Manuscript Mavens

And the Beat Moves On

2009-02-03T10:58:00.007-05:00

After much vacillation and hemming and hawing, the Mavens have concluded that it's time to formally close down Ye Olde Blog. While none of us have given up writing, we've reached a point where it's time to move on.

And so, it is with deep gratitude that we say good-bye to our stalwart MaveFaves and let you know where to find us on the Interwebs in the future.

Erica Ridley

The author of Too Wicked To Kiss, which will be a March 2010 Kensington Zebra release, can be found at her website at http://www.ericaridley.com/ and her blog at http://www.ericaridley.com/blog/.

Carrie Ryan

You can find Carrie, author of the forthcoming and much anticipated The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Delacorte, March 10, 2009), at her blog (http://carrie-me.blogspot.com/) and her website (http://www.carrieryan.com/). Oh, and check out her starred review in today's Publishers Weekly. Go, Carrie!

Jackie Barbosa

Jackie can be found at her website (http://www.jackiebarbosa.com/), her blog (http://jackiebarbosa.blogspot.com/) and on the Aphrodisia Authors blog on the 25th of each month (when she a) remembers and b) has time, which so far hasn't been often, but she's working on it).

Darcy Burke

2008 Golden Heart Finalist Darcy can be found at her website (http://www.darcyburke.com/), which she keeps updated with all the latest and greatest news.

Lacey Kaye

Our resident process engineer, inventor of "geek lit," and author of Romance with Color can be found at her website and blog at http://laceykaye.com/.

We'll be keeping the site up for the foreseeable future, just in case any of you is overcome by a sudden, irrepressible urge to reread our old rantings and ravings...er, that is, pearls of wisdom. Thanks for joining us on this incredible adventure in writing, and for letting us share our lives with you (and yours with us). We've truly appreciated it.

Last one out...please turn out the lights :).

Out with the Old

2009-01-29T10:18:00.001-05:00

I've had my old laptop for... wow. Since the days floppy drives were considered indispensable. And although technology continued passing it by, my laptop never let me down. It continues working like a charm, except... Well, except the case is cracking. And pieces are starting to fall off. And the hard drive is so small, I have to delete old emails in order to receive new ones. And--

So finally, after year(s) of suspecting I needed a new laptop (and much ridicule from my friends, who insisted I needed a new laptop) I finally ordered a new one. Overnight shipping and everything. Went all out.

(Natch, there's a part on backorder, so who knows when it'll arrive...)

How about you? Do you write on a desktop or a laptop? Old or new? Or maybe an Alphasmart or handwritten on paper? Ever think about upgrading? Or are you an upgrade junkie?

I Bet You

2009-01-26T08:05:00.002-05:00

Mornin', Mavenland! This weekend, while giving a workshop on Websites & Online Marketing to the STAR chapter of RWA, I entered into a friendly little bet.

(Or possibly a snarling, I-will-get-you, just-you-wait-and-see competition... hard to say.)

With challenge in her eyes, a friend of mine informed me that she bet she could write her novel by the end of February. (Yanno... 5 weeks from now.)

As I hadn't yet recovered from the heart palpitations sparked by my own mid-March deadline, I opened my mouth and said, "Oh yeah? I bet I can finish mine first."

To which my friend casually responded, "You're on."

Ack! It's on!!!

How about you? What are you working on? Got any deadlines, self-imposed or otherwise? How are things going with that?

Unsticking

2009-01-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! The ends of my hair are currently singed as I burn through my WIP. I'm in that great almost-done phase where you can hardly do anything but sit and write. Like reading a good book that I simply can't put down. Except of course the writing takes much, much, much longer than the reading. If only it were the reverse.

My biggest challenge with this book is writing a truly Alpha Alpha male. I mean, he's entitled, he's arrogant, he likes violence, and he treats the heroine like a sex object for the first half of the book. I love him! But, sometimes it's hard to write him. I've been stuck the past few days on a pivotal scene. He exposes his vulnerable side to the heroine and then in the next scene he's all nice and...bor-ring. And I really need that first scene. So, I thought, "What does a guy do when he says or does something humiliating?" Pretend it never happened and act like a total jerk to the person who might've witnessed said humiliation. Voila, unstuck.

Been stuck lately? What'd you do about it?

Update: Last time I blogged (uh, way too long ago), I'd just found my long-lost Danish cousins. I'm now in frequent contact and even talked to Paprika on the phone last week. Despite the lost years and never meeting, the connection between us is so strong. I can't wait to meet them in person and hug them tight!

Coffee, Google, & CO2

2009-01-12T10:41:00.003-05:00

I was reading a Science and Technology article on my google homepage today (warning: it's in Spanish) that claims every two times you Google one of your burning questions, Google produces the same amount of CO2 in answering as is produced when heating up a cup of instant coffee. (This is not a knock against Google, whom I'd marry if it was a he.)

Google, in fact, was quick to point out that just the mere fact of having your computer connected to the Internet at all (whether you're Googling or busy cursing at Spider Solitaire) produces even *more* CO2 in the same amount of time as two Google searches. Given that there's 200 million Google searches in any given day--and a whole lot more of other 'net shenanigans going on whilst not Googling--that sounds like a helluva lot of C02.

Given the technologically addicted nature of the world at large (and myself in particular) however, I'm not sure what we can/will/should do about it...

Do the super-awesome benefits of internet technology outweigh the cost of environmental responsibility? Is it naive to think the general population would take time to unplug in an attempt to curb our rush toward a greenhouse effect backlash? *Is* there a risk of a greenhouse effect backlash, or is that claptrap anyway? If it is a real risk, is it far too late to avoid its effects by simply denying ourselves the freedom to Google?

Thoughts?

Anti-Resolutions, Take 2

2009-01-09T06:00:00.003-05:00

A little over a year ago, I wrote a post about my New Year's Anti-Resolutions. (If you want to see why I make anti-resolutions instead of resolutions, go here.)
Oddly enough, I was just about to take off for a vacation in Yosemite when I posted; this year, I've just gotten back from one! (Wow, did we hit it just right! The three days we were in the park were gorgeous and sunny. The day we left, it had started to drizzle--and there's nothing I hate more than rain on top of snow!)

Anyhoo, on the heels of Maven Erica's goal post (haha, I made a pun!), I thought it would be fun to revisit my 2008 Anti-Resolutions to see how I did. Here are the things I promised to try not to do.

1. Enter a slew of contests.

Did all right here. I only entered four contests in 2008, and of those four, I didn't final in two and won my category in the other two. Winning was nice validation, but I have to say that I got a lot of valuable information from those non-finals (including that a non-finaling manuscript can be the one that sells, lol).

2. Start manuscripts I can't seem to finish.

The jury's still out on this one. I started at least four (maybe five) manuscripts this year that I didn't finish...YET. But that doesn't mean I won't/can't finish them. It's just that the ones I've got out there right now are of the "it's not time to try to sell these" variety, which means they're sitting on the shelf pending a better moment.

We'll have to put this one in the "wait and see" category.

3. Put on ten pounds.

Definitely achieved. As far as I can tell, I didn't put on any weight in 2008 and, while I didn't get the 10 I gained in 2007 OFF, I held steady. Good enough for me.

4. Come up with another pseudonym.

So far, so good, but if I do finish one of those "not time yet" manuscripts, I might really NEED another one (esp. since one is middle grade/YA).

5. Open my mouth and insert my foot--at least not repeatedly!

Okay, still working on this one. I do think I'm getting better--or maybe my friends are just getting more tolerant. Either way, this is the hard one for me because I so often tend to speak without a filter. I have a thought or an idea and I just blurt it out. It's in my nature. Doesn't mean it's a good thing, though, or one I don't have to try to improve. But hey, I'm only 44. God isn't finished with me yet ;).

What's New for 2009?

This year's Anti-Resolutions, in no particular order, are as follows.

I will not:

1. Waste so much time on the Internet. (Notice I didn't say I won't waste any time on the Internet. That would be impossible!)

2. Allow myself to fall so far behind a deadline that I have to neglect my family to meet it. (Yeah, this was bad in 2008.)

3. Try to write a book without writing a blurb first. (Yeah, doesn't work for me. Even when I have a synopsis. Go figure!)

4. Get more cats. (We picked up four in the past year for a total of five. One more and I suspect I will be officially considered a cat lady.)

5. Spend every writing moment doing everything but write. (Yeah, corollary to #1, but still, important!)

And, with that, since this is a writing moment, I'd better get cracking!

YOUR TURN: Got any plans for things you won't be doing this year? Or things you will? Tell all. The Mavens want to know!

Call Story

2009-01-07T07:00:00.004-05:00

So, I was sitting at a tall table in a tiny internet cafe in Arenal, Costa Rica watching a cow cross the road, when Gmail was so kind as to drop an email from my agent, Lauren Abramo, into my Inbox.

[begin complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]

ERiCA!!!

I left you messages on all forty-eight of your phones and yet I haven't heard from you. What could possibly be more important than the super-exciting thing I'm killing myself trying to tell you?? Call me before I shank you!

Love, Lauren

[end complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]

Hmmm, I thought to myself. I *could* continue to drowsily stare at the cow crossing the road. Or... I could call my agent.

Seeing as how AT&T charges $2.29 per minute for international calls from Costa Rica [$?#*@!] I fired up my good buddy Skype on my laptop and placed me an international call faster than you can say "VOIP".

[begin complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]

L: Hello?

E: Hey, Lauren, it's Erica.

L: Hey, Erica! Long time no talk. What've you been up to?

E: Oh, you know. Ate some beans and rice. Drank an Imperial. Watched a cow cross the road. You?

L: Oh, you know. Crossed tall buildings in a single bound. Shot spiderwebs out of my wrists. Sold your book.

E: SQUEEE!!!!!

L: SQUEEE!!!!!

E & L: SQUEEE!!!!!

[end complete and utter paraphrase with shameless abuse of poetic license]

There you have it--my two-missed-calls-one-email-one-cow-and-an-emergency-voip-chat call story.

Squeee!!!!!

Special thanks to my uber-massive support group: the Mavens Darcy, Lacey, Carrie, and Jackie, Kel & Manda, Janice, PCubed: Jean, June, Elissa, Cheryl, and Linda, all my TARA sisters, Cheryl, Julie and Virginia for never being too busy to answer my questions, and of course Karen and Diana, whose (utterly perfect) initial reaction was, "I told you so!"

FIRST SALE!!!

2009-01-05T07:10:00.002-05:00

Can I get a SQUEEEEEEE?!?!?!

I am pleased, thrilled, utterly apoplectic to announce that my superstar agent Lauren Abramo just sold my superstar Regency-set gothic TOUCHED to Kensington in a two-book deal. Yayayay!!!

It will be arriving at a bookstore near you in the next 18 months. More details to come (including "call story"...)

w00t!

Special thanks to my uber-massive support group: the Mavens Darcy, Lacey, Carrie, and Jackie, Kel & Manda, Janice, PCubed: Jean, June, Elissa, Cheryl, and Linda, all my TARA sisters, Cheryl, Julie and Virginia for never being too busy to answer my questions, and of course Karen and Diana, whose (utterly perfect) initial reaction was, "I told you so!"

Resolutions

2008-12-31T06:45:00.000-05:00

Most of you know how I feel about goals. Last year around this time, I yammered on about how they must be specific, quantifiable, realistic, and attainable, and how above all, you (er... I) should be accountable for sticking to them.

Somewhere around mid-year, I fell off the write-every-day wagon.

How did this happen, given that I am the self-professed queen of making specific, quantifiable, realistic, attainable goals and sticking to them like bubble gum on shoes?

Because... I missed a bullet point. I should've added this tiny detail here:

Goals must be a priority

Even a goal like "get out of bed by noon" won't come to pass if it seems more important to lay in a sea of pillows with the TiVo remote and a plateful of comfort food.

So. My #1 goal for 2009 is:

Write/Revise/Plot/Daydream about my WIPs every single day, even if a few stolen moments is all I have.

1b: Because it matters.

You?

A Quick Update

2008-12-04T17:30:00.006-05:00

Since MaveFave Vicki posted yesterday asking how the Mavens are doing, I thought it was the least I could do to pop by for a really quick update and...well, an utterly shameless squee.

As always, the day job, the family, and the writing are keeping me plenty occupied. I am (still :P) working on my option book proposal for Kensington. After writing about 8K, I found myself in a corner I didn't know how to get out of and realized I needed to retool the story from the ground up. Sigh. It happens!

A little over a week ago, I discovered a black and white, low resolution version of the cover art for my Kensington release, Behind the Red Door. Finally, after many excruciating day of impatient anticipation, the color, high-resolution version is here and I can share it with you.

Let me know what you think! But I warn you, it's mine, mine, all mine.

And, It's Off!

2008-10-01T18:02:00.001-04:00

And by "it," I mean the completed manuscript of Behind the Red Door, my novella anthology which is slated for release by Kensington Books in the summer of 2009! I emailed the file to my editor yesterday (my official "extended" due date) with a follow-up hardcopy hitting the regular mail today.

Yay me!

As you may remember, I started a 30K in 30 days challenge to help motivate myself to finish. I wound up not only meeting, but exceeding my 30-day goal, although it wound up taking 32 days for me to put the final finishing touches on it. I literally closed the file ten minutes before I emailed it out.

So now, I'm free. (Breaks into a refrain of "I'm free to do what I want any old time.") It's a rather odd sensation, actually. I've been bound to that book for so long, I feel a little rudderless.

Oh, it's not that I don't have ideas. No, no, never that! It's more that I have a plethora of them, and since none of them are contracted, it's hard to prioritize. That said, for the next couple of weeks, I'm going to kick back and do some fun projects--a short story for a freebie Christmas anthology Anna Leigh Keaton is putting together and a short Christmas novella for Cobblestone Press.

After that, I reckon I'll get serious again by putting together a proposal for an option book for Kensington. And then we'll see what happens.

YOUR TURN: What have you been up to the past month while I (and the other Mavens) have been hiding in our caves? Tell us all the news. We'd love to hear!

30k in 30 Days Challenge--Update

2008-09-15T13:16:00.005-04:00

I planned to check in a little more often than this, but actually doing the writing seemed to eat up most of my time. (Wonder how that could have happened?) I have been managing to update my daily word count on my blog, but that's about it for updates so far.

So, yesterday marked Day 15 of the challenge. I'm a little shy of 15k at this point, but that's primarily because yesterday was Sunday, and Sundays are always iffy for writing (this funny little thing called "family time" seems to get in the way, lol).

The good news, however, is that this method seems to be working. Making sure I sit down and write every single day with a specific goal in mind has made a huge difference in my productivity. When I do get a good, solid block of time, I am writing faster and more efficiently, and finding it not that hard to meet or even exceed the 1,000 word goal.

Which is a good thing, because I've now completed two of the three novellas that are due on October 1, and it's going to take me more than 1,000 words per day to finish the one I'm writing now. My math tells me I now have to average 1,400 words to write THE END on that one by September 29, the last day of the challenge, giving me a whopping ONE DAY to polish it up before sending it in. Am I worried? Nah! I'm freaking terrified. LOL.

YOUR TURN: Update us on your writing progress for the last fifteen days. If you're in on the challenge, how's it going? If you're not, what are your current goals and how are things coming along? Remember, we love to hear from you, even if we are pretty quiet ourselves!

That Crazy Internet

2008-09-10T05:00:00.001-04:00

Howdy Mavenland! I had to share something I learned this evening from my brother...he found our cousins. Were they lost? Not really, just lost to us. Long story short: Our father had one sister and she moved to Denmark in 1951. I only met her once in the early 80s. We lost touch with her (and consequently our cousins) after our grandmother died in 1987 (my father died the previous year). I'd always wondered what was going on with them, but it never, ever occurred to me to Google them.

And how stupid was that.

See, my aunt was an actress, and a rather famous one in Denmark. She has a page in Danish Wikipedia! And my eldest cousin, Kim Sagild, was in a successful latin/jazz/funk band (Buki-Yamaz - they have a myspace page with super groovy music!) and went on to do something in music (he came to visit once also - I remember him as being so, so, so cool - I think I was maybe 9?). My other two cousins, Paprika (if you go to her page here at Internet Movie Database, click on the first trailer for The Substitute and watch what happens to her at the end!) and Nikolaj Steen were also artists, but I'd no idea Paprika won the equivalent of the Danish Oscar - for both best actress and supporting actress...in the same year! Wild.

My brother gets credit for finding them and is trying to make contact. I hope he's successful and that we'll be able to swap photos and stories. I'm certain we have much to share about our families and I'm really excited about the possibilities.

Ah, Internet, sometimes your powers are far more good than evil.

So what's the Internet done for you lately?

Nothing Left But Writing

2008-09-08T09:41:00.003-04:00

Happy Monday, Mavenland! (It *is* Monday, right? I am notoriously calendar-challenged...)

I am pleased to report that this weekend, I finally finished reading the first 190 pages (which, coincidentally, is all that exists) of my WIP (where P=Procrastination). Now that I've got my previous WIP shipped off to my agent, and my soon-to-be current WIP re-ingrained in my head, there's nothing left for me to do but... write. Ack!

...and revise. My initial plan was to write the entire first draft before showing any of it to my CPs, but all that happened was, I hit 60k or so and never opened the file again. So I'm now thinking, perhaps I ought to clean up what I have and let 'em have a lil look-see, just to get my critdrenaline flowing again.

P.S.
Am I the last person to know about Google's Panoaramio? I spent more time surfing this site yesterday than I used to spend playing Spider Solitaire. Dangerous, dangerous!!

Guest Maven Delilah Marvelle - Go Buy Her Debut Book!

2008-09-02T14:56:00.001-04:00

We're thrilled to welcome Delilah back to the Mavendom to celebrate the release of her debut novel, Mistress of Pleasure. You might recall Delilah sharing her call story with us last year. Her years of dedication and persistence have finally paid off, culminating in this fabulous day! Congrats Delilah!

Mistress of Pleasure is finally here. Purchase a lesson...if you dare!

Today is a very exciting day for me!!! Why? Because my first book, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, officially hits stores. (Gleefully clapping hands here.) Instead of the usual throwing of pitches and excerpts and whatnot, I decided to keep it simple.

Behind every book, there is a story. And needless to say, behind my upcoming debut, MISTRESS OF PLEASURE, which centers around a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, there are several. Because I don’t want to write a book about THE book, I’ve decided to elaborate as simply as I can about the inspiration behind the creation of MISTRESS OF PLEASURE. That inspiration first coming from my research, when I stumbled upon Ninon de L’Enclos, a French 17th century courtesan.

Truth be told, I find it rather astounding that this fascinating woman somehow disappeared into the shadows of history. She is but a ghost whenever the topic of courtesans arise. For we usually hear of the same old, same old courtesans like Kitty Fisher, Cora Pearl or Harriette Wilson. Let me be the first to tell you, however, that none of these women could possibly rival Ninon de L’Enclos or her life. But don’t take my word for it. Research her on your own and come to your conclusion. Bottom line, Ninon’s thoughts, philosophies, and her approach toward men and sex went beyond anything I have ever seen in a woman of her day.

Much like other courtesans, she kept her bedroom door open to aristocratic men, yes. But unlike other courtesans, she kept that bedroom door open for more than just sex. This woman actually held meetings and classes in the confines of her bedchamber where men of all ages would come to visit in order to discuss topics of sex, philosphy and love. These so-called meetings fascinated me and in turn, began to create the growing threads of what is now Mistress of Pleasure. The more I researched, the more excited I became. For there was almost too much to work with. For instance, Ninon had various lovers, as you might imagine. But to one lover in particular, she birthed a son. A son who was raised apart from her to never know who she was due to her being a courtesan. Then one day, when her son was a grown man, he happened to one day meet Ninon. And fell madly in love with her. (And no, I’m not bloody making this up…). Though she had sworn to never reveal her identity to her son, because his advances were growing more and more passionate and he altogether outright refused to leave her be, she finally told him the truth. That she was in fact his mother and that was why there would never be a sexual relationship between them. Her son was so overwhelmed and distraught by the confession, that he left her house and committed suicide by falling onto the blade of his own sword. Another story, somewhat less morbid, was about one man who begged and begged Ninon to admit him into her bed. She refused him time and time again and finally told him, “Return when I am eighty. Then I shall bed you.” The besotted fool took her words quite literally and arrived on her doorstep many, many years late, when she turned eighty. Ninon was so amused, she ended up bedding him, after all.

As you can tell by the stories I am selecting, it is the older Ninon that ultimately fascinated me. Which created a dilemma for my writing. Because my heroine couldn’t possibly be an elderly lady. It would never sell. But then I got to thinking. What if she were a grandmother of the heroine? Now THAT had possibilities. At about the same time I started writing AN IMPROPER EDUCATION (which is what I called it before the publisher changed it), MY grandmother re-appeared in my life. After 20 years of complete and utter silence. Which is a whole other story I don’t have time to go into… Soon, I discovered that the grandmother I never knew was actually an opera singer who had married into American Aristocracy and was living the life of a queen. My grandmother had an air of royalty to her and was quite beautiful for a woman her age. She had a heavy accent, walked with a sashay and always used amusing little words that I’d never heard before. For instance, she referred to sex as “Poom-poom.” She amused me so much so, that I could not help but morph her and Ninon together to create the fictional character that ultimately became Madame de Maitenon, who is both the creator of the School of Gallantry and the grandmother of my heroine, Maybelle de Maitenon. And so, I ended up with a story about a retired French courtesan who opens up a school that educates men on the topic of love and seduction, and the granddaughter who is unexpectedly forced to take over the operation of the school and educate all the men. Even though she has very little personal experience. Life certainly makes for some interesting fiction. And I have to say, I’m glad for it. At least in the case of this book. For an excerpt, more information or to sign up for my newsletter, please head over to my website.

Cheers,
Delilah Marvelle

What a fabulous story, Delilah! Anyone else use true stories or characters for their books? Dish!

The 30K in 30 Days Challenge

2008-08-31T15:22:00.000-04:00

Since I last posted right before leaving for the RWA National Convention, I've been swamped by the day job. My company holds a conference for its clients every year in late August or early September (depending on when we can get the hotel), and I'm a major contributor to the effort. This year, I gave four presentations, none of which were remotely close to being developed at the beginning of this month. I had four weeks to get my act together, and believe me, I needed every one of those weeks.

So NOW, I have another deadline looming over me. I've promised all three of the Red Door novellas by October 1st. The first novella is (thankfully) already complete, but the second and third are sitting at 5,000 words (of a projected 25K) and roughly 20.5K (or a projected 30K). Soooo, to finish and ship the printed manuscript off to New York in time, I've got to write an average of 1,000 words per day for the next thirty days.

That's more than doable, of course. But since I've been "out of the saddle" for a full month now, it seems more than a bit daunting. And so, in an effort to motivate myself, I'm setting down the 30K in 30 Days Challenge. My friend and critique partner, Emma Petersen, even created this graphic you can post on your blog or website if you decide to jump on the bandwagon:

The challenge officially begins today, Sunday, August 31 and ends Monday, September 29, but you can jump in any time with your own start and end dates. If you'd like to engage in periodic check-ins, support, encouragement, commiseration, advice, and the occasional ass-whuppin' when you need it, simply leave a comment on this post. I'll be posting again next week to let you know where things stand, and you can let me know how you're doing, too. In addition, I'll be keeping a calendar on my personal blog to show my progress. There's nothing like a little shame and humiliation to keep me on track!

YOUR TURN: Want to join the fun? Leave a comment and I'll blogroll you!

And it's off!

2008-08-25T09:27:00.002-04:00

After much delay, the revised manuscript Revenge of the Robot Duke's Virgin Secretary* is now in the hands of my agent!!!

w00t!!!

* (just kidding**)

** (I mean, kidding about the title***. I really did send off my manuscript.)

*** (Not that that isn't a kick-ass title.****)

**** (I'm kinda turned on by the idea of writing a Presents-esque futuristic historical erotic sci-fi romantic suspense. *****)

***** (just kidding)

I stepped into the...

