Tag Archives: romance blogfest

Romance Blogfest is on!

The Romance Blogfest is closed. Thanks to all who participated!

How to participate (and rules)
1. The theme is Love at first sight . . . or not so much. Post a first meeting between two characters who will fall for each other (even if it doesn’t look like they will at the time!).

You may write a new scene on the topic, OR you may post a scene from your WIP. [This doesn’t preclude completed works. Because, after all, no work of art is ever finished, only abandoned.]

This should be a given, but all scenes should be clean (i.e. no sex [what kind of first meet is this?], limited violence and language [again, what kind of first meet is this?]).

2. Post your scene today, and link your post back to the blogfest here so your readers can read other entries, too. (The easiest way to create the link will be to cut and paste the code for the badge below into the Edit HTML tab on your post.)

3. Add your to the Mr. Linky below. Use your name (or your name@your blog’s name, or your blog’s name), and the link to your post (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-post.html) and NOT your blog (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com).

4. Read, enjoy, and comment on other entries! Scroll down (or up if you’re in a feed reader) to see mine and use the list of links to find others’!

Want the badge? Copy this and paste it in the HTML of a blog post or your sidebar:

<a href="http://jordanmccollum.com/romance-blogfest/" title="Romance Blogfest. Photo by José Carlos Norte" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z41/MamaBlogga/airomance.png" width="300" alt="romance blogfest badge" /></a>

Want it bigger or smaller? Change the number at width="300" to adjust the size.

Sign up here!

Use your name (or your name@your blog’s name, or your blog’s name), and the link to your post (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-post.html) and NOT your blog (i.e. http://myblog.blogspot.com).

(If you signed up on the announcement post, please add the link directly to your post here on this new Mr. Linky! Your link is still up on the announcement page.)

  1. Jordan McCollum
  2. Nichole Giles
  3. Joyce DiPastena
  4. Carol J. Garvin
  5. Tamara Hart Heiner
  6. Canda Mortensen
  7. Rachel Rossano
  8. Don Carey
  9. Krista Lynne Jensen
  10. Rebecca Shelley
  11. Gail Zuniga
  12. Heather Justesen
  13. Angie
  14. Lisa Asanuma
  15. Christine Bryant
  16. RaShelle Workman
  17. Carolyn Frank
  18. Danyelle Ferguson
  19. Rebecca Blevins
  20. Regina Andrews
  21. Andrew Rosenberg
  22. ali
  23. C. Michelle Jefferies
  24. Debbie Davis
  25. Robbin Peterson
  26. Marsha Ward
  27. Marta O. Smith
  28. Andrew Williams
  29. Erica aka Mightymouse
  30. Sharon Gerlach

Stay tuned for our series on emotion in writing!

Blogfest badge photo by José Carlos Norte

Love at first sight (or not so much)

It’s the Romance Blogfest! The official post should immediately follow this one.

For the Romance Blogfest, I knew exactly what scene I wanted to share: the original opening scene from the manuscript I’m now calling Saints and Spies. This is now my fifth published novel, Saints & Spies!

This is kind of a deleted scene: I decided it would be better from the heroine’s POV. Now it’s the third scene of the manuscript. You can see how it’s changed in the excerpt from the award-winning first chapter (it’s now the third scene).

Please note this is basically an unedited rough draft! And I’m resisting the urge to polish it. *tic*tic*tic*


Zach took a deep breath of the musty air of the small church. It was nothing like the chapels he was used to, of course, but he had act like this was his new home.

“Father?” A woman’s voice came from behind him. Dublin accent. Zach closed his eyes for a moment, briefly reveling in the once-familiar sound, before realizing she was addressing him.

“Yes, my child?” He turned around and found the most beautiful Irish woman he’d ever seen—and that was saying a lot, considering he’d lived in Ireland for two years.

As if they knew exactly how to tempt him.

“You’re Father O’Leary?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise, and her expression showed off her deep blue eyes.

“I am.”

“Oh, but you’re so . . . young.”

Zach smiled sheepishly. “Some of us heed the call earlier than others.” He tried to keep his expression unchanged as he scrambled to remember how long seminary was supposed to last.

Four years after college. So at twenty-eight, he was not only a menace to society but also old enough to be a Catholic priest. Of course, he’d only spent two weeks in seminary. Unless you counted four years of early morning seminary in high school.

