Another Irish Hunk Hero

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

One month from tomorrow, my second release The Treasures of Venice is scheduled to hit the shelves. I'll be a multi-published author! WOW! I don't think the full impact has hit me yet, and probably won't until I go into a book store and see both my books there on the shelves.

I'm still getting accustomed to the concept that people are reading my stories and loving my characters. I don't think this truly hit home with me until a couple of weeks ago. The afternoon of our Sourcebooks book signing to be exact! The other booksignings I've had thus far really didn't compare with this one. Suddenly there were all these people I didn't know lined up for me to autograph my book. WHAT A RUSH!

(Here's a photo of me at the signing.)

Many of them commented on how much they liked Irish heroes, and of course, I told them my next book had an Irish hero too. In fact, my critique partners and anyone else who has read The Treasures of Venice, say they love this hero even more than my previous one! I think it's because Keirnan Fitzgerald is a charmer, and also a bit of a rogue. Actually, my heroine is more than a little suspicious of him when they first meet.

See what you think:

Maybe she was still dreaming. Hunky strangers just did not swoop into her real life. Or if they did, she’d learned better than to trust them. They were never around for long. Probably when she looked up he wouldn’t be there at all.

“Came for Carnevale last week, did you?”

Okay, she had to peek. He was still there, movie star handsome with his mused hair and knowing azure gaze. He held open a gallery door and she stepped inside.

“No, we only arrived yesterday. From Florence, I mean. We were there for three days.”

She sounded like a flustered fourteen-year-old. Apparently her scanty knowledge of how to act with an attractive man had abandoned her along with her philandering fiancé. She could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks as they crossed the polished wooden floor.

“So, you’re not traveling alone.”

Was that an undertone of disappointment in his voice? No, she must be mistaken.

“I’m with a tour group. There are fourteen of them, fifteen counting me.” Sam’s blush deepened as the Irish hunk’s perceptive eyes made a slow trip from the toes of her shoes to the top of her head. She took one of those deep, cleansing breaths she’d learned in yoga then extended her hand. “I’m Samantha Lewis. Most people call me Sam.”

“Sam?” He frowned in a playful way. “That’s no name for a pretty girl.”

Rather than shaking her hand, he placed it in the crook of his arm and escorted her to a side door. The leather of his jacket felt smooth and supple under her fingers, the muscle in his forearm solid and substantial, definitely not a dream.

“I’m Keirnan Fitzgerald from County Kildare.”

I hope you enjoy reading about my Irish hunk hero as much as I enjoyed writing about him.

So tell me some of the things you find appealing in a romance hero.

One Editor's 2009 RWA National Highlights

posted by Deb Werksman

Nationals this year were in Washington, D.C. and it was, as always, a GREAT conference. It's amazing to spend time in an environment where the energy is so positive and supportive and everyone is out for success.

Sourcebooks was there in full force with myself, our publisher Dominique Raccah and our publicist Danielle Jackson.

Here are some of my highlights:

RWA UPDATED READER SURVEY

*Notable items from updated reader survey:
--the midwest and south have the highest concentrations of romance readers
--readers are feeling the impact of the economy
--they haven't stopped reading, but are borrowing/sharing more books and using the library more, but if they REALLY want a book, they'll buy it (the hook, the hook, the hook :-))
--about the same number of readers buy their romances from the large chain bookstores as buy them in the mass market retailers.

Lots of other good data that gives us all a lot to think about.If you didn't get a copy of the survey or weren't in DC, check the RWA website.

AUTHOR MEETINGS

It was GREAT to see our authors and we had a wonderful, celebratory dinner together.

Our signing was mobbed until the books ran out (note for next year: bring more books!) and it's clear our authors are individually and collectively moving to the next level. We missed our authors who weren't at the conference, but encourage all to participate at their local chapter level.

We also had opportunities to meet with some exciting prospective authors who we hope by next year's conference will have joined our house!

PITCH APPOINTMENTS

I was delighted with my pitch appointments this year--people were pitching very skillfully, and I heard about numerous projects that have real promise (more than I was expecting--now it's all in the execution...). Whatever people are doing to train for pitching is terrific--keep it up!

SHOW ME THE MARKETING

We loved giving our spotlight and talking about what we do for authors' careers. Danielle did a great panel on web marketing with Michele Buonofiglio and Lori Foster, and it's clear that lots of good ideas were shared throughout the conference. If anyone has any questions left over after the spotlight, please let me or Danielle know!

Now I want to know: WHAT WERE YOUR 2009 RWA NATIONALS HIGHLIGHTS??


And, here's what I'm looking for! Single title romance fiction in all subgenres, 90,000 words, email submissions (synopsis and full manuscript) with:

• a heroine the reader can relate to
• a hero she can fall in love with
• a world gets created
• a HOOK I can sell the book with in 2-3 sentences
  

The Joy of Soap

There's nothing quite like realizing at 12:20 AM Tuesday night that your Wednesday post hasn't been written yet, and also that you won't have the chance to write it on the morrow. Not only that, but you have no topic, no ideas, no inspiration.

Then, you take a shower and feel the creamy soap on your skin, the delicate fragrance, the hot water flowing over your tired muscles, soothing the soul and freeing the mind.

And thus it came to me. My blog topic.

Emotions.

That's what we write about. Feelings, desires, attitudes, and beliefs. A friend of mine who is in the process of reading The Cat Star Chronicles series told me a few days ago that she was reading Outcast and was enjoying it even more than the previous three. She wasn't sure why, exactly, but thought it might be because the story had more emotions in it.

"Ah hah!" I said. "That's because it's written in third person. You're getting the male point of view, seeing Lynx's emotions along with Bonnie's, and understanding why he is the brooding, surly fellow that he is in the beginning."

She didn't disagree with me. The more emotion contained within a story, the more the reader can feel what is happening to the characters. This is what makes one book better than another. Did I laugh, did I cry, did I feel some little tingles running up and down my spine? If so, then the writer has done their job. Do I keep turning the pages? In short, do I CARE what happens to these people, or can I toss the book aside and never wonder whether they live happily ever after or not?

In a romance novel, it's a given that there will be a happy ending; that the hero and heroine will solve their dilemmas and find love everlasting. That ending may be preordained, but it's the ride that makes the story, and the more ups and downs, the better. I attended several workshops at the RWA conference on adding suspense and keeping the reader in the story. I learned some new tricks, but most of the time I actually feel what I'm writing--the tingles and the tears--and I try to convey those feelings to my readers. I may not connect with every reader, but, apparently, sometimes the magic works.

What keeps you reading? The twists and turns of an intricate plot? The dark, but compelling hero? Or is it that you care enough about the characters to keep going? Inquiring minds want to know!

Writing Under the Influence!

What influences you to read a book? The setting? The characters? The plot? The suspense? The humor? The sexiness? The thrill? So see, as readers, we even read under the influence. :)

So what influences us to write? In Destiny of the Wolf, the heroine was in a vehicle accident. I was in that accident. I saw the air bag inflate. Felt the pain from it. Also in Destiny of the Wolf, the heroine must rappel off a mountain. I've done that. She turned upside down by accident. Who would do such a thing on purpose? :) Except when I did it, that time was off a five-story building. And it was embarrassing. So what influenced me to write scenes like this? Actually living them, except changing them a little to suit the story...different time of year, different location, werewolf vs. human. LOL :)

What influenced me to write To Tempt the Wolf was that I used to visit the Oregon coast a lot when I lived in Tigard, suburb of Portland. And I loved it. But I also had read some historical stories where a hero had been shipwrecked and I'd always loved the premise. So instead of shipwrecked, Hunter Greymere faces a werewolf pack and ends up in the Pacific Ocean, rescued by the heroine, Tessa Anderson, who soon needs his protection. We were on the coast road in the wintertime while some wild---I won't say what my dad actually called them, kids tore on past us in the icy conditions. Sure enough, we went around a bend in the narrow road and their car had left the road, only stopped from barreling deep into the gorge because sturdy fir trees had stopped them. But they were in a precarious way even so. So yep, that was in the story too. Plus I'd read about an Army Special Forces officer who had ended up in a ravine like that and with broken bones and freezing weather conditions, managed to finally crawl his way up to the road after hours of making the effort, knowing he'd never be found and die if he didn't. So stories like this help to influence me to write some of my scenes.

In my current work in progress, Seduction of the Wolf, I was totally inspired by the stories of wolf bioligists and how they try to educate the general populace about wolves. So my heroine happens to be a wolf biologist...werewolf wolf biologist. :)

In Legend of the White Wolf, I was talking to my son about silver poisoning over a fajita dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and he pulled out his phone and started researching it. LOL And that became the basis for part of my story. I also loved that the ancient Cree in some areas thought wolves were divine or magical creatures that had come down from heaven when the aurora borealis danced across the night sky, hence, the legend of the werewolves. :)

So definitely, research influences. :)

The question then is do you read or write under the influence???

Terry

www.terryspear.com

(c) Terry Spear, 2009, Whimsical Muse

Summertime, and the Living is . . .

By: Marie Force

Summertime is a pain the rear. There. I said it. Now I feel better. I live in southeastern New England, which means about eight to ten weeks of really pristine weather per year. That's it. So the pressure to make the most of it is enormous. It starts right around Memorial Day with weekly cookouts, beach trips, boat outings, summer sailing camp for the kids, and generally just go, go, go. All of which makes someone who is usually a daily writer quite cranky because days go buy in the chaotic mix of summer during which absolutely nothing gets written.

Now those of you who are landlocked or sweating it out in one California valley or the other are probably singing the same song: cry me a river. I hear you. Believe me, I do. But when you live in a place with world-class beaches that people flock to from all over the world, when you live two towns away from the glorious wonder that is Newport, Rhode Island, when your father spends a mint on a boat that's too big to move unless we're on it with him, let me tell you, there's pressure to make the most of it all. I feel like I spend half my life at the grocery store stocking up for the next event. (And why is it that the MOM always has to worry about what we're bringing to whatever event we've been invited to? WHY is that? The rest of the heathens I live with would be perfectly happy to show up empty handed...) And the laundry... holy hell... the smelly towels and bathing suits and grossness that comes home from camp... Ick.

I've also mentioned before that I work full-time from home. Yes, I have a very nice arrangement, and I truly love the job. Ironically, however, they expect me to show up every day. And I do, otherwise I probably wouldn't still be employed 11 years after checking out of the office where I worked for three years. Do you know what summer vacation does to the work-at-home mom? Can you even imagine the pressure to be all things to all people? Ahh, memories of summers past... there was the one where they fought like cats and dogs for two solid months. That was special. Good times. My husband was looking into an in-patient facility for me by the time August rolled around.

