Scout out the next Amazon best-seller

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amazon customer, books, DaVinci fantasy, fantasy romance, kindle scout, literature, lost world, love triangle, Medici fantasy, romance, writing, young adult

Amazon has a new website: Kindle Scout where Amazon customers can ‘scout’ through unpublished books and nominate those they like for publication. This is reader-powered publishing where you get to choose what gets published and what doesn’t…

…which brings me to SILK.

Authors will tell you they love all their “babies” equally, but most will have one project that’s the book of their heart, and this series is mine. The Florentia series began it’s life over ten years ago when I first came up with the idea for a portal that joined our world with a lost world that DaVinci had discovered. Then I imagined what would happen if DaVinci’s patrons, the Medici, stole the device from him, conquered the lost world and had been ruling it for 500 years. What sort of society would they have by now? And what would happen if someone from our world stumbled into it?

During the last decade I’ve written many iterations of this story, moving it from straight Sci fi into Fantasy and now firmly into the Fantasy Romance genre. I undertook a research trip to Rome and Florence where I met Medici scholars and even stayed in a building where lesser members of the Medici had lived during DaVinci’s lifetime. In my two decades of writing, this story is the one I’ve loved the most and had the hardest time selling (maybe there’s a correlation there!)

In any case, when Kindle Scout came along, I realized this was an opportunity to share details of the Florentia series with the public to see if it has the sort of wide appeal I’m hoping it will. That’s where you come in!

As someone who subscribes to my blog, I’d love to share this with you. If you are an Amazon customer and have time during December, please pop over to Kindle Scout here: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/GDATHRYHT8YR where you can see the cover, read the first 5000 words of the story and nominate SILK.  You can also check out other books you might like to nominate, and become part of the process of readers deciding what they want to see published. And if you want to share this blog post or the link to SILK on Kindle Scout with your social networks, you will earn my eternal gratitude!

As a reward from Amazon, if your nominated books are published, you’ll receive a free copy for taking the time to support them.

Thanks so much for reading this, and for being part of my journey. Writing is a solitary job, which I love, but it can feel lonely at times. So your interest in my career helps me with moral support to keep going through the tough times and the momentum to surge ahead when opportunities arise.  You’re much appreciated!

Husband Series book 4 is published!

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Amazon Kindle, australian setting, erotic romance, erotic romance series, husband rollover, Kindle, kindle unlimited, new release, romance

The craziest of the four girlfriends in the Husband Series has finally been pinned down by the man of her dreams in this stand-alone, full length, sexily-ever-after erotic romance. Here’s the skinny on the plot:

Fritha Wynde is a free-spirit, sleeping with whoever grabs her fancy, especially if the grab feels good! She has work that she loves, friends who let her wear rainbow-colored bridesmaid dresses, and girlfriends’ babies to cuddle. There’s not a thing about her life that she wants changed, until trouble walks into her feel-good teahouse, Bohemian Brew.

Trouble is a six foot two restaurant critic—Max—who has the audacity to ridicule the Banchee Tea, her signature brew, in his annoyingly sexy Brit accent. It’s time to retaliate and a low blow is in order—below the belt to be exact—but when Max discovers how delicious Fritha is, he’ll do anything to have her, including rolling over and playing dead.

Prude meets promiscuous in the fourth book of the Husband Series, bringing all four girlfriends together as Fritha tortures the one man who grabs her fancy along with her heart.

And if you’d like another little tease…

This series is exclusive to Amazon Kindle, which means you can download the books for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. No need to wait. You can grab HUSBAND ROLLOVER right now:

 

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The adoration of Gilmore Girls and other unlikely franchise fetishes

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adoration, genysis, gilmore girls, irrational addiction, romance, terminator

So I’m channel surfing and happen to click onto an episode of Gilmore Girls. Without conscious volition, I squeal, “Oh my God, Gilmore Girls!” I put the remote to one side, away from my viewing partner, away from any chance that the channel might be changed. Because for the next twenty minutes, or however long the episode lasts, I’m watching it.