Somehow, he didn’t think that would count for this parishioner. “And what was your name?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, how silly of me. I’m Molly.”

“Pleased to meet you, Molly.” Zach offered her a hand and she shook it. This would probably be easier than the mission. After all, as a priest, he could still hug members of the opposite sex.

Then again, that might not be any easier. And he’d been home from the mission for seven years. This mission might well be completely different.

“Now, Molly, is there something I can help you with?”

Molly laughed and Zach couldn’t help but smile in return. “I believe I should be askin’ you that—I’m the parish secretary.”

“Oh, good—I guess this is all a little new to me still.” Understatement of the year, at least.

That was probably enough of the commentary on how weird it was to be a Mormon—and an FBI agent—posing as a Catholic priest. If all he could do was think about how funny this really was, he was never going to take this mission seriously.

“Well, what would you like to see first?”

Zach glanced at the suitcase at his feet. “I suppose the rectory would be a good place to start—there is a rectory, right?”

“There is.” She smiled again, but her smile quickly faded as if she were suddenly self-conscious. Zach realized he was returning her smile with perhaps a bit too much charm. He wasn’t supposed to be flirting with her, no matter how pretty she was. He was a Catholic priest now.

And he wasn’t Zach Saint, either. He was Father Tim O’Leary. For now.

“Have you spoken with Father Fitzgerald yet?” Molly asked as she led Zach to the rectory.

“No, I’d only just gotten here when you found me.”

“We’ll introduce you.”

Molly opened the front door to the rectory—unlocked, naturally—and admitted Zach. The living area wasn’t much, but it was better than any apartment he’d had on the mission.

“Be sure to let me know what you’ll be wantin’ for your meals.”

Zach turned back to Molly, one eyebrow raised. “Oh, are you the cook, too?” He belatedly turned down the level of flirtatiousness in his smile.

“Well, in a manner of speakin’.”

“Is that really in your job description?”

Molly shrugged. “Father Patrick says—said,” she corrected herself, glancing down a moment as if to memorialize the slain priest, “that it was more important that he and Father Fitzgerald tend to their ministries than spend their time cookin’ and cleanin’.”

“You clean the rectory, too?”

She smiled shyly and looked away.

“Molly, you won’t—you don’t need to do that for us. For me, anyway.”

She nodded and changed the subject. “Father Fitzgerald’s mobile phone number is by the phone.” She pointed to the kitchen wall where the telephone hung. “And the desk number. Just call me if you’ll be needin’ anythin’.”

“That I will.” Zach glanced back at her, but she was already gone.

Focus. It wasn’t like he’d never had to work with a pretty girl on a mission.

Granted, he’d never had to work with a pretty Irish girl.


Read the rest of the Romance Blogfest entries!

Romance Blogfest Coming Up!

Ready to participate? Sign up here!

Just so you have no excuse this year: Valentine’s day is two weeks away! Now, naturally, for the real people in your life, you’ll probably want to commemorate this some way. You know, flowers, chocolates, . . . promises you don’t intend to keep, et cetera.

But with all that love in the air, you know you’re going to be planning something special . . . on your blog. Here’s a chance to find an automatic topic, and get lots of visitors to your blog—and find great new blogs to read yourself! That’s right, it’s a BLOGFEST!

How to participate (and rules)
1. The theme is Love at first sight . . . or not so much. Post a first meeting between two characters who will fall for each other (even if it doesn’t look like they will at the time!).

2. You may write a new scene on the topic, OR you may post a scene from your WIP. [This doesn’t preclude completed works. Because, after all, no work of art is ever finished, only abandoned.]

3. This should be a given, but all scenes should be clean (i.e. no sex [what kind of first meet is this?], limited violence and language [again, what kind of first meet is this?]).

4. Post your scene on February 14, 2011, and add it to the Mr. Linky (on my post that day, though you’re free to sign up below, too). Link your post back to the blogfest on here so your readers can read other entries, too.

5. Read, enjoy, and comment on other entries!

Want the badge? Copy this and paste it in the HTML of a blog post or your sidebar:

<a href="http://jordanmccollum.com/romance-blogfest/" title="Romance Blogfest. Photo by José Carlos Norte" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z41/MamaBlogga/airomance.png" width="300" alt="romance blogfest badge" /></a>

Want it bigger or smaller? Change the number at width="300" to adjust the size.

Thank you for signing up in advance:

Blogfest badge photo by José Carlos Norte