C.J. Miller

I have a facebook account. I have a twitter account. I even have a pinterest account, although my password is locked and I haven't bothered to unlock it. Goodreads scares me a little because I love the book giveaway function and I would love to talk about books with other book lovers, but I've been warned by other authors to stay out of reader discussions (even about books outside my writing genre) or risk lash-back and drama. I am not sure what that's about entirely, but I am too old for drama and I don't have time for internet fights with strangers. It's not that I'm a technology-phobe. I'm not. Case in point: I have a masters degree in computer science. My reason for not using social media more is that I don't have time for it. At least, not the time required to use it in a way that I find meaningful and productive. Not to start off the firestorm of "what does busy really mean?" and "why can't you just log in throughout the da

It's been a little while since I posted, but I haven't been resting on my laurels. I have new books in the works, edits on other books and some news! But first, I wanted to post about my first author speaking engagement. When I was asked to speak at a local women's club about being an author, I wasn't sure what to talk about. Most readers don't want to hear about the nitty-gritty of publishing, but I wanted my talk to be informational and interesting. Here's the basic outline I used: 1. Thank the hostess! A speaking engagement is a great opportunity to reach out and talk to readers and gain a few new readers. 2. Brief description of who I am. The mini-bio 3. How I got started writing and the road to publication 4. My favorite authors 5. The hardest part of writing for me 6. Writing groups and critique partners 7. Why I write for Harlequin 8. Where I get my ideas 9. What I write - what genre, how graphic, etc. 10. How I do research 11. How I write

I get this question a lot. It's an easy getting-to-know you question. I am never sure how to answer. I'm a stay-at-home mom by day and a freelance IT consultant and romance novelist by night. Each of these jobs comes with a series of preconceptions, but since this blog is about books, I'll stick to the last on the list: romance novelist. I get follow up questions to this. Q. Have I heard of you? A. Depends. Do you read romantic suspense? If you're a casual reader and you stick to the big names - Grisham, Roberts, Patterson, King - then no, I am not one of those authors. But if you haven't heard of me, I'd love for you to give my book a read. Q. Can you give me a free book? A. I keep some copies of my novels around the house for myself and my family, but I earn my living from royalties, meaning I get a percentage of each book sold. Just like you wouldn't ask your mechanic to fix your car for free, or ask a musician to play at your wedding for free,

When Albany Detective Brianna “Bree” Morris learns that Cuban crime lord Milan Varela wants her estranged father dead, she heads off to Miami to find out why. With Homicide Detective Jayce Matthews and her ex-lover Detective Steven Kemp she devises a plot to get close to the Varela organization. Brianna finds herself attracted to the older Milan and falls deep into his web of seduction while fighting to keep her mind on her mission. Milan is equally drawn to Brianna and vows to win her trust and her heart. Is Milan really the villain when it comes to Brianna’s father? Or is he the victim? Is Brianna’s father really in danger or is there more to the story than anyone could ever imagine? Brianna risks her life to save her father’s but will she end up losing her own? Background on the Bree and Steven Interracial Romantic Suspense series: Albany Detectives Brianna “Bree” Morris and Steven Kemp originate from my ’08 novel Melody. I fell in love with them instantly and I knew th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a question I get from time to time: So, you use a formula to write your books, right? I've heard other romance writers address this question before by saying, "no, there is no formula." I think writers feel insulted when someone tells them their craft can be copied by using a formula. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I use a formula. And I'm going to share it with you. If you want to write a good romantic suspense novel, all you need is: A hero A heroine A romance A plot A conflict A setting A happily ever after I won't overcomplicate the formula, but here are a couple notes in case that brief list is too vague and you're less an addition person and more into algebra. A hero: compelling and worth reading about. the reader should care about him. he needs something at stake. provide enough backstory to give him depth, but not too much to slow the pace. the book is taking place in the present - not the past. do

I read an article in Working Mother magazine about the benefits that the best companies in the United States offer to their employees. I've worked at some nice places and some not-so-nice places, but these benefits amaze me! - mentoring programs - paid maternity leave - paid volunteer time - on-site fitness centers and classes - massage therapy services at work - prepared take home meals - backup childcare Since I work from home, I can't expect to be offered these benefits, but kudos to the companies on the list !

My advanced reader copies of Protecting His Princess arrived today. I'm thinking about fun giveaways, like offering copies if a reader sends me a picture of one of my other books in a cool place (poolside? on the beach?) that I could post to my website/blog. What do you think? To everyone who's written a review or emailed me about my other books, thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me. I am working on line edits for Traitorous Attraction (book 4) now. Connor's story has a tentative pub date of May 2014.

