Look ma, no hands! Guest Author Suzanne Rock

Remember when you were a kid and you first experienced that independence? How about the elation you felt when you tied your shoes for the first time, or put the ball through the basketball hoop in your back yard? Maybe you’re like me, and have a toddler at home who is constantly reminding you that she can do things herself. As a parent it’s hard to step away and watch your child stumble and fall, but I know that’s the only way that they will ever be self sufficient.

When I first started writing, I was very much like that toddler who wanted to do everything by herself. I wrote in vacuum, submitted manuscripts in isolation, and suffered through rejection behind closed doors. Then I learned something: writing isn’t a solitary sport.

In “Spyder’s Web,” Spyder tried to suffer with her curse alone. She was convinced she could beat it herself, but she was wrong. In “Up on the Housetop”, Chloe suffered her lover’s death in silence as the world around her moved forward. Both characters tried to go it on their own…and failed.

It took events in their lives to make them wake up and realize that help was right in front of them. For Spyder, it took confronting an old enemy to make her begin to trust James and let him help her. Only when she was most vulnerable was she able to see how vital he was to her survival. For Chloe, it took her father manipulating her into an engagement without love to make her see that she could never live up to her parent’s expectations. In her weakest moment, she climbed to the top of the roof of her childhood home to escape her parents. It’s there that she had a brush with the supernatural and start to rediscover herself.

It was in these moments of vulnerability that both Spyder and Chloe really began to grow. As both women evolved throughout their stories, they began to realize that the people around them were not what they seem – both emotionally and physically. It was through these transformations that they finally became the women that they were destined to be.

For me, it took reaching out to other writers and forming a critique group that really made my writing take off. I joined the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and met even more authors who offered advice and support. I can safely say that without my support system, I would never have been able to stick with writing and finally realize my dream.

So this Christmas, let’s give a shout out to the people who support us every day. Tell me about your support system in the comments section and be entered into a drawing to win a copy of “Spyder’s Web”. (If you already own a copy, say so and we can take you out of the drawing.)

Up on the Housetop Buy Link: http://www.loose-id.com/Up-on-a-Housetop.aspx
Up on the Housetop Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfRapp-4n2M

Blurb for “Up on the Housetop”:

Desperate to escape her controlling family, Chloe Bradford scrambles up to the housetop of her Texas home on Christmas Eve. There she discovers a sexy stranger cloaked in shadow. He convinces her to shed her good-girl image and give into her most secret desires. The man's low, raspy voice tugs at her memory as much as it awakens her passion. Is he a Christmas miracle, or some figment of her imagination? When he tries to leave, she follows him, eager to learn his identity.

Zach can't stop thinking about Chloe, or their reunion on the roof. His wolf-half urges him to reveal his identity and claim her, but he doesn't dare. For both their sakes, he must remain in the shadows until he can control his inner beast's bursts of rage. After a decade of struggle he thought he could handle his curse, but Chloe's presence causes his control to slip. As the moon-rages become more frequent, he knows he's slipping toward the insanity that claims many of his kind. Only Chloe can save him, but will she want to after he reveals his identity and the reason he broke her heart over a decade ago?



“Spyder’s Web” Buy Link and excerpt: http://www.loose-id.com/Spyders-Web.aspx

Blurb for “Spyder’s Web”:

I have a dark secret. I’m cursed with an intense sexual desire which can never be satisfied. If I abstain, I go mad. If I have sex, I black out and my partner ends up dead. The only way to break the curse is to find my protector and soul mate. James is a cop who thinks I’m the "Black Widow" serial killer people are talking about. He's watching in the shadows, waiting for me to slip up so he can send me to jail. My curse longs to claim him, but I resist because he saved my life. Soon, I will need him to do it again.Now his morbid fascination with me has turned into an obsession. I don't know how much longer I can keep him at arm's length. I'm not sure I want to...

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, violence, voyeurism.

Visit Suzanne

Website: http://www.suzannerock.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Suzanne_Rock
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suzanne.rock
Embrace the Shadows Blog: http://embracetheshadows.wordpress.com/
Embrace the Shadows Fan Club: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/embrace_the_shadows/