It’s like finding the last few squares of a family block of Cadbury and deciding their mine. Completely selfish, but I’m not sharing. And when the teev hits Gilmore Girls I’m not sharing the remote either.

When asked to explain why, I’m at a loss. It’s a crap episode. Not much is happening, and some of the acting is off. But I love the characters. Time spent with them is such a joy, I don’t care if they’re off their game. It’s Lorelai flirting with Luke. It’s Rory arguing with Kirk. It’s Richard and Emily scheming to manipulate. I just want to hang with them. To be honest, I don’t care what they do. I just want to spend time in their world.

When the episode is over and I come back to the real world, I feel embarrassed. It doesn’t make sense to be obsessed about a show that I haven’t even seen all the episodes of. But that was deliberate. Like not seeing Michelangelo’s David in Florence, I want a reason to come back (not that I need one for Gilmore Girls) but it feels good to know that I can be surprised by episodes I haven’t seen. I haven’t allowed myself to glut on it. I’ve had some restraint, and as a result of that, I don’t know everything about the show. There are still things to learn in my lifetime – yet another reason to stay on the planet!

The Terminator franchise is another irrational addiction of mine. Sure, that epic romance between Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor – I came across time for you Sarah – is worth watching again and again, but the subsequent movies with all their shoot-em-up gore and mind-numbing chases? Last week a trailer came on tv for the new movie Terminator Genysis and I just about wet my pants.

Seriously. My movie buddy said, “You’re a Cinderella girl. Why on earth would you want to see a blood-thirsty movie like that?”

I had no ready answer, but can only assume that the first Terminator movie imprinted me. I’m locked into the franchise now, perhaps in the vain hope that I’ll see Kyle and Sarah together again (and in Genysis I will). There’s something about truly great characters that inspire you, and make you watch the most dreadful things in hope that they’ll be better than they are: In 2002 I saw Star Wars II Attack of the Clones three days in a row, telling myself each time that it wasn’t that bad, but I was wrong. It was appalling. I adored Han and Leia and Luke so much, I simply couldn’t believe that Padme and Anakin could have such a lame romance.

But I digress.

The topic of this blog is the adoration of unlikely franchises. So fess up. What do you love and why? What do you tolerate when you know damn well it’s an hour (or two) you’ll never get back? Is their some vain hope for a lost romance (there has to be some reason we kept watching Moonlighting back in the eighties). Or were you hooked on House, waiting for the patient he couldn’t cure.

Don’t leave me hanging here in Lame-O Land all alone. Surely I can’t be the only one…

Australian Romance Readers Association Book Signing in Sydney 9 August 2014

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arra, book signing, romance, rwa, sydney

Along with 70 other authors who have romance in their novels, I’ll be participating in the Australian Romance Reader’s Association mass book signing on Saturday 9th August 2014 from 5-6pm at the Pullman Hotel in Olympic Park. If you’d like to attend, you can purchase tickets here. I’d love to see you there!

Romance Rocks Presents… Louise Cusack

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conference, getting published, romance, romance writers of Australia, workshop, writers, writing

Romance Rocks Presents….

Inspiration from magical places

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beauty and the beast, creativity, fairy tale, fairytale, fantasy, fantasy romance, inspiration, inspire, music as inspiration, romance, the voice, the voice australia, writing

It’s no secret that fairytales inspire me. They have for all of my reading life, but it never ceases to amaze me how an old fairytale that I’ve adored as a child can come back to me in a different format and engulf me in magic all over again.

Beauty and the Beast is probably my favorite fairytale, because of its darkness, its inherent romance, and the transformational quality of the character development. I was fortunate to have the latest Disney version come out when my children were young, and I can remember watching it again and again, not just because the animated character were cute and endearing, or because I couldn’t help putting myself in Belle’s shoes and wanting to tame the beast, but because the song, Beauty and the Beast made me cry, every time I heard it. Embedded within it is everything I love about that story – the prince trapped inside the body of a beast, confronted with the delicate beauty of Belle, imagining she’d never even want to look at him, let alone fall in love with him. It inspired me to imagine my own stories with tortured heroes and clever, resourceful heroines who must work with magic – dark and light – to find their happily ever after.