2008-08-22T09:14:00.002-04:00

Picture, if you will, Regency England...

1849: entranceway
1833: foyer
1746: entryway

1813: Erica's book

entranceway: what Erica's heroine erroneously stepped into

/sigh

Viva search & replace...

What the... Progress?!?!

2008-08-18T10:03:00.003-04:00

Although I didn't make my goal of completely revising a 400 page story last week, I got this close.

Technically, I did do all the revising and all that's left is some rewriting... four scenes, to be exact. (Which was daunting enough that I killed the entire day yesterday procrastinating with my mp3 playlists on my crackberry, but let's not talk about that.)

Off to load up on caffeine and tackle those last scenes... Wish me luck!!!

We're Still Here!

2008-08-13T17:41:00.002-04:00

Hey Mave Faves! We're still here, we're all just swamped. Busy writing fabulous stories for you! (I'm working on book two of my Wicked trilogy - Their Wicked Bargain - it's so fun!) We'll post when the mood strikes, or if anyone has questions, we'll answer those too.

I'm so thrilled to share that our dear friend Courtney Milan just announced her first sale - a two-book deal to HQN. Feel free to squee congrats here or over on her blog (see link). We're so excited for her!

Guest Maven Angie Fox Dishes Demon Slaying, Research, and Biker Dogs

2008-08-06T05:00:00.005-04:00

We're so thrilled to welcome New York Times Bestselling* Mave Fave Angie Fox! Her debut novel, The Accidental Demon Slayer, was released last Tuesday - buy it now! Angie answered some burning questions for us. She'll be around today if you have any more you'd like to pose. Plus, she's giving a signed copy of The Accidental Demon Slayer to one lucky poster!

How do you develop your plots and characters?
With The Accidental Demon Slayer, I started off with a kernel of an idea that amused me. What if a straight laced preschool teacher suddenly learns she’s a demon slayer? And what if she has to learn about her powers on the run from a bad boy demon? Ohhh and wouldn’t it be fun if she’s running with her long-lost Grandma’s gang of geriatric biker witches?

I started writing and let the story evolve based on the characters and that central issue of what happens when a reluctant heroine is thrust into a series of extraordinary situations. And I knew the story was working when I couldn’t wait to get back to the keyboard every day.

What comes first: the plot or the characters?
For me, it’s both. For example, when I sat down to write The Accidental Demon Slayer, I had no notes about a sidekick for my heroine. But in the second chapter, when she’d learned she was a demon slayer and all hell was after her, she took comfort in her dog. As I was writing, I thought, ‘This is a sweet moment. Now how do I throw her off?’ Simple. I made the dog say something to her. Nothing big. After all, he’s only after the fettuccine from last week. And he knows exactly where my heroine can find it (back of the fridge, to the left of the lettuce crisper, behind the mustard).

It amused me, so I did it. Thanks to her unholy powers, my heroine can now understand her smart-mouthed Jack Russell Terrier. I had fun with it. In fact, I suspect Pirate the dog is my editor’s favorite character. I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if Pirate helped talk my editor into buying The Accidental Demon Slayer.

So did plot influence character? Maybe there it did. But I can tell you that as the book evolves, Pirate the dog does his share of influencing the plot too. Bottom line? I think the most important thing when you sit down to the keyboard is to be willing to follow your story in new directions, because if you’re enjoying the surprise, chances are your readers will too.

Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?
Loads, actually. First off, the biker witches ride Harleys, and I’d never been on a motorcycle before. Second, I had to figure out how to get Pirate the dog onto a bike.

I went online and learned about the Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club, made up exclusively of Harley riders and their dogs. I ended up meeting some of them, along with a few other bikers along the way. These bikers were so great to me. They hoisted me onto the back of their Harleys (with dogs in tow). They took me to biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink). And they laughed at me when I tried to put my helmet on backwards (I still say I was distracted by the Pomeranian wearing a tiny pair of motorcycle glasses).

After a few outings with my new biker friends, I was able to make my geriatric biker witch characters a lot more realistic. And I took home some great pictures, too.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?
I’m always trying to outdo myself, especially at the end of a book. It drives my critique partner nuts. Typical feedback will come like this, “What are you doing? Don’t get me wrong. I like it when you come up with quirky new hideouts for the Red Skull biker witches. But we’re heading into the climax of the book. Why do we need a new one?”

I usually don’t have any good answer to questions like that except, “I did it because it amused me.” But, really, if I’m entertaining myself as a writer, won’t my readers have more fun too? At least that’s my excuse. In the case of the new hideout, it worked out. The Red Skulls end up on this abandoned riverboat that they’d enchanted years earlier (while drunk on dandelion wine). Now they not only need a safe place, but they need to catch the Choking spells, Lose Your Keys spells, not to mention the Frozen Underwear spells ready to attack from around corners and behind the old jukebox.

Do you have anything else to add?
Sure do – check out the What’s Your Biker Witch Name? quiz. You can post your cool new biker name here, or even on my blog, where you can enter to have your real name in my next book.

Ooh, cool contest, Angie!

Angie Fox is the author of The Accidental Demon Slayer. Critics call it, "fresh, unique and larger than life," Angie simply calls it fun. That's because she gets a kick out of surprising herself, and her readers, with plenty of plot twists, magical moments and sizzling romance.

*Updated August 8 upon learning The Accidental Demon Slayer is number 34 on the NYT Bestsellers List. Congratulations Angie!!

San Francisco Photo Album

2008-08-05T05:00:00.001-04:00

Hello Mave Faves! I had a great time in San Francisco! No, I didn't win the Golden Heart, but honestly I was just thrilled to be a finalist. It was so great meeting all of the other Pixie Chicks (that's what we 2008 Golden Heart finalists call ourselves). We even had t-shirts!

It was especially wonderful to see so many great friends: Julianne, Santa, Manda, Elodie, Tessa, Amy, Sara, Courtney, and so many more! I also loved meeting for the first time Leigh, Louisa, Anna, Elisabeth, Angie, and all the Pixie Chicks! I have to give a special shout out to my roommate, Pamela Fryer, who won the Golden Heart for Best Series Contemporary Action Adventure! Yay Pam! (Here are pics of me with J Perry Stone, Courtney Milan, Anna Campbell, and Pam Fryer.)

And here's a pic of some of the FanLit alums from two years ago:

And last but not least, here are the Mavens! Unfortunately Carrie couldn't be with us and I've no idea how to crop her in.

It was an exhausting four days, but I learned a lot and networked my little tush off. (Actually, it's still there. Pesky thing.)

Be sure to stop in tomorrow when Angie Fox is our guest Maven. You want to find out your Biker Witch name, don't you? Post a comment and you could win a signed copy of Angie's brand new debut, The Accidental Demon Slayer. I'm reading it now and it's hi-larious.

How was your conference? If you weren't there, how productive were you without us to bother you?

My Heart (and More's) in San Francisco

2008-08-01T05:00:00.001-04:00

By the time this post appears (thank you, Draft Blogger, for the ability to manipulate time and space!), I'll be in San Francisco at this year's RWA National Conference. Based on my experience at last year's Dallas event, I'm sure I'm already exhausted, overwhelmed, and giddy with pleasure.

Last year, I have to admit that I spent most of my time a) hanging out friends, b) hovering around the pitch room, and c) in the booksigning area snapping up free, signed books. What I didn't do was attend a whole lot of workshops, perhaps in part because I couldn't decide which would be useful to me and which wouldn't. A few that I went to were very worthwhile, but many wound up not addressing my needs in one way or another and I ducked out before they were over.

This year, I'm still expecting to spend a lot of time on a) and c), though not quite as much on b), since I don't need to pitch either agents or editors (and believe me, I'm as shocked as anyone by that). I would like to chat with some editors informally about some of my other projects to see if anyone seems really interested in seeing any of them when I'm ready to submit. Hence, I volunteered to help in the pitch room on Friday afternoon.

I'm also hoping to meet my Kensington editor, John Scognamiglio, since I hear he'll be in attendance, and I know I'll be having dinner on Saturday night with my wonderful agent, Kevan Lyon, and some of her other clients (can you say networking, baby?). Since I'm bunking at a family friend's house, I've set aside one evening to get away from it all and have a quiet dinner with her.

Beyond that, though, I haven't made up my mind what to do with myself. I've marked a few workshops/sessions that sound interesting/useful to try to attend. I will probably check out the PAN retreat on Thursday afternoon.

I have to be honest, though, and say that if I had my druthers, I'd find a quiet corner somewhere in the hotel to hole up and write. Because three whole days away from the demands of husband, kids, house, and the day job is just too seductive an opportunity to ignore. Especially with a deadline hanging over my head.

YOUR TURN: What would YOU do it you were me? Suck up as many conference goodies and workshops as possible, or find that quiet corner?

A Conferencing We Will Go!

2008-07-30T05:00:00.000-04:00

I apologize for the brevity of this post, but I still have eleventy billion things on my to-do list before I leave for San Francisco bright and early this morning (as you read this, it's "this morning").

I am thrilled that one of our very own Mave Faves, Angie Fox, will be guest blogging next week to celebrate the release of her debut novel, The Accidental Demon Slayer, which went on sale yesterday. If you haven't yet purchased your copy, run to the bookstore! I plan on picking mine up tonight at the Literacy Signing and getting it autographed to ME! Congratulations Angie!!!

And that, I'm afraid, is the end of my post today. Next week I will post a newsy summary of all the fabulousness that was the 2008 RWA Conference. I am so excited to see old (and new) friends and partake in the roller coaster ride of being a Golden Heart finalist. I am especially looking forward to the champagne reception Friday afternoon for GH finalists and RITA nominees (and their editors!). I promise I'll take pictures!

Ciao, Mave Faves!

More on the work/live balance...

2008-07-29T04:43:00.001-04:00

We've been talking about it around here recently, the work/life balance conundrum. And recently, my fiance JP also blogged about it. Plus, I've been struggling with the whole balance issue myself recently, so I thought I'd blog about it.

I think JP brings up a lot of good points, one of them being:

My other thought is that you need to take the time you need to get things done right. And that means that sometimes writing needs to win out, and that means sometimes the Day Job or other things need to win out. The trick is to keep one from pushing other off the face of the map, particularly writing. Too many people let the stress of life be an excuse not to write, myself included. Conversely, though, you shouldn't let the drive to write add more stress to an already stressful period.

As JP points out in his post, there are a lot of people who will say that if you truly love writing, if you truly are a writer, then you'll find the time to write. No matter what. You'll sacrifice everything else before you'll sacrifice writing. But I think that is unreasonable when you've also got other things going on in life: day job, raising kids, moving, a budding relationship, etc. It's just a fact of life that sometimes, other things will have to come first.

Conversely, I hear from a ton of writers who never put writing first. Family, job, cleaning the house, volunteer work, exercise, cooking, etc. always comes first. This is also unreasonable if you want to be a professional writer.

We all know that a writer writes -- it's the bottom line of the profession. How that happens? That's the difficulty. And yeah, it's going to take sacrifice. If you want to sell a book, I don't think you can just throw writing on at the end of your priorities and have that be enough. Just the opposite, I think that it has to come first (and has to come first a lot). That's why I'll be eating a frozen dinner tonight. And tomorrow night. And every night this week -- because it takes a lot of time to cook and that's time I could be writing. That's why our house is often messy -- because we write rather than clean. That's why our garden isn't winning us any awards in our neighborhood.

We had to prioritize. One of the first things to go -- most TV shows. Did I *really* need to know who the last Cylon was right when the rest of the world found out (or has it even been revealed yet)? Nope, that's what Netflix is for. Do I *really* have to see the million different shows about planning a wedding? Nope, that's what eloping is for (just kidding mom!). Even when I go online and find myself following comment trails on blogs and message boards I ask myself: do I really need to spend time doing this?

And sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes other things must take priority. Yes, JP and I take the time to walk the dog and spend time together. We take the time for our day jobs because we happen to like our house. But we looked at what could go, and we cut it. I do think often that's the investment writing to go pro requires.

But you know, the thing is, sometimes life just gets in the way. You meet someone new. You get buried at work. Sometimes, even though it's a big priority, writing just has to get bumped down for your own sanity. For me, the key is then to ENJOY that time not writing. I think of it like dieting, if you're going to eat that tres leches cake, enjoy it! Don't sneak it in, pretend you're not eating it -- no! sit there and savor it! Same thing with time off -- admit that you're taking time off. Live with the decision, and don't beat yourself up. But also acknowledge that taking that time might mean extending personal deadlines -- again, you have to make that decision knowingly and honestly and then live with it!

In the end, remember that you're going to mess up. We're human, it happens. Sometimes the alarm will go off at 5:30 and you'll jump out of bed ready to write. Sometimes you'll keep hitting snooze until your fiance rips the clock cord out of the wall. I think it's a constant struggle and it constantly needs tweaking. Bottom line, I think you just have to be honest with yourself. It's way too easy to fritter away time rather than being conscious about the choices you're making.

All that being said... I have some pages to write :) What are y'all's thoughts on the work/life balance?

Synchronicity

2008-07-28T10:32:00.002-04:00

I was reading a book on male/female relationships over the weekend, and the book mentioned something I'd read about many times: synchronicity of body language.

When two people aren't that into each other, one of them is likely to start to glance away, then slide a foot back, then slowly turn away, then, yanno, bolt for the door.

When two people are into each other, they lock gazes, they turn toward each other, they lean forward, they reach for their drink/machete/whatever at the same time, they cross/uncross arms/legs at the same time, and so on.

Probably you already know this, I don't know. In any case, it's hard to describe synchronicity of body language in a romance novel without sounding like clunky stage directions. (And when John touched his ear with his left hand... so did Mary!!!)

But one thing the book talked about that I hadn't really put thought to was the idea of synchronicity of language. If one person refers to children as kids/rugrats/kiddos/munchkins/brats/babies, so might the other one. Two people in luuurve use the same phrases, keywords, inside jokes.

And that seems possible to put on the page...

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Have you witnessed or experienced synchronicity (or a distinct lack thereof) in real life? How about in a book you were reading/writing? I'd love to hear your feedback!

Writer's Log Jam

2008-07-25T05:00:00.003-04:00

Like Darcy, I was going to blog about my pre-conference preparations, jitters, and excitements this week, but another topic has been pushed to the forefront of my mind by recent events. You see, I'm in the throes of writing my two contracted but as yet unfinished novellas, and I'm realizing that I have a problem. It's kind of like writer's block, but not exactly. It's more like writer's log jam.

You see, I'm not suffering from a paucity of ideas. Quite the reverse. I have too many!

The novella I'm currently writing (the third chronologically in the anthology, but the second I "conceived") is giving me fits because I'm afraid it won't fit within its 25K-35K boundaries. I have at least a dozen more scenes rattling around in my head that could and/or should go into this story, but I'm already pushing 20K and I'm still miles from the Black Moment. The result is that I'm finding it difficult to decide which scenes I should write and which I shouldn't. Worse, I'm an incredibly linear writer, so I can't just write the scenes out of order and put them together later. I have to know for certain what happened before the scene I'm currently writing, or I can't write it.

To make matters worse, other stories are plaguing me. Driving through the Black Hills on our way back from our vacation in Minnesota the week before last got me itching to write a Western historical (which I never thought I'd do, but the place is just do darned evocative!). Add that idea to all the others taking up space in my brain (there must be at least a dozen, if not more, begging to be written), and I'm finding it quite difficult to concentrate on the projects I'm actually obligated to complete! The words for the stories I must write are getting jumbled up with the words for the stories I want to write.

So, is there a solution to this dilemma? Short of just plugging away and doing what I have to do, I doubt it. But somehow, putting my finger on the root of the problem has me feeling a bit less anxious if nothing else. "Writer's block"--the possibility that my ideas will dry up and I won't be able to write anything at all--terrifies me. Being caught in an idea traffic jam doesn't make me nearly as nervous!

YOUR TURN: Do you suffer from writer's log jam? How do you overcome your selfish desire to set aside the project you're currently working on to start a new one? Or do you just give into temptation?

P.S. I'm also blogging today at the Aphrodisia Authors blog and guest-blogging with my critique partner, Emma Petersen, over at Shiloh Walker's blog. Drop by and see me if you get a chance!

Can't.Pick.Title.For.Post. (too wiped out.)

2008-07-24T00:04:00.008-04:00

The past two weeeks have been absolutely, unbelievably, wonderfully, insanely, unforgettably stupendaculous. Let me summarize:

WED: Do a little research on trysting. Find it highly entertaining.

THUR: Kayak from Renton to Mercer Island (and back).

FRI: Poker night with the guys at Bryan Crancy's.

SAT: Attend a party at the invitation of a friend's brother. Go with said friend to said party (and take own friends), ready to party, only to find out it's a Celebration of Life party i.e. funeral. @#%!.

SUN: Watch 1080p Batman Begins on friend's new PS3 (BluRay) in the comfort of own living room. Sweet.

MON: Crash friend's fitness club's 2 hour boot camp session, followed by wrecking same friend's motorcycle, ended by a cozy heart-to-heart with friend and friend's husband at dinner.

TUES: Hurt.like.hell.

WED: Hurt like hell. Browse craigslist for motorcycles.

THURS: Hurt like hell. Sign up for motorcycle licensing course in September.

FRI: Feel marginally better. Dinner with the girls. One crazy story after another.

SAT: Work 12.5 hours, dash home to walk dog, have first-ever experience at a Turkish restaurant, followed by quality time at Del Rey, capped off with shocking drunk-text from completely inappropriate person. Delicious.

SUN: Work, then host barbeque for friend's birthday and attempt to give food poisoning to 12 people.

MON: Get food poisoning. Be rushed to medical when 2nd level manager decides to mobilize the troops at the end of a meeting. ("Have a good day out there, everyone. And oh, yeah. You guys better take care of Lacey 'cause it looks like she's dying.") Cue frantic shuffling, coddling and general insanity.

Spend rest of day wishing actually were dying.

TUES: Drag poor, cramped, burning stomach into work. Because am covering for manager. Oh. Almost forgot about that.

WED: The angels are shining down because somehow calendar magically becomes devoid of commitments. Discover no weight has been gained in past 2 weeks of slackerhood. Pay bills. Organize tickets and logistics for upcoming San Francisco and Vegas trips. Make it home while it's still daylight. Go running. Clock in under takt time. Get blog post written.

Think about sleeping sometime.

Enjoy being alive.

:-) See you in SF!

The Only Thing that Matters at Conference

2008-07-23T05:00:00.002-04:00

And no, I'm not talking about Spanx (which is still really, really important). Anyone else shocked the RWA conference is next week? I can't very well say this crept up on me, but wow, did time fly. I'm feeling slightly more prepared than last year, but that's probably only because I don't have to ready the one thing that gave me fits last year: pitching. Not that I'm not, er, ready with a two-line spiel about Glorious, my GH-finalist manuscript. From what I'm told, the GH-finalist ribbon on my nametag will practically ensure that anyone and everyone will ask what my book is about. So, I'd better be ready! Especially if one of those somebodies is an editor with Glorious on their desk!

As for the rest:

Outfits? Check
Preprinted handouts for workshops I plan to attend? Check
Highlighted schedule? Check
Business cards? Check
Cool new name tag holder with various pins? Check
Extra space for copious books? Check
Insane amounts of excitement about hooking up with all my writing pals? Double check!

Neuroses? In spades, baby because this list nowhere near covers everything I need to remember - both what I'm bringing to San Francisco and what I need to organize for the Burkettes at home. See, I need to be extra organized because Mr. Burke is joining me in San Francisco for the Golden Heart/RITA ceremony Saturday night. He flies in Saturday afternoon and then we're heading home Sunday.

Doubtless you've read a gazillion blogs over the past couple of weeks about conference: what to wear, what not to wear, how to pitch, how to network, best uses of your time, blah, blah. The only bits of advice I offer is to try to get enough sleep and have a great time. (Yes, I realize the first might preclude the other, especially if you're a night owl and can't say no to an invitation to hang out with agents, editors, RITA-winning authors, that cool writer you met at lunch who loved The Dark Knight as much as you did, ahem.) We've talked before about how great local chapters are for the writing comaraderie. Well the RWA National Conference (I guess it's really international as I know plenty of folks from Britain, Canada, and Australia are joining us) is a fantastic way to OD on that kinship and love of all things writerly. So, go forth and have fun. I hope to have some with you!

Any advice about conference? What's your favorite part? Anything in particular you're looking forward to this year?

What you wish you had known...

2008-07-22T04:57:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm giving my first ever talk to a group of writers. To be fair, I'm a last minute substitute and I'm talking to a very small group. We're all both writers and member of the local bar (i.e. lawyers) and I wasn't given a topic. We're all in very different stages with different goals -- some have been published in short fiction, some poetry, some are writing non-fiction and historical. And so I've had a hard time trying to figure out what to focus on in my talk.

Many of them aren't ready to worry about how to find agents and the ins/outs of submissions. And my path to publication with a YA novel will be different from someone writing poetry or nonfiction. It's been a really wonderful exercise trying to figure out what to talk about because it's made me realize just how much I've learned about this business over the years. But it's also made me wonder -- how much do you need to know? I spend a fair amount of time reading blogs, industry sites, books. I check out message boards and talk to other writers. That's the kind of person I am (and I know it often drives my friends crazy): when I'm faced with something I don't know, I research the heck out of it.

But there are other people I meet who didn't bother with any of that. They wrote their books without paying attention to markets and trends. They found agents by looking a few up online and submitting. They don't pay much attention to industry gossip and forums and blogs about which agents prefer what.

I feel like there's so much information out there that's so readily available that it makes me wonder how people ever made it in publishing before the internet and chat rooms and blogs! But they did. At the same time, I've heard anecdotally that the internet has raised the bar for agents and editors: they have less tolerance for those who don't know how to write a query or format a manuscript because such information is so readily available.

So it's made me wonder (a) what I can share with this group that they can't find/haven't found out on their own pretty easily and (b) whether anything I have to say will be useful or helpful. Because there are no rules in this business and mine is just one story out of thousands -- it should be taken in the context of all those other stories. But then I remember that we're all writers (and lawyers which makes us analytical) so we enjoy sharing stories. Hopefully that will be enough! Also, hopefully they'll have a lot of questions :) And just in case they don't... I'm turning to y'all for help!

So if you were just starting out in writing, what questions would you have? What would you want to hear a soon-to-have-a-book-on-the-shelf author to talk about?

A Writer Writes, therefore:

2008-07-21T08:57:00.003-04:00

I must be a super-slacker. I haven't written in so long, I don't even know where to begin anymore.

OK, lie. I should begin with the finished book I'm allegedly rewriting, then move on to the half-finished book I'm allegedly, er, finishing, then turn to the plotted book I spent months stressing over and dreaming about.

So I guess it's not that I don't have an action plan. It's that I don't have... well, action.

And it's not because I'm sitting around painting my nails (not that there's anything wrong with that) or wasting hours on end watching TV (and again, there are quality programs out there worthy of the lost time) or anything like that... in fact, I can barely squeeze in time to eat (I had a frozen dinner this week for the first time in months--and I actually had to stop by the store to buy it because I don't keep them in the freezer) or exercise (I bet the bike trail near my house thought my roller blades ran away with my Richard Simmons dvd) or studies (I had this lofty goal of improving my French and learning conversational Italian by, yanno, March... not lookin' good.)

No, what's been keeping me crazy busy is a) work (which would be incredibly stupid for me to give up), and b) people. Living, breathing, human people. Friends. (And a NBF who in a vague, not-sure-it-counts sort of way, forgot the N this weekend and referred to himself as a BF... but that's another story.)

I've been meeting new people and seeing movies with friends and dressing up like Madonna from her Desperately Seeking Susan days (80s party!!) and generally trading in my natural introverted tendency to never leave the comfort and safety of my office chair for the excitement and chaos of a busy social calendar. (To those of you who know me well: No, I still cannot be trusted to read a calendar with any level of accuracy, so believe me when I say much hilarity and gnashing of teeth has ensued.)

Point being... none of this is writing. I can't even call it "refilling the well", because after (oh God--has it really been more than 3 months??) the well ought to be overflowing by now.

What do you think? Should I swap the time I'm spending with living, breathing people for the ephemeral ones flickering and sputtering in my head? Should I block out time for writing (and eating and exercising) or should I just carry on with plan-less-ness and see what life brings me?

First Anniversary Jamboree!

2008-07-18T05:00:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the final day of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for being with us this week and celebrating our first year. We want to especially thank the guest authors who bared their souls this week:

Alesia Holliday aka Alyssa Day
Angie Fox
Anna Campbell
Amie Stuart
Debra Dixon
Debby Mayne
Delilah Marvelle
Elissa Wilds
Jennifer Haymore
Julie Leto
Karen Lingefelt
Roxanne St. Claire
Tanya Michaels
Teri Brown
Terri Garey
Tessa Dare
Virginia Henley

Now, before we announce this week's winners, we have one final question to share.

If you could pick one of your books to make into a movie, which one would you choose and who would star in it?

Alesia Holliday aka Alyssa Day

7 Ways to Lose Your Lover starring Katherine Heigl.

Anna Campbell

Claiming the Courtesan (although it would definitely have an adult rating!) with Richard Armitage as the Duke of Kylemore and Olivia Hussey in her 20s as Verity. I'm assuming I can time travel on my casting!

Karen Lingefelt

True Pretenses starring Eric Bana and Kate Winslet.

Debra Dixon
Check out her YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's Belle Books has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of Belle Bridge Books.

BAD TO THE BONE. Without a doubt. Starring Eliza Dushku and Daniel Craig (but that's just because I rarely cast in my head and time is too short to seriously consider the male lead. I mean really. One would need massive amounts of time to review their photos and then to audition. )

Tanya Michaels, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)

One of the most exciting things that's happened to me in my career is that a production company showed some interest in my book MOTHERHOOD WITHOUT PAROLE...sadly, nothing ever came of it. I think MAID OF DISHONOR, my debut romantic comedy, would have made a great movie, but movies about the maid of honor trying to stop the wedding have been DONE (most recently, and cutely, by blue-eyed Patrick Dempsey). Hmmm. I'm honestly not sure. I can see DATING THE MRS. SMITHS or NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS being pretty solid women's movies, but the latter would definitely make people cry. I'd rather make audiences laugh, but they'd lose the humor in the characters' thoughts--unless I took a page from Meredith Grey or Veronica Mars and relied on voice-overs. Must think this over more before I issue a casting call... Oh, wait, I got it! I have a comedy coming out next spring, MISTLETOE CINDERELLA, which will be the third in my Mistletoe series, kicking off Nov 08. It's a funny mistaken identity story with (IMO) charming and misguided characters. I like Jewel Staite for Chloe, because Jewel (probably best known for Firefly/Serenity) can be believably awkward/nerdy but is also charismatic and lovely. For the hero, Dylan... maybe Jensen Ackles.

Amie Stuart
Probably NAILED because I could SO see Eliza Dushku bashing in Wynn’s knee with a bat and then not apologizing for it. She’s hot, sexy and tough. For Wynn……hmmmm that’s a tough call. Maybe Nathan Fillion even though he doesn’t really LOOK anything like Wynn I could see him pulling the part off (and he’s hot in that cute aw shucks sorta way).

Roxanne St. Claire

THEN YOU HIDE with Paul Walker and Scarlett Johanssen.

Tessa Dare

Jeremy, the hero of Goddess of the Hunt, was quite consciously modeled after Clive Owen. And maybe a brunette Amy Adams as Lucy - she doesn't look much like her, but she could pull off the sass and physical comedy perfectly.

Elissa Wilds

Between Light and Dark. I think it would make a bang up action/romance. For the hero: Clive Owen. For the heroine: that one’s more difficult. When writing it I sort of pictured a younger, plumper Sandra Bullock. Could it be me? I would love to star with Clive.

Terri Garey

Oh, definitely DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY. The heroine would be played by Zoeey Deschanel, and the hero by David Boreanz.

Virginia Henley
A WOMAN OF PASSION starring Catherine Zeta Jones.

Our winners this week are:

Manda
Phyllis Towzey
Cynthia Sherrick Mitchell
Santa
Mary
Kimmyl
Elyssa Papa
Cheri2628
Vicki

We have five books (3 by Alesia Holliday aka Alyssa Day, 1 by Debby Mayne, and your choice of Notorious or Infamous by Virginia Henley) and four query letter critiques. Email the Mavens to claim your prize. It's first come, first pick!

Monday
Who would you invite to dinner:
1) Karen Lingefelt - B, Laura Ingalls Wilder
2) Debby Mayne - E, Elvis
3) Julie Leto - D, J.K. Rowling
4) Virginia Henley - C, King Charles II of England
5) Delilah Marvelle - A, Edith Wharton

Five MaveFaves were 2/5 with their guesses, but that's the best anyone could do!

Tuesday
Who traveled to the Orkney Islands north of Scotland? Since we were talking about distances, if you know Anna Campbell lives in Australia, you might've deduced this is quite a way to travel! All of our MaveFaves correctly guessed Anna!

Which three authors have been to the Philippines?
Alesia Holliday, Tessa Dare, and Amie Stuart. Kimmyl got the only 100% right answer this week on these two Tuesday questions!

Wednesday
For karaoke, our favorite authors sing...
1) Terri Garey - C, Crazy for You by Madonna
2) Elissa Wilds - E, Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence
3) Teri Brown - G, Ah Leah by Donny Iris
4) Virginia Henley - A, New York, New York
5) Anna Campbell - B, Tainted Love!
6) Jennifer Haymore - D, My Sharona
7) Amie Stuart - F, Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks

These were tought! Our authors are brave souls! Let's see who we can get to sing in San Francisco...

Thursday
Extreme activities...
Delilah Marvelle climbed the Mayan ruins in Belize
Karen Lingefelt is the hero raising an autistic son
Jennifer Haymore sailed across the Pacific and swam with sharks
Alesia Holliday repelled down the side of a mountain
Roxanne St. Clair white water rafted in Idaho
Amie Stuart took a dare and went parasailing
Debra Dixon allowed herself to be pulled on a door...by a glass-bottom boat
Virginia Henley braved the Skiddaw and Helvellyn Mountains in England

First Anniversary Jamboree!

2008-07-17T05:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Day Four of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for hanging out with us the past year. We've enjoyed sharing successes, frustrations, and milestones. Here's to another year!

We've asked our favorite authors to answer some burning questions and every day this week we're giving you the inside scoop. Be sure to read the bonus question and answer Monday through Thursday for the chance to win fabulous prizes. And please, share your own answers...if you dare!

How old were you when you got your first crush? Do you have a current crush? (For the purposes of our survey, we disallowed significant others and spouses.)

Alesia Holliday
13. I was a math geek and was alternately crushing on the other math geek in the class and the swim champion (I like brains *and* brawn, evidently. LOL). Toss up between Gerard Butler and Hugh Jackman, but only in bad boy roles.

Debra Dixon
Check out her YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's Belle Books has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of Belle Bridge Books.

I was probably 14 and had an agonizing crush on my best-friend's big brother. And I'm currently crushing on any number of men. It's a hobby. My husband is aware of it. Robert Downey, Jr. in IRON MAN was totally crushworthy.

Tanya Michaels, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)
Kindergarten. His name was William. We played superhero on the playground. He was my first kiss--giving me chicken pox just in time for vacation! I don't have a steady current crush, although I'm infatuated with several different television characters depending on how great their plotlines and dialogue (and their eyes...and their smiles) are in any given episode. I'd feel bad for my husband, being saddled with such a fickle wife, but since he has some pretty big crushes of his own, I'm guilt-free.

Julie Leto
Probably VERY young and on that little boy who was on HR Puffinstuff. My current crush? Colin Firth. Alan Rickman. If I was seventeen again, it would be Daniel Radcliffe. I'm such a Harry Potter geek.

Roxanne St. Claire

I crushed out of control on Jimmy Gallagher in second grade - green eyes, crooked smile, sandy blonde hair. Today, I'm writing a hero named Dan Gallagher - green eyes, crooked smile, sandy blonde hair. Some dreams die hard. I crush on my heros, and the occasional celeb, and this hottie that lives down the street who's home for college. Fortunately, my husband is both tolerant and gorgeous, so my crushing is a source of amusement (and writing inspiration) only.

Tessa Dare

Oh, probably like 5. It was either Ricky Schroeder or that kid who played Albert on Little House on the Prairie. And of course I still have celebrity crushes now. I'm a currently a slave for Clive Owen, Colin Firth, James McAvoy...really, I could go on all day.

Terri Garey

Honestly? Third grade. His name was Mark Murray and he had horses. It was a double whammy! LOL. The first serious crush (first kiss), was in the eighth grade, when I was thirteen. My current crush is singer Chris Cornell.

Elissa Wilds

Ten. Do I have a current crush? Yes. But I ain’t telling.

Virginia Henley
I got my first crush at 13 - it was Robert Wagner. My current crush is Johnathan Rhys Meyers.

Today's Prize Question is:

What's the most extreme activity you've ever done?...

In your comment, correctly match each author with their extreme activity and you'll be entered in a drawing for a cool prize! (In the event no one gets all matches correct, the person with the most will win. In the event of a tie, we'll draw.)

-Rappelling off the side of a mountain

-Sailed across the South Pacific Ocean in a 42-foot catamaran. Swam with sharks, got deathly ill from fish poisoning, and skirted hurricanes along the way.

-Raising my autistic son

-White water rafting in Idaho - terrifying, exhilerating, unforgettable.

-Climbing the Mayan ruins in Belize. I hate heights and so climbing it was the most extreme thing I have ever done. When I reached the top and looked out onto the endless landscape of the jungle and ruins, I cried. Because of the height and the beauty. Getting down was a whole other adventure. I don't do extreme sports because I am clumsy as all hell and I know I would kill myself trying to do it. And I rather like life, thank you.

-When I was young and stupid, I'd pretty much ski or ride anything you could pull behind a boat. And we tried to ski some very interesting things behind some very interesting boats. And if you're wondering, you can get enough speed out of a 14 foot, flat-bottomed fishing boat with a decent motor to surf a door. It wasn't that exciting but we felt someone had to at least see if it could be done.

-Parasailing (just once, against my will)—don’t ask.
-Climbed Skiddaw and Helvellyn Mountains in Cumberland, England

Delilah Marvelle

Jennifer Haymore

Roxanne St. Clair

Karen Lingefelt

Virginia Henley

Debra Dixon

Alesia Holliday

Amie Stuart

First Anniversary Jamboree!

2008-07-16T05:00:00.008-04:00

Welcome to Day Three of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for hanging out with us the past year. We've enjoyed sharing successes, frustrations, and milestones. Here's to another year!

We've asked our favorite authors to answer some burning questions and every day this week we're giving you the inside scoop. Be sure to read the bonus question and answer Monday through Thursday for the chance to win fabulous prizes. And please, share your own answers...if you dare!

What's the best Halloween costume you've worn?

Alesia Holliday

Pirate, complete with parrot on my shoulder.

Debra Dixon

Check out Debra's YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's Belle Books has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of Belle Bridge Books.

I honestly can't remember. I'm not much of a costume person. My favorite costume of my son's was when he was about 3 and we dressed him up as a "rebel without a cause." He was a dinosaur one year and that was funny. And oh! My nephew was only a few days old at Easter so I made him a carrot costume (complete with leafy hat) and we took pictures of him in the flower garden.

Tanya Michaels, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)

Possibly the witch costume from last year, because it included some killer high-heeled black boots. Plus, I managed not to fall in them while trick or treating, so, bonus.

Delilah Marvelle

The guillotined Marie Antoinette. I was historically luscious and scary.

Teri Brown, author of READ MY LIPS, her debut novel released June 3!

When I was a little girl my mom made me a fairy princess costume... real silky material, gauzy wings, the works. I felt magical that night.

Amie Stuart

I hated Halloween. We always had homemade costumes and I coveted those hot fake masks all the other kids got.

Julie Leto

Probably the one I haven't yet worn--the Professor MacGonagal costume I've yet to find that I like. Okay, actually worn...either the sexy devil woman or the Aztec princess when I was in 8th grade.

Roxanne St. Claire

Tie: A daisy as a five year old (with a cardboard cutout around my head) and Little Red Riding Hood at 20 - that got me into every club in L.A. that night!

Tessa Dare

I made myself a sweet little "I Dream of Jeanie" outfit for a Halloween dance in high school.

Terri Garey

Ooo, TOTAL Halloween fiend here, so this is a tough one! Last year I was a "blithe spirit", in a flowing white gown, flowing white wig, and white makeup. One year I was a hideous witch, with fake nose, fake teeth, etc., and nobody recognized me. That was fun!

Virginia Henley

Norma Desmond (Can the Mavens say they'd love to see a picture of this? Totally awesome.)

Today's Prize Question is:

You're up for karaoke and your song is...

In your comment, correctly match each author with their song and you'll be entered in a drawing for a cool prize! (In the event no one gets all matches correct, the person with the most will win. In the event of a tie, we'll draw.)

	Authors	Song
__ 1.	Terri Garey	A. New York, New York
__ 2.	Elissa Wilds	B. Tainted Love
__ 3.	Teri Brown	C. Crazy for You by Madonna
__ 4.	Virginia Henley	D. My Sharona
__ 5.	Anna Campbell	E. Wake Me Up Inside by Evanescence
__ 6.	Jennifer Haymore	F. Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks
__ 7.	Amie Stuart	G. Ah Leah, by Donny Iris

First Anniversary Jamboree!

2008-07-15T05:00:00.010-04:00

Welcome to Day Two of the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree! Thanks so much for hanging out with us the past year. We've enjoyed sharing successes, frustrations, and milestones. Here's to another year!

We've asked our favorite authors to answer some burning questions and every day this week we're giving you the inside scoop. Be sure to read the bonus question and answer Monday through Thursday for the chance to win fabulous prizes. And please, share your own answers...if you dare!

If banished to a desert island, what one book would you take along?

Alesia Holliday

How to Build a Raft and Escape Desert Islands

Debra Dixon

Check out Debra's YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's Belle Books has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of Belle Bridge Books.

The omnibus edition of THE BLACK JEWELS trilogy by Anne Bishop

Tanya Michaels, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)

Just one?! Probably Crazy for You or Faking It by Jennifer Crusie. They make me laugh no matter how many times I've read them. But there are lots of other great books that I would try to sneak along with me!

Jennifer Haymore

Oooh, that’s a hard one. Probably the thickest complete encyclopedia out there, so I could use it to help me survive. But if the island was well stocked, I’d probably take Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

Julie Leto

Well, I've always actually wanted to read the Bible from cover to cover, so maybe that would be my incentive. If not, the Complete Works of Shakespeare. There's always something new to discover there, too.

Karen Lingefelt

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

Roxanne St. Clair

Oh, tough one. Maybe Atlas Shrugged, because the inspirational message of the power of hard work would spur me to find a way off the island. Plus it would take a good month or two to really read it, and not skim the seventeen page orations at the end.

Tessa Dare

The Norton Anthology of World Literature. (I stole mine from my senior high school English class because I couldn't bear to part with it.)

Delilah Marvelle

The Children by Edith Wharton. I could read that book over and over and over again. Which obviously I would have to if that were the only book I could take along...

Virginia Henley

The Magnificent Century by Thomas B. Costain and The Walsingham Woman by Jan Westcott.

Today's Prize Questions are (today we have two questions, and two winners!):

In your comment, correctly guess the authors and you'll be entered in a drawing for a cool prize! (In the event no one gets all answers correct, the person with the most will win. In the event of a tie, we'll draw.)

Which author has traveled the farthest - all the way to the Orkneys, north of Scotland?

Virginia Henley

Anna Campbell

Julie Leto

Tanya Michaels

Angie Fox

Which three authors have been to the Philippines?

Tessa Dare

Teri Brown

Alesia Holliday

Amie Stuart

Jennifer Haymore

Karen Lingefelt

First Anniversary Jamboree!

2008-07-14T05:00:00.021-04:00

Welcome to the Mavens' First Anniversary Jamboree!
Thanks so much for hanging out with us the past year. We've enjoyed sharing successes, frustrations, and milestones. Here's to another year! We've asked our favorite authors to answer some burning questions and every day this week we're giving you the inside scoop. Be sure to read the bonus question and answer Monday through Thursday for the chance to win fabulous prizes. And please, share your own answers...if you dare!

What summer movie are you most excited to see?

Alesia Holliday

The Mummy! Adore Brendan Fraser! Jet Li rocks!

Angie Fox
Be sure and stop by August 6 when Angie guest-blogs with us upon the release of her first book, The Accidental Demon Slayer on July 29! And if you'll be in San Francisco at RWA, stop by the literacy signing Wednesday night and say hello!Indiana Jones, hands down. I have loved those movies ever since I was a kid. You just can't beat Harrison Ford with a bull whip. Zow.

Anna Campbell

Well, in Oz, we're in the depths of winter, but the film I'd love to see is Prince Caspian. I thought The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was fantastic, really magical. And hey, PC himself looks rather cute - LOL.

Tanya Michaels, author of A DAD FOR HER TWINS, a "State of Parenthood" book from Harlequin American Romance, in stores Sept 08! (Tanya's also a speaker at RWA this year!)

Indiana Jones 4, which we saw opening weekend. My son is six and a half and it's fun to see him as jazzed about Doctor Jones as I used to be! We wore our matching hats to the movie. My husband pretended not to know us. I'm also looking forward to Hancock.

Elissa Wilds, debut author of Between Light and Dark, in stores October 08!

Sex and the City….loved that show!

Teri Brown, author of READ MY LIPS, her debut novel released June 3!

I'm not actually excited about any of the movies I've seen the trailers for so far. I'm not really into action flicks and not into kids movies, so there doesn't seem to be anything up my alley this summer. Maybe the Thanksgiving movies will be better!

Amie Stuart

OMG just one? Ummmm Wanted or er The X-FILES …ohhhh and Hancock or maybe Babylon AD…*Grin*

Jennifer Haymore, debut author of A Hint of Wicked

Wall-E, because my kids really want to see it!

Julie Leto

MAMMA MIA. I saw the show on Broadway and I love Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and especially Colin Firth! I can't wait!

Karen Lingefelt

Mamma Mia (It stars Colin Firth AND Pierce Brosnan!)

Roxanne St. Claire

WALL-E has really captured my attention. I love the idea that the writers seemed to have broken all the "rules" for animated movies - no celeb voiceovers, no cute furry sidekicks, almost no dialogue, an apocolyptic futuristic setting, and yet, there is romance and redemption. Can't wait!

Debra Dixon

Check out Debra's YA story in the WITCH HIGH anthology coming in October. Debra's Belle Books has great summer titles available and is excited about the launch of Belle Bridge Books.

Can't wait for THE DARK KNIGHT. Of course we also said that about IRON MAN and GET SMART. And yeah, I'm looking forward to the newest in the MUMMY franchise. I'm an action flick girl. What can I say?

Tessa Dare

Wanted - just for James McAvoy.

Terri Garey

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The previews look incredible, and Brendan Fraser still looks hot. :-)

Debby Mayne

"Get Smart" because it'll take me back to my childhood. I used to love that show!

Virginia Henley

Sex and the City

Today's Prize Question is:Who would you most like to have dinner with?In your comment, correctly match each author with their desired guest and you'll be entered in a drawing for a cool prize! (In the event no one gets all matches correct, the person with the most will win. In the event of a tie, we'll draw.)

	Authors		Dinner Guests
___ 1.	Karen Lingefelt	A:	Edith Wharton
___ 2.	Debby Mayne	B:	Laura Ingalls Wilder
___ 3.	Julie Leto	C:	King Charles II of England
___ 4.	Virginia Henley	D:	J. K. Rowling
___ 5.	Delilah Marvelle	E:	Elvis

Get Ready for Fun - Maven Style!

2008-07-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

Join us next week (July 14-18) as we celebrate (no, not Bastille Day) our first anniversary! Can you believe we've been at this for a year? Neither can we. And we're so, so thankful for your company. Let's hear it for our MaveFaves!

Next week's shenanigans are a Q&A with some of our favorite authors. Each day bears a new question with all sorts of fascinating answers. Plus, there's a prize question - correctly guess which author said what and you're entered in a drawing for a fabulous prize! And what is that prize, you ask? Well, there will be two prizes each day: one for a writer and one for a reader. Please indicate which one you are or "either." Reader prizes are books (natch!) and writer prizes are a Maven critique of your query letter (ooh, aah).

So get ready to party, jamboree style of course. Interestingly, we Mavens didn't answer our own questions. How about today you pose any question you want and we'll do our best to answer! Fire away!

Trysting

2008-07-10T09:14:00.001-04:00

This is for research purposes only, you realize.

What is the most interesting or out-there place your characters have trysted?

Mine must be the forest. I have a scene where the h/h get it on outside her bedroom window. Sure, they could've gone up to her room, but who can wait, when passion strikes? In my current writing exercise, the h/h are going to get it on inside a club bathroom. Yeah, it's dirty, but who doesn't like a little dirty now and then?

(If your answer is "not me," don't answer. Then you'll make me feel dirty, and that is so not the intent of this post :-)

Be sure to stop by every day next week when we'll be celebrating our first anniversary! Join us for a week-long Q&A with our favorite authors. And, of course, fabulous prizes!

World Building II: Research

2008-07-09T05:00:00.000-04:00

Since I just shipped out Her Wicked Ways to my agent I am now focusing on my new ms, Their Wicked Bargain. (Check out the new teaser blurb on my website!) But, wow, it's been awhile since I started a new book! I, er, forgot how hard that can be. I actually started the book a couple of times recently, but neither effort was "right." I'm armed with GMCs, inciting incidents, turning points, and black moments. I even know (I think) how the HEA will work out. Why then, have I spent a week working on the first scene and I'm still not done?

Research, MaveFaves.

One of the reasons I write (and read) historicals is the research aspect. Last week I talked about world-building and that's the other reason. And, unfortunately, you can't have the latter without the former. The more you know about the period in which you're writing, the better the world you build. For example, the heroine lives with her cousin and his wife. Her cousin is fifteen years older than her and well established in a career. Now, what kind of career would a guy living outside the second-largest city in Wales have? Turns out he's an agent for a copper smelting factory. So far anyway. There's still some research outstanding. I've read about how smelting works and how dirty and awful most factory conditions were during this period. Will I use this information in the book? Not most of it. But, just knowing it will make the heroine's cousin more real. And the more real the characters, the more real the world.

Sometimes I get caught up in what some people might call ridiculous details (okay, that's what I call them) - how far places are apart, actual names of towns and landmarks in the area, what day it is, you get the picture. But to me these things are important and I'm beginning to see how they impact the world I'm building.

How do you feel about research? Best part? Rather stick a machete in your eye? Ever written around having to do research or chosen a path that wouldn't require you to fact-check? True confession time: do you have Wikipedia bookmarked?

Be sure to stop by every day next week when we'll be celebrating our first anniversary! Join us for a week-long Q&A with our favorite authors. And, of course, fabulous prizes!

What your characters feel...

2008-07-08T05:17:00.002-04:00

When you read this... I'll be asleep. Or I might be out crabbing. Or reading. Or sitting in the sun watching the tide change. As I said last week, I'm taking a few days off this week and that means not spending a lot of time online either :) One of the things I'm reminded of being at the beach is ambiance. Those things that are hard to remember when you're far away -- the random sounds in the background, the angle of the sun, the feel of the breeze and the way spartina bends in the air. We're told as writers to incorporate the 5 senses into our writing and even when I try to remember to do this, it's easy to forget those senses that constanly hum in the background. Those sounds that we take for granted.So it's nice to be here remembering all of that since my current WIP is set near the ocean. I close my eyes and imagine my characters, wondering what they'd be doing. It's led to some interesting plot ideas :)What do you do when you find yourself in settings or situations that your characters may face? Do you ever wonder what your character would do? Wonder what they'd experience taking a few mental notes?

Move over, Dewey Decimal!

2008-07-07T01:17:00.001-04:00

Here's the sitch: my mom is staying with me for a month to lend a hand during the LASIK (which went fine and I no longer require space alien goggles) and to hang out for the 4th of July weekend etc.

Like mother like daughter, which means in my mom's copious free time (b/c I never untether from the PC) she likes to kick back with a book. She brought a suitcase full, but ran out within the first couple weeks (totally LM,LD!!) so I've been loaning her books from my stock. Yesterday she read Dean Koontz' From the Corner of His Eye and the day before she read Michael Crichton's Next. Today she said she wanted to read something that required less thinking, and didn't I have a nice murder mystery she could breeze through? Like, say, a Miss Marple?

No, no I don't, actually. (Although I have nothing against Agatha Christie, and Sleeping Murder is one of my faves.) Since I like thinky stuffs (like quantum physics and the ethics of biogenetics, see above), I don't really have many mysteries on my keeper shelves, simply because after I read them, I now know who dunnit, and lose interest in rereading. I do, however, own maybe 30 Mary Higgins Clark novels and every single Sue Grafton paperback, so I was able to point Mom in that direction fairly easily.

Until.

Mom flips open the first page, gives a disgruntled look, and tosses the book to the table in disgust.

Me: Er... Everything OK?

Mom: Oh, it's just the stupid type. Why do they print the text so tiny?

Me: Well, some say the book's physical size matters more to a publishing house than the contents' legibility. They need to fit a certain number in the slot at the registers.

Mom: So they print it so small it's practically Morse Code?

Me: Not always. The converse is also true. If the wordcount comes up short, they're equally likely to bump up the font size a notch if they think that'll make the book (size) more attractive to buyers.

Mom: [eying the book on the table] So... if I compare that book to the other MHCs, some of them might have bigger text?

Me: Sure. Lets grab 'em and experiment.

[fast forward through the painstaking comparison of 30 MHC novels, and their subsequent division into stacks of Normal Type, Tiny Type, and Morse Code]

My mom demolished my carefully alphabetized library and has now rearranged my book collection in descending order of font size. Just wait. I think it might catch on.

YOUR TURN: Ever notice the difference in font sizes in your books? Ever organize them by said font differences? Ever choose to read or not read something based on the size of the font? Holla back!

Happy Fourth!

2008-07-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm blogging today from beautiful Lindstrom, Minnesota, where we're visiting my aunt and uncle for a week before driving back to sunny Southern California. Naturally, there has been no writing for the past few days, but plenty of inspiration as we drove through places like Monument Valley (Tony Hillerman country), Durango, Colorado, and along the Mormon trail through South Dakota. On the way back, I'm hoping to hit Deadwood. Who knows, maybe I'll get the inspiration I need to write that hot Western historical (I hear they're making s comeback).

Since I'm on vacation and I imagine a lot of you are, too, this will be a brief post wishing you a safe and happy holiday weekend (assuming you're in the US, of course!) and all the hot dogs and fireworks you can stand!

Take care and we'll see you next week!

A pretty Schick way to promote

2008-07-03T08:55:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about possible marketing and promotion options for a new website-slash-product/service he is about to launch. I mentioned jump-starting his own viral marketing campaign by contacting people who have access to his market and asking them to work with him to promote his product. As an example, I mentioned that I had been contacted by YouCast Corporation to promote the new Schick Quattro for Women razor on my blog.

There's a few cool things I learned about marketing and promotion while working with a representative from the YouCast team. First, it is definitely okay to contact people out of the blue and ask them to try your product. The worst they can say is no! Second, once you do, you have absolutely no control over what they decide to say or do about said product promotion. For example, I am convinced YouCast didn't mean for me to make this post about their marketing and promotion service, instead of about the Schick Quattro. Third, it's a good idea to have more than just a sample of your product to share when you're looking to generate interest. Schick Quattro has a contest, but more, they've created a "Dream Date" widget that cracks me up. Check it out, then think about ways you could create a widget or tool that is fun and interactive. Something your friends, fans, and family (and virtual strangers) could post on their MySpace (or other social networking site -- I don't claim to know what the cool kids are doing these days).

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Would you or have you ever asked strangers to post about your product online? Do you think it helps? Have you ever tried a Schick Quattro (so silky smooth!)? What are some of the newer-fangled techniques for promotion you've used, seen, or heard about?

World Building

2008-07-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

When I think of world building I usually think of fantasy or paranormal books. Harry Potter. The Golden Compass (which Mr. Burke is currently reading). Etcetera. Only recently did I start thinking world building in terms of the genre in which I write: historical romance. I began to see it in my own work when I didn’t want to leave my characters and their “space,” meaning the little world I created just for them. And, of course, that world is the only place they exist.

As I start my next book, I'm very mindful of world building. The story takes place entirely on the Gower Peninsula of Wales (where the city of Swansea is located), and in 1817 this is a very rural area. Populated with people who speak English in addition to their own language. (Since I don't speak Welsh, that will be tricky on its own - not that I plan to have long passages in Welsh!). I'm very excited to establish a place and set of characters that are unique and that will draw my reader into a world they won't want to leave.

In thinking about creating a world that is inviting, exciting, and satisfying I come up with the following components:

Place
This might seem like the "duh" part in that isn't a world a place? Well, yes, but it's so much more. Place is the geographic location, the settings (you might also think of settings as a separate component that might encompass smell, taste, sound), the overall feel of the surroundings.

Time
To me, this is more than just historical, contemporary, or futuristic. It's a time of life as well as a time of setting. The story you tell is affectd by your characters' time, if that makes sense.

Characters
This is huge. A world is only as interesting as the people who inhabit it. This includes the nameless redshirt as well as the hero or heroine. One might argue that characters can even be part of the setting. To me, it's all part of building a believable and entertaining world. A world where the reader wants to spend their free time.

I'm sure there are tons more (do share!), but these are just the things that come to mind as I write this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Your turn: What kinds of things do you think of in terms of building your world? Do you consciously think of this, or just write your story and characters and believe the "world" will come out?

And a Big Thank You
I'm mailing Her Wicked Ways off to my agent this week. I want to thank all of the people who read either parts or the entire book and provided such valuable feedback. I could not have crafted this without your help and support. So thank you, thank you to Angie, Lenora, Tessa, Courtney, Barbara, and especially Janice who really put the screws to me (in the best possible way). And I would be completely lost without my plotting partners/CPs, Mavens Erica and Lacey who constantly challenge and inspire me to write smarter and better. I'm so fortunate to have met such generous and gifted writers and friends. Thank you!

Refilling the well... again :)

2008-07-01T09:17:00.000-04:00

And the winner of last week's contest giving away a copy of Diana Peterfreund's Rites of Spring (Break) is.... Jessica Burkhart! Jess, email me with your address and I'll pop it in the mail to you straight from Amazon!

So this week's post is going to be short. It's almost vacation time and I can't wait to refill the well! The past month have been a bit of a blur -- getting ARCs for The Forest of Hands and Teeth, going through first pass pages or uncorrected page proofs or unbound galleys or whatever you or your house happen to call them, getting pictures taken for the cover and website, trying to figure out what the website should look like, writing book two, day job.... and er... supposedly I'm planning a wedding as well.

I'm not going to lie, June was one of those months that was more "hold on and make it through" rather than "achieve balance." I had grand plans to get a lot of writing done over the July 4th Holiday -- JP and I are heading to the beach with his family like we do every year. I LOVE going to the beach for the Fourth. It's always so laid back and easy. I do a lot of sleeping (his family is amazed at my ability to sleep so much), reading, crabbing, eating, playing games. Every year I have grand plans to write and every year I... don't.

But you know what? Even though I have internal deadlines set, I think I might just allow myself not to write this weekend. I think sometimes you gotta let things slide a bit and enjoy the process. I can't wait to pick out what books I'm taking with me!!

What about y'all? Any big holiday plans? What are you going to do just for yourself this weekend to refill the well?

Too Soon or Too Late?

2008-06-30T05:52:00.003-04:00

I recently met someone who shyly admitted she wanted to become a romance writer. She mentioned she'd written several beginnings, endings, and partial drafts (I so resembled this not too long ago), has more ideas than time to write them all (ditto), and although she is aware of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and similar organizations, did not yet feel comfortable making that plunge.

I, too, had been Exactly Like That. (I'd actually paid money to join both RWA and my local chapter TARA, but didn't actually get up the gumption to attend a meeting for a full calendar year.)

So then I, in my typical ~~world domination mindset~~ bossy style, set about delivering two pieces of unsolicited advice:

1) Finish a book. Any book. It's OK if it sucks.

2) Join a writing chapter. And, yanno, take advantage of it.

I was pretty proud of myself for a while there. Those were my two best pieces of advice overall (for any writer, regardless of genre) and would've totally changed my life if I myself had followed the suggestions years earlier.

But. (You knew there'd be a but, right?) Later I got to thinking... Yanno, she's probably trying to do #1. If she were a painter and I walked in on her laying down the background in oils, and I said, "You know what? I think you should go ahead and put the foreground in when you're done with that background stuff." I would look like a complete ass, right? It's not like finishing a book hadn't occurred to her. For all I know, she's on page 399 with two paragraphs to go.

As to advice #2, I probably felt so strongly because I had gone through the same thing--I was under the misconception I needed to finish a book before becoming the tiniest bit active in my chapter, or they wouldn't believe I was a Real Aspiring Author. That first book would've been sooo much better if I would've gone to a few workshops during its conception and first draft(s) (which is what prompted the unsolicited advice to join! join! join!) but would it have been salable? Meh, prolly not.

At this point, I began to think maybe I should've kept my big fat mouth shut and let her do her thing (which she will undoubtedly do anyway) and pursue her goals at her own pace. What's best for me isn't necessarily best for everyone else and all that. (Awww, life lesson.)

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Big mouth shut next time? Are there other (better?) things I should say in the future when I run into an aspiring author at those very early stages? Please give me your suggestions!

It's an Epidemic!

2008-06-27T09:04:00.005-04:00

A few months ago, my local paper ran an article about a group of writers in my area who get together to support one another and commiserate over their rejections. (It wasn't the local RWA chapter, to which I belong.) Several people quoted in the story lamented over how impossible it is for a debut author to get published in New York these days. Agents and editors won't even consider an unpublished writer's work, let alone offer a contract for publication!

But is that really true? That the unpubbed, to quote Rodney Dangerfield, don't get no respect?

I used to think so. I was pretty sure that getting an offer of agent representation or of publication were longshots akin to winning the lottery. Unlike the lottery, that didn't stop me from trying, but I knew the odds were poor.

Yesterday, however, I realized that in the past year, I've seen a lot of my unpublished friends become either agented or sold or both. I mean, a significantly higher percentage than anyone would expect based upon the statistics we all hear all the time (agents reject 99% or more of all submissions that come to them, only one-tenth of one percent of books that come before a NY editor are published, etc.). In fact, these events have been occurring so often lately, it seems like a virtual epidemic.

I still think it's DAMN difficult to get published. I know quite a few authors whose work I think is more than worthy of a six-figure contract who have been rejected repeatedly by agents and editors alike. And yet...it doesn't seem to be to be quite the crapshoot it once did. Authors with lots of skill and talent and more than a little bit of good luck and timing can and do get published. Even if they haven't got a previous publishing credit to their name.

Agents are still looking for new authors whose work they love to represent. Publishers are looking for new blood, new voices. And with diligence and perseverance, new authors do get published.

So, yay for the aspiring and unpubbed. Go forth and submit. And never abandon hope!

YOUR TURN: Do you feel encouraged when an unpublished author sells? Or do you think, "There goes another slot for a debut author; now I'll never get published!"

P.S. A hearty congratulations to Avon FanLit winner and all-around sweetheart, Sara Lindsey, whose three-book deal with NAL/Signet was announced this week, thereby inspiring this post.

Mile High

2008-06-26T03:02:00.003-04:00

I'm at the airport, thinking the best thing I ever did was commit to a smart phone. I swear, I don't know how I lived without it! Okay, I do know. I was constantly strung out and waiting for my next fix of the internet. Now I get whatever I want, when I want it...It's a heady feeling.

I love flying. I hate airplanes. I build airplanes. I love building things, and I love my job. This is something of an awkward situation, but one made so much more awkward recently, when the following conversation took place in my living room:

Spiderman: /picks up Aviation For Women magazine off my coffee table
S: /flips through it
Lacey:/comes back from kitchen with wine. Sees what is transpiring and decides to nip that conversation in the bud
L: Oh, that. Right. I hate flying. Love the articles, but...shudder
S: Oh, I was just checking out the article on such and such thing that sounds really cool
L: /has no idea what Spiderman is talking about, as likes to pretend said magazine does not exist
L: So.../changes the subject...What are you up to this weekend?
S: Not much. Just flying some friends over the San Juans [in a Cessna]
L: /realizes now will never, ever be invited on an outing she didn't even know was *possible*
L: Crap.

And so goes my attempt to overpower my nemesis. He's a wily one, to be sure, and completely unpredictable. Who could've guessed he was secretly a small aircraft pilot? C'mon. Guys should come with decoder rings.

The best part is, I would totally go flying. I fly all the time. I am a 'fraidy cat, but if I stayed away from everything I'm afraid of, I'd never go anywhere! I'm a Travelocity VIP member, for goodness sakes. So why can't I keep my mouth shut? Or better yet, be able to predict the future?

Which ties in nicely to the point of this blog, actually. See, I'm a pretty determined person, and one day, I will be published in romantic fiction. But that time is not now, because right now, I'm focusing on losing 50 pounds. I think I got tired of working on problems I have no control over and needed a break.

In publishing, there's no guarantees. I can work my butt off for one year and get a six fig contract, or work for a dozen years and be grateful for $500. I can't control what happens to me, to a certain extent.

But if I work out consistently, I can predict the outcome. I will lose weight. I will look hot. And I will feel great about my hard work and accomplishment.

Spiderman? There's no telling what will happen there. It's just interesting enough to hold my attention without distracting me from my two primary goals: losing the author spread and kicking butt at work. So, with that in mind, I'll take my business class seat and raise you an aisle hike. And Spiderman? Well, we'll just have to find something a little less vertical to do :-)

YOUR TURN: What are you afraid of? When did you say something you really regretted? Do you ever choose projects based on potential for success? Have any advice for me and my friend Spiderman?

Shameless Self-Promotion

2008-06-25T05:00:00.002-04:00

Today I'm indulging in shameless self-promotion. A few weeks ago I was interviewed by our local newspaper. They received a press release regarding my Golden Heart final from RWA who graciously sends them to three media outlets (designated by me). I had no idea if the press releases would bear fruit and was thrilled to get a call from Kristen Forbes who wanted to interview me for the article.

I'd never done an interview before! But I'm a talker (no, really?), so it was pretty easy (okay, except when I spotted a couple of teachers from my daughter's school at a nearby table and had a moment's panic for some inexplicable reason). The only problem was not asking her a bunch of questions in return (which I ended up doing anyway - she was incredibly nice and fun to talk to). I'm just amazed at how much information she packed into the article. And I'd even forgotten a few things I'd said. She took awesome notes.

Ever done an interview? Been on the news? What about from the other side - ever interviewed anyone? What's the one thing you'd like to share about yourself - dish it here!

Oh, and here's the article of course!

Mid-Series Pros and Cons

2008-06-24T08:16:00.008-04:00

Welcome guest Maven, Diana Peterfreund!

Today, my third book is on shelves. It’s called Rites of Spring (Break) and you can buy it here. Okay. Plugged. It’s the third book in the Secret Society Girl series.

There are pros and cons to writing an ongoing series.

PRO: My readers already know who Amy is. I don’t have to spend much time describing her or explaining her world or back story.

CON: My readers already know who Amy is. I don’t get to spend much word count describing her or explaining her world or back story.

PRO: I finally get to write those scenes I’ve been dreaming about for three years.

CON: I finally have to write those scenes I’ve been dreading tackling for three years.

PRO: I get to create a long, involved story arc that spans four books and several hundred thousand words.

CON: And that story has to be complex enough to not only fill up all those hundreds of thousands of words, but have four smaller stories that can stand on their own as well as fit together into a cohesive whole.

PRO: I get fan mail about what people love best about my series and hope to see in the latest book.

CON: Sometimes the fans are hoping for stuff that ain’t gonna happen. Sorry.

PRO: People who liked the last two books will probably like this one. Yay, built-in readership!

CON: People who haven’t read the last two books might be afraid of picking up this one (Don’t be. The reviewer from Night Owl Romance said she never read any of the previous books, then gave it a five heart “top pick.”)

So it is with great trepidation that I send out my latest -- my little conjoined twin -- into the world. Will they like her? As much as the others? More? Less? I always hope more, since I try to grow as a writer with each book I write, and I hope that with every new adventure, readers become more engaged with Amy and her friends. And I think they will like it, even those who have begged me not to do what I gleefully do in this book. (Those of you who have read it, please keep the spoilers out of your comments below…) It’s out of my hands now. It’s up to Amy and her big mouth, her foibles, her smarts, and her bravery. It’s up to her relationship with the reader.

Reader expectations mid-series is an interesting conundrum. When I go to my signings in the next few weeks, I’ll be speaking to people who have, if I’m lucky, read only through Under the Rose. And I’ll be talking to them about Rites of Spring (Break). But in my head, I’m living in the fourth book. The things that are current to me are two books in the future to everyone else. I first realized what a challenge this would be when my first novel, Secret Society Girl, came out while I was in the middle of writing the third. So much had changed between the characters that it felt a bit like talking to someone you haven’t seen since high school, who is still surprised that you ended up an English teacher after swearing you’d go pre-med in college.

Except catching them up would be a spoiler. And I’ve never been known for my poker faces.

Rites of Spring (Break) is especially challenging in this arena; as part three of four, my characters and storyline are past the point of no return. Everything has been flipped, thwarted, brought to the breaking point. At work every day, I’m neck deep in tying all those strands together. But for the next year, no one will know about that part except me, my editor, and my husband, who has to hear me whingeing at the dinner table.

There’s another con, I suppose. The pro for that one is easy. I’ve got a secret. And I could tell you… but then I’d have to kill you. :-)

YOUR TURN: How do you feel about spoilers? Do you frequent the spoiler sites for movie and television productions? Do you relish knowing what’s going to happen? Or do you, like me, like to be surprised? How do you feel about ongoing series – pro or con?

(Diana asks that you please keep spoilers for Rites of Spring (Break) out of the comment thread. She will be posting a “spoiler thread” for discussion on her own blog later this week.)

Leave a comment and one lucky MaveFave will win a copy of Rites of Spring (Break)!

Book Clubs: Good or Evil?

2008-06-23T01:00:00.000-04:00

Some writer pals of mine are planning on starting a sort of book club, wherein each person gets to suggest one month's book, everyone reads it (even if they've already read it, so as to have everything fresh in mind), and then the group discusses the book from a craft angle (as opposed to the more traditional read-it-as-a-reader perspective). What worked, and how the author made it work. What didn't work, and what the author might've done differently to make the story more effective.

Being a one-time craft book addict (and online craft class addict) all this sounds mighty tasty to me. (Organizational headaches aside re: how to get a group of active, day-job-having writers together in person once a month.)

Then again, while I've never been part of a book club or anything of its ilk (unless you count my BMG cassette tape club membership back in the 80s) I've been a member of many group/team projects where well-meaning discussions turn from productive to pyrotechnic when differences in opinion collide.

For better or for worse, I'm interested to see how all this shakes out from both a sure-hope-I-improve-my-craft perspective as well as a kind of psychological experiment perspective. Readers tend to have strong opinions. Should be interesting, to say the least. I'll let you know how the first meeting goes...

YOUR TURN: Ever been part of a book club, either as a reader or as a writer? If not, ever been a member of any other kind of club? Any suggestions for making the improve-your-craft book club a raging success?

P.S.
Totally OT: Just saw The Happening night before last. Anybody else see this? Without giving any spoilers (please), I'm super-curious what you thought about the movie.

This Too Shall Pass

2008-06-20T00:29:00.001-04:00

Life seems to move in mysterious circles sometimes. Earlier this week, I was checking the stats on my websites, seeing how many people had come by recently and how many of those had actually found me on purpose. (I figure the ones who find me after inputting searches like "her creamy bosom" or my agent's name or my editor's name probably aren't really looking for ME.)

As I was scrolling through the list of visitor paths, I happened on one coming from a parenting newsgroup I used to subscribe to and post on regularly before I got too busy writing to keep up with that stuff any more. I clicked the link and, lo and behold, someone had posted asking if anyone knew what had become of me. Several people had answered, including a friend who lives in Virginia with whom I still correspond on irregular occasions. And someone posted a link to my website as a follow-up.

I thought it was pretty cool that my old friends (whom I've only ever known online) were asking after me, so I posted a response to say hi and let them know what I'm up to and where they can find me. I did explain before I unsubscribed from the newsgroup WHY I was unsubbing, so it wasn't like I just vanished or anything, but it was still flattering to be remembered and asked after more than two years after I left.

But I didn't see the symmetry in this until this afternoon. You see, I've been lamenting quite a bit lately to my writer friends about how I'm up to my eyeballs in everything. Kids are out of school, so home life is crazy. I've got teaching engagements with my day job almost every day this week and next. And I have to get ready to go to a wedding next Friday night and leave on a two-week family vacation the day after. I've had two books come out in the last two months, and I've got promotion to do.

Oh, and did I mention there's this little matter of three novellas I have to deliver to my editor by September 1? Two of which are no more than a third written, if that.

It helps to whine because I'm finding plenty of company for my misery. Others are in the same boat. Their work and personal lives are crazy. Their writing is suffering. They're hanging on by a fingernail and wondering when or if things will ever return to normal again. And it's awfully nice to know I'm not alone.

That thought made me remember why I haunted those parenting newsgroups for years and years. Because I didn't feel alone in what I was experiencing as a parent. Other people had been through--or were in the throes of--the very same struggles I was facing, whether it was a newborn who wouldn't sleep more than 45 minutes at a stretch (all 24 hours of every stinking day, and yeah, I had one of those!) or teething or potty training or five-year-old trash-mouth. I had company.

But I also remembered the most oft-repeated advice on those boards. Advice I myself gave to other parents as I gained knowledge and experience: "This too shall pass." And while I have to admit, that seemed like cold comfort when I was hanging onto my sanity by a thread because I hadn't slept properly in months (actually, I think there may have been a period where I hadn't slept properly in YEARS!), when the phase would pass and the NEXT problem would crop up, I'd always think, "Damn, they were right. It DIDN'T last forever!"

So today, I'm giving myself that advice. This too shall pass. I'll cope with what life throws my way, and before I quite know what happens, it'll be throwing something else at me. Maybe something better, maybe something worse, but definitely something different. And somehow, I'm finding that's pretty good comfort!

YOUR TURN: Life throwing you curveballs? Want to vent? Need commiseration? Bring it on!

Predictably Lost

2008-06-18T22:29:00.003-04:00

In the last week or so, I've been watching Season 4 of LOST (at Maven Darcy's urging; she couldn't believe I'd let an entire season go by when it's on the internet), reading Julia Quinn's The Lost Duke of Wyndham, and gossiping incessantly with my girlfriends over men friends who have lost their minds. I've come to a conclusion.

Unpredictability is where it's at.

So now I'm wondering how we generate unpredictableness ourselves. In the romance genre, in particular, there are certain expectations our readers have that we are [required] to meet. There has to be an HEA. There has to be a love story. There has to be something about the heroine our readers can identify with, and true beta heroes are a tough sell. But within those basic (and arguable) confines, we have choices. Maven Darcy's outstanding post yesterday got me thinking [as I was watching an incredible and shocking episode of LOST], while we're busily and creatively ruining our characters' lives, should we also be looking for the most surprising way to do it?

