on The Protector, which actors would you chose to play the main protagonists Rissa and Dillan?
DIANE: LOL I just answered that question on Robyn Bachar’s blog yesterday. In case you missed it, I’d love Paula Patton from MI3: Ghost Protocol to play Rissa—if only she grew about three inches. LOL For Dillan, I’d choose Chris Pratt from Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s funny, self-effacing, seems like a goof-off but comes through when needed.
ME: Tell us about The Protector.
DIANE: The Protector is about healing and redemption through love. Rissa Dix lost her baby to traffickers. After searching for years, she never found her child. When she rescues two girls from a slave ship, she’s given a second chance to be a mother (though she’d never admit that). To make sure no mother goes through what she did, Rissa takes on a trafficking ring. Complicating matters is the return of Dillan Rusteran, the reckless, thrill-seeking kid who used to come to the Rim to play. Only he isn’t a kid anymore.
About the Book
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After tavern owner Rissa Dix rescues two girls from a slave ship, she must rally the townsfolk to prevent traffickers from raiding the frontier colony. She’s met with apathy and disbelief. Because she lost her own baby to traffickers, she’s determined that no other mother will suffer the same heartache. Industrialist heir Dillan Rusteran aids her in rescuing more children. Little do they know they’re about to tangle with a trafficking ring that puts Rissa in danger. Dillan’s loved her for years despite her claim she’s too old for him. As they fight the traffickers, will she finally see him in a new light?
The Excerpt
In this excerpt, Rissa and Dillan don’t recognize each other and not because it’s been six years since he left the Rim.
“What in Lexol’s Fire are you doing?”
Rissa turned at the strong male voice that came from the shadow at the rear of the fancy space yacht.
Sherd. We’re in trouble.
At the same time, Barlen lowered the ramp into the traffickers’ transport.
Rissa touched Fortuna’s arm and whispered, “Take it from here. I’ll deal with our audience.”
As if time wasn’t of the essence, she strolled toward the shadow where the male lurked. If the dock master saw her friends, they would be in a world of hurt. Languishing in Astron Lockup was not on her agenda.
The man in the shadow had spoken in Universal, his accent Bricaldian. Rissa knew better than to assume he was human. All species in the Central District spoke Universal. She expected him to step forward after announcing his presence. He didn’t.
She never had to look up to most men, other than Kiran. Her size used to bother her, but since she began running a tavern on the Frontier, she was grateful for her height and strength. Still, this man made her feel small. When she looked up, her hood and mask slipped so much she couldn’t see him very well. His overlong hair hung down to blend in with a heavy beard. His broad shoulders and chest made her think twice about taking him down. That and the blaster in his hand.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asked with fake casualness.
“Nah.” She tried to disguise her voice and waved her hand, equally casual. “Just a little surprise party for the pilot.”
“Stealing a man’s cargo is hardly worthy of a party.” His tone had gone from casual to harsh. “What the—”
Rissa looked over her shoulder. Pela, a child attached to both of her hands, led a parade of children to the back door of the spaceport. Kiran stood in the open doorway and waved them forward.
“Are there more?” he asked Pela who nodded.
“Is that a slave ship?” the man behind her said.
“Keep your voice down.”
After leaving the children with Kiran, Pela rushed to Rissa. “They’re really scared. The pilot told them slavers might try to take them away.” She ducked her head and went inside.
So that was why Fortuna was taking so long—convincing kids who thought their rescuers would be worse than their captors. Rissa hurried to the cargo ramp.
“What can I do to help?” The man from the Caravel must have followed her. At least, he’d had the good sense to hide his blaster. The kids were scared enough.
“Go back to your yacht and forget you saw this. Or us.”
About Diane Burton
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Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and The Case of the Bygone Brother, a PI mystery. She is also a contributor to the anthology How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s Website!
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