Watch my TV interview Monday and Tuesday

Don't miss my interview on The Author Show on WEB TV, Broadcasting Monday July 6 and Tuesday July 7, all day. Just click below to watch:
http://www.authorswebtv.com/

During the interview, I speak about A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS, and the problems and incidents on the Arizona Mexican border that inspired the story.

The TV station misspelled my name, and they qualify the book as sci-fi, which it is not. Although I do write sci-fi, A Desperado for Christmas is a contemporary romantic suspense.

You can download the book on the publisher site at:
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=25&products_id=50&osCsid=5f779e2d1844baa438ef211471348b16


Or on Amazon.com in Kindle format at:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Desperado-For-Christmas-ebook/dp/B001KUOOTC/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246821818&sr=1-7


Thank you for your interest in my books.And don't forget to enter my contest to win my August sci-fi romance release, The Chronicles of Kassouk, book One - WHITE TIGER. Just click on CONTEST on the left at:
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/


Wishing you a fantastic July.


Vijaya Schartz
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/
Award-winning Sci-Fi, Guns, Swords, Romance with a Kick
Chronicles of Kassouk - Book One - WHITE TIGER
Coming August 1, 2009 from Desert breeze Publishing
http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-30/%3Ci%3EThe-Chronicles-of-Kassouk/Detail.bok

Win my new release in this new contest

THE CHRONICLES OF KASSOUK BOOK ONE
WHITE TIGER

"...an exceptional tale that belongs in a place of honor on keeper shelves everywhere." Johnna Flores - Coffee Time Romance - 5-cups rating

Announcing the new release of this novel, briefly offered by my previous publisher, now the first book of a brand new series from Desert Breeze publishing.

In a winter world where blood and loyalty are everything, and people keep large felines as pets, how can Tora avenge her father’s death, when a handsome Mutant challenges her bloodline, and his offer to help can get them both killed...

More on my page. Read the reviews and an excerpt at:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/white%20tiger.html

I am offering the opportunity to win the download on my personal website. Just click on CONTEST on the left at:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

The deadline for the contest is July 31, and the release of White Tiger is August 1, 2009. Don't miss this opportunity to win it.

The book already has a page on my publisher's website at:

http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-30/%3Ci%3EThe-Chronicles-of-Kassouk/Detail.bok

Wishing you a fantastic week.

Vijaya Schartz

Guns, Swords, And Romance With a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com

TV's girls with guns, and my favorite summer shows

On the subject of TV, as soon as the spring season is over, I wait for the summer shows. After Stargate Atlantis, The Tudors, Heroes, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Castle, and Legend of the Seeker, I tune into In Plain Sight, and can't wait for the return of Eureka and Kyle XY. Some really creative shows are aired in the summer to test the water, and some of them are excellent.

The tough girl with guns in Eureka is Jo, the Deputy Sheriff. It's not easy to be a serious girl with a gun and a comic relief at the same time.

To me, watching TV is not vegetating. It actually helps me think creatively. If the show is good, I try to understand what makes it so good. If it's bad, I try to rewrite the story for myself and make it better, find out where the writers went wrong. Sometimes I can see that a scene is missing, probably cut for financial or length reasons. When I watch with my husband, during the breaks he always tries to figure out what will happen next. And I say "If I were writing this story, this is what I would make happen next." I'm usually right (meaning I know the mechanics of plotting a suspense). Sometimes the writers have come up with a delightful surprise or a twist at the end, and sometimes, my story is better, than what they wrote. But it's always a good exercise.

If it happens to be a true story, I know it will not follow the same arc, and I don't expect the usual happy ending. True stories also tend to have a more psychological angle and less action. I can usually tell when I'm watching a movie, whether it's fiction or inspired by true events.
So I would say that watching TV keeps my creative juices going. I'm in love with stories, whether in print, in digital format, in audiobook, or on the screen.

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

From guns to kittens

Are guns and kittens incompatible? Obviously not. I have both weapons and cats in all of my stories, and I now have two cats in my home.

Meet Spunky, a well deserved name for a fearless little ball of fur. He is taking the household by storm, to the hissy fit of my two-year old female cat, Jasmine. She is coming around, however, after two days and started playing along with him, but not with him yet. When he jumped at her in friendly play, she swatted him like a fly.

But I'm seeing some progress. It should take about a week for her to get used to the little upstart spreading his smell all over her house.

I originally got this kitten to be her companion when I am away for days at conferences and on vacations. They will likely be the best of friends very soon, but for now she is watching closely, but I can't tell if she is interested in his cute little antics, or if she thinks I brought her dinner. So, I'm watching, too.

Here is a picture of Jasmine, the reluctant adoptive mother.



Any comment or advice on how to handle this cat situation is welcome.
Have a great day.

Vijaya Schartz
Award-winning Sci-Fi, Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Girls with Guns Get the Job Done

Cameron, in the Sarah Connor Chronicles, played by Summer Glau, is the ultimate girl with a gun. Except that she is not a girl, not really, but a machine. As such, she shouldn't have any emotions... shouldn't have. But she is John Connor's protector, and she'll do anything, even die, if it will keep him alive.

But even a machine has a dark side, and since Cameron was once engineered to anihilate the human race, not protect it, there could be something nefarious left in her memory that could awake at any time. Is she the heroine who will save the day? Or the perfect instrument to destroy the human race?

She is aware of it. John is aware of it.
But boy is she a model of efficiency when it comes to getting the job done.

Personally, I think Cameron is evolving into a sentient being, more sensitive than she thinks she is. And I believe she has feelings for John. Whether such a relationship has any chance to fly, your guess is as good as mine.

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

Girls with Guns, Girls with Swords

TV has a new rising kick-butt heroine, Kahlan, the confessor in white robes, in the series from the books "The Sword of Truth" by author Terry Goodkind. She is not the only deadly woman in this action fantasy show, but the others are of the evil kind.

I am thoroughly enjoying LEGEND OF THE SEEKER, from the producers of Xena and Hercules. No wonder it's so good. You may want to try it, too. Sunday nights on the Sci-Fi Channel. It repeats during the week on other channels.

Will tell you more about it later.

Vijaya Schartz
Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com

Scavenger hunt at Books We Love

I will be participating in a Scavenger Hunt/New Member Drive for Books We Love, a website for readers dear to my heart.

From now through the end of April, the BWL Reader's loop is having a grand opening Scavenger Hunt and new member drive. The events promise to be fun. Twenty authors have put up prizes, many of them autographed print copies of their books. The "travel/road map" for the Hunt will be posted daily on the BWL readers list. Answers to the questions are clearly displayed in excerpts, teasers, and descriptions on the designated websites on the travel/road map. Come and play, join the loop, you might get doubly lucky! Please fell free to pass along the information.

To join: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BWL_Readers

Also visit my page at BOOKS WE LOVE:

http://www.bookswelove.net/schartz.html

And don't forget to enter the new contest on my personal website. Just click on CONTEST on the left at:

http://www.vijayaschartz.com/

And if you haven't voted for the cover of A DESPERADO FOR CHRISTMAS yet, click on number 26 on the left at:

http://thenewcoveycoverawards.blogspot.com/search/label/Voting

Thank you for your support.

Wishing you the best of luck in the contests.

Vijaya Schartz

Girls with Guns, Romance with a Kick

http://www.vijayaschartz.com