At the same time, the reader also needs to feel like they can predict the book, to a certain extent. I think this is a cross between keeping the story realistic and logical and helping the reader feel smart. So no space alien babies, and the villian needs to make sense, at least in hindsight. But still. When we're plotstorming, it probably wouldn't go amiss if we asked our critique partners to fill in the blank. As in, "Can you guess what happens next?" If they say, "Yeah, he falls into the same cellar where she's being held captive and they make hot, sweaty under-the-ground love," then maybe that's not the answer. Maybe we should ask, "What's the last and/or craziest thing you would expect to happen next?"

But maybe, by virtue of them thinking it, that is the expected thing.

Agh.

YOUR TURN: Surprise or reader intuition? (That's code for predictable.) If you think you keep the reader jumping, how do you do it? Would you rather have a man you can predict or one who's constantly keeping you guessing? Oh, how'd that get in there...

Authenticity in Action

2008-06-18T05:00:00.004-04:00

Ever forget to practice what you preach? Raises hand. I swear it was an accident. Recently a lovely writer friend of mine graciously read Her Wicked Ways. She had great things to say (yay!) about the last two-thirds. What about the first third? She found the pacing off. Too much introspection and non-relevant action. Oh no, but I try to balance action/introspection/dialogue! Remember AID? Uh, yeah, I guess I forgot. Or wasn't paying attention, more likely.

Regarding the introspection, I think I was in a rut of inner dialogue to replace action. In a character's POV scene, it's cool to ground their external dialogue with inner dialogue. Fun technique, but easy to overdo. Same with tagging external dialogue with action. We all know the pitfalls of arching brows, shrugging shoulders, and flexing fingers.

But I had plenty of non-arching/shrugging/flexing action! Except the action still wasn't tied to the goals of the scene. Whaaaa, you say? I'll give an example. I had a scene in which the hero and his mentor/best friend type discussed his romantic progress with the heroine using the miserable summer and the failing crops as the backdrop. The cold weather and disastrous planting play hugely into the hero's GMC. So, here they are checking out the fledgling plants that are woefully behind schedule and musing about the potential for a freeze that night. Out comes the heroine and conversation turns to her and blah, blah, wake up!

After my friend gave me her comments, I reread the first several chapters and immediately saw her point. When I got to this point in the story, I sat back for a moment and pondered how best to make the action in this scene more relevant. I mean, standing around talking about the weather is nowhere near as exciting as doing something about the weather. So if a freeze could be imminent, why not dump snow on them? Now. As in, we need to get these plants covered before the snow accumulates and kills the tiny sprouts! (Yes, Maven Carrie's technique of "how can I ruin my characters today" mentality was incredibly helpful and I want to give credit where it's due.) Now my scene had real action that mattered to the story. And the conversation that was there still happens, but it's more authentic. Yes, that's it, authentic.

So thank you dear friend/CP (you know who you are) for reminding me that action should be authentic for the scene and contribute conflict as well as interest. And thank you Maven Carrie for helping me torture my characters.

What do you do if a scene just doesn't have "it?" Do your scenes have authentic action that moves the story forward, that contributes to the purpose of the scene? How do you keep track of all the myriad things we aim to achieve in our writing?

Congrats to our friends over at Riding With the Top Down on your second anniversary! Speaking of anniversaries, the Mavens have been blogging for a year this week. Crazy, huh? Stay tuned for exciting anniversary happenings...

Agent myths -- you must change everything

2008-06-17T05:16:00.001-04:00

Recently, I've been blogging about myths that many of us hear about agents. I started this theme based on a few tidbits I overheard at a conference and just wanted to be able to throw my spin on things.

So, at that conference I heard an author talking about how you should be careful about the details you tell an agent about your story. The idea is that if you know an agent doesn't like things like... say... a story set on a star-ship, you shouldn't pitch that your story is set on a star ship and should instead highlight other aspects of your story.

And while I totally agree with the fact that you should highlight your strengths in light of what an agent is looking for, the advice I heard went farther than that. The advice was -- if an agent doesn't like a star-ship setting, you should be willing to rewrite your entire manuscript based on that even before the agent makes an offer or shows interest.

Here's the thing... agents definitely ask for revisions, even before signing clients. And I think trying to figure out whether to tackle those revisions and re-submit is a difficult choice. The advice I've seen most often is that if you agree with the revision requests you should go ahead and do them. If you don't agree, you should think twice. And I tend to agree with this.

But I don't agree with re-setting and changing everything about your story on the off chance that doing so will please an agent who hasn't even given an opinion on your story. To me, this ties in with my post from last week -- feeling like agents are these terrifying beats. They're not -- they're there to work with the author to present the best story possible.

When I was submitting The Forest of Hands and Teeth I was convinced that agents would reject me the moment they saw the word "zombie" in the query. Worse than that, I fully assumed that my query would be sent around from agency to agency to be laughed at. "Zombies!" they would all shout, "This girl wanted me to sell a book about zombies!" This is one of the main reasons I queried my agent, Jim -- I knew that he'd recently sold a book about zombies and therefore wouldn't laugh at me!

In the end, I took a chance with my zombie query and it worked out, even though I expected nothing but laughter. And so I feel very strongly that you shouldn't be willing to compromise your story on the off chance an agent may possibly not be interested. First of all, if you do it right, the agent will often be interested. Second of all, if you find the right agent, they'll love it.

So take that chance. Yes, be aware of the market and what agents and editors are looking for, but don't be willing to sacrifice your book because one agent might, on a whim, not be interested. You want an agent just as excited about your book, your ideas, and your writing style, as you are.

What do you think? Should you be willing to sacrifice parts of your book to gain agent interest?

That Crazy In-Between Thing Called... What?

2008-06-16T06:03:00.001-04:00

Side Note: MaveFave Deb Dixon is celebrating a blogiversary over at RidingWithTheTopDown with books and prizes!

I have this certain friend (let's call her "Erica", shall we?) who recently reentered the dating world after a long hiatus subsequent to a several-year relationship that stalled out before the HEA.

Although my friend (yanno--"Erica") was reasonably enthusiastic about dating again (despite also feeling too old for the club crowd, too particular for the bar crowd, too skeptical for the dating services, too self-conscious to permit well-meaning friends to engineer blind dates, and too busy working at home to step out-of-doors where she might actually Meet Someone) she embarked on a plan wherein for a month, she would throw on some eyeliner and heels, and do her best to be sociable.

The first few attempts were... let's just say "learning experiences". One guy was super cute and a little too into her, considering the entire encounter encompassed less than an hour of dancing at a local Latin Night. (He continues to call relentlessly, despite my "friend" passive-aggressively hoping that by not answering his calls for 2 months, he'd eventually give up. Tenacious little bugger.) One guy was nice and fun and funny but left out a few key details regarding, yanno, marital status. (Bastage.) One night, another guy's five o'clock shadow rug-burned my friend's face. (She couldn't leave the house for a week. Stop laughing! She was traumatized.)

Three dates. Three failures. This dating thing sucked. ~~How the hell was I supposed to~~... er, how was my friend supposed to write romance if she couldn't even survive an hour in the company of a man without drama ensuing?

Eventually, my friend went out on a date with a guy she already kind of knew. (The 3 above were people she randomly met out and about. I don't necessarily recommend that method, as it turns out.) She didn't know this guy so well that they were stuck with friend-status, but she knew him well enough to like him as a person (and, as a bonus, he's unmarried, educated, and shaves.)

My friend isn't looking for a boyfriend (for various externally motivated reasons--ok, Lacey?) and this particular guy isn't looking for a girlfriend (ditto blah blah), so it seemed an un-relationship match made in heaven. They insisted upon being just "friends", shook on the deal (okay, high-fived) and then promptly regressed to their teenage years (but replacing note-passing with cell-texting) and making total cakes of themselves. They are JUST FRIENDS. Ask either one. They'll swear to it. (But don't ask them why they're on the phone until midnight every night, talking about absolutely nothing. They've got no answer for that one.)

Which got me thinking about that crazy in-between stage, where you're not "officially" dating someone, but you're showing all the classic signs of mutual interest (like obsessive email-checking, texting at the dinner table, and wearing--gasp!--mascara). It's a weird phase, where you know you're interested, and you know the other person is interested, but you're not exactly confident of the other person's interest level, nor are you remotely ready to "define" anything... yet you're thinking about that person when you should be working/writing/doing taxes/etc.

And I was thinking, every h/h in every romance novel should go through that phase, too, right? I mean, we're not talking about sexual tension here (at least not exclusively) which I see too often in contest entries as the sole attraction the h/h feel for each other in the opening chapters.

Sure, ST is great, but there's also that mild psychosis that settles in, destroying your logic and disrupting your life, yet making you smile like an idiot throughout the whole thing. (Except for when you want to stick a machete in your eye.) Especially because you're not only not sure yet where you're going with this person (if anywhere), but also because you're not sure yet if you want to go anywhere with this person. Or how you'll feel a month from now.

I mean, *we* know the h/h are perfect for each other because hey--we read the back cover copy. But they didn't. They're excited and nervous and neurotic and tentative and hopeful and making cakes of themselves on every page. Or would be if romance life was anything like real life. Right?

YOUR TURN: I have no point. Please make a point out of this crazycakes post, MaveFaves. I beg you. I rambled for a really, really long time. Please comment profusely and save me from myself. Thank you.

Warning Signals

2008-06-13T05:00:00.003-04:00

Last Friday night, at my daughter's bridging ceremony from Brownie to Junior Girl Scouts, I met another writer. Unbeknownst to me, the father of one of the other girls in our troop is writing a novel. Naturally, I was thrilled to meet another writer in my "real" life, and we swapped stories about agent and publisher hunting, publicity, and the trials and tribulations of the writing itself. I honestly had a hard time dragging myself away from the discussion because it was so refreshing to talk to someone who "gets it."

It was only after I'd left the party that I got to thinking about the implications of some of the stories he'd told me. He mentioned he'd submitted the work to a few agents and at least one publisher, and now had it with a "book doctor" to fix it. He also told me about a someone he knew who'd sold out his entire first print run, but that this person had spent so much on publicity that he'd made next to nothing on the book. At the time, neither of these points struck me as off, but in retrospect, they seem like warning signals. Warnings that a writer is maybe not talking to the "right" people.

Now, I don't know this for a fact because I haven't talked to him since then. But little alarm bells go off in my head now that I think about some of these things.

The Book Doctor/Professional Editor

In principle, there's nothing wrong with having your manuscript professionally edited. In fact, I'd say it's de rigeur. It's just that, ideally, it should happen after you've received a contract for publication, and it should be free.

Now, if you're paying a professional editor because doing so gives you that extra level of confidence in your work, that's fine. But all too often, writers end up hiring so-called "book doctors" because they've queried a shyster-type agents whose primary business isn't selling books to publishers, but sending business to the other guy. These agents say nice things about your book, but tell you it needs "work" to be marketable and that such-and-such an editor can help you for a smeall fee of X per page.

Of course, just because these agents are hucksters doesn't mean they're not right. Your book may actually need a little more work to fly in the market. But you should be able to get that kind of input for free from other writers by joining a critique group or working one-on-one with individual critique partners. Finding critique partners isn't easy--I have worked with a lot of people over the years, and some of those relationships have panned out long-term and some haven't--but it's well worth the effort. Not only do you get constructive and honest feedback on your own work, but you can learn a ton from critiquing their work in return. I know having great critique partners (including Mavens Lacey, Darcy, and Erica) was absolutely instrumental in my ability to sell a manuscript and land an agent. I just wouldn't be the writer I am today without them.

But pay a professional editor? Nope. That's my publisher's job!

Publicity Eats Up All the Profits

I have to admit, when I heard my writer friend say that it cost so much to promote a book, I kind of raised my eyebrow. I mean, how much does it cost to have a blog? (Answer: $0) How much does it cost to start a Yahoo Group for your newsletter. (Again, $0.) Those are small things, of course, and they aren't the be all and end all of an author's book promotional activities, but my sense is that you don't have to spend a LOT of money to effectively promote a book so long as your publisher is large enough and reputable enough to get shelf presence in bookstores. Oh, sure, everything you do above and beyond that helps, and it may affect your sell-through numbers to some extent, but the reality is that word of mouth (reader to reader) is the SINGLE MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING TOOL in the world, and alas, you can't buy it!

What struck me as "off" about this particular story, though, was that the print run numbers were very, very small, and that made me think the book was probably self-pubbed or vanity-pubbed. That's a whole different ballgame, obviously.

Needless to say, though, I wonder now whether my friend has been talking to the "wrong sort" of publisher, especially since he mentioned that an editor told him he had to have a marketing plan, complete with a book signing tour, in place before the book was even contracted. Maybe I should be doing this and no one's told me (a very real possibility), but I'm still wary of the notion that it should cost the average author more to promote a book than he/she can earn from it.

Bottom Line

I think it behooves authors to be skeptical any time someone suggests that an outlay of a significant amount of cash will make him/her successful. When the desire to get that first publishing contract is so strong, it's easy to get scammed, and there are all too many people out there who will feed on those aspirations in any way they can.

YOUR TURN: Have you had experiences with agents or editors that set off your warning bells? What happened? Heard any horror stories from friends or other authors?

P.S. My contemporary novella, The Gospel of Love: According to Luke, comes out today from Cobblestone Press.

P.P.S. I'm over at the Naughty and Spice Blog today, talking about how I learned to stop living (and writing) in the past. Thanks to the fabulous Amie Stuart for the invite!

Crazycakes

2008-06-12T01:00:00.002-04:00

Over the last month, I've done exactly one productive thing. Unfortunately, that productive thing wasn't writing a book. In fact, in the last six months I've done almost nothing productive when it comes to writing a book. I'm not okay with that, but that concern is for another post.

Long-time readers know I'm a process engineer. I'm devoted to studying and improving productivity and output; it's my passion. I never thought I could go at it, though, with the same sort of single-minded determination I used to use to write novels. Engineering seems so...black and white. I guess I was just waiting for the right opportunity.

A month ago, I became head of a project that meant big time savings for my organization. It had the potential to improve communication between various orgs, and almost assuredly would create higher morale and job satisfaction for my minions and minions everywhere. The only problem was I had 3 weeks to pull the whole thing off, including implementation and beta testing. During those three weeks, I received requests for the same program to be implemented at other sites -- that would be the program we hadn't even written yet.

And I have a life.

Suddenly, I felt very, very kindred with Maven Erica :-) My phone wouldn't stop ringing. My email was full of bug reports and frequently asked questions. I had one week to get 100 people up to speed on a user interface that had never been tested and was barely developed. I had three devoted coders working around the clock to keep up with the changes. I was making phone calls and shooting off emails to organizations I'd never contacted before and presenting the concept to managers I desperately needed to have buy in from.

It was so, so awesome.

The energy was amazing. Apparently, I thrive on God-awful deadlines. Who knew? And seeing all the shocked-yet-hopeful faces when it was announced the project had eliminated the need for the daily afternoon meeting we'd been having for thirty years -- quite literally, priceless.

I wonder if we're authors because we like to see what's in our imagination come alive. I can equate every step in this project with the same sort of ephemeral buzz I get when writing. First, we had a workshop to talk about the future state [of the meeting we ended up eliminating, w00t]. That was like when I get together with the Mavens and brainstorm the concept of a novel. Then I was locked in a room with three bright, enthusiastic coders ready to tackle the logic to create the software -- that was like storyboarding. (We even had food.) Then we banged out a draft just to see if the concept worked; I don't need to draw this part of the picture for you. Then we fine-tuned it, and then, knowing it was buggy as hell, we released it into the world to have beta testers help us locate and smash them. (Contesting and beta reading, anyone?)

It was and still is hard to come in every day to my inbox and realize the interface isn't perfect. It will probably never be perfect, as it's written in Visual Basic and heavily utilizes Microsoft programs...(sorry, Keira, but it's true). But when the feedback is positive -- wow. Is that a great feeling or what? And when we're improving job satisfaction, not just because we're saving faceless money, but because we're literally helping people have a better day...that's nothing short of amazing.

The only problem is that during this time, my "life" became about this project. Either I was working on this project or not sleeping because of this project or worrying about this project or out kicking it with friends, valiantly trying to forget about this project. And now, just 2 days from full implementation, I'm still blogging about this project. It never ends!

But I am trying. My game plan this last week has been to come home ON TIME (+/- an hour of over time), work out, take a nap, and either a) play with my Xbox (damn you, Ryu!) b) watch an episode or two of LOST (can you really watch just one?) c) read a book (Lost Duke of Wyndham is on my TBR) d) go to happy hour (no comment) or e) do nothing. Yes, that's right. Do nothing.

But we had to filter through a, b, c, and d to get to nothing.

YOUR TURN: Do you ever let yourself stop? Do you ever feel like even when you're "relaxing," you're really trying to cram something fun into your day? Do you ever find yourself replacing the joy of writing (Freudian? I just typed "job") with the joy of something else? (there goes that job again)

What I'm Going to Do On My Summer Vacation...

2008-06-11T05:00:00.000-04:00

So it's the last week of school here and I am sooooo ready for summer. Of course it's 50 degrees here in Oregon, so summer seems like an absolute pipe dream. I'm ready for summer because it should be warm (note, I like it warm, not hot), because I don't have to rouse my tired daughter for school, because I don't have to worry about doing homework or getting lunch made, because I can write more.

Are you laughing? I hear you laughing. Yes, I hope to get more writing done. I'd actually like to write the first draft of Their Wicked Bargain between now and September (maybe that's the pipe dream). Not sure I can make it, but I'm going to try. And I'm going to try an early morning/late night schedule. We'll see if it pans out and I promise to check in with you. If I don't, ask, okay?

In the meantime, we're headed to the beach for a long weekend on Friday with some friends. Can't wait. And I'm leaving my laptop at home. I could take it because the campground* has wi-fi, but it's sketchy at best. I took my laptop when we stayed there during Spring Break in March because we left the day I got the call that I'd finaled in the Golden Heart, and I could not be away from the computer. Pathetic, I know. But, I ended up frustrated because the connection was more dead than alive. Thank goodness for McDonald's and their free wi-fi.

We're starting our summer break with this camping trip and finishing it over Labor Day with another camping trip to central Washington (annual pilgrimage to the Gorge Amphitheatre to see the Dave Matthews Band).

What are you planning for this summer? Both vacations and other goals - anyone else hoping to write a book?

*Lest you worry about us camping in 50 degree weather, it's worth nothing that this is "camping." While we could tent, we rented cabins complete with beds (they supply the mattress pads, we supply the sleeping bags), microwaves, mini-fridges, TVs (with cable, of course), porch swing, fire pit, barbecue, and HEATER. Oh, and there's an indoor pool.

The Agent as Terrifying Beast

2008-06-10T08:30:00.004-04:00

Last week I was talking about a conference I went to and some of the writing myths that I kept hearing over and over again. This week, I want to talk about another myth: the agent as terrifying beast.

Someone at the con told the story of a friend of hers who was so stressed out every time her agent called -- so terrified and nervous -- that she had to get a phone with a mute button so that she could take the call in the bathroom. We're not talking about the first time they talked, we're talking years of this.

Yes, it's easy to get nervous when you're talking to agents, especially the first time. And yes, my heart was pounding when I first talked to my agent on the phone. But the thing to remember is that you and your agent are partners -- you're working together to get the best deal that you can get (for you personally and your book).

I think sometimes it's easy to feel like it's us versus them: the writers versus the agents who are the gatekeepers to our goals. But like I said last week, agents want to make a sale as much as writers do. Agents want to find that great book, that promising client to work with.

Sometimes I hear writers who are terrified to ask their agent questions and raise legitimate concerns even after they've signed a contract and been repped for a while. They're afraid of being "that client" that all agents dread -- needy, whiny, too much work to want to deal with. Sometimes it's hard to remember that not only are you in a partnership with your agent, you're also in a business relationship. And if you need information to handle your end of the business, you shouldn't hesitate to ask.

At the end of the day, I try to remember that agent and author are working towards the same goal. They're people just like us writers. They hate rejection, just like us writers. And they hope for that amazing sale, just like us.

What are your thoughts?

Call Story: Carla Capshaw

2008-06-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome, Guest Maven Carla Capshaw!!!

Hi all you marvelous Mavens! Thank you so much for having me here today and a special thanks to Erica for inviting me. It's an honor. You Mavens are amazing. :-)

I have to be honest. When Erica asked me if I'd like to blog about my "call", I thought it would be a snap. I was wrong. How do you pack almost a decade of blood, sweat and tears into a semi-short, hopefully interesting blog? Well, after much debate and backspacing, I decided to hit on a few of my journey's peaks and valleys and give some honest commentary that, unless you're one of those (disgusting ;-) people who sold your first story on partial to your dream editor and went NYT bestseller before the age of twenty, will encourage anyone who hasn't sold yet to keep your fingers to the keyboard until you have your own call story to tell. :-)

So...

Once upon a time, I decided to write a book. I call this stage my Age of Innocence. My first manuscript was a short contemporary full of passion! drama! and enough backstory to sink an ocean liner. Needless to say, it didn't sell, which deflated me a bit at the time since all my friends and family loved it. But I'm stup...I mean tenacious. I started another book, finished it, didn't sell and started another. When the third time wasn't the charm, I hit my first real valley. I didn't want to quit writing but I was discouraged.

Fortunately, it was around this time I joined Romance Writers of America. No longer was I a lone writer slaving over my computer from 10pm 'til 2 in the morning, every morning (I'm a single mom with two day jobs). I was surrounded by other crazy women with the same dream I had--some of whom had even achieved it already. I wanted to be one of them.

For the first time, I was hearing about "craft", "finding your voice"and "marketability". Unfortunately, all that wonderful info seemed to conflict with other great advice like, "write the book of your heart" and "just write a great book and it will sell". I mean, wasn't that what I'd been doing for the past three years? It certainly hadn't been my intention to write crappy books from my ear canals, but the great books from my heart still weren't selling. The short contemps I favored only had a few publishers to submit to and once rejected were dead in the water. If I wanted to be published, I needed to change course.

But what to do? I'd always loved history and Historicals, so in my usual fashion, I said, "Why not? Let's give one of those a whirl." Excited and armed with all the advice and notes from numerous RWA meetings, I chose my favorite time-period (Colonial America), picked my location (my fav city, Charleston, SC) and researched the Revolutionary War until I knew more about the Southern campaign of 1780-81 than my college history professor.

THE FOX, as I called it, was my first , invaluable experience with critique groups and contests. FOX went on to final in fifteen of them. Won seven first places, including contest overall wins in the MARA, The Golden Rose, The Happily Ever After and the 2004 Golden Heart for Best Short Historical. I had found my voice. I was a contest diva and I was feelin' pretty good. ;-)

It was my best of times and worst of times. Things were happening. I'd hit my first real peak. My wonderful agent, Michelle Grajkowski at 3 Seas Literary signed me and though I got a few rejections, they were 'good ones'. After a few months, though, those rejections began to point out a stomach-churning trend. The Historical market had nose-dived and Colonials were at the bottom of that sinking barrel. Editors said they loved my work, but couldn't buy my time period. Sadly, nobody wanted the book I'd spent two grueling years working on. I had no where to go--again.

Directionless, I'd tumbled into my second valley. In fact, except for a few sprinting starts, I didn't write for a year. What was the use? Why take away time from my family and exist on four hours of sleep a night when I'd written what I thought was the best book I could, had numerous contests and editors validate my writing ability, and yet I remained unpublished? I began to hear whispers like, "If it's such a great book, why doesn't it sell?" or "Maybe she can only write a good partial."

Disheartened, I really did almost quit. :(

Happily, I didn't. My turning point came when my wonderful friend Tammy Johnson emailed the guidelines for a new line Steeple Hill was starting called Love Inspired Historical. As I read the list, my heart started to pound with excitement. Even though I was hesitant (did I truly want to go through that whole roller coaster ride again?), I really wanted to write something for them. After praying about it, I got the idea for a story set in ancient Rome about a wealthy young Christian who's sold into slavery and her master, a yummy ex-gladiator who has everything except inner peace--and the woman of his dreams. ;-)

Though I worried about taking the chance on another "off" time period, the synopsis flowed and the first three chapters were the easiest I've ever written. I submitted TO WIN A GLADIATOR to Michelle who thankfully hadn't ditched me. She called a couple weeks later, said she'd read it that afternoon, loved it and in her enthusiasm emailed the partial to Melissa Endlich (the line's editor) that same day. Crazily, Melissa had asked for the full that same day! Did I mention, I only had the partial? That I'd sent it to Michelle just for feedback? That I'm a S-L-O-W writer? This was in June 2006, I believe. I ended up finishing the manuscript the day before the Golden Heart deadline and got the retitled THE HEART BECKONS in on time thanks to Express Mail.

But, I thought the second half stunk like a rotting corpse. I wasn't about to send it to Melissa yet. I ended up rewriting the second half and got it turned in to Michelle (agent) about three weeks before National 2007. Melissa (editor) met with me at National. She asked, "Where's my gladiator?" Since she'd been waiting almost a year for the full, that felt great. I promised her Michelle had it and she would have it soon. She said she couldn't wait to read it.

To my surprise, considering the garbagey ending I'd submitted, the manuscript won the Golden Heart for Best Inspirational in 2007. Was I happy? Yes! But I couldn't shake the niggling fear I was on the same road FOX had dragged me down. The two manuscripts had followed the exact same path. Months went by. The niggling fear turned into something much darker. I began to give up hope...

And then the phone rang. My agent was trying to reach me. It was November 15, 2007 at like 2:37 in the afternoon. To be honest, I didn't look at the clock, I was too busy reaching for my phone. I called her back. Michelle said, "would you like to sell a book today?" I said, "sure, why not?" The rest I can't remember. I was too excited. :-D

So, it finally happened. I got "the call" I'd been waiting on for too many years to admit, proving that anybody who doesn't quit can succeed. My as yet untitled debut will be out with Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical in September 2009. Currently, I'm working on a sequel and buried back in ancient Rome. Come visit me at www.carlacapshaw.com and/or befriend me at Myspace http://www.myspace.com/carlacapshaw .

Most importantly, don't give up on your dreams. They're waiting for you to make them come true.

Thanks again for having me here! I'm giving away books throughout the day to four blessed posters.

Have a fabulous week!

Carla Capshaw

Thanks, Carla, for sharing your call story--We can't wait to get our hands on The Heart Beckons!!!

YOUR TURN: You're on, MaveFaves! Questions or comments for Carla? Post 'em here and win fun prizes! Carla is giving away four new releases!! Thanks again, Carla!

It's All About the Passion

2008-06-06T00:29:00.002-04:00

There hasn't been a whole lot of writing in my life this week. Instead, my days have been heavily dominated by the day job, and particularly by a conference I attended Monday through Wednesday.

I have to be honest and say that when I was reminded that I had this conference to attend, I was far from thrilled. I have a lot on my plate at the moment, and taking three days out to go to workshops that probably wouldn't teach me anything I didn't already know (yeah, call me arrogant, lol) was hardly appealing. But, my company paid good money for me to attend, and so, attend I did. (Fortunately, it was held locally, so there was no major travel involved. Just the 20 minute drive to and from downtown San Diego on $4.20 a gallon gasoline. But I digress.)

Truth be told, there weren't a lot of workshops geared toward the things that I would have really liked to learn. Or at least, they weren't marketed in such a way that I thought they were. In all likelihood, I missed a bunch of sessions that were just not accurately described in the conference materials.

I did, however attend one really FABULOUS workshop on Wednesday afternoon. It was my last of the conference, and honestly, it made the whole experience worthwhile. Not so much because of the subject matter, for though I did learn some new things of value, there was nothing really earthshattering in the material he presented.

No, it was because the speaker was flat-out fantastic. Dynamic, funny, and absolutely PASSIONATE about the subject. And it occurred to me that this guy could have been reading the phone book aloud, but if he did it with the same charisma and passion, I'd have been hanging on his every word.

Of course, when I teach workshops of my own (as I had to do today), I try to bring excitement and energy to my performance. It's one of the reasons teaching is so exhausting! (And why, when I got home this afternoon, I pretty much collapsed in a watery heap and didn't do anything useful for the rest of the day.)

But sitting there listening to this guy talk about something that was arguably incredibly boring (performance support) and eating up every second of it, it occurred to me that a big part of what keeps me hooked in a book is that the author demonstrates the same kind of passion for his or her story in writing. And I got to wondering HOW the author is getting that emotional connection to the story across to the reader. Clearly, it's not with body language, tone of voice, or ad-libbing responses to the audience on the fly, all of which the speaker used in spades. Obviously, whatever an author is doing to communicate that sense of urgency to the reader is both deeper and more subtle than anything a presenter can do with a live audience.

I like to think I can TELL that the author *loves* the story he/she is writing, loves the characters, and is aching to share that love with me, the reader. But I'm not sure I can put my finger on what is telling me that. I know when I'm WRITING something I feel passionately about, the writing itself seems to come more easily and I'm almost racing myself to get to the end because I want to experience the story MYSELF. But I'm not sure if that really comes across to the reader.

My contemporary novella, The Gospel of Love: According to Luke, comes out from Cobblestone Press next Friday. (Yes, Friday the 13th. I promise, however, no one named Jason and no hockey masks appear in the story.) And I really felt a passion for that little book while I was writing it. It fell out of my head in a little over two weeks. Every day during that two weeks, I couldn't WAIT to get time to sit down at the computer and write more.

I hope readers of the story will feel that passion in the words I committed to paper (or screen, as the case may be). And I believe fervently, with every fiber of my being, the loving the story you're writing is the first and most essential ingredient to producing a marketable manuscript. After all, if you don't love what you write, why should anyone else?

YOUR TURN: Do you think you can tell when a writer is passionate about his/her story? And conversely, do you think readers can tell when YOU aren't? How?

Never Thought I'd...

2008-06-05T01:24:00.004-04:00

This week, I decided to check out online dating. I have several friends who've been doing it for years and while I suppose that might mean they haven't technically been successful (as arguably, were they "successful" they would not still be dating), they've had enough harmless fun with it that I figured it couldn't hurt to find out what it's all about.

What's our motto again? Oh, research. Right. Research.

My first order of business was to create my profile. Should be easy, right? I have pictures of me and I know me and I know how to click a check box. The "What is your favorite thing to do?" text boxes should be a cinch. I mean, I write romance novels. I convince higher-ups to fund my crazy ideas all the time. Surely, between those two talents I must be able to write something that will generate a little interest in me.

Never, ever underestimate how difficult it is to write an online dating profile. On the one hand, you're selling yourself. Should be easy -- just list your good points, right? But on the other hand, you're paying money to find people who like you just the way you are. Why jeopardize that with a varnished version of the truth?

I've browsed perhaps 50 men between the ages of 26 and 35 and I have to tell you, I'm surprised at the number of intelligent, well-though-out profiles I've seen out there. I'm not sure if this is a function of the type of people who are most likely to a) be able to shell out the money for an arguably overpriced online dating site b) be interested enough in finding a relationship to shell out money for an online dating site or c) meet the education level and income level I've narrowed my search to, but I'd say if nothing else, there's good news out there for women everywhere. Not every single man in the world just lurched out of his Xbox cave, grunting and dragging pin up calendars behind him.

The only downside to the online dating thing -- okay, actually there are two -- is that if I try to narrow my search to the few qualities I consider absolutely imperative, I match exactly...zero men. Now, that is partly because lots of people don't fill out all their fields, and you can't match with a blank field. But that's also partly because let's face it, we can't always get what we want. Sometimes what we think we want is wrong. Isn't that how every romance novel relationship starts out, anyway?

I'm not saying one needs to settle to find a match (I would never, ever say that), but just that it might be a better approach to look for a little chemistry to start things off. I'm not speaking from online dating experience here, as I just started three days ago. But scanning a list of potential qualities really doesn't give me the same thrill reading a really well-written, witty, engaging, slightly sarcastic profile (uh, with a hot picture) does.

I have no idea where I'm going with this.

YOUR TURN: Have you ever tried online dating? Blind dating? (I haven't yet...better put that on the list of things to do!) Speed dating? Are you a stickler for some quality in a mate? What world views constitute no-gos for you? Can I deduct my online dating fee in my taxes if I write a book about it?!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Writer's Life for Me!

2008-06-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

First, let me award B.E. Sanderson a signed copy of Stephanie Rowe's Sex and the Immortal Bad Boy for her hilarious title offering last week. Though I won’t be using Give a Lord a Bone as an official title, picture it as the subtitle. I did come up with a tentative title: Their Wicked Bargain. I also came up with a title for book three that I absolutely adore: His Wicked Heart. So, yay on both counts! Do let me know what you think.

I’ve been suffering from writer’s life this week. What is that? Please contribute to the following:

Angst

Have I edited my WIP enough?
Will my CPs love my WIP as much as me?
Is the hero’s arc strong enough?
Why won’t everyone leave me alone so I can write?!
Your angst here

Excitement

One of my CPs cried reading the end of Her Wicked Ways!
I can’t wait to start my next book in earnest!
Can’t wait for my agent to read HWW!
RWA is going to rock!
Your excitement here

Fear

What if I can’t write another book as quickly and efficiently as HWW?
What if no one ever buys my books?
What if I get a ginormous zit right before the GH ceremony (legitimate fear, people)?
How will I afford gas? (I assume this is everyone’s fear, but perhaps not.)
Your fear here

One thing I really love about the writing community is everyone’s willingness to share their angst, excitement, and fear. They’re the things that unite us as writers and as human beings. So, come on and let’s angst together.

The Con Agent

2008-06-03T05:10:00.000-04:00

This weekend I went to a local con - ConCarolinas (for a recap, see JP's post here). It was awesome -- totally tons of fun and my first SFF con! Of course, because I didn't even hear about the con until the Monday before and therefore couldn't pre-register, I went rather stealth :)

But here's the thing, over the course of the day I attended, I heard a few authors give advice that kinda made me squirm. And it made me want to blog about it because I felt like some of this advice was perpetuating some myths about agents and getting an agent. Of course, rule number one that I must highlight is that there are often no hard and fast rules. Everyone has their own approach and you have to figure it out for yourself. Even so... here are my thoughts on some oft perpetuated myths (spread out over a few posts...).

One thing that really stuck out to me: a few people (and some of them well published authors) said that the best was to get an agent was to go to cons. Now, while I agree that you can make some great connections at conventions, if you're only going so you can attend a pitch session and stalk some agents at the bar, you're wasting your money. Here's the thing, you can be the most fun person ever, you and the agent you meet can go get manis and pedis, you can spend all night sharing embarassing stories and margaritas, but if your book isn't any good, none of that matters. Sure, knowing the agent might get a little more attention, but you still have to deliver the goods.

Agents are generally on the lookout for books they can sell -- they want to fall in love when they open their slush. You don't have to go to cons and meet agents in person in order to have them fall in love with your work. Trust me, I've met plenty of agents at cons and none of them ended up offering me representation for my book (in fact, one of my queries didn't make it past the slush reader for an agent I'd met several times). All the offers I got were from the good old fashioned slush pile. Yes, agents do read queries and they request pages and they make offers without having ever met you!

Don't get me wrong, cons are great things. It's a super fun way to meet other like-minded people and to be surrounded with the buzz of it all. Meeting agents is part of that buzz and it's part of the business. But it shouldn't be the only reason you go. Save the money from plane tickets and hotels instead and invest them in stamps :)

More myths to come next week (unless, you know, I forget or get distracted :)

So tell me what you think -- is the best way to get an agent to go to a con?

Irreconcilable Differences

2008-06-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday, Mavenland! Today I want to talk about "irreconcilable differences" as it pertains to romantic conflict. The first time I heard this phrase was, I believe, in reference to a celebrity divorce in California. I remember thinking, "But what does that mean? Nothing happened?" and being flabbergasted by the whole concept. (Mind you, I was undoubtedly young at the time I first heard this phrase.)

As an adult, though, I'm beginning to see how supposedly small things can become greater than the classic "big" things like, say, cheating.

What if a slob and a neatnik fall in lurve? Match made in heaven, because he'll be right there to pick up after her everywhere she goes? Doubt it. As soon as the newness wears off, I bet the resentment sets in.

What if a recipe-collector and a frozen-pizza-burner fall in lurve? Fabulous because she can cook dinner every night and he'll be grateful he's no longer gnawing burnt frozen pizza? Maybe at first.

What about a party animal and a homebody? Are they good for each other? He'll help her discover her domestic side, and she'll help him connect to all the other humans roaming the planet? Or a recipe for daily arguments over whether TV reruns or happy hour is the better use of their time?

Compromise is key. Sure. We've all heard that. But some things aren't compromiseable because they're just part of our makeup. The homebody isn't wrong to be a homebody any more than the bubbly extrovert is wrong to be a bubbly extrovert. Why should either of them give up what they love being to become something they hate, just to "get along"? Then neither of them are happy, right?

My theory is this all goes back to what your mama told you as a kid: Be yourself. Much easier to get along with someone who views, interprets, and interacts with the world in the same manner you do.

Of course, if you're writing romance, it's never that easy...

YOUR TURN: What say you? Is there such a thing as irreconcilable differences? Is it a legitimate conflict? Is it an overcomable conflict? Can you believe in Happy Ever After for a couple whose world-views are fundamentally opposed? Why or why not?

Sometimes the Writer's Life is Like an Episode of Lost…

2008-05-30T10:43:00.006-04:00

Please welcome today's Guest Maven, Amie Stuart.

Complete with the flash-forwards!

Thanks so much to the Mavens for inviting me! I’m celebrating the release of NAILED this week. NAILED is the single-title erotic romance I turned in January of 2007 to fulfill my first book contract. Eighteen months later, I’m hard at work on SCREWED (the follow-up) on the cusp of finishing up my second contract. Hard as it is to believe, NAILED was two books ago and SCREWED is slated for a Spring 2009 release--there’s no telling what pies I’ll have my little fingers in come nine months from now, which goes to the point of my post.

In this business, when so much of what we do may not see the light of day for months or even years, it is difficult to live in the moment. You find yourself distracted and pulled fifty different ways by contracts and negotiations and trying to write new projects to sell.

I distinctly remember coming back from RWA last year. I’d finished up that first contract, and parted ways with my second agent. Despite the fact I was HORRIBLY sick, I was TERRIFIED I wouldn’t get another contract offer, let alone find another agent! At the encouragement of a friend, I found myself querying new agents and gently nudging my editor weekly about my option book between naps and doctor visits. Lo and Behold, Audrey came through, and I did get another contract. I was so relieved. Except now, I was sick AND under deadline.

I learned a very important lesson, though and as I sit here, near the end of the second book of my contract…I’m getting ready to say something that might get me hit or burned at the stake or stoned. I’m getting ready to say something that just nine short months ago, I would have never believed I’d say.

I’m looking forward to NOT being under contract.

*ducks*

Now, I know there are probably some unpublished authors out there wondering what I’m smoking. I can assure you that I’m perfectly sane. You know all those folks who say that selling to New York is simply trading off one set of worries/issues/problems for another? They’re right. And believe me, I’m not complaining. I know just how lucky I am, and there are writers who would do some mad voodoo to trade places with me, but I’m ready to get off the merry-go-round for a while and catch my breath—-it’s been a whirlwind two years filled with writing, struggles, growth and a search for some balance in my life.

One thing I have learned: Variety really is the spice of life. In the interest of my writer’s sanity, I can’t keep writing the same type of books over and over. To that end, I have a southern fiction proposal I want to polish for my agent. I have a futuristic I want to finish writing because my agent is currently shopping it. I have a contemporary western series I want to go back and rework and see if I can sell to New York, and I want to write some more shorts for Cobblestone’s Wicked line. All things I can’t do when I’m under contract (and, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not a fast writer: I have a full-time dayjob and I’m a single mom with two kids, three cats, a puppy, and a house).

But before I take that much-anticipated break, I have a book to finish.

The first three chapters of NAILED are here. And just for fun, I’ll share a snippet from my current work in progress, since it’s the follow-up to NAILED.

“You ran off my bodyguard.” Tish propped her hands on her hips, his wig dangling from her fingers.
“Sorry?” he offered up lamely. He wanted the wig and wanted away from her.
“Sorry...my ass! You’re going to take his place.”
“What?”
She gave him a deadpan look that made his insides shrivel. “Or I call my dad.”
“I have to—“
She snatched her cell phone off the bed and wiggled it at him, a sly grin on her face.
“You’re shitting me.” His shoulders slumped. She had him. She knew it and so did he.
“Never would I shit you,” she drawled. And she looked serious too.
He had to give it one last try. “I really need—“
“I’ll do it. I bet Daddy will be thrilled to know you’re still after Mark.”
Not near as thrilled as John’s dad. The only reason Mark was still alive was because Tish’s brother, Jim, had stepped in and saved his sorry ass before John could finish the job.
“Aren’t you a little old for a bodyguard?”
“No!” Her brows drew together slightly as she morphed from indignant to concerned in seconds. “How old do I look?”
“Old...enough.” Please drop it, please God, let her drop it.
“How old?”
“Old...e-enough.” He nodded for good measure. Drop it, Tish. Drop it now.
“Specifically...” One of her pretty little eyebrows arched.
Shit. “Twenty...” six, seven, and eight clicked off in his head but, “--Thirty,” came out of his mouth.
She gasped, her upper lip curling in horror.
“-ish,” he added hopefully. “Thirty-ish.”
“I’m twenty-seven, and in case you didn’t get the memo, my father’s a powerful man.”
“I know who your father is.” John nodded wondering what the point was.
“He has enemies.”
“I can imagine.”
“Which is why you are going to take Mark’s place. Uh uh--” She waggled a finger at him before he could tell her no. “I don’t go anywhere without a bodyguard. And my best friend is getting married, so for the next four days you will be my bodyguard. Comprende?”
“Com—“ he nodded glumly, “-yeah. Just—“
“What?”
“Nothing.” Don’t ask me if your ass looks fat because I can’t lie. Not that Tish’s ass looked fat. She actually had a really nice heart-shaped ass that made him think things that could get him killed, but the last girl he’d shared his little “No Lying” problem with had tortured him with questions about her ass, her clothes, her friends, her job, anything she could think of...then dumped him when the fun had worn off.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” She held his wig out to him, letting it dangle from her fingertips. “Go get your stuff.”
He snatched the wig from her hands, turning and using the mirror to, once again, get it on straight. “There’s no reason—“
“There’s every reason. And since you ran my escort off, you just became my boyfriend.”
“What?” he shouted.
“You heard me.” She settled her hands on her hips again. “By the way, what’s your name?”
Fucked? “John...John Collier.”

YOUR TURN:Now, I’m going to open up the floor to questions. Ask me anything. But I’m also going to ask you a few…if you’ve sold, how has your life changed? If you haven’t sold to New York, what do you think will change, what do you look forward to?

Contest Winner and Guest Maven

2008-05-30T09:34:00.003-04:00

Good morning, Mavenland. We're running a little late here, but never fear, the party with MaveFave and Kensington author Amie Stuart will get started presently.

In the meantime, the winner of a free copy of Wickedly Ever After is Shelli Stevens (who in addition to being preseident of GSRWA and an all-around great gal just sold to Kensington herself--so double congrats to Shelli!).

Several of you noticed that the cart went down at Cobblestone Press on the day of my release, preventing you from buying. Apparently, the vendor from whom Cobblestone contracts the service had a problem with one of their servers, but it's fixed now. So if you didn't win and you're still hungry, now's the time go buy!

Gender Bending

2008-05-29T00:09:00.001-04:00

This week, I got a rejection letter that was very nearly a perfect summation of every rejection I've ever received. Bummer, yes. HUGE bummer. But never one to focus on the roiling disappointment of a bruised sky when the weatherman predicted sunny all week, I dug out my telescope and located my silver lining through the rain. A thin lining, perhaps, but definitely something to celebrate.

Nowhere in the 1-page (typed, single spaced) Rejection Letter to Eat All Other Rejections did she mention my hero was too weak to take on my heroine. WOOO HOOOO! Party time! What a nice hurdle to have finally overcome. I know exactly who to thank for that, too, and I'm sure the long-time MaveFave I'm referring to knows who she is, too.

What I loved about her advice and what made it so easy to take is that she "got" my concept and worked with it, instead of telling me (as so many others have done) that I needed to can my beta hero and go with something a little more saleable. Double bonus: not only did she come up with a solution, but she came up with a mindset that I, as the writer, could easily slip into while working on said revision. She said, "Whenever X happens, he needs to think Y. And then he needs to act on it."

Action. Right.

So thanks, Steathly Ninja MaveFave, and thanks to the Mavens for holding my hand through the Revision Letter to End Every Writer's Dreams.

Now, are you all ready for a little Amie Stuart? MaveFave Amie will be guest blogging tomorrow, so wear your Super Friendly hat and come prepared to comment!

Wanted: Book Title

2008-05-28T05:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve mentioned a few times over the last several weeks that my next book is in need of a title. I’ve currently dubbed it The Tale of Gideon. I clearly need help. Let me tell you about the book and then you can post your suggestions (please, please have suggestions!) in the comments. The person who submits my favorite title (not necessarily the one I’ll pick, mind you) will receive the fabulous Sex and the Immortal Bad Boy, signed by my pal Stephanie Rowe.

Here’s the most current draft of the story blurb:

Cate Bowen would rather dirty her hands, literally, than consider marriage or any other feminine trade. Defining herself as an archaeological scholar is more than her life’s dream, it’s her absolute purpose. When Lord Gideon Bradshaw controls the means with which she can achieve what she desires, she’s forced to accept him as her partner. He doesn’t know the first thing about science or following the rules, and his arrogance may prove to be her downfall, both professionally and personally.

Lord Gideon Bradshaw ought to be the most envied man in England. With wealth, social standing, and a reputation any buck would kill for, why is his life an empty pit? A rundown Welsh estate and an independent termagant who would rather dig for lost treasure than shop on Bond Street shouldn’t entice him. But the temptation of something—and someone—to call his own is more than he can resist.

I’m still working on it, but hopefully this gives you the flavor of the book. This is book two (the Spare) in a trilogy about three siblings raised with silver spoons in their mouths who court scandal. In the first book, Her Wicked Ways, the youngest sibling (the Deb), Lady Miranda, flaunted Society’s dictates and found herself exiled to the country where she became entangled with a highwayman and an impoverished altruist. Book three is about the eldest sibling (the Heir), the Earl of Morley whose icy façade masks a violent interior that threatens to ruin their family forever. Fun stuff, right?

The Tale of Gideon is essentially Moonlighting meets Secrets of the Dead (yeah, that’s my high concept, so hands off! *g). If you aren’t familiar with Moonlighting, you should maybe not be reading this blog (kidding). In all seriousness, it’s one of the great romantic comedies (TV show) of all time. Now lest you think TTOG is a comedy, look at part two: Secrets of the Dead, a great documentary program on PBS about, well, the dead. Okay, this is what their website says:

Part detective story, part true-life drama, SECRETS OF THE DEAD unearths evidence from around the world, challenging prevailing ideas and throwing fresh light on unexplained events. Using the most up-to-date science in the laboratory and in the field, scientists and researchers examine the missing pieces of each puzzle, completing the picture of what had been merely an assemblage of suppositions.

Keep in mind that in TTOG, “up-to-date” is 1817!

Your turn! Hit me with some great titles!

Refilling the well, redux

2008-05-27T05:02:00.000-04:00

I feel like I'm Erica's biggest fan these days, but her posts get me thinking :) Yesterday she posted about Refilling the Well and specifically about having taken time off from writing (and vowing to get back to it). It made me think about my own writing life.

I agree with what Erica says, that sometimes you have to take time off to refill the well. I've done that many times and I know that it's worked. I also think that sometimes it's really easy for us writers to be hard on ourselves. Many of us have other full time jobs, plenty of other commitments, and, you know, a life to live. I find time to write the words I need to because it's a priority of mine (and because I have a deadline) but I have also learned to forgive myself when I don't make it.

For example, I had a business retreat in Charleston, SC last week the result of which is that I had a spa appointment midday Thursday and the rest of the day off. My plan for weeks had been to pull out my computer and spend the afternoon relaxed and writing. I was practically salivating at the opportunity -- I could write Thursday-Monday -- think of the progress I could make!!