Brady Truman, the hero in SHIELDING THE SUSPECT, is injured and unable to return to active duty as an Air Force pararescueman. He has lost his career and his goals for the future are destroyed. He feels adrift in confusion and hurt and bitterness. By the end of the novel, Brady gets help from a great organization. While there are many organizations who do wonderful work for veterans, I wanted to highlight the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project helps wounded soldiers to adjust life outside the military. I encourage you to visit their website (waiting on approval to post the link). It's a thank you to all that our country's servicemen and servicewomen have done to protect freedom, democracy and the pursuit of happiness.

Guest blogging at Riding with the Top Down today ! Stop by and say "hello!"

If you've read Shielding the Suspect and want to know a little more about Brady and Susan, here's an interview from Maniac Manga Cafe .

FANTASY #1: I would be asked a lot of about my writing because the person asking wants to publish their book too. REALITY #1: Family and friends occasionally inquire about my books. I receive the occasional email from readers about my book. I haven't had anyone who has written a book ask about my experiences. I have had people say they've thought about writing a book, but don't have the time. I could talk for hours about my books and publishing in general, but I try to temper how much I say. Not everyone wants to listen to me endlessly gush about make-believe characters or being an author. At the same time, I need to work on self-promotion. I am never sure how to respond to, "you're a real writer? like with a book?" Uhm, yes and yes. I also believe everyone has at least one book in them. All they have to do is get it on paper. FANTASY #2: I would be recognized while out and about. REALITY#2: Nope. Hasn't happened. I am glad for that. Althoug

Protecting His Princess, November 2013 from Harlequin Romantic Suspense

Why it shouldn't be hard to write female characters well from George R. R. Martin

Goodreads Book Giveaway Shielding the Suspect by C.J. Miller Giveaway ends September 09, 2013. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

I've decided to let my RWA (Romance Writers of America) membership lapse. Many authors advise new writers to join RWA for the information, the industry connections and the support from other writers. I get better information from industry and author blogs/websites and I've made more connections and gotten more support from writers I've met through social media. It's not to say that RWA doesn't provide benefits to its members. But I don't have time to engage with the organization or participate in a meaningful way. I skim the RWR (Romance Writer's Report, a monthly publication from RWA), I don't have time to read the online classes (free to members) and I don't have the resources to attend the yearly conference. I'm juggling two young children, another job, my writing, and life. It doesn't leave much room for other things. My writing time goes directly into writing new books. If I get an extra ten minutes here or there, I do promotional

I received my advanced copies of SHIELDING THE SUSPECT which means it's time for a giveaway! Details on my website .

I've been asked how long it takes me to write a book. It's hard to answer in an hour amount. I've never tracked the total time. Below are my best guesses. I haven't included plotting time, but before I start typing a book, I have usually done a fair amount of thinking about it and have discussed it several times with my husband. I also don't know how much time I spend on research. I read a lot about the Middle East before writing Protecting His Princess, but Hiding His Witness didn't require as much research. Draft: I can write a rough draft in a month (70,000 words). I write 6 days a week for 1-4 hours each day. That means it takes me between 24 and 96 hours for a first draft. 1st revisions: The number of pages I revise in a day varies depending on how much work the pages need. I'm thinking in the range of 10 pages an hour. My manuscripts are around 250 pages, so I can estimate another 25 hours to revise. Additional revisions: My critique partner and

In this kingdom, not even the royals are immune to danger. With a sexy FBI agent posing as her suitor, Princess Laila of Qamsar is home for the wedding of her brother the Emir. In truth, the beautiful royal and Harris Truman are on an undercover mission: to find the infamous terrorist her brother is suspected of aiding. But once the festivities begin, Laila faces a bigger threat than Al-Adel. Her secret meetings with Harris pose a danger to her safety­—and her heart. To gain his love and live in freedom as his equal is her ardent desire. But will she betray her traditions for a man whose kisses are part of a charade?

I am excited to share the news that Hiding His Witness is being released in the UK as a Mills & Boon Intrigue.

She woke up on her ex-fiancé's boat with his blood on her hands. Is it possible that Susan Prescott killed Justin and didn't remember it? When the artist is accused of murder, the only one who will believe and protect her is Brady Truman. Brady, her former lover. Brady, who must dispel his agonizing self-doubts if he hopes to help anyone else.... To find the real killer - and the hitmen gunning for them - Susan and Brady have to deal with their still-simmering desire. It all hinges on Susan's memory. Will returning to the boat trigger her recall...or plunge her deeper into danger?

I don't like for my books to make political or religious statements. While I may mention a character's political leanings or infer they practice a certain religion, I don't think romance readers want any soap-boxing from an author. In the past, I've stopped reading an author when her books became a hammer to drive in points about her personal beliefs regarding those oh-so-polarizing topics. In my current work in progress, my characters are undercover as religious figures and as I'm writing, I'm starting to worry it will offend some readers. Religion in any context is a difficult topic to broach. I've tried thinking of another way for them to be undercover ---- the situation they are investigating has nothing to do with any church --- but religious figure makes the most sense. Risk it or edit to a cover story that's safer... but maybe less interesting?

Look what arrived today! The UK release of Hiding His Witness (it's a book duo with Copy That by the amazing HelenKay Dimon). It will be out in the UK in June.

I look for my books on Amazon. It was how I first saw my cover for Hiding His Witness and it's where I can read the back cover blurb for my upcoming books. When searching for Protecting His Princess (Harlequin Romantic Suspense, November 2013), I noticed three other "Princess" books available in 2013 from Harlequin. Protecting the Pregnant Princess (Harlequin Intrigue, February 2013) The Princess Predicament (Harlequin Intrigue, March 2013) Temporarily His Princess (Harlequin Desire, May 2013) I love a "royals" story. It's one of my favorite romance tropes. I think Prince William and Kate Middleton are adorable and now that she's pregnant, their love story is even more exciting! What are your favorite romance tropes? Can you recommend a good royals romance novel?

5 months with my kindle and I've converted from a must-have paperback reader to all e-books. It wasn't easy to get me to read e-books. I resisted buying a kindle for years. I worried I would never use it. I thought it was a waste of money. I thought I could use the kindle app and read on my laptop, which I rarely did because it felt like work. In the end, I didn't actually buy my kindle. My husband gave it to me as a gift for Christmas. He said it was something I needed for my job and as a writer, I should know more about e-books. He was so right. As usual. I don't go a day without using it. I love it. LOVE it. I can read in the dark. It fits in my diaper bag. My children cannot rip the bookmark out of it (they haven't figure out how to turn it on yet). I can get more books with a few clicks when I run out of things to read. Genius in every way. My one gripe is e-book pricing. I will NOT buy a book at all if the e-book is more expensive than the paperback. I

I've been looking for a way to cook my family fresh, healthy dinners. I don't have a lot of free time, I go to the food store once a week (sometimes less often) and the meals need to be suitable for my entire family (aged 2 years - adult). I don't mind making slight modifications - like say, leaving pepper off something my younger child will be eating. I have at least a dozen cookbooks. With the exception of my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook , most have been opened and used less than 5 times each. Enter the Fresh 20 . I read an article in Shape Magazine introducing the Fresh 20 . What drew my attention was the shopping list. It was succinct and were ingredient I like and have used before. I don't make recipes that require a small amount of a rare / difficult to find ingredient because I end up spending too much money on it and then I (1.) don't enjoy it or (2.) it spoils. What I liked about the Fresh 20: - easy to follow instructions - meals were planned

My husband and I have sold the house we've lived in for the last eight year and we're looking for another house. I thought the selling process was difficult - keeping the house spotless, leaving at a moment's notice for house showings, and negotiating a contract. Finding our next house is proving challenging as well. We have a great real estate agent, but I'm having flashbacks to when I bought our first home. I think I repressed some of the memories because the process was so traumatic :) 1. Please don't call it a bedroom if it's really a closet. The ability to jam a camping cot inside a space does not suffice as a bedroom. If I can't fit a twin bed in it, it's not a bedroom. 2. Is it an unwritten rule that if it's a foreclosure or short sale, the previous owner must trash the house to the point that it is unlivable? What are they proving by ripping the front off the kitchen cabinets? Putting out cigarettes on the wall? Punching drywall? Kick

I'm currently writing my 4th book under contract with Harlequin. When am I in a position to help other writers? After the 5th book? The 10th? I know more now than I did when I put fingers to keys six years ago and wrote my first romance novel. Do I have enough experience to advise someone else? Enough knowledge about the industry? Can I provide a critique of a query letter or of a chapter that another writer would find useful? And if I do reach out to help someone else, could I be putting myself in a difficult legal situation? I've heard of writers suing authors for ideas or breech of copyright, and while many of those cases are tossed out or the judgement sides with the author, I don't want to put myself and my wallet in a legal dispute. How to help? Post in the Harlequin Community and find out if anyone would like a free critique or for me to answer any questions about my publishing experiences? What do you think? What are the best ways to pay it forward?