That one song inspired more fantasy plotlines and characterization out of me than probably any other I’ve heard.

So you can imagine how overwhelmed I felt when I was watching The Voice Australia and completely out of left field, two of my favorite competitors lined up in a battle to sing Beauty and the Beast together. It was an inspired move by their coach Ricky Martin (who I adore) and the result is stunning:

I’ve had the song in my mind ever since, playing on a loop, happily inspiring more story ideas, and who would have imagined I’d find inspiration to write fantasy novels while watching a singing competition!

If you’ve ever had inspiration delivered unexpectedly please do share in the comments below. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

 

Review: Winter’s Tale

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colin farrell, movie review, romance, supernatural, Winter's Tale

I see a lot of movies and I don’t often cry in them, even if they’re particularly soppy. This movie wasn’t soppy at all, and I cried. Twice.  If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the trailer:

I have to begin by saying I love Colin Farrell as an actor. He brings such vulnerability to his roles and was fabulous in Saving Mr Banks and In Bruges. In this movie Russell Crowe was truly menacing as his adversary, Pearly, and while part of me wanted him to just leave the lovers alone because they had enough trouble already, the storyteller in me loved the complexity that Crowe’s character brought to the story. Jessica Brown Findlay as Farrell’s love interest Beverley was amazing. I wish I’d written her. She was pure and funny and so thoroughly engaging I fell in love with her as Farrell’s burglar character Peter did.

There was magic and destiny, everlasting love (which I adore), and when the movie ended I felt as if something had been left with me that I couldn’t put my finger on. As if an answer to a really big question – like why are we here – had been implanted into my brain subliminally. I just felt good. In fact, even days later, I just feel good, as if  somehow I’d had it proven that life does have meaning and we are all here for a purpose.

It’s such a simple story, as fairytales often are, but it had a profound impact on me. Beverley’s father, played by William Hurt, was a particularly poignant character, and there’s a scene with a furnace late in the movie that ended with me in tears, quite unexpectedly. The movie was visually beautiful, and the story delightful in parts, frightening in others. I’m not sure I’d take children under ten to see it, but then again I can be a bit old-fashioned when it comes to censoring violence.

SPOILER: The only downside in the movie for me was Will Smith cast as the ‘big bad’. How producers imagined that one half of the comedic Men in Black duo could possibly look like he had authority over a terrifying Russell Crowe is anyone’s guess. But I didn’t buy it. I kept expecting Smith to crack a joke, and it threw me out of the story every time he was onscreen. Luckily it was a small part of the plot and didn’t mar my overall enjoyment.

So summing up I’d have to say Winter’s Tale filled me with hope, I loved the soundtrack and I can’t stop thinking about the characters. I don’t buy many movies on DVD, but this could be one that I’d like to add to my small collection of keepers. A romantic, thrilling supernatural love story that has all the fairytale elements I want to read and love to write myself. Definitely thumbs up from me.

Why do we read Romance?

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books, fantastical, fantasy, Han and Leia, hermoine, john carter, katniss, kyle reese, love story, movies, peeta, readers, reading, romance, ron, Sarah Connor, sci fi, terminator

I’m happy to admit I’m a sucker for romance, and in the same way that chocolate should be a part of every meal (it is one of the important food groups after all) I’d love to see romance having a place in every story.

Because whether I’m deep into reading sci fi, fantasy or a zombie apocalypse, I still want a hint of a sniff of a love story. Star Wars – where would it be without Han and Leia, not to mention Buttercup and Westley, John Carter and Dejah Thoris, Katniss and Peeta, hell, even Ron and Hermione. I love the fantastical elements of speculative fiction worlds, but unless there’s a romance in there, the story isn’t enough for me. I adore the attraction, the pursuit (no matter how clumsy or unlikely to succeed) the tender awkward moments, then there’s the surety and confidence that characters experience when they know their love is returned.