Three years ago I was saved by sailing camp. Three full days a week for both kids and they love it. Because I'm spoiled during the school year with buses that pick up right at the front door, I'm not accustomed to having to hustle them out of the house early in the morning to get them to downtown Newport in time to catch the launch to the sailboats. Neither of my kids are what you'd call morning people (gee, wonder where they get that?) so it's always a challenge to get them there in time. This summer we have the added complication of our daughter starring as Charlotte in a local children's theater production of Charlotte's Web. Three practices a week, two dress rehearsals and four shows this week. Calgon . . . are you hearing me call your name?

As long as I've been a mom, I've fantasized about having a job where I can take the summer off. I envy my teacher friends who can spend the summer at the beach with their kids without anything else competing for their time and mental energy. Since my oldest just turned 14 and will be heading for college in four short years, I can't imagine quitting the day job any time soon. By the time I can afford to take summers off, my kids will be past the point where hanging out with mom has any appeal. So I do try to make the most of these precious summer days—made even more precious by the incredible, epic amount of rain we've suffered through in June and July this year (a guilty pleasure for the one who'd rather stay home and write... But don't tell anyone around here I said that lest I be run out of town on a rail!)

After 14 years on the job, I have a lot of time off so I try to take as much as I can during the summer when the kids are free because I know years from now, after they've both moved out, I'll miss our summer days together. But for right now, it's summertime and the living is not easy. I've got 10 people going on my dad's boat today. Must get to the grocery store. Oh, and did I wash the towels from the beach trip yesterday? I can't remember.... Those characters calling out for some of my attention? They'll have to wait until tonight when hopefully I've have something left to give them.

So you can see why I've decided to take August off from the blog. I hope to rejoin you again in the fall when school is back in session and my life gets back to a more normal, regular chaotic pace rather than the turbo chaotic summer pace! Is it winter yet? I'm also over at the Romance Bandits today poking fun at my lack of abilities other than writing if you'd like to come over and check out the very long list I made of things I can't do. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and pray for my sanity!

Inspiration--You never know where it'll come from

So I was at National last week, and attending the Leadership Retreat on Wednesday (I'm my chapter's president) and I get a text message from Child A.

(Mind you, this meeting I'm in has all sorts of info regarding new IRS rules governing non-profit organizations and we have to bring our chapters in line with National's stance to fulfill these rules, so I'm taking copious notes. Let me also say that the children were in the care of their grandmother because my husband had a last-minute meeting out of town that he had to attend, which had NOT been in the original plan when I decided to go to National.)

The texts went something like this:

Child A: "Mom, can I get a hamster?"

Me: "Fine, but you have to pay for it."

Child A: "Okay. Can Child B get a ferrett?"

Me: "NO ferrett!"

Child A: "Why not?"

Me: "Because they're too expensive and we have dogs."

Child B now takes the phone from Child A and starts texting me: "Why can't I? You always let Child A get everything they want!"

Let me state here for the record, Child A does not get everything they want, nor does Child B or any other Child I have. And especially not a ferret!

Me: "You can't get a ferret. Now I have to pay attention to my meeting!"

Child B: "Can I get a guinea pig?"

Me: "No guinea pig."

Child B: "Why not?"

Me: "Because we have two dogs who were bred to chase small rodents. It's not fair to them to have a guinea pig in the house."

Child B: "I'll keep my bedroom door closed."

Me: "No guinea pig. Get a hamster."

Child B: "I don't want a hamster. I want a guinea pig. Hamsters are too small. And I always do what you want me to do, unlike Child A. I treat you with respect and do all my chores. I have the money. Why can't I get a guinea pig?"

Now, I have to say, the kid put up a good argument. Knew right what to go for: respect and chores. And there was actually some truth to that test message.

So now I text my husband: "Child B wants a guinea pig. What do you think?"

But then I come to my senses, leave the meeting, and call Child B: "No guinea pig because the dogs already get on Dad's nerves - what do you think is going to happen when they're whining all the time to get into your room? It's not fair to Dad or the dogs. And it's not fair to the guinea pig when the dogs get in and kill it."

Child B sees the light through Mom's eyes. "Okay. So I can get a hamster?"

Me: "Yes. Fine."

Then Hubs texts back: "Guinea pig is fine."

Arrrrrggggghhhh!!!!!

Somehow I managed to copy the notes I needed, avert a rodent disaster and keep two kids happy, yet all the while feeling as if I was on that hamster's spinning wheel...

Then I get home from National and find out Child B's hamster has figured out how to get out of his tres expensive cage.

Twice.

What does this have to do with writing? Two things: it shows the obstacles we "glamorous, feather-boa-wearing, chocolate-bon-bon-eating, frou-frou-slipper-and-robe-sporting" writers have to put up with, and it's going to make great fodder for a story someday.

And so it begins....

The day before I flew off to DC for the RWA National Conference, our wonderful and adorable publicist Danielle Jackson sent me the preliminary list of websites that have agreed to host me for blogs or interviews as part of the “Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley” launch. The official date of release is September 1, but as we all know, the blog blitz virtual tour begins several weeks prior! I thanked Danielle, but also told her that, all things considered, I refused to more than glance at the list until after the conference and family vacations were over! Well, the time has come and I can no longer find excuses to procrastinate. Well, I could – LOL – but I shall attempt to be a responsible, good little author and start writing my blogs ASAP so I shan’t be doing what I am doing at this very second, i.e. writing my essay some six hours before it is due to post! Ha!!

I have thought a great deal on the themes for the bulk of my blogs when “Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy” was released in March and know for a fact that I want to have a different tactic this time around. You see, before I was introducing myself as an author, establishing who I was and my “credentials,” while generally being on the defensive. In interviews and blog topics I was forced to focus almost exclusively on these types of questions: Why are you writing Jane Austen fan-fiction? Why were you inspired by the movie? Should you write a sequel since you haven’t been an Austen fan for several decades and read the novel a million times and taken college classes on the subject? Why write a happily-ever-after tale? How can you say your book has a plot when nothing horrible happens, no one dies, or is kidnapped by pirates? How dare you prefer Matthew Macfadyen over his Firthiness, who everyone knows is Jane Austen’s pick as Mr. Darcy? And how, oh how in God’s holy name, can you write of S. E. X. between Darcy and Lizzy?!?!?!

Ok, snarkiness aside, you can see that it got a bit old. And all these questions I answered, in the thousands of ways they were presented to me, and can be read on my FAQ at my website. Check it out, and don’t ask me again! Instead I have decided to talk about the immense amount of historical information I unearthed and wrote about in the series, specifically in “Loving Mr. Darcy” of course. So, in order to get myself used to the idea, I will start with this blog today, even if it isn’t precisely a part of my launch schedule.

A character detail I gave Fitzwilliam Darcy early on was his passion for and expertise in the game of billiards. He is such a mysterious person in the original novel, that it is easy to create factoids to round him out. I hit on the billiards concept not only because I knew from casual reading that it was a popular game of the day, but because I have always loved to watch really good pool players. That dates back to my dad and his friends playing the game, and partially from seeing Paul Newman in “The Hustler.” There is something so cool about a pool shark hitting those balls with that narrow cue, the staccato clap as they veer off in impossible directions, and then miraculously fall into the recessed holes all while the player stands nonchalant and puffing away on a cigarette. Not that I imagined Mr. Darcy in a rolled up T-shirt and slicked back hairdo, but the image of a master player was still cool! So I envisioned a billiards tournament happening in Meryton while they visited with Lizzy’s family, with Darcy proving his skill in a thrilling, play-by-play enactment. My mind conjured all sorts of wild scenes, probably influenced by Mr. Newman and Tom Cruise, and even memories of Minnesota Fats being watched by my dad. It was really some good stuff!

Enter problem number one – and if any of you smarter people laugh at me I will hunt you down and lash you with Aunty Cindy’s whip – but did you know that billiards and pool are two completely different games? I know! I was shocked! Now, I don’t consider myself an expert on pool by any means, but I have seen the game played enough to vaguely know the rules and common terms. Clue numero ono was when I Wiki’d “billiards” and started reading about two white balls, carom, hazards, cushions, stringing, faults, snooker – What the heck? I am not entirely stupid, so it did rapidly become clear to me that something was wrong in Denmark! Problem number two was the two-fold one of trying to figure out precisely what “billiards” was, since it obviously was a very different game than pool, but also to track the history of this strange game 200 years back. Luckily I adore history and solving a puzzle, and am very stubborn. So after perusing a couple of dozen websites, including the International Billiards & Snooker Federation and Billiard Club, reading through reams of instructions on how to play the game, and watching several videos… I was completely lost! Yep, this American girl simply could not grasp onto the finer nuances of billiards enough to write that riveting play-by-play tourney that she had imagined. Bummer. I researched enough to know I was on track in the historical importance of the game and in what rules and terms were standard in early 1800’s England, but my comprehension ended there. What to do? Scrap the idea of a billiards tournament altogether? Never give up! Never surrender!

Instead I changed my approach, dealing head on with problem number 3 – writing something you just do not know from experience. Of course we often do that in our writing, so I looked at the challenge as no different than visualizing England, where I have never gone, or imagining traveling for days in a carriage, which I have never done. Only a billiards expert could tell me if I utterly flubbed it up, but I think I did a fairly good job of getting the idea across and writing a riveting chapter even without the play-by-play! When September arrives you can tell me how I did. But for now, share with us some of your hardest challenges in writing of something that you just can’t grasp onto. Or perhaps there was that fabulous idea that you had no choice but to forget due to lacking information.

Those Pesky Doubts

by Libby Malin
www.LibbysBooks.com

You've heard the stories -- Bestselling Author X sells his first book after a friend shows a partial of the manuscript to her agent, who signs the fellow and puts the book up for auction leading to a "major deal." Or Bestselling Author Y mentions his idea for a novel to an editor over lunch and she buys it sight unseen, leading to rewards, both financial and literary, for all involved.

Don't those stories just make your teeth grind?

Most writers' publication paths are bumpier, with stalls and stops along the way, and occasional breakdowns.

But the overnight success stories do tantalize, and I wouldn't be surprised if many writers (if not most) cherished the dream that their rewards would be similar to those lucky authors who make it big quickly.

When I first began taking writing seriously and committing myself to the goal of being published -- when I decided to stop dabbling and start working at it -- I cherished those dreams of overnight success, too. But, like most writers, I didn't experience the Fast Breakthrough. Instead, I traveled the road most often taken by authors -- writing manuscripts, submitting, waiting, hoping...trying again.

Those early days were filled with doubt. Sure, I thought I wrote reasonably well. My writing had been praised by teachers and employers alike. I thought I told a good story and had lots of good stories to tell.

But when the first rejections started coming in, they brought with them the Ghosts of Doubt. Maybe my writing was good. But it obviously wasn't Good Enough.

Although I've rarely had trouble getting the writing engine started, these doubts sometimes made my writing stutter and stall. I'd begin to take a story in one direction, then wonder if it was exciting enough. I'd give a character an attribute I thought essential to the story and her own personality as I'd drawn it, and I'd wonder if she was sympathetic enough.

I started wondering about everything--how many pages I had in each chapter, whether it was okay to include more than one POV in a chapter, whether a heroine who used foul language a lot was acceptable, where exactly in the story a "black moment" should occur, whether I had too much exposition or too little, whether my characters' names were okay...

Whew! You get the idea. My Inner Doubt Phantom was working overtime whispering in my ear.

Eventually, though, I captured her, dragged her to a dungeon, locked her in a cell, and threw away the key!

And once her whispers were silenced....I became a better writer with a more confident voice.

How did I manage to control that Doubt Phantom? Simple -- through experience. The more I wrote, the more confident I became. And the more confident I became, the better I was able to write. I had to stop caring about that Doubt Phantom. I had to shrug her off and tell her to get back to her cell and shut up. I had to realize that, right or wrong, I just had to write the story. If I made wrong choices, I'd find them in revision. Or when my critique partner pointed them out and her comments resonated with me. Or when several agents rejected the manuscript all pointing to one problem. I had to learn to trust and accept my own voice...unless and until it was proven false.

Once I became published, the Doubt Phantom's voice became fainter and fainter. Sure, she still manages to shout a message up from that dungeon from time to time, causing me to stare at the blank page wondering if I'm headed in the right direction with a story. But she no longer rules this author's world.

So what doubts do you wrestle with when you start writing? Do they still bedevil you? How do you fight them?

Keep on keepin' on

Before I sold my first book to Silhouette, I had amassed several full manuscripts as I toyed with themes and voice, some right for Silhouette, some not. One particular manuscript (we'll call it "Love Story" for the purposes of this blog) wasn't right for Silhouette but had finalled in many contests and was a favorite story of mine. I never gave up hope that one day "Love Story" would find a home somewhere.
Fast forward several years and several other sales. This spring, Sourcebooks acquisitions editor Deb Werksman attended the NOLA STARs Written in the Stars conference in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was a thrill for me to have another chance to chat with Deb and introduce her to some Southern foods. (She liked the catfish, but the collard greens, not so much.)
During our dinner, I pitched "Love Story" to her, and she asked me to send the full to her. So I went home after the weekend conference, pulled the book out of storage and sent it off. I had high hopes that Deb would love the book, and LS would find a home at Sourcebooks. Well, Deb did like the book and wanted to buy it. We were even talking about when it might be scheduled. But...in the final analysis, when marketing plans and the current romantic suspense market were factored in, it was decided that "Love Story" wasn't the kind of book that was selling well now. Deb had to turn the book down.
While quite disappointed that LS didn't sell to Sourcebooks, I understand the reasoning. Romantic suspense and contemporary romance- heck, almost any romance genre, is a competitive market. Good books get passed over because publishers have to think in terms of the big picture. If readers have drifted away from one type of story and another type of story is selling well, the publisher has to give the readers what they want or sales will suffer. That's not to say that Sourcebooks doesn't do new and innovative things within the popular genres, but they also have to think in terms of competing in the current market.
If you look back at Deb's previous posts here, you'll see her list of things she looks for in a submission. The last item is about her ability to sell the book. "Love Story" is a good book, it almost sold, but the book doesn't meet the current market demands. Publishing is cyclical. Historicals went out a few years ago but now are storming back on the scene. So I'll save LS for another time when the winds of change in the ever evolving publishing world blow back around for an LS kind of story.
And I'll get another submission ready to send Deb, one that I feel is a better fit for what she's looking for. Because my mantra has always been "Never never never give up!"

The First Page

By Robin Kaye

Beginning a book is always difficult, especially when you don’t have that beginning scene to build the book around. I think it’s because I’m slowly changing from a seat-of-the-pants writer to a plotter in the hope that if I have the entire plot, I’ll be able to see if there are holes in it before I write the entire book. This is especially helpful since I am now writing on deadline.

Back when I was a card-carrying pantser, a scene would pop into my head and like magic, I’d have a fabulous opening scene and from there the plot would flow. Now that I’m a quasi-plotter, I have the whole story line and at the very least, the hero and heroine in my mind. I know what’s going to happen in the beginning, the middle and the end. I have the conflict, the black moment and even the happy ending but where do I begin the book?

Every character has a back-story whether it’s written in the text or not. His or her entire life story is in the author’s mind. That’s how an author crafts three-dimensional characters. The author knows where the character grew up, how the character was treated by her parents and siblings, her first heartbreak, and the one thing the heroine regrets. The author knows why the heroine acts the way she does because the author is carrying around that character’s baggage.

My next book: working title, “As Good As He Gets” is a marriage-of-convenience story. My question is: does the story begin at the wedding? The proposal? During the writing of the pre-nup? What’s the most exciting? What’s going to grab the reader by the throat? Well, they can all work, or they can all fail. The thing that’s driving me crazy is that all-important first scene has yet to pop in my head and I don’t know how to make that happen.

I’ve written the first scene but it doesn’t blow my skirt up. Don’t misunderstand, there’s nothing wrong with the scene, but then, so far, there’s nothing exceptionally right with it either. Still, I can’t be rewriting the first scene over and over again. So I move on and pray that eventually genius will strike. What I want to know from writers is how do you open yourself up to genius striking? How do you begin your books?

And readers, which do you think would be better? The proposal? The wedding itself? Discussion of the pre-nup?

There Will Be Tears

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Another RWA National Conference is over and yer olde Aunty is home again, exhausted but happy because it was all SO MUCH FUN!

Well, mostly... except for all those huge emotional highs and lows that happened constantly. Yup, it happens to me at every conference, and I know I'm not the only one. (Aunty raises an eyebrow at her CasaBabes/Sisters.) This year's conference in Washington DC was no exception.

Everyone who has been on this blog for more than five minutes knows that yer olde Aunty has a reputation for being a "tough cookie." I write about murder, mahem and things that go boom. Aunty does not like mornings (as several of the CasaBabes will now testify after seeing with their own eyes) and makes no secret of it. Aunty carries a whip (only a tiny little riding crop) and knows how to use it! That is why, to my everlasting chagrin, at some point in every RWA conference, I find myself tearful, and this year it happened again... several times, in fact!

It all started with Janet Evanovich and her opening remarks. Janet is one of Aunty's idols in the "tough cookie" department. Imagine my shock when Janet actually teared up while talking about the ten years it took her to sell her first book. How she had to take temporary jobs so she could afford to buy clothes and shoes for her kids. And then, when she was at one of her lowest ebbs, she came home and her husband said, "Your editor called." Janet honked into her tissue and so did Aunty!

Linda Howard did not help the situation. Her hilarious accounts of her "nutty" family had Aunty and everyone else wiping away the tears of laughter. I swear, I didn't know this before, but after hearing Linda's account of her mother's purse, we MUST be related somehow. My mother had a purse just like that! Well, maybe not with pork chops...

The next day, Eloisa James left not a dry eye in the ballroom when she talked about her daughter, born premature and weighing all of "...one pound and change." And when she talked about seeing her mother for the last time, I'm afraid I must admit, yer olde Aunty turned into a real water works.

Finally, the big Rita/Golden Heart Awards ceremony arrived and Aunty packed tissues in her purse in anticipation, even though I was determined not to mess up my artfully applied make-up.

I WILL NOT BLUBBER became my rallying shout.

Alas...

The Golden Heart winner who tearfully exclaimed that she'd just sold "on Wednesday" had Aunty's nose itching. I reached for the tissues, "just in case." The other winner who described the heroic attributes of her husband made Aunty's throat clog up. Then came the Ritas, and Aunty fought back the tears through one heartfelt acceptance after another. But when Kathleen Creighton's absentee acceptance was read aloud, Aunty's sniffling started. And I fought bravely to keep it at the sniffle level until Gwen Cready dedicated her Rita to her deceased sister and ended by saying, "today's her birthday."

That did it! Aunty couldn't hold back any longer. I BLUBBERED away right along with everyone else!

What about you? Do speeches sometimes move you to tears? Which ones? Aunty and the other CasaBabes would love to know!

RWA 2009—Truly Serendipitous

I’m probably not being very original with how the next few blog posts will follow for the next week or so, but the RWA 2009 National Conference this year was one of many firsts for me! My first national conference workshop panel, my first time speaking at the Sourcebooks Spotlight, and our first Sourcebooks sponsored signing! I apologize for my lack of photos, but I’m not sure I have the brain power to maneuver them around in the blogger set up!

My Workshop Panel

I like to think I’m an OK public speaker—I’ve never been one that hated speaking in front of others, but I’ve never really been that person to volunteer either!! But I have to say, RWA was the perfect place to start out, mainly because everyone is so nice, but I was extremely lucky to not only be on a fabulous panel, but I had many of the lovely Sourcebooks Casababes there for support. Judi took pictures (and Mama J says thanks!), and many more sat in places I could easily see—and it was nice to see smiling faces. And I was incredibly humbled to have our dear editor, Deb, and our CEO and publisher, Dominique, in attendance as well. I sat next to Lori Foster (and had an OMG moment), Jenna Peterson was incredibly funny, and Michelle Buonfiglio (the mastermind behind this workshop) was awesome. I think we all had a lot to offer about online promotion, and I hope people took something useful away from it!

I must interject (to keep things chronological) that the author dinner that took place on Friday was superb—it’s nights like that that really put things into perspective. How wonderful to have one of our very first Casa authors (Michele Ann Young) mingling with our current authors, and many of our Spring 2010 authors, too! The restaurant was lovely, drinks were had, stories were told, and, of course, we traveled in style in stretch limos!

The Sourcebooks Spotlight

I want to tell you a story—Tuesday, July 14^th, I was in Dom’s office with Deb on the phone, having a final meeting about the conference, when Deb says “Dom, did you tell Danielle about the Spotlight?” Dom looks over—“No! I didn’t!” Deb: “Danielle, after Dom discusses the Author toolkit, you’re going to speak about Marketing and PR.” And I said, “Ok,” but I meant “AH the day BEFORE we leave!” But, by the time Saturday rolled around, I was still on my high of doing well on the workshop panel, and the Spotlight was a piece of cake. The room was filled, the crowd engaged after hear Dom’s enthusiastic overview, and I think I carried it over well, so Deb could talk about her editorial process and submissions guidelines. After the spotlight, Deb and I were in that room for about 15 minutes after it was over, talking to anyone who came up to the front. It was great—people were getting it: Sourcebooks Casablanca is very different, innovative, and fully established as a romance publisher on the rise.

The Sourcebooks Signing

I must must must say that I know I underestimated the amount of books to send to Nationals… I follow the rules, and the rules suggested sending a box of each book…. Well, I should have known, 2500 avid romance readers would want more books. But I am happy to say that every single book sent was signed and given to a fan—and they were eagerly given. I do have pictures from the signing, and I will send them out soon! Every time I passed by one of the authors, they weren’t just signing, they were engaging the person waiting and talking. I took pictures of fans and authors, I met some of the bloggers who have been supporters. I watched what I consider so successful in this line. It was so amazing to see all of the work we’ve been doing over the past year or so really come together in a moment—10 Casa authors were present, and I think they did so wonderfully at their first RWA signing!

This year’s conference will be special to me, because it was the one I had the most handle on. I know there were things I could have done differently (and I have a long list of ideas and thoughts to implement next year). I LOVED being able to meet my authors face to face, talk about their books and promotional plans, and really, just chat. You’ve all become friends through our emails. I enjoyed hearing about what you want to see happen with your books, but also about your families and your travels, and all that we discussed.

And finally, as a truly serendipitous moment—Saturday, my little brother (who goes to the Naval Academy, and is much much bigger than me now) came to have dinner and go to a movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, natch). We had to go to a later show, and around 10:00pm we headed out. Guess who got off the elevator as we got on? None other than LA NORA herself, fresh from winning the RITA for Tribute. All I could do was stare… and my brother looked at me like I was insane.

When the elevator door closed I started shrieking: “DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT WAS? NORA ROBERTS!”

Alex replied “You mean that’s the author mom’s obsessed with and has a million books by?”

“YES!”

“Seriously? She was hot!”

So Nora, if you’re reading, there’s a midshipman at the US Naval Academy who finds you very attractive.

Back to work on Monday, telling everyone how much of a success the conference was, and even thinking about the plans for next year in Nashville. I can’t wait to hear about everyone else’s stories!

Did anything truly serendipitous happen to you at this year’s conference? OR do you have a story from a year passed?

Reflections on my first RWA National Conference

As I write this post, it's 0652 on Saturday morning. I haven't seen the Sourcebooks Spotlight, nor have I been to the Rita Awards or the Sourcebooks booksigning, but I have certainly done plenty of other things.
First off, I made it here, on a plane, all by myself. This in itself was a first for me. I've never done much traveling alone, and rarely on a plane. But I did it.

I've only been to one conference that came anywhere near the magnitude of this one. But I did it.

I really hate going to events where I know very few of the people in attendance. But I did it.

A lot of people will tell you, "Oh, I could NEVER write a book!" But I did it. And so did many of the other conference attendees. I think that says a lot. Here are hundreds of women who didn't baulk at the challenge, and I am one of them.

Listening to the speeches given by Janet Evanovich, Linda Howard, and Eloisa James were very inspiring. Their stories were not unlike my own--they've just been at it long enough to succeed. Even though I have four books in print, I'm still a newbie, relatively speaking. I was asked by an interviewer if I felt that I had "arrived" as an author. The truth is, I don't. I'm not intimidated by these other writers, but I know that they have one thing I don't have: years of experience behind them.

In my nursing career, I have loads of experience. I have now been a critical care nurse for thirty-two years. Many of these ladies have been professional writers for that long. There is no way I, at the age of fifty-three, will ever match them in experience, unless I live to be ninety and write continuously up until my death. The fact that they are willing to share their knowledge with those of us who are lacking is quite remarkable. Not everyone is willing to coach a competitor.

Which brings me to the next interesting point: We aren't truly competitors. Each of us has our own niche in the world of romance writing. We just have to carve it out for ourselves and then live in it. Readers will find us. Some will love what we write and others will hate it, but the one thing that will always hold true is that my books will not be like your books, and vice versa. We are all individuals writing unique works of fiction. We are not competing with one another so much as we are collaborating with our sister writers.

It's a pretty nice feeling.

Reality TV: How Real Is It?

If anyone knows me well, they know I dote on Reality TV in a shameful way. I watch American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and Amazing Race, of course, but I watch some of the less admirable (read: totally over-the-top guilty pleasure types) too. I've cringed through the hot tub scenes on the Bachelor/Bachelorette, squealed in disgust at the bug-milkshakes on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, and rolled my eyes until they stuck in my head with Paris Hilton, My New BFF (really, who signs up thinking they're really going to be Paris's new best friend?).

Do I think they're real, though? No way, at least, not in the sense of being real, unscripted, unedited versions of life. Reality TV adheres religiously to the constructs of fictional narrative (there, I almost made it sound respectable, didn't I?).

Fiction is built using six building blocks: Character, Dialogue, Setting, Plot, Point of View and Time Sequence (Beginning, Transitions, End) (ref: Google docs: Fictional Narrative)

How does Reality TV use this?

~::~

Character: Of course they put out casting calls for these shows and invite 'audition tapes', and a lot of the respondents are wannabe actors and actresses. But in my estimation (I don't have any inside knowledge) they are looking for a blend. They want some clearly defined 'types': the beauty, the brain, the stud, the jock, and then some quirky types, like the cranky old dude, the wild child, etc. This year on Big Brother they've gone one step further and labelled them according to recognizable high school cliques: Popular, Athletes, Brainiacs and Offbeat. But I predict (and it's already happening) that the people in those cliques will resist such rigid classification and find their own strata.

Dialogue: Most Reality TV uses a blend of two different types of 'dialogue'. There is the taping of interaction between the participants, and then there is the 'confessional'. And it's in the confessional pieces that the producers and editors get to shape the stories they want to tell, because they do indeed have storylines that they develop. On the Bachelorette this season there has been a lot of controversy about Wes, the wannabe country singer (who doesn't sing or write very well, sadly) and his scandalous treatment of Jillian. He is just using Bachelorette to get publicity for his career (Gasp! As if that isn't one of the only reasons to sign up for the show) he has a girlfriend (Gasp! As if that hasn't happened before). Of course, he is the requisite villain of the piece, the Snively Whiplash, the Darth Vader. Trouble is, I can see the heavy hands of the writers all over this piece, and Wes doesn't have enough 'menace' to carry off the villain role. Toward the end of his time on Bachelorette I started to feel a little sorry for Wes, because they so clearly were coaching him in his behavior to make him the villain, and instead he just looks hang-dog, to me. Glum, picking his teeth and appearing bored. Even his final bit, where he says he's the first guy in Bachelorette history to make it to the top four with a girlfriend, felt... written. I'm sure the producers told him that he would be a big hit and would get loads of publicity, which he has, and it might even help him if he had any discernable talent.

Setting: Ah, setting! This is where Survivor shines. They pick some beautiful, out-of-the-way spot and film it brilliantly, making the setting almost another character in the storylines.

Plot: Goes without saying. Without manufactured plots Reality TV would just be a rambling series of interactions among some - for the most part - dull people.

Point of View: Big Brother is the best at creating point of view, and using it to create 'surprising' conclusions. They will show confessionals that seem to point in one direction as to who is going to be evicted that week, or who is working together, only to turn around and have something completely different ensue.

Time Sequence: Beginning, Middle, End: All writers are told to remember that their story needs clearly defined scenes to delineate the movement of time and change. Reality TV does this too, or at least the best of them do. They create characters who have a development arc that takes them from naive to knowledgable, uncertain to self-confident, etc. They create 'showmances'... romances made for TV.

~::~

So, if all of this is true, if editors and writers and producers are manipulating the characters to create recognizable story types, what's real about Reality TV? Not a whole lot, but I'm endlessly interested in how they manage to manipulate (mostly) normal folk into 'characters' in their stories. I wonder what these people think when they see the season as we viewers see it. Do they even recognize what they were going through at the time when comparing it to what the producers and editors have made of it?

I have one final thought: Ben 'Coach' Wade from Survivor Toncantins. He has to be the most amazing created character they've ever manufactured. Do I think the real Ben Wade is quirky? Probably. Do I think he's the lunatic they created for TV? No way. But it was... interesting!

So... do you watch Reality TV? C'mon, 'fess up.

Romances with Pets???

On another group blog I'm on, one of the authors brought up the question something to the affect of: do you ever write about pets in your romances? As a reader, do you enjoy reading about a hero or heroine who own pets?

dreamstime© Serghei Starus

But as a caveat~~I'm sure for my benefit since I'm the only werewolf author on the blog [or maybe that should be the only author who writes about werewolves on the blog]~~she said that werewolves didn't count. :) LOL

Of course werewolves don't count. They're not anyone's pet! :)

But as to the author's question about romances with pets, in Book 6 of my werewolf series, title as yet to be determined, the newly turned heroine has a cat. So how will a cat and a werewolf interact? And if the heroine brings home a hunky werewolf boyfriend, how will the cat and he get along?

Such is the fun of writing about something that is a little bit out of this world. :)

I love animals and have raised Afghan hounds, silky terriers, poodles from toy to standard sizes, Labrador retrievers, cats, and even mice. :) So I've written pets into a number of my stories, although Book 6 will be the first of the werewolf series where one of the werewolf characters owns a pet. She has not been reunited with her cat since she was changed, so it will be fun to write about it. But even more fun will be the reaction of the hero and his attitude toward keeping a cat as a pet in a werewolf household. :)

This is not a picture of my Afghan hound, by the way. We have pictures of her and the silky terrier playing a game of chess...if I can ever get them converted to a digital format, I'll upload them. :)

Pets can add humor and conflict. They can bring people together, or push them apart. They can add another interesting dimension that the story wouldn't have without them. :)

I think of 101 Dalmations when I think of a story where the hero and heroine were united through the love of their pets. :)

So do you have pets in your romances? Or like to read them in your romances?

Terry

www.terryspear.com

CasaBabes Gone Wild

The room was your typical beige interior complete with table, chairs, eight women and eight handcuffs.

Wait a minute? Handcuffs?

“I can’t believe this happened,” Judi fumed, pacing the length of the room. “I have meetings! I need to get out of here right now!”

“And I have a luncheon appointment,” Kendra muttered, slinking down in her chair as she looked at her watch..

“I’m sure they’ll realize this was all a mistake and let us go,” Michele said, the voice of reason among chaos.

“What will Deb say?” Danielle wailed, trying to cover her face with her hands, but her handcuffs kept her suitably restrained.

“Ladies, ladies, ladies.” Horace ambled into the room, carrying a gargoyle sized Dunhill briefcase.

“Horace, what are you doing here?” Marie asked. “I called Linda for help. Did she send you?”

The gargoyle inspected his claws. “Um, well, it seems Linda was out and I just happened to hear your message on her voice mail. And um, it somehow got erased after I heard it. Hey!" He ducked as a hand went flying past his horns.

“Meaning you somehow learned her password.”

“She really needs to get more inventive with passwords and PINs.” He slung his briefcase onto the table. “Gotta say you babes are in serious trouble.”

“I didn’t do it!” Robin protested. “That cop didn’t even listen to me.”

“Right, Robin, you were the innocent one.” Cindy cocked an eyebrow at her. “You grabbed the man’s crotch.”

Robin puffed up. “I was pushed against him!” She aimed her accusation in Cheryl’s direction. “SHE was the one who grabbed him.”

“How did I know he was a fed,” Cheryl defended herself. “He was cute.”

Horace shook his head. “So you all ended up arrested.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Danielle chimed in. “I was nothing more than an innocent bystander.”

‘Try again, babe. I read the arrest reports,” Horace told her. “You all are so guilty and have so many charges against you that I don’t know if even I can get you off.” He snorted. “Get you off.”

“Shut up!” Marie swiped at his horns, but he ducked just in time. “You are so gross, Horace.”

“But I’m not in jail,” he reminded her.

That gave them all a moment to reflect on sins committed or just thought of. After all, the fed was cute.

“So you brought bail money?” Kendra asked him, eying the briefcase.

Horace smiled and spread his arms open. “No, I’m your lawyer. Group hug?”

When Horace was admitted to the creature ER an hour later, he was treated for cuts and abrasions.

The CasaBabes are still waiting for their trial.

Weird World of Writers

by Mary Margret Daughtridge


The big problem with writing a blog about writing is that I am compelled to admit just how nuts I am.



Shall we start with hearing voices?



I do. Hear voices I mean.



The first time it happened I was in my middle childhood—ten, eleven, something like that. One night as I slept I became conscious that I was dreaming and that a voice, not my own, was narrating. I can still feel the exhilaration of the moment, the sparkling delight that my mind would so entertain me.



Later, I began to be able to hear it during the day as I imagined this or that scenario, although it is still clearest when I’m dreaming or when I first wake up. The mornings I wake up with the voice are the best writing days.



So far, I’m clear that the voices are in my head, not coming from the heat register or an electrical outlet. But you know, as long as they gave me good material, and didn’t keep me awake, I probably wouldn’t object if they did.



And then there’s my lability. A fancy word for being emotional. Creep into my writing room and you’ll find me at the computer laughing until the tears run down my cheeks and drip onto the keys. Or crying, with the same soppy results. As I wrote the great "wedding cake swap" scene of SEALed With a Promise, I had some of the best fun in my life. Sometimes I get so mad at a character, I could pinch his head off. When Emmie’s anger finally burst through, I feared for my blood pressure. I can go from one state to the other just like that.



My characters are caught in a snow storm, I get cold. They’re lost in the desert, my mouth is so dry my lips stick together.



What about sex scenes, you ask. Weeeeel. This blog needs to stay G-rated, but I can tell you this much: sex scenes are GOOD.



I’m not alone. Writers are a strange lot. Taylor Caldwell, it is said, wrote in a trance—a sort of automatic writing—producing historical novels full of breathtaking (and accurate) detail, without any research. Wish I could do that.



Ray Bradbury admitted he wrote his dreams.



So that’s how weird I am. What can you confess to? Or if you claim total sanity, can you share any interesting stories about other writers’ oddities? Many of the Casababes are at the RWA convention this week. I wonder what strange compulsions they are observing, in themselves or others, as they jostle among two thousand other writers.

Love at First Flight Launch Fun Continues!

By: Marie Force

Good morning! As you read this I'll be on my way to Washington, D.C. for RWA's national conference. I'm roadtripping this year with two of my New England writer buddies. One of them, Kristan Higgins, won the RITA last year for contemporary for her fabulous book "Catch of the Day." If you haven't read it, be sure to check it out! Over the last year she and I have become informal critique partners, a first for both of us. So I worry for Mike, our third passenger, because Kristan and I can talk our faces off, and he might wonder what he's gotten himself into! Mike can more than hold his own with us, however. He's the one who went up to Nora Roberts at RWA last year and said these famous words: "I've never read a word you've written, but I hear you're quite good. My friend here would like to meet you." Nora got such a kick out of him, she bought him a drink. Now THAT is networking! I'm sure my sides will be aching from laughing before I even get to D.C. with Mike and Kristan for passengers. If you see the token guy at the conference, chances are it's my friend Mike. Have a chat with him and be prepared to die laughing!

I'm in the final stages of the blog tour for Love at First Flight and wanted to post a couple of reminders, especially for those of you who have already read it (and thank you for all the lovely emails!) As I've mentioned here before, I broke a few rules with my first two books by having a sports hero in Line of Scrimmage (supposedly a no-no in romance circles--sooooo glad I was a late comer to RWA and never heard that before I wrote the book!) and now in Love at First Flight where my hero and heroine are with other people when we meet them. And when I mean with, I mean with... as in sex in Chapters 2 and 3 with their current significant others. LOL! What do you think about romances that break the rules?

I'd consider myself a renegade, except I had no idea there were rules when I wrote these books. Goes back to my "hands-over-ears dont. want. to. know." strategy. The less I know, the better off I am! I blogged this weekend about "unlearning everything I ever knew." Do the writers out there ever feel like they are spending too much time hearing about how other people write? For me, it's hands over ears, LALALALA. I'm very protective of a process, be it unconventional, that works for me. How do the other writers feel about this? When I go to conferences such as RWA, I tend to avoid the "how-to" workshops and focus more on things such as business, promotion, etc. Most of the time, I end up skipping the workshops altogether so I can spend more time with friends I only get to see once in a while. I don't have an ounce of guilt over this. It's my conference, and I'll play hooky if I want to!

If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in Love at First Flight (and Line of Scrimmage), join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog for a Book Club discussion. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.

Once you’ve read the book, come by my website to find out how to enter the contest for the Love at First Flight Grand Prize gift basket. I’ll accept answers to the seven questions about the book through July 15. The winner will be announced during the July 20 Book Club Meeting. The competition is heating up with new entries coming in every day, so be sure to get your answers to me by the 15th to be included.

I'm over at Love Romance Passion today giving away more free copies of both my books if you want to stop by to leave a comment and to see a previously unpublished excerpt of Love at First Flight.

Look forward to seeing many of the Casa Babes at RWA! Let the fun begin!

10 Things I've Learned Since Becoming Published

There's a lot you have to know to become a published author: craft, storytelling, submitting, etc., but the learning doesn't stop there. In the (almost) one year since accepting the offer, this is what I've learned:

1. Time management is one of the must-have skills of a published author. Writing to deadline, a contractual deadline, is so different from writing for a self-imposed one. And it can lead to #2:

2. Doubts crop up. At first, I thought it was just me. I mean, before I sold, I was always confident in my stories. I giggled when writing them. Then I sold on proposal and started wondering, "what if" - and not in a good way. What if the story wasn't as funny? What if my editor didn't like it? What if I couldn't do it again? Which leads to #3:

3. Support groups are a MUST! I belong to the PAN and PASIC loops and have to say, thank God for those loops. Amid a lot of the stuff that doesn't pertain to me, are the few nuggets of gold that I need: namely that I'm not the only one who suffers from #2. And it's "Big Name" authors who do, too. Talk about a relief. I have other support groups, but they're writers groups. Writers get it. They know just the right things to say and not because they're wordsmiths, but because they live the doubts, too.

4. Non-writing support groups are a must, as well. I found that writing to deadline tended to consume me, my time and my thoughts. You need to get away from it occassionally. Just like someone who leaves work, drives home and goes to a bar or baseball game with non-work friends, so too, do we need to have real life. Replenish the well, so to speak.

5. Feed the muse. Yes, I have tons of story ideas in my head and never enough time to get them on paper, but you also need to feed the muse for the story you're working on. You don't want all your stories to be a retelling of the same story, so to differentiate them, do something different for each story. Maybe see a movie that's in the same vein as the story you're working on. Maybe go to a (pick one) Ren Faire, play, concert, kids' baseball game, professional baseball game. Get out, see the world, bring back fresh ideas to the story.

6. Carve out the time to read. I find this one the hardest to do because I want to finish my WIP. I want to use all my spare time (what's that again?) to plot and promote and edit and prepare for the next book. But you need to read - something you haven't written. I have to remmber that before I was a writer, I was a reader. That's what made me fall in love with writing. So I make time to read. That week down the shore was the best "refilling the well" I've had in a while.

7. Do your research. Readers will call you on wrong - or rather, what they think is wrong - research. I experienced that during the First Chapters Romance contest where someone called me on the fact that no coral grows above North Carolina in the Atlantic on the eastern seaboard. Now, we all know by this point that I'm terrified of the ocean and you can bet I'm not going scuba diving any time soon, so I've had to rely on research to get my world-building right. (In my defense, I have gone snorkeling many times so I've been in coral reefs, etc, but there aren't many (if any) that snorkelers can enjoy this far north.) So, when I was told this "fact" I quickly rechecked my research, then very nicely showed this gentleman where I got my information. The fact that there is an actual picture kinda bolstered the validity. (http://njscuba.net/biology/sw_plant-like.html#Coral)

8. Don't heckle the hecklers. Thick skin is a MUST, both before selling and after. You'll get the flat-out NO rejections from editors and agents which hurts, but usually you won't get anything untoward. Then reviews hit. I've been lucky in that I haven't gotten a bad review yet, but I know not everyone loved the story the way others have. That's okay, but now that there are thousands of people reading the story (and, yay! I found out In Over Her Head is going into a second printing, so I know it's "thousands"), the potential for people to not like it is exponentially bigger. Just like with the research-questioner above, you don't want to heckle them. I saw people doing that in the First Chapters Romance contest where the author would start arguing with the reader. Um... no. Bad form. Anyone who didn't like the story in the contest, got a "thank you for reading it and hopefully you'll like another of my stories better." Gives them nothing to get contentious about and validates their feelings.

9. Be professional. This should be said for all stages of your writing career. Don't commit career suicide. Don't bad-mouth other authors, or, heaven forbid, agents and editors. It's a small community, and people talk. There really is room on the shelves for everyone. They might be cybershelves in some instances, but that just opens up the possibilities. Don't be jealous of what others have; they have their own journey. This one is yours. Make it the best you can without comparing it to others. Everyone's is unique. Be courteous, be professional, be cordial and gracious. Be pro-active. Don't shoot yourself in the foot. God knows there have been enough stories that hit the internet in the writing community of someone who emailed/texted/posted/twittered something they've come to regret, only it's gone on to become an "item" online. Remember whenever you post something, it never goes away. The internet is forever.

10. The power of the written word. And I don't mean the ones I'm writing - the feedback I've gotten from readers has been humbling and touching. That what I've imagined and put on paper has touched someone enough that they've contacted me and told me I made them laugh or cry, that I've helped them through a tough time, or made them realize something about themselves... that feedback has been the best part of this journey. These are my stories, in my head, things that make me smile/laugh/catch my breath. I put them out there and hope others see those same things in them, but I'll love them no matter what. When others have those same feelings and take the time and effort to tell me... that is priceless.

What have you learned in your writing journeys?

Romance Writers Conference

by Sharon Lathan

My first conference, EVER!!! Yep, I am very excited. Naturally it has been a big thought in my mind for the past few, well, months…. But especially now since D-Day is literally around the corner. I am typing this while sitting in my trailer in the California Gold Country foothills on our family vacation, trying to enjoy our togetherness and NOT think about Nationals too much! It isn’t too hard as we are having a great time, but I am a planner at heart, so naturally I can’t stop plotting just a bit. And of course the fact that I am ultra organized and one of those Type-A personality people who wants to have everything detailed to the tiniest degree, I am struggling to find the “happy medium.” LOL!

I’m not all that fond of surprises and being out of my element, so I have been chatting with previous conference attendees to get a handle on what to expect and what to bring. Best advice: bring an extra empty suitcase for the goodies and books picked up and purchased, have a sturdy tote to carry conference materials in, bring a light sweater for the A/C cooled rooms, not all workshops are taped so be sure to figure that out in case of overlapping must-sees, it is okay to slip in and out of workshops, and scope out the bathrooms and Starbucks! Sure, some of this is obvious, but when so much is going through your mind it is the obvious that gets forgotten.

Next I have given a great deal of thought to what my specific goals are. The fact is, there are so many fabulous workshops and special events, and then the sheer fun of socializing and making connections, that one just cannot do it all. Again, obvious, but I am one of those want-to-do-it-all kind of gals. Just ask my family about how vacations go! So I had to seriously look at what is most important to me. It was a toss up between spending quality time with my Casa Sisters, other Sourcebooks folks, and fellow authors, and getting educated! As to the former, I know we will all be up to our eyeballs in fun and mingling so I have to keep that expectation loose. Plus I have to fight my own tendency to be shy and retiring. Chatty Sharon must emerge!

As to the latter, deciding what I want most to learn was step one. Career and research-related workshops appealed to me and seemed the most beneficial to where I am. I have poured over the various topic offerings to prioritize what I HAVE TO listen to live and star the alternatives. Thursday workshops high on my list include - How to File Returns and Survive an Audit (I am thinking rationally here!); How to Live in Another Century or Just Sound Like You Did; and Emotion: the Heart of the Novel. Friday must-sees - The Serendipitous Spark; Online Promotion: B(u)y The Book with Sourcebooks’ own Danielle Jackson; Why We Love Mr. Darcy: Insiders Tips on the Historical Market with Julia Quinn (just because I HAVE to!); and Sex Throughout History. Saturday workshop highlights - Lessons of Firefly: Learning from the Works of Joss Whedon (because I am a totally geeky fan and am still hoping Nathan Fillion will pop in!); Prioritizing Life, Setting Goals and Time Management (boy do I need this one); Making the Most of Online Marketing; and High-Octane Heroes.

In between all that is the Literacy book signing, the luncheons with big-time speakers, the Romance Banditas Bash, Spotlight on Sourcebooks, chatting with Danielle, the Sourcebooks dinner, Moonlight Madness, Goody Rooms, the formal awards banquet, and the Sourcebooks’ book signing. I am SO looking forward to sitting with my Casablanca sisters, signing Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy for (she prays) many interested people, and having a blast! Truly, this is the big event for me. Whew! Don’t think I’ll be doing any sightseeing on this trip.

So on Tuesday, July 14 – 2 days hence - I will be leaving on a jet plane, traveling to Washington DC for four crazy days of workshops and adventure. Naturally I will be taking my trusty laptop with me and I do hope to find time here and there to share tidbits of what is happening on my blog. On pre-conference Wednesday I’ll get registered and plan to do a fair amount of wandering about. Time to get the lay of the land and discover where those bathrooms and Starbucks are located! Hopefully I will run into a few of you wandering about as well. I wish all of you were attending. Perhaps next year we can ALL be in Nashville.

OK, that is what is on my mind. It isn’t too late for suggestions or advice – bring it on! Share your past conference adventures or current thoughts. What workshops are on your must-see list? What events are the biggies for you?

Mastering the Internet for Research

When I was first a glowy-eyed new writer (back in cave days, when I did not have my own internet connection - heck, my first novels were written long hand and transcribed on a typewriter by a better typist than I) I didn't really think about research as I sat down to write my first Regency romance. After all, I'd read every Jane Austen book there was... many times over. Also, I'd read hundreds of Mary Balogh, Jo Beverley and Mary Jo Putney novels. (Among other fabulous Regency writers) That was enough, right?

Well, I rapidly found out it wasn't that easy. When my hero went to light a candle, how did he do it? With a match? When were matches invented?

And that lord... is he a marquess, an earl, a viscount? What would others call him? Who would be introduced first, a lady to a lord or vice versa? I made a whopper of a mistake in titling my first book, Lord St. Claire's Angel, as it was kindly pointed out to me by a knowledgeable reviewer (who liked the book anyway) that the hero would not be called Lord. St. Claire at all. Yikes. If only there had been some way to quickly look up that kind of thing!

A writer needs endless information... my Regency-era heroine is getting undressed as she thinks about the kiss she shared with the hero just moments before... but wait... she'd need help getting undressed, wouldn't she? So her maid would have to be there. But wait... should there be a long row of buttons down the back of her gown, or... not a zipper, certainly - even I know that wasn't invented until... when exactly? Oh, never mind! - but buttons or hooks and eyes? Oh, heck, I needed research, and I needed it to be quick and thorough.

Back then, when I finally did get the internet, dial-up was slow and expensive. Reeeally slow. Achingly slow. Go-get-yourself-a-cup-of-java-while-the-website-loads, slow. And we were limited on our plan to how many hours a day we could use it.

Zoom forward on our time-traveling rocketship to the present day... wheeee!

Thank the writing gods for dls highspeed. I don't ever want to go back to pre-internet for research because it was slow, difficult and frustrating. There were a few helpful books that I still have on my bookshelf: The Writer's guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England, What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew. But sometimes in those books I ended up with as many questions as I started, just new ones! A writer needs much more precise information than any book will be able to give in its limited number of pages.

However... as great as the internet is, there are pitfalls galore for the unwary writer to fall into if they don't watch where they step.

For instance... for my third 'Awaiting' book and my third Lady Anne book (something about those third books!) I needed Gypsy lore, language and customs. Then I found a great site for Gypsy language, everything I needed to know. I started making a list of words that... wait... oh. Hmmm. It appeared that the site I was so excited about that provided an extensive list of Gypsy language really pertained to the Gypsies in a video game. Dang.

What has helped me immeasurably in my research for novels and in every other aspect of my dealings on the internet is maintaining a skeptical mind and requiring at least three sources for every bit of unusual information I find. That isn't always easy to do when I find a juicy bit of info that sparks my interest, but I hate looking like a fool. It's the same when someone sends me one of those hideously ridiculous 'email alerts'. You know the ones, the story going 'round about the vicious criminal that is cutting women off at the ankles as they gas up their cars, or that certain cleaning products are lethal to your pets, or the tale 'told to me by a friend who actually witnessed this' that ends up being a lame retelling of an internet urban legend.

Don't try to get me on those, because I delight in exploding internet myths.

But that's far afield from research. Ultimately, researching novels on the internet is like anything else in life, it requires a healthy dose of intelligent skepticism, diligence, and thoughtfulness.

A few of the best sites I have found and use over and over again are:

Wikipedia: I know, I know, it's open source, anyone can edit the entries, (I've edited entries for spelling and mistakes myself) there are lots of mistakes yada yada yada. However... as a starting point there is no better spot.

Victoriana - Despite what the name of the site would seem to indicate, this site also is a great resource for Regency fashion.

The Regency Collection - What Anne Woodley has done is amazing... this is a great resource for postal history, inventions, writing and life in general in the Regency era. Stupendous.

So... I'm always open to new sites, new interesting places; I spend far too much time on the internet, as you can tell, but I'm ready to spend more time! Do you have any historical research sites of interest? Any place you go on the internet for reliable info? Any place that's just fun and interesting? Clue me in!

Thoughtful Procrastination

I'm running late today, more so than usual, but I have to say if customer service helps to ensure future sales of a product and word-of-mouth praise to help sell more, Lenovo has my mark of approval. I procrastinated about calling them, mainly because my daughter had the information on the purchase of the computer and we kept disconnecting before I finally got the information from her. But procrastination is not usually a good thing.

When I procrastinate, other things pile up and before you know it, the mountain of work I'm facing could have been whittled away if I'd just not procrastinated. And, you know how it goes. If you procrastinate about one thing, putting it off until tomorrow, here comes ten other things and wham! You can't do anything about the thing you procrastinated about if your life depended on it.

But sometimes I have thoughtful procrastination. And this is a good thing. It's when I'm trying to come up with a bear idea, usually an order for something unusual and I don't just jump on it. I've got to take the time to really mull it over. Writing can be the same way. I'll be mulling and mulling, trying to come up with the proper motivation for something and then, finally, it dawns on me and I can write to my heart's content. If I'd just written anything to write, I wouldn't be as far ahead as when I can come up with more of a plan.

Yesterday, I figured the box for the Thinkpad would arrive while I was at work and so I had a dilemma. Package the laptop and take it to UPS which is only open from 4-7. I get home at 6:30, so that means I'd kill myself to get it ready and drive all the way into town before they close. OR, take it already packaged up with me to work and when I got off, take it over there since I'd already be in town. But that would be the next day. Then the thoughtful procrastination part of me took over. What if I had UPS pick it up at work? Then when I got off, I could just come home!

Yep, sometimes not rushing into things can work out better. :) I can stay at work, not have to drive way across town, and let UPS handle it. And that way I'm not sending it out later than I need to either. :) *Sigh* Now if I'd only done this a week ago when my laptop first went out!!!

And trying to do edits and view emails at work without my computer at lunch is a nightmare. So no more procrastination for me...unless it's the thoughtful kind!

What about you? Do you procrastinate, ever? Come on, you can tell us!!!

Terry

http://www.terryspear.com/

Panic Is Just A Word

Writers go through it when deadlines near, when a scene doesn’t come together the way they expect it to, and the absolute worst of all, when they sit at their computer and there’s not one word inside their heads.

The imagination has gone on vacation and didn’t tell anyone.Then there are the times we writers are buried under work and we wonder if it will all get done in time. I think of it as going forward one word at a time.

Yes, there’s everyday panic. You go shopping and realize your list is at home. Will you remember to pick up everything you had on it or forget something … or three? Times it’s happened to me I’ve wanted to slap myself upside the head. Then I mentally hear “take a chill pill, Aunt Lin” from my niece. She knows how I am when I’m grocery shopping. Shopping at the mall is more pleasure. Other shopping is a chore and I want to get in and get out without having to think about it.

And then there's the panic if you’re meeting new people. “Will they like me?” “Don’t have red wine because I might spill it.”

I’ve discovered that a little bit of panic is a good thing. It sharpens your mind. At least it does mine. I remind myself if I panic, I take steps backwards, while if I use that panic to my advantage, I utilize it to go forward.

Nothing happens if I forget a few things at the store. Unless it’s dog food and there’s none at home. Hungry dogs are cranky dogs. :} Then it's a quick trip back to the store.

So don’t sweat it, don’t let panic overtake you. Think of how you can use to help yourself.

Linda

Under the Write Influence

by Libby Malin

The Romance Writers of America conference is just around the corner, which has my thoughts turning to those in my life who've influenced and supported my career. RWA is among them.

I'd always loved to write and longed to be a published author. My sister knew of this yearning and encouraged me, urging me to try writing romance novels, which she enjoyed reading. Her support pushed me to pursue writing as a career, to invest the considerable time in finishing manuscripts and learning about the business. With her words ringing in my ears, I no longer felt...oh, foolish...for spending so much time writing when it wasn't at all clear any of it would pay off. A very practical person, my sister gave me "permission" to pursue my dream, turning on the switch I'd resisted touching for many years for fear of appearing silly or out of my league.

I followed her advice and began reading romance novels, which I'd previously not picked up. I fell in love with Nora Roberts, devoured numerous Harlequin novels, and eventually raced through Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, with its wonderful blend of mystery, comedy, and romance. I started writing my own romances, happy to be penning stories with happy endings.

And I discovered Romance Writers of America. When I joined RWA, its magazine, along with its various email loops at the time, became my lifeline to other struggling writers and to the voices of those who were published. In fact, writers in this latter category --the published -- were so impressive with their willingness to give back to the writing community by providing advice, by telling their own publishing stories, and by providing examples of how persistence plus talent can eventually get you to the goal.

Articles in the RWA magazine showed me how agents worked, what editors were looking for, and how to avoid scammers. Chapter contest listings prompted me to share my works-in-progress for valuable feedback and even a finalist achievement and an Honorable Mention. Conference notices led me to the NJ chapter get-together where I learned to pitch to an editor and listened to workshop leaders talk about everything from how to "show" rather than "tell" stories to what to do when you get "the Call."

I "met" my critique partner on an RWA email group. She and another group member and I became email buddies, encouraging each other in our writing journeys. Nearly ten years later, we're still pals, all of us having achieved published author status. We live hundreds of miles away, but we're fast friends.

No organization is perfect, but RWA was an essential part of this writer's success once my sister pushed me over the edge to pursue my writing dream.

Who has influenced you to follow your passions?

Why I write comedy

...Straight from my Shameless, Outrageous, Passionate Heart.
by Ashlyn Chase

I just read an article about how comedy writers should not use too much humor and how they should temper it, i.e. curb the urge to let the heroine crawl out the bathroom window. Huh? What’s wrong with that? Hey, I’ve done it myself (and I’m not just talking fiction!)

Fine. Some people aren’t comfortable letting their slips show. Isn’t that what editors are for? To reel us in when necessary? I don’t care if my Freudian slips show and it seems to be okay with my editors. Even more okay with fans. I can hardly believe that I actually have fans or that my work generates great reviews and reader mail! Maybe others are warped too, I don’t know.

What I do know is this. 1) Our world can use a few good belly-laughs and a lot of love. 2) I enjoy writing when I’m having fun with it and the more fun I have the less I care what people think. And 3) Readers can tell when words come from a place of passion and truth. My passion is making people laugh.

And truth? You might think that’s an odd word to describe a fiction writer’s goal, especially one who writes Vampire and Shapeshifter comedies. Here’s the thing…a wonderful quote I read ages ago said it best. “You must be fearless to be a writer.” I wish I could remember the fearless female’s name, but I can’t. The idea being that each writer has some sort of truth to tell, regardless of the manner in which they tell it. It takes guts to tell your own truth with your own voice.

We all have words to live by. Whether positive or negative, some of these words hit a chord and stick. I’ve found some wonderful mentors along the way who’ve imparted words of wisdom. My number one wise woman was my mother. She often said to me, “Nothing ventured; Nothing gained.” Yup. She was right. Well, except when great things just fall into one’s lap with absolutely no effort, but how often does that happen? It even takes faith, foresight and effort to buy a lottery ticket.

She also said people would be jealous of me all my life. Wow, that was a trip to lay on a teenager! But she was right about that too. And you can’t let jealousy stop you. Some people will be jealous of the time you spend writing. Tough noogies. Some will be jealous that you can do something they can’t. Yay you. Who knows…some people might even be jealous that you once had the guts to climb out a bathroom window to avoid a lounge lizard who thought he could charm your pants off. So what? Be fearless enough to write about it. Whatever your gift, embrace it. Be passionate about it. Write whatever you really love and take no prisoners!

Gotta Love a Good Romance

By Robin Kaye

When people ask why I write romance, I tell them that it’s because I love to read it. It wasn’t always that way. I don’t think I read a romance until eight or nine years ago. I grew up reading all my father’s books, Harold Robbins, Robert Ludlum, Sidney Sheldon and the like. My mother was never a big reader, thank God because if she’d known what I was reading in the third grade, she probably would have had a conniption fit.

It wasn’t until a few months after I moved to Maryland from Boise, Idaho in October of 2000, that I picked up my first romance. I fell in love with the smart heroines, great dialogue and to die for heroes--what’s not to love? Once I got one in my hot little hands, I couldn’t put them down.

I’m a book a day reader, and believe me; if I don’t get my book fix I go through romance withdrawal. I’ve been on a reading ‘diet’ due to a crazy family life and writing deadlines. You should see me now—It’s not a pretty picture. But going on a reading diet has shown me what it is I really miss about reading a great romance. I realized I love to see the character’s arc—the way they grow and change through the book. I want to understand why a character is who he/she is at the beginning of the book and then watch her/him blossom into a better, happier version. I love to watch people, who, with the love of the right woman or man, rise to their potential even when it’s difficult to see that potential in the beginning. The great thing about love is that a true soul mate has the ability to see through the facade our heroine shows the world around her to her true essence.

Take Annabelle Ronaldi, the heroine in Too Hot To Handle. Annabelle has by no means led a charmed life, and because of it could be considered a bit of a pill. She’s not perfect, but then, who is? Even in fiction, every character has flaws—they are a part of what makes the character believable and someone we can all relate to. What makes a heroine heroic, in my opinion, is that she has the strength to recognize and overcome her faults and any other obstacle keeping her from being the best person she can be. In Annabelle’s case it was a family from hell, a dead boyfriend she never quite got over, the embarrassment of catching the her fiancé boiking the help and having a sister take over the dream wedding she’d spent the last year planning.

Annabelle was so far from perfect it wasn’t funny. Okay, it was funny, but hey, I write romantic comedy, work with me here. The thing I love about Annabelle is that she was strong enough to face her fears, and with the help of Becca, her best friend, Dr. Mike Flynn our Domestic God hero, and even the family from hell, was able to grow, overcome her past mistakes and learn from them. She became the best version of herself. Isn’t that what we try to do every day? Learn and change and become a better version of ourselves?

What is it about reading romances that you love?

Character Building

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Some of the questions I'm most often asked by readers and aspiring writers are about my characters. Specifically, how do you come up with them and are they based on real people? So without further adieu:

HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH YOUR CHARACTERS?

I don’t come up with my characters so much as they come up to me!

My characters tend to arrive in my imagination fully intact, complete with their first, middle, and last names. Though I will admit, I changed my hero of The Treasures of Venice, Keirnan Fitzgerald’s middle name. My First Reader, whom I've known for over 30 years, told me she’d always been very fond of the name Sean. So in deference to her, I changed his name from Keirnan Padriag Fitzgerald to Keirnan Sean Fitzgerald. Luckily he didn’t mind.

When my characters arrive, they tend to tell me all kinds of things about themselves. Quite handy, though I know it sounds bizarre to people who don't write. We writers are very possessive about their characters. We spend a lot of time with them (some of it very intimate!) and they become very real to us. In essence, they are all ‘our babies.’ Most writers know many, many more things about their characters than ever appears on the pages of the book.

ARE YOUR CHARACTERS BASED ON REAL PEOPLE?

Well… yes and no. Since these are my babies, there’s a little bit of me in all my characters! Sometimes there’s a little bit of people I know, or have met, or read about…

So far, the character I’ve written who is the most like me, is the hero’s bossy older sister in The Wild Sight. When my own sister read the book for the first time, she said she cracked up because it was so obvious to her that Doreen was based on me.

I also named three secondary characters in The Wild Sight after my son and two of my nieces. They all got a laugh out of it. And a secondary character in The Treasures of Venice is named and modeled after a good friend of mine who happens to have a cool Italian name. She was very flattered, but we'll see what she says after she reads the entire book.

Also be careful what you wish for! I do write romantic suspense after all.

My niece’s husband wanted me to name a character after him, so I did, in my current work-in-progress, The Wild Irish Sea. Unfortunately, his namesake character meets a rather nasty end in the first four pages of the story! SHHHH! He doesn’t know yet!

And YES! I do have “models” for the main characters. When my characters arrive in my imagination, I usually have a pretty good ‘picture’ of what they look like. I usually go on an internet search for find pictures of celebrities to match those pictures in my head. A tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. All in the name of ‘visual inspiration’ of course!

I don’t always widely broadcast who provides my visual inspiration, because I know that as a reader, I like to have my own ‘picture’ of the characters when I read. That was one of my biggest fears when I went to see The Lord of the Rings movies. I loved those characters so much and I was just sure the actors cast in the roles were not going to live up to the images I’d carried in my head all these years. I must admit that except for a preponderance of pointy ears (Tolkien never described any of his characters as having pointed or otherwise unusual ears!), I was very pleased with almost every major cast member. Okay, I was especially pleased with Aragorn.

Now it's your turn! If you are a writer, how do you come up with your characters? Are they based on real people? And if you are a reader, do you like to know who served as the authors 'visual inspiration' for a character? Or do your prefer to find your own models? For everyone, have you ever had a favorite book turned into a movie and the actors were totally right or totally wrong?

Happy 4th of July

Go out and enjoy the day with your families--I know I will be!

"Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation." Jane Addams

DC or BUST!!!!

The next blog that I post here on Casablanca Authors will be the Sunday following the Romance Writers of America's national conference in Washington, DC. I'll be on my way home that day, but I know that on Saturday night I'll be pecking away at my laptop, frantically trying to get a post up before I go to bed.

It's going to be an interesting trip. Not only have I never flown anywhere by myself, but I haven't been to DC since I was about eight years old. I went to a big nursing conference in Atlanta once, but aside from that, I've never been to anything approaching the scale of this event, and this will also be my first time ever for a writer's conference of any kind. I have met a few authors in person--the May meeting of the INRWA was my first--and I felt very much like a newbie and didn't know ANYONE!

But this will be different. I've gotten to know a lot of the Casa Babes via the blogs and e-mail, and I'm looking forward to meeting all of you in person. I don't believe that any pen pals in years past could possibly have gotten closer than those of us who have communicated via the Internet. The funny thing is, I've never even spoken with most of you on the phone. In fact, I think Deb and Danielle are the only ones. Strange times we live in, huh? I'll be meeting them for the first time, too. I've at least seen pictures, so I think I'll recognize everyone, but though I have heard all of your "voices" in print, it's going to be very odd hearing your actual voices for the first time.


Another difference between this and that AACN nursing conference (which was oh, so many years ago!) is that we get to dress up! When I went with my nursing buddies to Nashville earlier this year, we went to a couple of outlet malls and they got me in a dressing room and started bringing me clothes that I would never have picked off the rack myself. And of course they told the salesladies all about my books and the upcoming event, and they joined in the fun, too. I normally wear blue all the time (blue jeans, blue scrubs, blue T-shirts, and, yes, even blue nightgowns!) and I NEVER dress up, but I came away with clothes that stick out in my closet like sore thumbs. Along with the pervasive blue, there are now splashes of yellow and green and silver. I wore one of the outfits to a wedding recently and actually felt pretty spiffy for a change.




















Shoes were another difficulty. I have some foot problems and normally only wear running/walking shoes (from the MEN'S department!) and I haven't had a pair of heels on in ages. However, I managed to find some dress shoes that actually fit (thanks to the Internet!) and hopefully I won't break my neck in them.

Oh, rats! That reminds me. . . pantyhose. I'm going to have to buy some pantyhose before I go--something else I haven't done in at least ten years.

God help me!

Pop culture passes

by Mary Margret Daughtridge

It's been a strange week. Anyone who has watched any news at all knows there's been a huge turnover in popular culture icons. From the sublime Farrah Fawcett to the ridiculous Billy Mays to the bizarre Michael Jackson.




Billy Mays' black bearded face smiling molar to molar on the screen was enough to make me reach for the mute button. I often wondered about the gadgets, glue, and gimmicky gee-gaws he hawked. Does anyone buy squares of cloth or pieces of plastic for $19.95? They must have, or he wouldn't have come back as tenaciously as crab grass.

Still, he influenced popular culture. A friend and I have a running joke that begins "BUT WAIT!"











Farah Fawcett had a hairstyle that defined a generation. Though she did other things, I can't actually recall ever seeing her in anything except Charlie's Angels. I wonder if she will become like Clara Bow of whom I know nothing except that she gave the world "bee stung" lips.














And then there's Michael Jackson. There's almost nothing to say about him. It's like he was the weirdest person in the world, and then he got weirder. I get the feeling one isn't supposed to say this now, but the further he moved from the center of the bell curve, the more he gave me the creeps. But he also taught me an important lesson about androgyny.











In his twenties he was obviously masculine--nice looking but not particularly handsome. But somewhere in the middle there, before he pushed plastic surgery past its natural limits, he was quite, quite beautiful. This photo shows what I mean. If one didn't know who this is, at a glance would you think this was a very pretty man, or a pretty woman?







As a romance writer, I often think about what qualities I need to capture and emphasize about my characters to show their masculinity and femininity. In a romance, a large part of the interest comes from the contrasts between the sexes.





When the hero is drop dead gorgeous, the writer often points out the scar, the broken nose, the crooked eyebrow that "saves" him from being "pretty."








Something I try to do in creating characters is to find one distinguishing physical characteristic. Caleb in SEALed With a Promise has mobile "Brad Pitt" lips.

In my work in progress, SEALed With a Ring, my hero, though he isn't vain, has been defined by a face so extraordinarily perfect that it couldn't be ignored or overlooked by either men or women. But after he is injured, although he feels the same, his identity in other people's eyes is changed. All his life, in a lineup, he was "the gorgeous one." The scar isn't horribly disfiguring, but now, forever, he's the "one with the scar."





So I'm thinking a lot about what makes a man handsome, but not pretty. Suppose a man is pretty? Could he be a romantic hero?

How about ugliness? How homely could a man be and still be a romantic hero?

Love at First Flight Launch Party!

By: Marie Force
Welcome to the party! Come on in, have a drink, hit the buffet table, and settle in for a good time! That's what I'll be saying tomorrow night at my book signing party at which I expect about 90 people. I've been very blessed to have a huge circle of supporters cheering me on from the sidelines. Love at First Flight is dedicated to them because they kept me going long enough to write and sell Line of Scrimmage, which in turn led to this one—a ten-year labor of love from idea to publication.

The book is set in Baltimore, one of my favorite cities. I lived just south of B'more, as the locals call it, for three years in the 1990s. I have vivid memories of pushing my now 14-year-old daughter around the Inner Harbor and Fells Point in a stroller. When the Southwest planes used to go over our house on their way to the BWI Airport, she'd say, "Welcome to Baltimore. Enjoy your stay." My son, who is almost 11, was born in Bethesda, MD, right before we moved to Jacksonville, FL, which also features prominently in L@FF. The third location you'll visit in the book is my hometown of Newport, RI. So in many ways, L@FF is a sentimental journey. Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, I still work for the company that hired me when I lived in B'more so I get down there from my current home in RI quite often.

My friend and coworker, April Force Pardoe (no relation, if you can believe that) and her husband Rich, lived for years in a fabulous rowhouse in the city that I "borrowed" to use as Michael's house in the book. Michael tells Juliana that he lived across the street in an apartment and became friends with the guy who owned the place as he was renovating it. When the owner had to move suddenly for his job, he offered it to Michael "for a song" because he knew Michael would take good care of the place. That's exactly how April and her husband Rich came to own 8 South Chester Street in Baltimore. So I thought it would be fun to give you an inside look at the place where Michael and Juliana fall in love:

Here's the view of the living room from the front door. See that first wood door on the right side? That's the teeny tiny bathroom that Juliana marvels over when she first sees it. She mentions that she can't believe there's a phone in there, and Michael tells her the former owner put them in every bathroom. "You'll never miss a call in this house," he says. Picture Michael and Juliana sitting on that sofa, folding clothes and drinking wine the night he tells her about the brother he lost. Picture Juliana coming down those stairs (far left) to offer comfort after Michael's ugly confrontation with Paige.



Rowhouses are tall and deep. So the living room feeds into the dining room...



...which feeds into the kitchen. Note that the cabinets are suspended from the ceiling. Very cool!



Here's another view of the kitchen. I love those slate countertops. Can't you picture Juliana rocking out at the stove, stirring the sauce as Michael watches her from the doorway? Or when he brings her roses and champagne to celebrate after the trial finally goes to the jury?



Going upstairs from the living room, here is April and Rich's bedroom. This is on the second level and was Juliana's room in the book:



Also on the second floor was another bathroom and a second bedroom that Michael uses as an office and a home for his Bowflex machine.

Up one more flight of stairs to the room April and Rich used as a TV room, but this was Michael's room in the book. So picture his bed against the brick wall. The curtains cover the sliding door that leads to the lower deck and the roof deck.



Another view of Michael's room:



Michael's bathroom (more of that fabulous slate):



And finally, the view of the Inner Harbor from the roof deck where several important events occur in the book:



Thank you so much to Rich and April for "sharing" their former home with me, Michael, and Juliana. At one point, Michael talks about how proud he is of his home. After growing up in a three bedroom ranch house with three sisters, "I can breathe here," he says. Juliana, who has struggled for everything in her life, completely understands what he means. Because April and Rich moved into this house in the city after I left the area, I was only there a couple of times. But it made an impact on me. When I was thinking about what Michael's home might be like, I kept seeing April's place. It was too good to pass up!

For the writers out there, have you ever been somewhere, even briefly, that stays with you long after? Have you used any of those places in your books?

For the readers, how important is setting to your enjoyment of a story? Do you think it will help you to better picture Michael's house to have seen these photos?

Now, down to launch day business! I'll give away a copy of Love at First Flight and one of Line of Scrimmage to those who leave comments here and on my blog. The comment period will close on July 4 on both blogs so check back to see if you won. If you've already read Line of Scrimmage, just let me know. Have you heard about my Book Club Meeting on July 20 at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog? I will post some questions on the main page, and then we'll air it out in the comments. There'll be prizes, hot dancing boys, and lots of fun! WARNING: there will be spoilers so make sure you read the book before the meeting. Also, make sure to check the listing on the sidebar of my blog for other opportunities to win copies of my books.

Finally, I'll be running a contest on my website beginning today and going through July 7. Check in every day for a question from Love at First Flight. The questions will be posted at random times each day, so you'll have to check in often. Email the answers to me to be entered into the drawing for the Love at First Flight Grand Prize Gift Basket. You must answer all seven questions correctly to be included in the drawing.

Everyone set to party? Ready? Set? LAUNCH THAT BOOK!!! Go forth and READ!