I noticed today it's been over a month since my last blog post. That's not to say I haven't been hard at work. I have two books coming out this year from Harlequin Romantic Suspense : Shielding the Suspect (September 2012) and Protecting His Princess (November 2013). I've been working on revisions, line edits, and the front matter for those books. Those books will complete the Truman brothers miniseries. The Truman brothers are based on my brothers and it was so much fun to write about them. I'd love to write a blog post featuring my brothers, maybe do some Q&A about their reading habits and thoughts on romance. I'll have to run it by them! I can call it : 'My Sister is a Writer' series. Or maybe 'Real Life Alpha Males on Romance.'

I am an organic writer. On writing loops, some call it being a "panster." This means while I have a basic outline for my book (in my mind), sketches of my characters (on paper), and some idea about the beginning and end, most of the text between the first chapter and the last are formed as I write. This means I do a lot of revising, rewriting, and layering. I was given the opportunity to submit books to Harlequin Romantic Suspense on proposal. That is, I don't need to submit the full manuscript, synopsis, and query. I provide the first 50 pages and synopsis and HRS may purchase the book based on that. On the plus side, if the book isn't what they are looking for, I haven't spent the time writing 70,000 words. If the editor asks for revisions to the plot, I have a chance to write the story closer to what they'd like the first time and not rewrite it. In the long run, this should save me time. Writing on proposal was a challenge. I wrote the first hundre

I have an amazing friend who is also a writer. As yet unpublished, I suspect from the quality of her work and the feedback she's received from editors and agents that it's a temporary situation. One of the things that makes her so amazing is that in spite of life's occasional medical problems, day job work concerns, and here-and-there family hiccups, she still writes. And she still writes great books. She writes in the car, she writes in a notebook, she writes, writes, writes. I won't out her identity on this blog. I have a feeling she would be embarrassed by all this praise, but she's absolutely a wonderful person to have in my life. What spurred this post? After all, I've known this person for many years. This week, after several back-and-forths with a publishing company over several months, she was given a rather... unprofessional... response from them. Details not important, her reaction was to say that the back-and-forth made the manuscript better a

How I format my manuscripts for Harlequin Romantic Suspense in MS Word: 1. Margins: one inch on all four sides 2. Line spacing: double 3. Indentation: Special - first line, each paragraph starts indented 4. Under Paragraph, check the box for "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." 5. Font: Times New Roman 6. Font size: 12 7. Word count (as of 2/2013): between 70-75,000. This comes out to around 250 typed pages. 8. Header: Last Name / Title on the left, page number on the right. 9. Chapters: type the word chapter and the number centered on the page. No extra carriage return between the last paragraph of the previous chapter and the first paragraph of the current chapter. 10. Scene breaks: use # between scenes. No extra carriage return between the last paragraph of the previous scene and the first paragraph of the current scene. 11. Sentences: one space between sentences How I format my synopsis in Microsoft Word: 1. Margins: one inch on all

Since receiving a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas, which I love and have been enjoying so much more than I thought I would, I am much crankier about e-book prices. I get irritated when I see a paperback version of a book (purchased new) is more expensive than the e-book. I have found I prefer to buy the e-book (thanks to my ever-growing family of readers, shelf space is at a premium around here) and when deciding between two books, I will choose the book I can get for the Kindle less expensively. I cannot be the only reader who feels this way. It makes me worry when I see my e-books listed at the same price or higher than the paperback version. I don't set the prices and I have no say in how my books are priced. But I think competitively pricing Harlequin e-book could help drive sales. FWIW.

- I had never heard of the RITA s or RWA - I didn't read book reviews - I didn't check agent or editor blogs - I didn't have a twitter account - I didn't "friend" authors on Facebook - I didn't use Goodreads - I didn't pay attention to banner ads for books on websites - I didn't write reviews for books online (I am still leery of writing reviews or rating romance novels.) * I was/am a BIG romance reader, sometimes reading a book a day. Since becoming a parent, the number of books I read has decreased. How I found new authors: - Amazon.com's recommendations based on my buying history - my local library's "new books" section and librarian referrals section (a librarian is a writer's best friend!) - word of mouth - cover quotes by an author I love recommending the book... "Oh, so-and-so read this and loved it? Awesome!" - Some amount of random selection based on title and cover art (I rarely read the bac

I received my box of RITA books last week. To my delight, they are all books in romance subgenres I've read and have enjoyed. I have six books to judge over the next couple of months, which is totally reasonable. I've already started one and it's by an author I've never read. It's a great way to discover new authors. While reading and judging the books is a job I take seriously, I am trying not to overthink the scores. I've read hundreds, of not thousands, of romance novels over my lifetime. I know what I like and while it's subjective to give a score, I can give a fair and honest rating. I can't wait to find out the winners. Maybe it will be one of the books in my stack!