The writings and ramblings of Colette Saucier

Gentle readers, Recently, I "came out of the closet." I revealed what only a handful of even those closest to me know: I have Major Depressive Disorder. I have always considered this secret embarrassing, a sign of weakness. People who know me are shocked to find out because I am generally outgoing, joking, and bubbly in public; but look at this list of others who struggle with depression , and you'll be amazed by all the comedians laughing on the outside. I do this now because October is Depression Awareness Month , and I have been made inherently aware recently of how little understanding those who have never faced this darkness have of the experience, how they think we should just "snap out of it" or tell someone "Oh, come on, you aren't bipolar" until they witness a psychotic break. Southern Girl Press and To Write Love on Her Arms are collaborating on a book sale benefit in an effort to help those who have never had to deal with depress...

Good morning, dear readers! How lovely to sleep in - and I get to do it again tomorrow even though my beloved New Orleans Saints are at home because they are playing on Monday Night Football! (Don't expect much from me on Tuesday! I will let Brandon Witt, my guest for coffee, do all the talking!) Be sure to look for me on TV at the Dome Monday night. I'll be wearing a Saints jersey. ;)  The number 42, of course - the answer to life, the universe, and everything! Which brings me to the next clue in the Pulse and Prejudice Pop Culture Challenge! This time, however, I am showing favoritism to all of you who have "Liked" my page on Facebook. In fact, I give you TWO hints for "Liking" my author page! facebook.com/ColetteSaucierAuthor But time is running out! Submit your entry to: pulseandprejudicecontest@outlook.com by October 31st, 2013. Now on to News... The winner of my giveaway in the 100th Sunday Snog Blog Hop - a Sterling Silver Kissing Swa...

Good morning, dear readers!   As my frequent readers are aware, I usually take my coffee black. (I like my coffee like I like my men: hot, dark and bitter.) Today, however, I find there are clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee. Unless you are as old as I am (or, for some odd reason, you happen to be a Taylor Swift devotee), many of you may have no idea to what I am referring, but Carly Simon (whom you probably don't know either) had a popular song - when I was a VERY young girl - called "You're So Vain." When Destiny Blaine , my guest for coffee this morning, talks about her friend (and inspiration), I immediately think of that song. Not that he is necessarily vain, mind you. I mean, I have no idea - I've never met the man! He might be as modest as Mahatma Gandhi. (Of course, whose to say what was going on inside Gandhi's bald head, but I digress.) I am absolutely delighted to have Destiny here today because she is a fabulous author and a wonderful...

Good morning, dear readers! I hope you are relaxing on this lovely Sunday. Later, of course, I will be cheering for my beloved New Orleans Saints, but first I have something special and a little different for you for this Sunday snippet. I am joining Victoria Blisse and scores of other authors in the 100th Sunday Snog to raise money and awareness for Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières). For this blog hop, we will all be posting excerpts from a special kissing scene from one of our works, and in addition to offering prizes, we will be donating to Doctors Without Borders and hope that you might do the same. I think the first kiss scene of a novel can often be the most exciting part, especially if there has been a lot of tension and buildup to it; so I really didn't want to spoil the first kiss scenes of some of my novels that you might not have read.  Instead, I have a special surprise for you: A scene from my current work in progress - The Widow . This wi...

Good morning, dear readers!   Normally I would say how honoured I am to have a fellow Austen Author   join me for coffee - or perhaps in this case I should say tea! And better make mine green because I am so envious of my guest this morning since she is at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England, and I'm lucky if I get a chance to take a bath! I am teasing, of course. Not about my baths, but I truly am honoured that Jane Odiwe is here to share her experiences with us.  PLUS she has a new novel - Project Darcy - coming out soon! That will at least help salve the sting.  Someday I know I will return to the U.K. - I hope sooner rather than later - and perhaps surprise Jane by appearing on her doorstep! (I mean, if she is going to have the audacity to live in England, what does she expect?) In the meantime, I will get a cup of tea and some sticky toffee pudding and enjoy the festival vicariously. ~Colette Thank you so much, Colette, for inviting me to your ...

Good morning, dear readers! Yes, Labor Day has passed, and we've put away all our white shoes and pastel purses until next year, but we are not quite ready to say goodbye for the summer . Which is why I have joined over 100 other authors for the Sunset on Summer Fun Blog Hop with a Grand Prize of your choice: a Kindle or Nook! This runs through the end of September, so you have time to hop around to visit all the authors' blogs to better your chances at the grand prize PLUS enter to win all of the giveaways they are offering. My latest release, the Romantic Suspense Thriller Alicia's Possession , is my first foray into (extremely mild!) BDSM. (If you wonder how I happened along this path, check out my guest post "How Did a Nice Girl Like YOU Write a Book Like This?" on Destiny Blaine's blog.) Haunted by a traumatic accident and her husband’s betrayal, Alicia believes she can never trust again. Now she must surrender her will to Mason if she wan...

Are you ready for another clue in the Pop Culture Challenge? I hope you are having fun finding all the allusions strewn through the chapters of Pulse and Prejudice like Easter eggs. Do you think YOU will be the winner of the iPad and the Cash Jackpot? All of the pop culture references are listed on the Acknowledgements page of Pulse and Prejudice - the paranormal adaptation Jane Austen's classic, which retells the story from Mr. Darcy's point of view as a vampire - and today I will share a passage from the novel that contains one of the allusions! PLEASE NOTE: If you have not yet read Pulse & Prejudice or Pride & Prejudice , first of all, get to it! But secondly, the following will contain spoilers. This scene takes place immediately after Mr. Darcy has left Miss Elizabeth Bennet at the Lambton Inn, weeping after learning that her sister Lydia has "eloped" with the nefarious Mr. Wickham. From Miss Austen's novel, we only learn Elizabeth's pe...

Good morning, dear readers!    I am honoured that fellow Austen Author Sally Smith O'Rourke has returned to join me for coffee today (I think maybe it's because my New Orleans coffee has chicory in it). You might recall that she stopped by Coffee with Colette a few months ago to tell us about her Pride and Prejudice- inspired time-traveling tale, Yours Affectionately, Jane Austen .  Today she has quite a different story to tell - about sisters and a special connection she feels to the Misses Austen. This is a rare and special post indeed! ~Colette Cassandra Austen was with her beloved sister to the end. Jane died cradled in her sister’s embrace. “I was able to close her eyes myself and it was a great gratification to me to render her these last services,” Cassandra wrote her niece, Fanny. Leslyn It isn’t possible for me to read Cassandra’s words and not think of the loss of my own sister. Unlike Cass I was not with Leslyn at the end. While I used pressing wo...

A Return to the (unofficial)  Six Sentence Sunday with the Next Clue in the Pop Culture Challenge! What better way to reveal one of the pop culture references  listed on the Acknowledgements page of Pulse and Prejudice - the paranormal adaptation Jane Austen's classic, which retells the story from Mr. Darcy's point of view as a vampire - than to give you an actual passage from the novel that contains the allusion! This is from a scene relatively early in the novel after Mr. Darcy has left Elizabeth in Hertfordshire and gone to London. He is now contemplating going to visit a lady of the night....        As was the case more often than not with men of his rank and credit, Darcy was no stranger to the demimonde. His cousin Fitzwilliam, several years his senior, had introduced Darcy to the sins of the flesh before the latter had even graduated Harrow. Although certainly no rake, on occasion Darcy would swim the warm waters of sensual pleasure; and, ha...