But after I walked back to my room after the spa, I wasn't sure I was ready to write. So I wandered down to the bookstore (in the hotel - bliss!) and picked up Valiant by Holly Black, a book that so many friends have recommended to me. And then I wandered down the street and came across one of my favorite restaurants that I'd forgotten about. It was middle of the afternoon and they were slow so I snagged a little table outside in the garden. I had a beer, read and people-watched, had amazing She Crab Soup and Shrimp & Grits. Yum!

And when I got back to the hotel, I still didn't write! I threw open the doors to the balcony and read and napped until it was time to go to dinner. All that time I'd set aside for writing, gone. But it was an amazing day, so relaxing and fulfilling. I think, in the end, it was just what I needed. To just be in the world and not pushing. It was a time to refill the well.

So yeah, I think it's important to make writing a priority. But I also think there are times when other things have to be a priority -- the day job, the family, the pets, plain old life: yourself. I think the problem is when you know you're using other things as an excuse not to write. When you have time to write but you just don't, over and over again. That's when it's time to re-examine, maybe re-prioritize and re-commit.

But sometimes, you have to let the writing go. And it's important to really enjoy those times, to recognize them and live in them, rather than always feeling guilty.

So what do y'all think? When was the last time you put writing first and felt really good about it? When was the last time you didn't put writing first and felt really good about it? How do you juggle it all?

Refilling the Well: Mythbusters

2008-05-26T00:39:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine recently asked me via email if I was getting a lot of writing accomplished. I was so shamed by this question (and the obvious assumption that of course Erica can't go more than a moment or two without making progress on her writing) that I didn't even respond to the email.

Today is the day I spend 8 straight hours if necessary to get where I want to be in my story. But yesterday? And the day before that? And the week before that? And the fortnight before that? Er...

Blah blah, unending string of houseguests, blah blah, traveling 2-4x per month, blah blah, conferences and chapter meetings, blah blah, client work, blah blah, personal life suddenly got really interesting, etc.

A (different) friend of mine refers to this as "refilling the well". I think she got this phrase from a writer's book on writing, wherein the author advocated spending a given amount of time not writing, so as to have something to write about when you do plop down in front of the computer.

I'm guessing that author didn't mean, yanno, months.

I do miss Old Erica, and how I used to write every single morning, without fail. I intend to bring that back. Starting now. Gracias a Dios.

When I look back on my weeks of little to no writing, however, I have mixed feelings. Did I have legitimate ~~reasons~~ excuses for not writing? Yeah, probably. Do I ~~lament~~ regret the utter lack of progress? Yeah, that too. Do I wish I would've been writing instead of doing client work and traveling and visiting family and pulling a 180 on my social life? Not exactly. I wouldn't trade in any of those experiences. I just wish I'd had an extra 3 hours every day to add on some writing time. (I'm working on a wormhole machine. I'll let you know when it's ready.)

Maybe I was refilling the well. Or maybe I was making excuses and practicing avoidance tactics. But I'm back now, and that's the important thing. Or maybe the important thing is that I realized I can have a life and write.

Huh. Who knew?

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Is there such a thing as "refilling the well"? If so, is refilling the well something we should consciously try to do every so often? (And when do you know the well is full and you should maybe go back inside and turn on your computer?)

Release Day!

2008-05-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

That's right! Wickedly Ever After hits the shelves (figuratively, at least) at Cobblestone Press today. Exciting, yes?

If you click on over and it's not there yet, try again later. The new releases usually get posted before noon Eastern on Fridays, but sometimes, it takes a little longer! For an excerpt, hop on over to the Cobblestone Author's blog.

And if you're a gambling man or woman, I will be giving away one copy of the book to one lucky person who posts a comment either here or over at my blog under the cross-posted version of this post. I'm also giving away two query critiques and a signed copy of Brenda Novak's Dead Giveaway here.

We all read blogs, talk with fellow writers, devour books on craft, and listen to RWA conference lectures over and over -- to name a few of the more obvious resources at our disposal. What I'm wondering is, how often does any of that affect our technique? Do we read others' how-tos and test out the ones that appeal to us, or do we mire ourselves in "I could never do it that way" and "that would make me crazy"?

(Un)specifically, my family recently had a huge email thread on exercise going. Exercise is one of those things we all know (and have always known) we should do, but most of us don't do it. I bet there are as many ways to implement exercise into one's regimen as there are people in the world. My brother pointed out that many of us benchmark what other people are doing and try to implement that routine with disastrous results. He hypothesized that it can be more self-defeating to try to do it someone else's way than to not do it at all. It's a matter of ownership. As long as I'm not trying to do it your way, I'm doing it my way (which may be not at all). But as soon as I try to do it your way, I'm inherently not doing it my way, and my brain (often) immediately starts fighting back.

He suggested it might be more productive to think about and truly understand your personal goal and your reasons for wanting to reach it than to ask around and find out what other people are targeting and how they are working to reach it.

Now, you may be thinking that this post is, in fact, yet another example of how someone does something in a way that doesn't feel natural to you...just sit back and enjoy the irony :-) I happened to think his opinion was an interesting take on self-improvement. Do you copy the NYT author who writes 4 pages a day, or do you seek out your own internal rhythm and work with it?

One last thing before I head off -- and this is totally unrelated, so bear with me, but it was a huge epiphany for me and I've been dying to post it forever: In the last month or so I realized something about losing weight. I'm serious here...even though it's simple math, the logic escaped me.

They say you need to burn 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week. That has always made losing 20 pounds seem insurmountable to me. But then I realized what was wrong in my thinking. You don't burn 500 calories a day this week and 1000 calories a day next week, i.e. keep off the 500 you lost last week plus take off another 500 calories this week. You just trend at -500 calories and the old calories never come back. Obvious, right? But if it were truly obvious, people might not have so much trouble keeping the lost weight off. In other words, you don't have to necessarily work harder to lose more weight. You just have to have patience...lots of it.

/End remedial anatomy lesson

YOUR TURN: Which do you prefer? Doing things your way or benchmarking others? A little of both? Do you like to have a starting place then adapt it to your personal groove? Am I the only one who ever made losing weight more complicated than it has to be?

From Point A to Point B

2008-05-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

I received what I think is an awesome comment from a CP yesterday. She said there was no sagging middle in Her Wicked Ways. And she said it in reference to the character arc I'm building for the heroine. This made me all warm and fuzzy inside. It also made me aware that I'd never stumbled through sagging middle "problems" when drafting HWW. I had a lot of these problems writing Glorious and I wonder why I had them with one book and not the other.

Any MaveFaves want to shout out the probable (I think) answer? Storyboarding! Once again, storyboarding has helped me in ways I didn't imagine. It's not so much that it prevented a sagging middle, it's that it helped me build a character arc. Now, I didn't get it perfect on the first draft. I'm revising/polishing right now and plan to go through chapter by chapter and make sure I'm nailing both the h/h arcs. But having turning points for the characters and the various storylines is a huge help in establishing - and sticking to - that arc.

We all know middles are the meat of the story. And I think arcs are maybe the meat of our characters. Showing their growth through action, introspection, and dialogue (yep, there's AID again) is what gets us from Point A to Point B or from "Once upon a time" to "The End." At least, it seemed to work for Her Wicked Ways. Ask me again after I draft The Tale of Gideon (yikes, that really needs a better working title).

What do you do to create and build on your character arcs? How do you keep them '"true" throughout the book? What's your secret to sagging middles (if you have one)?

Counting My Blessings

2008-05-20T08:14:00.002-04:00

Today I woke up not only in an exceptionally good mood, but with notes from Lacey suggesting I enjoy the milestones I do pass, and Bernard reminding me to count my blessings. The one thing I haven't felt very blessed with lately in my writer life is time, but I'm certainly blessed with people. And the more I thought about it this morning, the luckier and luckier I felt. I have:

* You. (Seriously, you rock. Nobody forces you to come visit me on the intertubes, and yet you do anyway. That's awesome.)

* The Manuscript Mavens. Carrie, Darcy, Jackie, Lacey--all super-talented writers and a fabulous support group.

* My agent, who either never gets tired of answering industry questions and calming me down when I spaz (or else is a darn fine actress, which I also can appreciate). Lauren rocks.

* My local chapter and our sister chapter down the road. TARA particularly rocks. I'm grateful for them every day.

* My in-person writer pals who trade crits or meet me at Borders to write or at restaurants to talk about writing or just to hang out. CPKel, Manda, Karen R, $Jean, June, Cheryl, Linda, Elissa, Karen L, Phyllis, Vicki, Julie, the list goes on--How did I get lucky enough to be surrounded by so many awesome people?

* My long-distance writer pals who are never more than a phone call / email / IM away. Diana, Stephanie, Tessa, CM, and Shari, especially. XOXOXO.

* My family members who encouraged me from day one. My other family members who think I'm apesh-t crazy for trying to write for a living, but support me anyway. My friends who never fail to greet me with a smile and a comment like, "How's the tooth fairy?" or "Finish your revisions yet, lazycakes?" Bless them.

* The blogiverse. Where would I be without the MaveFaves and all the reader sites and writer sites and chapter sites that help me procrastolate when I need a break, that teach me craft advice I never knew, that keep me informed on the industry, that introduced me to people who once lived on the Internet but are now among the dearest to my heart?

So, yeah. Today's a good day. No, today's a great day. How could it be anything but, when I'm surrounded by such fabulous people?

YOUR TURN: Count your blessings! I want to see 'em. I bet we're the luckiest bunch of writers in the world! =)

How do you define success, redux.

2008-05-19T01:41:00.000-04:00

Last week, Maven Erica had a fantastic post asking the question, "How do you define success?" The gist of the post was that we can't and shouldn't define our own success by anyone else's. This really got me thinking and while I'm not sure I've come to any conclusions or have any grand statements on the matter, I thought I'd share :)

One of the things that's difficult about writing is that there's always a goal out there in the distance, always another rung on the ladder or another bar to hurtle over. Suddenly it's not just "write the book" it's "write the book, revise the book, research agents, query, get requests, get representation, sell, sell for more, get tours, make lists, sell again, sell more books..." Every time you reach one milestone, another appears in the distance and rarely do we stop and say "great job on climbing that hurdle" and instead we take off full speed to the next.

I think it can be too easy to fail to recognize your own accomplishments in this business. I think it's too easy to think "when I get an agent, then I'll know I've succeeded" and then once you get the agent shift that goal to "when I sell, then I'll know I've succeeded" without recognizing the success you've already had. This is one reason I feel it's so important to find that feeling of success within yourself rather than needing outside validation. That's why ultimately you have to write for yourself and your own love of it rather than to reach these external milestones.

Another issue with defining success in writing is that everyone succeeds in such different ways. In most other professions there's a defined-ish path to success. For example, being a lawyer my path is laid out: I toil as an associate for however many years billing X number of hours and collecting Y% of my hours billed and then I'll make income partner whereupon I'll work however many more years building a suitable book of business until I make equity partner. I can look at those around me who have succeeded and copy their paths and there's a good chance that I can follow in their footsteps.

There's no way to do this in writing. You can take 10 different highly successful authors and trace the steps they took to get to where they are and even if you could copy those steps, there's no guarantee you'd end up in the same spot. Just because Author A becomes a NYT bestseller after being lead title from B House doesn't mean that you're guaranteed to become a NYT bestseller if only you can be lead title from B House the next year.

I think that's why success has to be a deeply personal question for everyone. I love to look at other author successes as motivation. I love hearing about the success and reading about how the author got there (especially because there are so many paths). But in the end, I think it does come back to enjoying what you do and being happy with where you are.

The Road Not Taken

2008-05-16T00:29:00.006-04:00

Earlier this week, I got a call that gave me a moment's pause, wondering if I'd made a poor career decision last summer. You see, it was an editor calling to offer me a contract for Carnally Ever After, which I'd long-since contracted to Cobblestone Press. I submitted the story to said publisher back in April of 2007 (ed: not 2006; I'm chronologically-challenged!), and when I didn't hear one way or the other for a few months, I got antsy and submitted it to Cobblestone, never dreaming I'd get a contract offer from them within hours of submission. I figured I had plenty of time to wait for BOTH publishers to get back to me. When I hadn't heard anything from the other publisher after a full six months had elapsed, I figured the rejection dropped into my Spam folder and I'd failed to rescue it.

Anyway, my initial response to this call was to want to kick myself in the head. The publisher in question is a "big name" publisher, and there's no doubt I could have earned more money on the story if I'd contracted with them. Why, oh why, didn't I wait longer? Have more patience?

And then I kicked myself again because, duh, if I hadn't contracted that story with Cobblestone, I'd never have bothered to write the sequel. I'd never have met Deanna Lee and Emma Petersen and Amie Stuart, all of whom were instrumental in my decision to submit that sequel to Kensington Books.

So, as it turns out, what was objectively a "wrong" decision (to go with a lesser-known, smaller publisher without waiting to hear from the larger one) was actually the right one. I couldn't have known any of this back in June, though, and none of these possibilities factored into my decision. I simply decided that I'd found a reputable publisher who loved my story, and I was willing to forego the chance of hooking the "bigger fish" when I already had a solid bite on my line.

Wow, am I glad I did! If I had waited, there's no telling what would have happened, of course. It's possible I'd have written something instead of Wickedly Ever After that would have hooked an agent or editor. Or not. It's impossible to know.

As writers, I think we angst a lot over our decisions. Do I write this story or that one? Should I submit to this agent or that one? Should I sign with this agent or not? And so on.

But I think maybe we worry too much. Even if you make the "wrong" decision, chances are good it'll be a learning experience. It will probably lead you places you'd never have tried to go otherwise. And that, in the long run, it will contribute to your success in ways you can't even dream of when you make your choice.

YOUR TURN: What was the hardest career decision you ever had to make? Did you make the "right" one or the "wrong" one? Or are you still trying to figure that out?

BandAIDs

2008-05-15T00:28:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, I cut 35 pages out of the first 87 pages of my novel. I don't miss them. It's not news to any of us for me to say time creates distance and distance makes us more objective, but wow...I've never seen it with such clarity before.

I put this book down half a year ago, maybe longer. Big.Difference. Yesterday's post made it really clear to me how different my writing is now. I reread my sentences three times before I could do it without cracking up. WHAT was I thinking?

I found tons -- tons -- of extra words. Not news. Beta readers and contest judges have been telling me that for years. Why couldn't I see them?

I wish I had something hugely helpful to post, but instead, per Maven Carrie's post this week, I will have to satisfy myself with being She Whom Others Commiserate With. Next time someone tells you "too much introspection" or "do you think you could say that in any more words??", you'll think of me.

The good news is, it's not a permanent disease. YOU CAN FIX YOUR WRITING! Just prescribe yourself some time off and maybe a glass of wine. And don't forget the surgical tools...chances are, when you look at your novel again in the future, there will be a lesion or two that has to come out.

YOUR TURN: Share a paragraph you're really proud of (or something from a book you read that blew you away). Does it meet Maven Darcy's AID balance: Action, Introspection, Dialogue? Deb Dixon's GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict? Cherry Adair's WTFITPOTS?: What the %&*# is the point of this scene?

Tag, I'm It!

2008-05-14T05:00:00.001-04:00

I tagged myself over at Diana Peterfreund's blog. Here's the deal:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag ~~five~~ no people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.

The nearest book is actually Diana's Secret Society Girl, which I've been meaning to pick up for ages. Picked it up at Target Sunday, started reading it today, irritated I have to write this instead of read it! Back to the task at hand...

In the interest of sharing (see Maven Carrie's post yesterday) - and because I haven't gotten to page 123 of SSG yet - I'm going to page 123 of Glorious:

She would make it up to Wroxton by being the best wife in all of

England

Scotland

too. And she would ensure Ivy had her Perfect Gentleman, whatever the cost.

Okay, that was fun. Here's Her Wicked Ways:

He glanced down at his clothes. The highwayman couldn’t compromise her. Montgomery Foxcroft had to do it.

Your turn! Share your stuff, whatever you're reading, something you want to read, whatever - it's up to you!

How much do you share?

2008-05-13T04:31:00.001-04:00

A writing friend recently asked what my second book was about. Good question. Right now it's a companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, ostensibly it's a sequel but we'll still see if that label fits once it's finished and turned in (incidentally, writing under contract does feel a lot like school, just with longer deadlines before you turn in your homework). As I pondered what more I could say about the book I started to wonder how much people really share about what they're writing.

Early on, when the idea for FHT came to me, I didn't say much about it on my blog. Maybe I didn't want to jinx it, maybe I was following what other writers were doing, but not talking about what I was writing suddenly became my habit. For my previous projects (pre FHT) I had word meters up (which I then protested) and talked at least minimally about what I was writing. And then, at the other end of the spectrum you have authors who have daily updates not only about word count, but also about plot.

On the one hand, I'm a writer and I blog about writing. It seems silly not to talk about what I'm actually working on at any given moment. On the other hand, I don't want to give too much information because I'm very anti-spoiler.

Plus, there's another element at play. It's hard to know how much I'm "supposed" to talk about. Not that there's a blog mafia out there watching my every word, but you start to get advice that maybe you shouldn't complain about writing, maybe you shouldn't talk about the struggles or put up a word count meter that will not only show the added words, but also the deleted words.

So that's the question I ask y'all. As blog readers, how much information do you want? What do you like to read about? As blog writers (or any kind of writer) how much do you share or think you should share?

How Do You Define Success?

2008-05-12T00:02:00.000-04:00

This weekend, Pam Morsi gave a workshop to my local chapter. During her presentation, she said something about success that really spoke to me. I'm going to butcher the paraphrase because I didn't have the foresight to write it down at the time, so apologies in advance to Pam if I screw this up, but the basic sentiment is this:

Don't judge your personal success by anyone else's. Where would the world be if classical oboeists decided their self-worth by comparing their iTunes download popularity with pop stars? They'd throw themselves on machetes, and then we'd have no classical oboeists.

(Okay, I added the bit about machetes. She might've said, "Off a cliff.")

I think in this industry, it's especially easy to want to judge our progress by that of our (internet) neighbor, or friend, or chaptermate, or so on, when in reality, no two cases are the same. Even with the same type of book at the same publishing house for the same editor. And there's little to no data aggregated for our perusal, not that it would mean much even if there were.

Despite all that, I think it's really important for us to remember that we can't all be Madonna or Outkast or Daddy Yankee or whoever the download of the week happens to be. I'm not exactly sure how to do that, mind you, but I'm positive it's essential for writer sanity...

YOUR TURN: Is comparing yourself favorably / unfavorably to others human nature? Should we kick it down a notch to save our sanity? If so, how? Is it ever a good thing to judge yourself by someone else's path?

To Contest or Not to Contest

2008-05-09T00:29:00.003-04:00

Beverley Kendall, MaveFave and Avon FanLitter, contacted me via IM a couple of weeks ago with the exciting news that she'd finaled in her first RWA chapter contest for unpublished writers. I congratulated her and said I bet it was the beginning of a trend. Well, color me clairvoyant, but within a week or so, she had finaled in two more, and one of those was a double-final. She missed finaling in a third contest by ONE position.

As we were squealing with delight over this surfeit of good news, we started talking a little bit about the overall value of such contests and when/if writers should enter them. One of the things we've both noticed is that the same authors and works tend to reach the final round over and over again. It seems that once a writer reaches a certain level of skill and polish, she (or he) can pretty much count on reaching the finals in many (though by no means all) of the contests she enters. (All bets are off, of course, for those who write stories that are outside the box. Contest judges tend to be traditional/conservative, so the odds of running into one or more judges who just don't get your story are pretty high.)

As a consequence of this observation, we started wondering what motivated authors to continue entering the same manuscript in contests over and over again, especially when the pool of editors and agents reading in the final round is relatively small. Once a manuscript has reached the finals a certain number of times, the odds diminish that it will reach an editor or agent who hasn't already seen it before. And if the final round judge is one who's seen the manuscript before, but hasn't requested it, the chances the entrant will get a request this time can't be great.

Now, I can't claim any particular restraint when it comes to entering contests. I don't have an accurate count handy, but it's certainly in the neighborhood of a dozen over an 18-month period, and more than half of those were with the same manuscript. That said, I was pretty particular in that I didn't enter contests with the same final round judge more than once, and each time I entered the same manuscript, it was after I'd made some pretty significant changes that I wanted to "test-run."

Still, at this point, I didn't think there was anything that could induce me to enter another contest, at least not one for an unpublished manuscript. I just figured since I now have an agent, it's my job to write the books and hers to get them in front of the right people.

But as luck would have it, I met with my agent this week, and we discussed a story that's been taking up large amounts of real estate in my brain lately. The idea behind it is just far out enough that, even though everyone I've shared it with thinks it's fantastically creative and cool, there is some question of marketability. Kevan shared that concern and suggested writing it to the proposal stage, at which point, we'd float it out to a few editors to see what feedback we got and decide where to go from there.

That seemed like a great idea, but then it occurred to me that maybe I could get some of that feedback we were hoping for from the first round of editors by entering the manuscript in a contest. If the manuscript didn't make it to the final round, we'd have some feedback that might help us determine where to tweak to its marketability, and if I did make it to the finals with an editor we'd have targeted otherwise, we could get that editor's feedback without "blowing our wad," so to speak.

As luck would have it, I found a contest I'm eligible to enter with a due date next week with a final round editor we'd love to get the manuscript in front of. So, it looks like I will be going back on the contest circuit again, much to my chagrin.

All of this made me think harder than ever about what *I* think are valid versus invalid reasons for entering contests for unpublished manuscripts. Accordingly, here is my list of three bad reasons and three good ones (I was going to do five, but this post was getting WAY too long!):

Bad Reasons

To get published

Yes, it happens. People do occasionally get requests from editors/agents for manuscripts they entered in contests and even more rarely, they get offers for publication. But as a primary strategy for getting published, entering contests is significantly more expensive than the alternative (sending out queries, partials, and fulls) and fickle (because whether or not you get to the final round is so dependent on the subjective opinions of people who are, in many cases, just unpublished authors like you!).

I think authors get seduced by the logic that say a contest final is better than a manuscript in the slush pile because the agent/editor has to read it. (Guilty as charged!) But honestly, that agent or editor will make up her mind about your manuscript in the same number of pages whether it's a contest entry or something that came to her via the query route.
To gain "credits" for the author bio portion of your query letter

Contrary to what we'd all like to believe, the only unpublished contest finals that really "matter" to agents/editors are the big ones. That is to say, the Golden Heart and a possibly a few other premiere contests like the Maggie. And having a lot of contest finals can actually be a negative. It raises the question, "If this author is so great, why hasn't she gotten an agent/sold yet?"
Purely for the thrill of finaling

Getting that phone call or email telling you you've made it to the final round in a contest is pretty exciting. But if that's the only reason you're in it, you could probably get that excitement cheaper at an amusement park.

Good Reasons

To get feedback on a manuscript

If this is your reason for entering, then you can't summarily dismiss the criticisms you receive as authors are sometimes wont to do. They may not all be valid, but if you really want feedback, you have to be willing to listen to what you hear. That's not always easy, especially if some of the things you hear aren't the things you want to hear.
For a chance to get the manuscript in front of an agent/editor you couldn't otherwise query

Most of the time, the agents and editors who judge the final round on unpublished contests are people you can query privately as well. But every once in a while, an editor or agent who isn't "open" for submissions judges a final round. It can definitely be worth entering a contest to get a shot at that person, especially if he is your dream editor/agent.
To support your chapter

If your chapter is running a contest, then entering your manuscript(s) is a way to add money to their coffers and get something in return. Of course, you should also judge said contest (but not in the category(ies) you entered, lol).

Of course, none of these rules apply to the Golden Heart. That contest is one you enter purely for the glory of finaling. Nothing else matters.

YOUR TURN: Can you think of other good reasons for entering contests? Bad ones? Have a contest experience you'd like to share? Come on down!

10 Sure-fire Ways to Drive Maven Lacey Crazy

2008-05-08T00:10:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I was chatting with a new acquaintance of mine, trying to nail down a mutually agreeable time we could meet up to play some pinball. Now, this person is notorious for no call / no show, so I wanted to be *sure* the time was agreeable. I didn't stop to wonder why I needed to know this person would show. To me, that was obvious. It's why they're called plans. You know, you plan them, and then they happen. Work the plan. Any changes to the plan need to be communicated in a timely fashion, to all parties, and should certainly be kept to a minimum. After all, changing the plan confuses people. It's frustrating. And if you can't look forward to what you're going to do at the end of the week, what's the point of going out on Friday, anyway? I mean, that IS the point, right? Good times will be had by all. You know it for a fact.

Never say there could be another point of view.

Are there people who actually thrive on not knowing what their Friday night will hold?

Apparently.

Who are they?

People *I* know?

I don't think so...

My friend IMed back: Never make (P)lans with a (P)erceiver! :-)

I IMed back: What is this crazy talk?

What I got in response sort of annoyed me. Nobody wants to think of herself as a (J)udger. How terribly unflattering.

So I googled it, having heard of the Myers Briggs assessment before, even if it didn't trip up instant recognition at the first mention. (I even wrote a blog about it a year ago.) Now, I've taken other types of assessments at work, as requirements for certain group projects. (See blog above.) I know my type. And no, it's not always flattering. But it's me and it makes sense to me and the rest of you...stop being so scatter-brained!

Well, being the type of person I am, I never really read through any of the other possible assessment outcomes. (And literally, that fits perfectly with the type of person I am.) Imagine my surprise when I read up on Perceivers. What craziness is this? People who don't wear watches!? People who thrive on chaos? People who celebrate their ability to generate creative ideas but shirk the responsibility of implementing them?! People who don't like to make plans way in advance, for fear of limiting their options as things come up?

That's insanity.

Or is insanity someone like me repeatedly trying to get someone like that to behave in the same way I expect myself to behave? Being the type of person that I am (and yes, this is in the type description nearly verbatim), having gained this new insight, I immediately revised my expectations so as to avoid generating the same unwanted outcome in the future. And, naturally, I phoned a friend to discuss. Because being the type of person I am, I like to talk my issues out, not sit alone with them and percolate.

Which basically started a flurry of interpersonal assessments that resulted in my reading a few other possible outcomes. You know, the ones I never had any interest in before. (Why? Well, if you guessed that perfectly matches my personality type...you're probably paying attention :-) ) All this reading up on various personality types -- ones that are eerily, freakily close to reality; so much so it's hard to believe anyone was able to nail down my and my friends' psychosis in so few words -- made me think about those authors who swear by Sun books or Sign books or that one book with all the hero / heroine combinations, whose name I can't remember (and as my personality type, don't care enough to look up because I trust someone else will supply the minutia). I've clearly never cracked one open before. I never thought I needed to. I mean, I've known enough people in my life to paint a few personality traits, right?

Or is that just my personality type talking? The one that says I can see the big picture, so why stress myself with the details? Or is getting the combination of your character's personality too much like having the answers to the test -- is it cheating to be able to conceive of how their internal clockwork ticks if you haven't even had a chance to get to know them yet?

YOUR TURN: Have you or do you use a personality book to help you craft your characters? Have you taken a Myers Briggs assessment (or other assessment), and if you have, were you surprised -- or freaked out -- by the results? Have you and your spouse / significant other / close friend ever taken a test together? Are you a Judger or a Perceiver?

Come to the Dark Side...It's Fun!

2008-05-07T05:00:00.000-04:00

I've crossed over to the dark side. Yesterday we bought a mini-van. I swore I'd never live in Suburban Hell (sure do!) or own a mini-van (double check!) What has become of me? I'm a blah-blah-blah old soccer mom (tripe check, my first grade daughter plays soccer and what's more...my husband is the coach) who just happens to write historical romantic fiction (okay, that last part is pretty cool). So now that I have a mini-van, have I irrevocably thrown myself into the abyss?

You be the judge. Here are some other things I've done recently that somehow defy logic (at least the logic I thought would pertain to my life at this point):

-Clean and organize more than is "normal." (Note: this does not mean I live in House Beautiful, it simply means I live in House Unchaotic, which is a feat in itself.)
-Slavishly watch American Idol and even vote for a favorite contestant (hold on a sec while I dial).
-Regularly post on a chat board regarding said American Idol contestant as well as my other two favorite reality shows: The Amazing Race and Survivor.
-Wear more eye makeup than I've done since college.
-Wear burgundy-black polish on my toenails (and they look awesome!).
-Choose to do almost anything other than write (includes all writing-related tasks) without regret.

I have a good excuse (I hope). I took April pretty much off from writing while Her Wicked Ways percolated. I did work on plot points for my next book, The Tale of Gideon (that's the working title, but I need to find a better one so I can put a blurb on my website - perhaps I'll have a contest soon...) and started revising HWW maybe ten days ago. But revising isn't the same as powering through a first draft. During January and February, I had this driving need to sit and write as much as possible to get to The End (much like reading a really good book), even when I was stuck for a day or two. Every waking moment could have been (and probably was) filled with thinking about the story. Now that I'm not consumed with writing a story, my brain has more time to accept the temptations of the dark side.

You probably think I'm silly. It's not as if I'm out getting a tattoo or piercing my navel (for the record, I have a tiny tattoo on my ankle - my daughter calls it a "stamp" - and the thought of piercing anything other than my ears makes me squinchy). I'm just not consumed with writing (hmmm, and maybe I feel guilty about that?) A lot of us post about procrastinatory activities and how they're bad, but I'm allowing myself to slack off and embrace this period of unproductivity. I'm more than allowing it, I'm enjoying it.

How do you embrace the dark side? What do you do in your Between Books Phase? Do you allow yourself to be a slacker, if only for a day? And, tell us, what do you do when you joyfully slack?

Tell me who you are

2008-05-06T08:32:00.004-04:00

These days a lot of authors have blogs and often, the blog gets more hits than the author's website (or sometimes, the blog exists for way longer than the author's website). I've also found, that a lot of authors include links to their blogs in emails or posts to various groups (another good way to generate traffic). And many times, these blogs are the first glance a potential reader has of the author.

Which is why I'm always so surprised at how scant some of these blogs are when it comes to promotional information. For example, on one of my loops an author has linked to her blog twice in the past month -- once to show us her new cover (very cool) and once to ask for help choosing an author photo. I followed the link. I thought her cover was cool and wanted to know more. But there was nothing about this author on the blog other than her name. Nothing.

No links to webpages. No profile telling me how many books she had, when her books would be published, how I could learn more about her. Here I am practically begging to become a fan of hers, but how can I?

I'm constantly amazed when I stumble on an author's blog but can't find out more about him or her. Sometimes, I can't even figure out what name they write under because their blog just has a title like "Book Writer" or "I like to write books" (just for example). And they don't put their pen-name, link to a blog, etc. I even remember Miss Snark once saying that she had an agent email her interested in a crapometer submission, but when they clicked on the writer's profile and blog, there was no email -- no way to contact to offer representation.

Naturally, you are all calling me a hypocrite right now. Because I barely have any information at all about my book (I have some in the sidebar to my blog) and my website isn't even designed much less written. But to be fair, the moment my announcement hit Publishers Marketplace, I put at least *some* information on my blog -- my name, an email, a link to the blurb.

I still believe that if you have a blog, hoping it will help with marketing (which I argue it will), then make sure it works as a marketing tool. Make sure people who randomly find your blog get the information they need. For example, look at Diana's blog -- she has all her book covers (so if I forget the title I can recognize it in the store), a list of her books, and her website and email are listed in her profile (though I'd argue that information gets lost and they should both be clickable links). Diana makes it easy for people to learn more about her and buy her books. Sure, hers is fancier than most, but even the most basic blog can have that same information.

So, if you have a blog, take a look at it and think about the random browser who stumbles on it. Maybe links from another blog, maybe follows the footer in an email of yours. Ask yourself what you want that new visitor to know about you, and then make sure that information is front and center.

Which leads me to my question -- what do y'all look for in a blog? What do you look for in a website? What are your pet peeves?

___________

* When I see an interesting deal listed on PM, one of the first things I do is google the author name and a lot of times that leads me to a blog (or livejournal or whatever). It's frustrating to find a blog that doesn't give me any info on the author. Because to me, marketing starts the day the announcement is listed. Seriously, what better marketing is there for your book and name than tons of publishing professionals reading about it and wanting to know more? You don't have to have a professional website or anything, but at least update the blog with current info.

Never Hit a Girl

2008-05-05T01:00:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid, I got into a fight with this older boy at my elementary school. He was skinny, nerdy, and wore glasses. Ditto me on all counts. I don't know why he decided to pick on me one day, except that maybe other kids always picked on him, but not me (and I was arguably just as skinny, nerdy, and nearsighted.)

So I'm walking home from school, 4th grade, backpack on my back (where else?), coat under one arm (in the midwest, temperatures can change 30 degrees from morning to afternoon), violin case under the other arm. Kid-who-shall-remain-nameless comes up beside me on his bike and proceeds to ride slowly enough to torment me the entire walk home. When this doesn't get a satisfactory rise out of me (I'm actually extremely slow to tick off to the point of action, so this went on for a good mile or so) he lashes out at me with his jacket. One of the buttons catches me in the eye.

It hurts like hell, and he's finally got my attention. Before he's even able to snap his jacket back to his side, I swing up and out with my violin case, clock him upside the head (smacked the heavy case right into his cheekbone!) and knocked his ass right off the bike.

As luck would have it, this was right in front of my house. My neighbors saw the whole thing and immediately tattled to my parents the moment my parents got home from work. I expected severe punishment for braining a 10-year-old with a violin.

Instead... my dad bundled me (and my black eye--that stupid button!) up in our jitney and motored us right on over to the kid's house. I was pleased to discover the boy from school looked much worse than me (the entire side of his face was black and blue and I'm pretty sure he was concussed) but worried now was when I would get my punishment, since I was so clearly the victor in the brawl.

But no. My dad proceeds to ream the kid a new one, topic being: Never Hit a Girl (Even With Your Jacket). The kid's parents appear, hear the story, then they too ream their kid a new one re: Never Hit a Girl (Even With Your Jacket). The girl in question (er, me) melted against the far wall and smirked at the boy-who-teased-me from behind my black eye. Justice was sweet, if lopsided.

Fast forward 20 years.

About a week ago, a writer friend received negative feedback about the end of her book, because the hero (cop) pulls a gun on the villain (serial killer) and blows her away. Yes, her. And that was the whole problem. "Hero can't kill a woman," people informed my writer friend. "Shooting girls isn't heroic."

Seriously? An act of cop self-defense to save the life of the heroine he loves isn't heroic simply because the story villain is female? What if he swats her with his coat jacket?

YOUR TURN: What do you think? Never hit a girl? Or only if she deserves it? What if you hit her with a high powered rifle slug and she, er, dies? Does it depend on her story transgressions? Or is it never okay for a hero to perpetuate violence of any type against a woman of any type?

P.S. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!!

Performance Anxiety

2008-05-02T00:29:00.002-04:00

In the world of romance, heroes rarely suffer from this malady. Not only are they supremely confident gentlemen of the world, they are also so wildly attracted to their heroines that any possibility of failure to rise to the occasion is unthinkable.

Would that the writers who invent these rarefied creatures shared their immunity! Alas, I'm afraid it's not, because I seem to have developed a pretty bad case.

You would think that the validation inherent in receiving a contract for publication would be sufficient to convince any author that her work has merit and she should simply forge ahead. But I'm not any author. I am Jackie and I am neurotic. Which means that instead of rejoicing that my editor loves my work and wants to publish it, I'm worrying about living up to his expectations. About not screwing it up.

Now, of course, I know the best way to screw it up is not to get it written. So obviously, I need to conquer my fear. I've still got plenty of time, but every day I fritter away angsting and biting my nails is one less day I have to meet my deadline.

So, my question for you, MaveFaves, is...how do you conquer self-doubt when it's preventing you from writing? I'm already trying the Angie Fox "it's only half and hour" method with some success, but I think I need more techniques in my box of tricks.

Creative Juices

2008-05-01T01:36:00.001-04:00

Last week, I told you about my perceived cluelessness when it comes to writing contemporary-style romance. A few of you had some great recs, and after yet another thought-provoking discussion with MaveFave Keira (I owe her so much!), I've spent the last few days curled up with various women's fiction novels. Flirting With Forty, fellow Eastsider Jane Porter's novel-turned-soon-to-be-made-for-tv movie, really has deep POV nailed down. Also-Eastsider Shannon McKelden's recently re-released Venus Envy (let the spam comments commence) does "deliciously smitten hero" in a way that makes me wish Luke Stanton was stalking me. And fellow Washingtonian Lisa Kleypas's Blue Eyed Devil mixes contemporary issues with her classic, lyrical writing so well, it makes me wonder why I ever swore I'd never read her new, first-person Texas-set novels. (Which is actually the same thing I thought after reading Sugar Daddy last year, but whatever.)

So what have I learned thus far? (Besides being sick is a great excuse to get to all the TBRs stacked up next to my bed.) Well, two things. One, what I said to Keira the other day actually turned out to be true. Which is weird and not weird, because I knew it was true when I said it, but it was one of those you know it's true but it doesn't make it any easier to sit down and do it. Oh, what I said...right. I said there was nothing in the world that makes me want to write my books more than reading other people's books.

Good books, bad books, books I'd never write and books so close to mine I want to jump out of the nearest barouche. All books make me want to write my books. Similarly, watching very good tv (How I Met Your Mother, House) and very good movies (Becoming Jane, Becoming Jane) makes me want to write books. But in the last year -- ever since I stopped watching tv -- I've watched zero tv. As in, no tv. At all. Even sneaked. And the number of movies I've watched has dwindled to almost zero, too. And the number of books I've read...well, you get the picture.

I've been living with a scripted entertainment deficit, and it seems to have gotten to me.

So I popped in my Sex and the City DVDs after last week's post, and this week I read a few books. Which brings me to thing I learned number two: I desperately want to finish my book. My historical book. Which makes no sense, seeing as how I've been building up my contemporary stores, but there you have it. I miss Roman. I love Roman. I want Roman to get his HEA, dammit, and I want him to get laid already. Desperately.

YOUR TURN: How do you feel about entertainment input? Do you live a deficit-inducing lifestyle? Does watching really well-written tv make you want to compete, in a sense, with the emotion/witticism/characterization/etc? Do you keep up your reading while you're writing, or do you put it away for fear you'll accidentally copy a voice/plot/etc? Do you ever want your characters to get laid, or am I projecting? Oh, maybe don't answer that...

Not a Hero

2008-04-30T03:00:00.001-04:00

Ever read a book or watch a movie with a "not-hero?" Can't say secondary character in this case, because the person is bigger than that, but isn't the hero, if that makes sense)? I'm going to assume your answer is yes. Last night I watched a snippet of what is truly one of my favorite movies of all time: Tombstone. That's the OK Corral retelling from 1993 (God, is it really that old? Yikes) starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. A Kevin Costner-led Wyatt Earp came out around the same time and got more press, but it sucked in comparison. If you've never seen Tombstone, run, don't walk, to a movie store and rent it. I'll wait. You do not have to like Westerns to love this movie. It's not a romance per se (actually, imdb lists it as a western, action, romance, drama), but rrrraowr does it have hot heroes. And the hottest one of all has tuberculosis and looks like he's about to keel over throughout the entire movie.

How is that, you ask? It's one part script and five parts Val Kilmer's brilliant (and criminally underrated) performance as Doc Holliday. Who doesn't love a guy who taunts the baddie with lines as insipid as, "I'm your huckleberry." He even gets in a verbal pissing match in Latin with the villain, Johnny Ringo. Hawt! And when Johnny wants to gunfight, Doc fingers his pistol (yeah, I'm aware that sounds vaguely dirty, Maven Lacey) and drawls, "Say when." When the other baddies drag Johnny off, Doc goes back to the barber as if the entire episode were as mundane as well, getting a shave. Super hawt!

The only drawback is that Doc doesn't get his own book/movie, which is a travesty. I hate when that happens. Glorious features a secondary character (the heroine's sister) who gets enough attention by readers to warrant her own book. But I haven't written her book and don't have immediate plans to do so. Should Glorious be published, I'm really not sure Ivy will get her own book, but I'll have to think about that. I don't want readers feeling the same way about her that I feel about Doc.

So anyone else lurve Tombstone with the fire of a thousand suns like me (makes me want to write a Western romance, I swear)? How about not-heroes you love and maybe even wrote fan fiction for (hmmm, now that's an idea)? Anyone run out and buy our pal Elizabeth Hoyt's new historical today? I was nowhere near a bookstore, but I've a Borders gift card burning a hole in my pocket...

Sharing the love

2008-04-29T05:24:00.000-04:00

I spent last weekend at the WRW conference in Maryland (that's the Washington DC chapter of RWA). It was fantastic mostly because I was surrounded by people who loved writing as much as I did. Ok, it was also fantastic because I got to hang with my CP Diana and just chat about everything and I met super cool people who were fun to hang out with.

I wish I could remember when I first learned about RWA. I know that in 2000 I started my first book and I'm pretty sure I joined RWA a few months later. It was like this huge cache of knowledge that suddenly was open to me. I learned about series romance, I learned the proper formatting and length and how to write a query. I was on loops with authors whose names I recognized in the bookstore (and newbies whose names are now regulars on the NYT list).

I joined my local chapter, which at the time was WRW (to give you an indication, Nora Roberts is a member of this chapter). I went to their retreat in 2001 -- my first exposure to agent/editor appointments. The first time I ever heard Nora speak (every time I hear that woman speak I'm amazed and I learn so much).

Back then, the internet wasn't quite as every day as it is now. Sure, some people were using it all the time, but it wasn't quite as assumed or prevalent. It wasn't "understood" that all authors knew how to format a manuscript or pitch or all the other aspects of writing that are now easy to find out with a few google searches. I'm still amazed at the writers I meet who figured it all out without the benefit of RWA and the internet. Who just sat down and decided to write a book and it worked out!

Anyway, it was really neat to go back to this retreat, to be greeted as a newbie even though I'd once been a part of this chapter and at that retreat 7 years ago. It made me realize not only how much has changed, but also how much hasn't changed. In the end, these groups -- RWA, WRW, conferences, retreats, blogs, etc -- are all about spreading the knowledge. About writers loving writing and loving to talk about writing, to share what we've learned and to ask questions about what we don't know.

Perhaps it's a constant refrain in my posts, but it's always nice to be reminded what a great community we have. Unpublished, prepublished, published -- we all help each other out. And it was really wonderful to be surrounded by that -- the excitement and indulgence in what we all love.

If NYC Won't Come to Erica...

2008-04-28T01:00:00.001-04:00

Erica will go to NYC!

So as not to clutter up the Mavens site, I'll keep my real-time blog updates confined to my Erica Writes blog (and I apologize in advance for the b.s. ads Verizon attaches to messages emailed from my cell phone... /sigh) but here is the sitch in a nutshell:

I am in New York City this week. I leave Tampa at 7:30 am and I arrive in the Big Apple at 10. From there, it will be a whirlwind of conference-attending, agent-meeting, and of course laptop-typing as I attempt to get my (paying) work accomplished while on the road. I plan to squeeze in a few sights between everything else, but I'll be honest--I'm most excited about meeting Lauren for the first time, and checking out a completely different sort of conference.

At least... I think it is. Or might be. I have no idea! Maybe the MWA folks are just like the RWA folks, what do I know. (Nothing yet... but I will find out tomorrow!)

On one of my many loops recently, a debate ensued over whether it was worth $2K in hotel, fees, food, drinks, airfare, etc to fly to San Francisco to meet one's editor/agent. (My agent has no plans on going to SF for RWA National AFAIK and I have no editor yet, so the question is moot for me.) Some people do go to National specifically to get face time with their agent/editor, which didn't strike me as remotely odd until I started hearing a few people say, "Why bother meeting at some random location [last National was in Dallas] when you could fly to NYC and visit them *and* their office for half the $$?"

And I thought to myself, "...Huh!"

(Of course, now I'll be in SF anyway b/c Darc had to go and final in the GH--jeez! If she would've just checked with my calendar first... *g)

YOUR TURN: Are you more likely to visit your agent/editor in NYC or at a local/National conference? Or does a face-to-face meeting not interest you at all? Why or why not?

Opinions Are Like...

2008-04-25T00:29:00.004-04:00

Gotcha, didn't I?

I'm not going to complete that thought quite the way you probably expected. You see, I've been following the kerfuffles in the blogosphere over some authors' bad behavior vis-a-vis negative Amazon reviews. While I have no intention of bringing the heated debate here, it's made me realize one of the most important mantras an author can learn after being published is:

Opinions are like backsides: it's best to keep yours to yourself.

Now, I don't mean published authors are enjoined never to express opinions about anything. I think, for example, it's perfectly okay to state their opinions about thong underwear (I hate them), brussel sprouts (am slowly coming around to them), and sushi (yum!).

But when it comes to other people's opinions about your work (aka reviews, particularly the negative ones), it is never a good idea to argue, explain, or otherwise defend yourself, even when the reviewer is clearly wrong. Because just like it's the kid who throws the retaliatory punch on the playground that gets sent the principal's office, when an author responds to a negative review, it never ends well for the author.

Before my first story was published, I worried a lot about how I'd feel about negative reviews. I'm an inveterate fixer, and if someone doesn't like something I've written, my natural impulse is to want to make it better. But a work of fiction, once finished and published, isn't fixable. It is what it is. And I didn't know quite how I'd handle that impotence.

As it turned out, I've only seen one review of the story that could be considered negative. And I'll admit, reading it didn't make me feel great. But it was also a very honest and well-reasoned opinion, and I appreciated that the writer took the time to think about my story and express her feelings about it so clearly. At the same time, however, my impulse was to explain away her criticisms, but I managed to refrain. It wasn't easy, but in the end, the story has to speak for itself, and it didn't speak to her. And that's okay.

To further illustrate my point, I entered Wickedly Ever After in a contest for unpubbeds a while back. It didn't final, and when the scoresheets/comments came back in the mail, I deliberately didn't open them because I didn't want to be discouraged from completing the story by what I found there. Good thing I didn't. I finally got around to opening them yesterday, and the scores and comments were not encouraging. Oh, they weren't horrible, but I'd certainly never have had the audacity to submit the story to Kensington if I'd read that feedback first.

Which just goes to prove--one reader's "meh" is another reader's "fabulous." And you just never know.

It's certainly difficult to separate our personal feelings from our work. We pour so much of ourselves into every page, it's hard not to want everyone to love our every word. Realistically, though, that's not going to happen. Not even the world's greatest writers are universally loved, after all. There is, as they say, no accounting for taste!

YOUR TURN: How do you handle "constructive criticism?" Do you think an author can ever respond to a negative review without coming off badly?

Making it click

2008-04-24T02:35:00.001-04:00

MaveFave Keira Soleore and I were at Panera Bread last Sunday doing a little plotting for VHM, the novel. (Yes, even a book based on my super-sweet life needs a little plotting oomph occasionally. Sorry if that destroys any conceptions you had about me :-).

One of the discussions revolved around techniques an author of contemporary novels can use to show her characters falling into True Love. To explain: we feel like in historical novels, the men can be more macho (and sweeter) and the women can be more stubborn (and home-makery) without throwing your reader out of the story. In other words, the dichotomy potentially allows the author to show more growth in her characters. In addition (and sort of related), in a lot of contemporary novels, we feel authors often skip over opportunities for their characters to engage in deeper conversation. Dialogue is often glib and flirty without being meaningful, which can make it harder for the reader to know the characters are headed for a true HEA. Sure, it's fun now, but what will happen six years from now? Will the characters grow together? Do they want the same things out of life? How do we show this without hitting the reader over the head with the answers?

What do you think? Who should I read to get a better feel for the how? And what do you think makes a good contemporary 'let's fall in love' conversation?