But why is romance such an important element for so many women? Not to mention the men who have a soft spot for love stories and who don’t mind a bit of schmaltz mixed in with their blood and guts. Terminator is full of hide-behind-the-hands violence, but when Kyle Reese says to Sarah Connor “I came across time for you, Sarah. I love you. I always have,” I just melt.

BTW, if you’re a sucker for the Kyle/Sarah love story, here’s a tissue-worthy recap:

So why do we love a good love story?

The easy answer would be that we’re love starved, but statistically that doesn’t hold up. In fact, romance writers as a group have one of the highest levels of happy relationships, which may have something to do with writing love scenes on a regular basis. Many’s the time I’ve heard of a romance writer phoning their partner for a little “romance” after having written a scene that’s gotten them all hot and bothered. And surely that makes for happier marriages. But does the same thing happen for readers? Do women call their husbands after devouring a bit of Fifty Shades and tell them to come home for lunch?

Sex aside (I know, you got a visual there, but I was saying aside not astride) what is it about romance that makes a story feel complete? Do we have any philosophers out there? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Launching the ‘Hapless Heroes’ quirky romance series

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Amazon, Amazon Kindle, barnes and noble, books, ebook, funny, geek, goddess, itunes, Kindle, kobo, marriage, mermaid, quirky, romance, romantic comedy, sex, sexy, stand in, writing

Welcome to the Hapless Heroes collection of stand-alone romantic comedies, available exclusively on Amazon Kindle and free on Kindle Unlimited.  These hunky heroes might be hopeless when it comes to romance, but they’ll do any crazy thing to make their sassy heroine swoon and win her heart.

Marriage and the Mermaid: 

Adorable Winifred Malone may or may not be obsessed with Baz Wilson, but one thing she knows for sure is that they belong together. So she’s not about to let a mermaid come between them, or a demented father and the internet scammer who’s trying to steal his fortune. Not a kleptomaniac cleaning lady and the messy mermaid she’s cleaning up after. Not an OCD marine biologist and certainly not the harried constable trying to make sense of it all. Wynne only cares about marrying Baz, and she’s not prepared to let anything get in her way!

Praise for Marriage and the Mermaid (a full length novel): “Louise Cusack has boldly gone where no romance writer has gone before. The book starts with one hero and ends with another. Highly recommended. 5/5” — Romance Book Haven

PURCHASE Marriage and the Mermaid at:  

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Goddess and the Geek: 

Cranky oyster farmer Natasha Barri has enough trouble with a fallen-down house and poachers stealing from her lease. The last thing she needs is a big, helpless landlubber like Julian Wilde turning up on her island with his dewy, green eyes permanently stuck on her swimsuit. Romance is so far down her priority list, it needs its own basement room, but Julian insists on meddling and ‘trying to help’. One more catastrophe, however, and she’ll be acquainting him with the pointy end of her gutting blade. Voodoo won’t save him from that!

Praise for Goddess and the Geek (a novella): “GODDESS AND THE GEEK is fresh and fun. It is filled with amusing dialogue and witty comebacks. Author Louise Cusack has brought a refreshing story filled with hilarious and unusual characters.” — Romance Book Haven

PURCHASE Goddess and the Geek at: 

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Sex and the Stand In:

Marianne’s divorce has just come through, and instead of celebrating the opportunities in front of her, she can’t stop thinking of the past and the drop-dead-sexy man she should have married. Complicating matters is Justin who works in her office. He may or may not be gay, but he looks so much like her long-lost love she can’t help wondering… will he help her recreate that moment where she should have lost her virginity? And if he says yes, what’s his motive?

Praise for Sex and the Stand In (a novella): “A quirky romance, a hapless hero, an irresistible premise (he loves her but she thinks he’s gay!). Not to mention snappy dialogue and memorable characters.” — Romance Book Haven

PURCHASE Goddess and the Geek at:  

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Destiny of the Light review by Kat at Book Thingo

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book thingo, destiny of the light, fantasy, fantasy romance, Kat, review, romance

Great review of book one of my Shadow Through Time trilogy by one of Australia’s top online romance reviewers: