Romance Magicians

Do it NOW.

2012-02-02T08:34:00.002-06:00

The theme for today's blog post is short and (bitter) sweet (with a lot more bitter than sweet): Back it up. As in your manuscripts, works-in-progress, books, pictures -- your hard drive. Copy it to a portable hard drive, send it to a cloud, put it on flash drives or DVD. At the very least, print the irreplaceable stuff or e-mail it to yourself. Stop reading this blog right now and go do it. I mean it. Don't have the attitude I had -- "I'll do it later." Doesn't matter if you're on a roll or in the zone. Stop and back up. It should be part of every writer's mantra.

Dream Chaser

2012-01-31T08:50:00.005-06:00

"To accomplish great things, DREAM. We must dream as well as act"
~ Anatole France

The above quote hangs on a wall in my office, positioned straight in front of my desk. It is an everyday reminder to chase my dreams, whatever they may be. It helps me remember two of the three most important ingredients to accomplishing my goals. First, I must have a goal. Second, I have to do the work. But the third unmentioned necessary to this equation: support.

Truth is, no matter what we do in life, no matter what we are going through at the moment, having a great support system is crucial. Same is true about writing. I can honestly say I've never read an interview where the author said, "Nope, I done it alone. Wrote this masterpiece in one sitting and it was ready for print." Not happening for even the most talented writer. We all depend on someone to help us though the bad and celebrate the good, whether it is a spouse, a friend, or a critique group.

All this to say, be a dream chaser and do the work. But, just as importantly, keep good people in your life. Surround yourself with supportive honest people. Anything less simply isn't worth your time and will shut you down as a writer.

Imagine That !

2012-01-29T11:50:00.001-06:00

Having imagination, it takes you an hour to write a paragraph that, if you were unimaginative, would take you only a minute. Or you might not write the paragraph at all.

Franklin P. Adams, Half a Loaf, 1927

I’m rather fond of this quote. I read it often. It reminds me that only a few writers sit down and compose a novel the way Mozart composed a symphony – as if taking dictation from God. And for those writers who DO write like that please keep quiet about it. Things could get ugly.

Imagination is a funny thing. It comes in all sorts of weird ways to equally weird people. Hey, if you’re a writer and you’re not weird you’re just not trying hard enough. Writers have been odd since the first time Grogg picked up a stick and drew pictures on a cave wall. The only reason there are no romance novels on those cave walls is because Grogg’s Mom wiped them off with a wet loincloth and clocked him upside the head with a mastodon bone for drawing dirty pictures.

And imagination is often more fun in a group. The most famous plotting retreat in history produced perhaps the most well-known classic horror story of all time – Frankenstein. Mary and Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Pollidori were stuck in a big half empty house during a miserable winter and after much wine and God knows what else (Byron was there. Hello? Some of his antics make Charlie Sheen look like a choir boy!) Frankenstein was born. Well, not really born, but you get the picture. I don’t know if they used Stephen King’s “What if” method or Walt Disney’s “Why not,” but it worked. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall for that weekend!

My third manuscript, The Price of a Gentleman, came out of a spoof writing contest on the Romance Bandits blog. I think we were asked to take a movie and turn it into a historical romance novel. I picked Sunset Boulevard. That’s an old black and white film, for you young people out there, starring Alabama’s own Tallulah Bankhead and William Holden. I think I even had the Bankhead character say something like “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Gainsborough.” But the funny thing is, that spoof got me thinking. And thinking. And pretty soon I had the first three chapters of The Price of a Gentleman.

Where does your imagination come from? And where does it take you? Is the journey a ride on the bullet train or a crawl on the mule train? What do you do to spark it? Is it better in a group? Come on and dish! What inspires you to write? And have you ever spent a night sitting around a scary house with a bunch of writer friends drinking wine and plotting your stories?

Do you like Romantic Suspense? Meet Leslie Tentler.

2012-01-27T04:00:00.000-06:00

I have had theopportunity to meet some wonderful people this past year, and I am making aneffort to introduce them to you on this blog. I am fascinated by otherwriters—what they write and why.

Leslie Tentleris the author of the critically acclaimed Chasing Evil trilogy from MIRA Books.Her third novel in the series – Edge of Midnight – releases February 1 and tocelebrate, she’s giving away a free copy! Comment below to enter for a chanceto win.

What drew you to writing romanticsuspense?

I love the elements of danger inromantic suspense stories, and the heightened passions that come along withthat. While no one really wants that kind of danger in his or her real life,I’d think, it’s exciting to see it play out from the safety of a book. I’m especiallydrawn to male characters that act heroically and can be brave even to the pointof foolishness when the stakes are high.—I’mwith you, to be able to play it out in a book is preferable.

How do you research and where do youfind your info?

The Internet is a wonderful thing!For all three of my books, I relied on it heavily. For example, for MidnightCaller, I did online research on vampirism and the Goth subculture, as bothplayed key roles in the book. But I also had a good working knowledge of NewOrleans, which helped with the city’s description and geography.

In Midnight Fear, my heroine is aformer D.C. socialite who runs a non-profit equine therapy program. I loved theidea of the setting, but knew relatively little about horses. Fortunately, Ihad a friend who grew up showing and jumping horses, so she helped me a lotwith descriptions.

In my current book, Edge ofMidnight, my heroine is a newspaper reporter covering a crime beat. I knowseveral former reporters and was able to pick their brains on their jobs andhow the industry is changing in the Internet age.

So I guess you could say my processis a mix of online research and personal interviews.-I find research, especially if it’s outside of what you knowpersonally fascinating. In each book you bring in some very interestingoccupations and information (yes, I love the whole vampirism/goth subculture-ona totally intellectual level of course…)

Tell us about your current book,Edge of Midnight.

Here’s the back cover copy, which Ithink does a good job of setting things up:

The writer becomes the story whencrime reporter Mia Hale is discovered on a Jacksonville beach—bloodied anddisoriented, but alive. She remembers nothing, but her wounds bear thesignature of a sadistic serial killer. After years lying dormant, The Collectorhas resumed his grim hobby: abducting women and taking gruesome souvenirsbefore dumping their bodies. But none of his victims has ever escaped—and hewants Mia back, more than he ever wanted any of the others.

FBI agent Eric MacFarlane haspursued The Collector for a long time. The case runs deep in his veins,bordering on obsession…and Mia holds the key. She'll risk everything to recoverher memory and bring the madman to justice, and Eric swears to protect thisfierce, fragile survivor. But The Collector will not be denied. In his mind, heknows just how their story ends.—I totally have to readthis one!

Are you a plotter? Panster? Or amix?

If you asked me that prior to theChasing Evil trilogy, I would’ve definitely said “panster”. I prefer writingthat way. It’s how I wrote Midnight Caller. I had a general idea for thedirection of the story and its ending, and I just let things flow freely fromthere.

With the other two books, however,the publisher required an outline for approval prior to writing. So I didn’thave much of a choice and became a reluctant plotter.-Ah, see this is good to know. I’m a bit of both. But it seems tohave worked for you. Outstanding!

Do you utilize critique partners?How do they help you?

I had a critique partner forMidnight Caller, but the deadlines I had for Midnight Fear and Edge of Midnightmeant that I had to keep a much faster pace. So my critique partner became moreof a reader who did a single read-through and just generally let me know if thestory was working for her or not. By necessity, the process was nowhere near asextensive as it was with the first book.

That being said, finding the “right”critique partner is invaluable. It is tremendously helpful to have a secondopinion or just someone to brainstorm with!-I couldn’t agree more. So glad you have someone you can trust.

Revisions: How do you like them –easy or hard? Help you define the story better?

I’m not the fastest writer, but thework I turn in tends to be pretty clean. My editor as well as my agent providedsome suggestions for each book but there really weren’t any heavy revisions, soI feel fortunate.-Wow! I am in awe. Ifear revisions.

What is your writing day like?

I’m still working part-time inpublic relations as a writer and editor, so my day tends to be pretty frenetic.I keep regular office hours (I work at home), but often switch between fictionand business writing projects. I’m definitely not the type of writer who worksuntil late at night or gets up at three in the morning to tap things out on thekeyboard – my brain doesn’t function in those “off” hours. I do my best to keepit in the confines of an eight a.m. to seven p.m. type day. –Yes, I’m jealous, but you make it work. I am impressed.

Writing: What is the hardest oreasiest part about it?

The hardest part for me is battlingthe pressure of deadlines. I have a huge fear of a contracted manuscript notcoming together in time or not living up to expectations.

The easiest part has been thesignings and opportunities I’ve had to speak to book clubs and other groups.It’s rewarding to know that people have read and enjoyed the books you put somuch of your heart into.-Ah, see that is myfear. I am not published but it lurks—the dreaded deadline.

Thank you so much forstopping by Leslie, it has been a pleasure and I hope you come again. I knowyou are doing a number of blogs. Your next one is with Kelly J. Stone at http://authorkellylstone.com /blog on Saturday, Feb 4.

I wish only good things for you. –M.V. Freeman

What RT Book Reviews says about Edgeof Midnight

"A compelling plot, thicksuspense, a cunning villain, a shattered cop and a victim who wants answers atany cost place Tentler in the same category as bestselling authors Lisa Jacksonand Beverly Barton." 4 ½ STARS - RT Book Reviews

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leslie Tentler is the author of theChasing Evil trilogy from MIRA Books, which includes Midnight Caller,Midnight Fear and Edge of Midnight. She lives in Atlanta.
Website: http ://www .LeslieTentler .com

Facebook: http ://www .facebook .com /leslietentler

Twitter: http ://twitter .com /#!/leslie _tentler

Midnight Caller at Amazon

Midnight Fear at Amazon

Edge of Midnight at Amazon

ENTER THE CONTEST:

I will post the winner on the blogon January 28, 2012 **please put your email at the end of the post likethis: jane at gmail dot com, so I can notify the winner directly** This isfor one (1) copy of Edge of Midnight. Winner’s choice of e-book or print book. Printoption open only to U.S. residents. WINNER is: Sandy! I will be emailing you. (I wish I could've given a book to everyone.) Thank you all for stopping by. --M.V. Freeman

Even The Guys Will Like This

2012-01-25T22:00:00.000-06:00

Having Fun With a Theme

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

This is a new year and I have two new venues to attend. My novel MIRRORED has been released in both (e) and paperback formattes. Just a mear five months ago I signed my publishing contract. Things are moving fast. On Sat. Feb. 4, 2012 I will be on a panel at Murder in the Magic City at the Homewood library. The next day Sat. Feb. 5, 2012 I will be a panelist at Murder on the Menu at the Wetumpka Civic Center.

Over the holidays with all the health problems in my family, I came up with a joke. As a writer it was easy to follow a theme. Just to exercise your creating process, try this yourself and see how much fun it can be.

JOKE: The other night I got a call from a couple of old buddies, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. They wanted me to go out drinking with them. I told them I was too tired and that I had to get up early in the morning to go hunting. I wanted some shots of Wild Turkey. The queen came by wearing her Royal Crown, but the Captains's language was too spicy. At the end of the day I was left with some Old Crow.

Linda Howard Award of Excellence 2012 Finalists

2012-01-21T13:52:00.001-06:00

This contest was conceived in honor of best-selling author Linda Howard to award excellence in unpublished romance fiction and their authors. The contest is judged by trained judges with PAN and PRO status.

2012 Linda HowardAward of Excellence

Finalists

Series

Forbidden Fantasy by Christine Glover

Her Prisoner of Love by Christine Glover

The Tycoon’s Sweet Temptation by Christine Glover

Shared Secrets by Pam Mantovani

Loving the Lone Rancher by Jennifer Stroka

Single Title

Climb to Freedom by Sheila Athens

Mr. Good Enough by Jamie Ferrell

Stealing Gram’s Booty by Jamie Ferrell

Historical

TheWinds of Fate by Elizabeth Bysiek

ThePrice of a Gentleman by Louisa Cornell

HisCharming Seductress by Louisa Cornell

Touchthe Sky by Sharon Drane

Beauford'sRun by Pat Eckhoff

Romantic Suspense

Overboard by Chris Bailey

Burning Rubber by Wendy Campbell

In Safe Hands by Lee Christine

Speaking of Murder by Edith Maxwell

Flowers for the Casket by Annie Whittaker

Unique Genres

Enchanting the Duke by Linda Brown

By Another Name by Callie James

Dark Moon by Leisl Leighton

Seer’s Blood by Leisl Leighton

How to Divorce a Vampire by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Paradox by Isis Rushdan

Young Adult

Ashes of the Phoenix by Callie James

Lifer by Rebecca Sampson

Awakening by Bonnie Staring

Write Magic

(Thiscategory was for Southern Magic members who were finalists in their category orearned an average final score over 90)

Overboard by Chris Bailey

ThePrice of a Gentleman by Louisa Cornell

HisCharming Seductress by Louisa Cornell

Incandescent by Mary Freeman

Forbidden Fantasy by Christine Glover

Her Prisoner of Love by Christine Glover

The Tycoon’s Sweet Temptation by Christine Glover

Ashes of the Phoenix by Callie James

By Another Name by Callie James

The winners will be announced on March 17 at the Silken Sands Conference hosted by the Gulf Coast RWA Chapter.

Don't Laugh, Okay?

2012-01-19T06:30:00.001-06:00

When I made my boyfriend-must-have list back in middle school, sense of humor was No. 1.

I’m happy to report that I married a man who can joke! Occasionally, this tendency needs a bit of correction in the form of a glare and a stern warning. “Excuse me? There’s nothing to laugh about in this situation.”

Still, I’m sold on funny. When I read, the thing that makes a novel work for me is the protagonist’s ability to crack me up.

Last month, when I was putting together my last-as-editor Chick Lit Writers of the World RWA chapter newsletter, a few of the chapter’s PAN members agreed to offer advice on writing humor. For our blog, I chose a couple of comments that spoke to me, and I hope you’ll be interested in discussing them.

Both these authors say they rely on revision to get to funny.

According to Maureen McGowan*, “Humor is one of the trickiest things to write.”

But stories allow writers to revise “to choose the right words and put them in the right order for timing and impact.” She cautions against losing the punch line “in the middle of a long convoluted sentence or paragraph.”

Megan Crane** says, “I'm always much funnier three days later and in retrospect, and thanks to revision, your characters get to be that funny right off the bat!”

The best comedy, she says, is organic. “It should come from the characters' observations of their world and each other. This is actually easier to do than trying to come up with clever jokes to insert here and there in your manuscript. It's a question of shading the characters' dialogue toward wit, which you can do each time you revise.

You just have to pay attention to what you, personally, find funny, and what your characters find funny, and let that come out in the way you tell your story. Funny follows. And so will readers.”

What do you think? Does humor influence which books you choose? How do you incorporate humor in your work? What have you learned about writing humor?

*Maureen is a two-time Golden Heart finalist and the author of Cinderella: Ninja Warrior and Sleeping Beauty: Vampire Slayer. Last month, she announced a contract for a three-book post-apocalyptic YA trilogy.

**USA Today bestselling women’s fiction author Megan Crane, author of BookSense Notable Frenemies, also writes category romance under the name Caitlin Crews.

Looking Forward to 2012!

2012-01-17T08:57:00.001-06:00

We've been working hard at coming up with a great programming line up this year at Southern Magic!

This month, make sure you come check out Lexi George tell us about "My Road to Publication and What I Wish Someone Had Told Me."

Next month- February 25th I'm giving a presentation on How (Not) to Query and Get an Agent, and I'll be doing some critiques of Query letters, so if anyone has one they want me to rip apart, I mean, comment on, email me!

On March 25th Southern Magic's own Carla Swafford and Heather Leonard are presenting "Pitch Perfect"-- Come and learn how to make the best pitch possible to an agent or an editor. We're working on lining up some agents and editors to pitch to later in the year.

In April Southern Magic is having its very own writing retreat at a beautiful lake house. Watch the loops for information about the program and price.

Then on May 26th Alicia Rasley will present a FULL DAY WORKSHOP- Tightening Tension with Better Pacing.

In June, we're working on a program that brings together "odd jobs"-- professions and professionals that might ad depth to your setting.

July 28 Kay Dacus will be visiting Southern Magic to present her program on Storyboarding.

Join us on August 25 as Carrie Lofty presents "From Clichés to Keepers: Knowing Your Characters Through Myers-Briggs."

We're working on another full day, craft-based workshop for September.

Get your muse in shape for NaNoWriMo on October 27, when Tanya Michna will be with us and present "Military School for the Unruly Muse."

On November 3 is our annual Readers' Luncheon and this year we're excited to welcome fellow Southern Magic Member and NY Times Best-Selling Author Sherrilyn Kenyon. Be sure that you get your tickets early, because when they're gone, they're gone.

In 2013, we'll kick off the year with the smart and funny Diane Kelly as she helps us get the year started right with her program "Death and Taxes: What Every Writer Needs to Know about Federal Income Taxes." We'll also be welcoming Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches Trashy Books for another Full Day Workshop on either Author Websites or Digital Marketing Plans for authors!

We're also working on plans for a Southern Magic Book Club and other author signing events throughout the year.

Be sure you try to make it to our January meeting where we'll tell you more about these programs and some of the other improvements that we have in mind to make your Southern Magic Membership even more valuable in 2012, including one free workshop for members!

And don't forget to renew before February so that you can take advantage of all of these wonderful programs AND for a chance to win the Conference Scholarship.

See everyone then!

***Anyone interested in attending a meeting or program who is not a member is welcome to sit in. Just contact me via Southern Magic's website. www.southernmagic.org ***

We All Have Issues

2012-01-15T22:42:00.000-06:00

What's Your Lucky Number?

2012-01-13T23:32:00.004-06:00

I think everyone has a number they consider lucky. Over the years I've favored 7 and 16. Since my birthdate is July 16, that's understandable, isn't it?

When I was a teenager, my grandmother told me that she considered the number 13 to be lucky. Over the years, I've embraced it too. (Click here to read a little about it.) In fact it was on April 13, 2011 that I submitted my manuscript to Avon and they bought it three weeks later. And today, I realized that same day I'd blogged here about Red Shirt Editing. One of my favorite posts.

Since receiving The Call, I've talked about the number 13 being lucky for me and even how my grandmother reached out from the grave (woooooo, scary) and told me something was going to happen. I just wasn't sure it was good or bad. Anyway, I wrote a post at the time about it here. And then how the number showed up here. And here. All tied in with me becoming published. Sorry for all the links, but it's easier for me that way. I've got to get back to my editing. CIRCLE OF DANGER is finished and my editor is waiting for me to change some things.

By the way, I've also decided #3 is a good number too. My unpublished manuscripts have landed in 3rd place often enough in contests. And last and this week, CIRCLE OF DESIRE has been #3 on the Erotica bestseller list in the iBookstore! And once in #2! I've always said nothing wrong with being 3rd place as long as it's on the New York Times. Though iBookstore isn't quite that big, I'll take what I can. LOL!

So Friday the 13th doesn't scare me. I actually celebrate when it comes around.

What about you? What is your lucky number? And why do you feel it is?

What Not to Write

2012-01-11T06:00:00.004-06:00

A lingering illness has kept me at home for the past month and a half. Luckily, I'm able to work my day job from home, so my life hasn't been entirely disrupted. And there's the benefit of being able to watch television while I work, which I love, because I'm a mental multi-tasker.

One of the things I've been watching since I'm home during the day is the TLC show What Not to Wear. I love watching people discover how to dress themselves to best flatter the bodies they have rather than the bodies they'd like to have. I mean, sure, I'd like to have a body like Angelina Jolie, too, but I don't. And most women don't. Does that mean you can't dress in a way that flatters you and makes you look your best? Of course not! You find what looks good on you and work it for all it's worth.

It occurred to me while watching the show that writers can learn a few lessons from What Not to Wear. Some of the What Not to Wear rules can work for us as well.

1. Work with what you have, not what you'd like to have.

I might love to write with the lyricism and poetry of Pat Conroy, but that's not my style. It's not my voice. I have a tight, pithy, romantic suspense voice and trying to write evocative descriptions and long, rich examinations of characters' inner worlds just doesn't work for me. Find out who you are and what you do the best, and then hone those skills and make them the best they can be.

2. Try things on.

You never know what will work for your writing if you don't try it. Maybe you've been writing paranormal for a long time and would like to try something different, like a romantic comedy. This might seem to contradict rule one, but here's the thing: how do you know the limits of your voice if you don't try something new? There's nothing wrong with trying things out. The secret is knowing whether or not it works.

3. Let go of what doesn't work.

One of the hardest things for What Not to Wear participants is letting go of their old wardrobes. But it's part of the cleansing process, part of learning how to move boldly forward rather than wallowing in old, bad habits. When I first started writing, I was convinced a straight romance was all I could write. Even though I loved reading mysteries, I was afraid I couldn't come up with a sustainable mystery plot, so I stuck with straight romance, thinking it would be easier. But it wasn't. And everything I tried to write that was straight romance didn't work. Because that's not my style. It's not my voice. And only when I put those stories behind me and started writing what worked for me did I find out what kind of writer I was.

Are there other lessons from the fashion world that we can adapt as writers? Share what you think in the comments!

Perils of a Pantser

2012-01-09T09:58:00.001-06:00

Hard at work on the latest book when I got stuck in what I call Writer’s Bog and chapter fifteen turned into The Chapter That Would Not Be Finished. It was like giving birth to a rhino wearing skates. I was stuck and in pain.

“It’s December,” I told myself. “You’re shut down by the Christmas Crazy. Too much going on at work and at home. You need quiet.”

So, I took a day off from work to write. I had the house to myself and hours of peace and quiet. I got a page or two done but it was HARD, way harder than it should be. The creative juices would not flow, leaving me puzzled, panicked, and depressed by the whole sorry state of affairs. Did the whole book suck or just chapter fifteen? Should I toss it and start over? Had my pantser tendencies landed me in this mess? I have a deadline. What if I never get unstuck?

WHAT IF I CAN’T WRITE THIS BOOK!!!!

I finally broke out of the bog on New Year’s Eve. Know what it was? I went back to chapter fourteen and discovered two problems: my hero had done something that needed explaining and I found a hole in the story.

Fixed both and voila! I finished chapter fifteen. The muse and I are on speaking terms again, and I have achieved forward momentum. Whew!

The subconscious is a strange thing. Somewhere in the dim recesses of my brain I knew what was wrong. I just had to figure it out.

I’m sure this NEVER happens to you plotters out there. Wink, wink. Nod, nod.

Kill Your Hero's Family (Then Torture Him)

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Not too long ago, I gave the female lead (heroine's such a romancey word, yes?) in the first book of my paranormal romance series a makeover. She has to be undamaged enough to move into a relationship quickly without being coerced, but she also has to be enough of a loner that, should she (ahem) go missing for a few weeks, nobody will miss her.

So I began looking at other urban fantasies and paranormal romances with strong urban fantasy elements to see what type of backgrounds produced the lead characters. Note that I don't think this holds true for other romance categories, although it often does.

There are a LOT of dysfunctional families out there in the UF/PNR world. Here are a couple of theories why, based on nothing more than why I need my own characters to be family-challenged.

* Nothing brings out a neurosis like family. And for characters to be engaging, they need hot-button personal issues that factor into whatever hardass neurotic they turn out to be.
* Normal family issues get in the way of plots. Unless you're Rachel Morgan and your family becomes part of the plot, family members get in the way and can sidetrack your character from her plot arc.

Does the literature support these theories? I'll look at just the most widely known ones because ~~I'm too lazy to do a lot of research~~ I need to get back to revisions.

--Anita Blake. Anita's mom died in an accident when she was very young, and she was raised by her strict Catholic grandmother who didn't think much of her skills at raising the dead. Estranged from granny, and always dealing with dead-mommy issues.

--Mercy Thompson. Mercy's dad, a Native American from whom she gets her skinwalker abilities, died when she was young (or did he just disappear into the rodeo world?). Her mom then married a whitebread kinda guy and had some whitebread kids, so Mercy always felt like the ugly duckling with her dark hair and skin. She's still on speaking terms with her mom, but doesn't see her often.

--Harry Dresden. Harry's mom died young and he was raised by his magician father, who then also died young. He was taken in by a wizard mentor for training, things went sour, he ended up having to kill said mentor, and barely escaped the White Council death penalty. This backstory plays out over the early books, but the trauma of his mother and the secrets surrounding her death (mommy issues), and especially his rocky history with the council, are major issues for Harry.

--Sookie Stackhouse. Well, Sookie's parents died when their car was swept off a bridge, so she and Jason were raised by their grandmother (who conveniently gets knocked off in book one--I'm not worried about spoilers because, really, has anyone NOT read at least the first book of the series?). So Sookie has parent issues, which factor into the later books as she learns more about the source her psychic skills. She was also molested at an early age by her only other relative, a great-uncle. Vampire Bill took care of that pesky loose thread.

--Rachel Morgan. Kim Harrison's female lead is sort of a lone ranger in the genre. She's on good terms with her mother and her brother, for the most part. Mom lives nearby. Daddy issues come up during the series, though, and mom's got some problems that Rachel is always having to fix.

--Harry Potter. Harry's parents died protecting him from the evil Lord V--oops--He Who Must Not Be Named. It drives the whole series.

--Bella Swann. Bella's a child of divorce. She simpers her way to live with awkward dad so ditzy mom can enjoy her new hubby. Bella's struggling to find a personality and instead finds glittery vampires she can totally make herself subservient to, while whining. Yes, that's my patented summary of Twilight.

--Wrath. Each of JR Ward's Black Dagger boys has issues out the wazoo, but Wrath is the classic. He's the last purebred vampire in the world, and has all kinds of guilt hangups because his father shut him up in an air duct when the killers came. He watched his parents die, then blamed himself because he was too weak and small to save them, which made him become the Boy Who Lived. *Oops, having a Harry Potter flashback.* (Okay, and then there's everyone's fave Vishous, partially castrated by his evil father, and Zhadist, made a sex slave by an evil vampire queen. These guys are seriously damaged, true?)

Who else? Who are some of your favorite heroes or heroines, and did they come from happy, stable homes? Have you written a hero or heroine who has dysfunctional family issues?

Who Is Southern Magic?

2012-01-05T22:00:00.000-06:00

An easy answer to What is Southern Magic can be found at this link. Be aware: Trivial alert! But this is about Who makes up Southern Magic. Of course, everyone who blogs here are members and a short blurb can be found here. So we're going to talk a little more about the members. Considering we have over 60, it will be hard to mention everyone, and goodness knows, I'll miss someone. The easier ones to pick on are our published authors. We're all quite proud of them. Here they are (hopefully I didn't miss anyone). Click on their name to go to their website.

Welcome 2012

2012-01-03T10:08:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, I received my box of Golden Heart entries to judge. I always get excited when I get this box because I love doing this. I love reading new romantic stories and I love encouraging writers. But the main reason is I get to be the kind of judge that I hope will be judging my entry. I know it won't have any effect on the actual judges who are reading my entry, but it's a karma thing, you know? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

That's my goal for 2012 -- implement the Golden Rule in all aspects of my life. To be a nicer person. And when a jerky person cuts me off in traffic or yells obscenities at me when I (accidentally) cut him off in traffic, I will do as my very nice friend Carla does and give him a big smile and a friendly wave.

Nice matters.

Happy New Year to all!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T08:45:00.005-06:00

It's 2012 folks!!! New year, new goals.

Last year was busy and came with some very unexpected changes in my life both good (including my wonderful sixteen-year-old niece becoming a member of my household) and bad (no need to revisit the bad). Admittedly, writing fell to the background and I did not meet my goal of finishing a book in 2011. In fact, I came no where near that goal.

Disappointment is definitely a word I would use to describe my 2011 writing year. It left me doubting and questioning my commitment, which I expressed regularly on this blog.

But, alas, I've figured out life happens. It makes me no less of a writer. It makes me no less committed to the ultimate goal of telling stories.

So, don't doubt yourself. If your 2012 ends up like my 2011, don't give up. Write when you can and know that, eventually, you will achieve your goal!

Happy New Year!!!

Book Wrecks

2011-12-30T18:17:00.008-06:00

For those of you who don't know, I manage a bakery for our local Walmart. The bane of many Walmart bakeries is a website called Cake Wrecks. If you have never visited it you don't know what you are missing.

http://www.cakewrecks.com/

I don't know what is more amazing about some of these cakes - the fact someone actually decorated them to look that way or the fact people actually pay for them and take them home!

Romance novels can be a lot like cakes.

Some are gorgeous to look at, but with little substance inside.

Some are less than lovely, but man are they some good eating!

Some are social relevance tomes masquerading as romance novels - sort of like a tofu cake with goat cheese icing. It's good for you, right? Right? Yeah, not so much.

And some are just, well, for lack of a better term - a wreck.

There are a lot of ingredients in a really great cake. But the most important ingredient is the skill of the decorator. And more often than not, the oversight of a really great manager. A great manager would never allow anything less than the decorator's best work to go out the door.

In writing, if we are smart, we try to put our manuscript before some really great 'managers' before we turn it loose on the world. Beta readers, critique partners, contest judges and for the real hot shots - agents and editors. It can be painful when one of these manager types tells us our cake is a wreck, but not nearly so painful as seeing our wreck out there in the public with the icing falling off of it and the word "Critmas" in big bold letters.

For those of you who think this post is perhaps more relevant to self-publishing authors than it is to others, you couldn't be more wrong. As writers we owe it to anyone to whom we send a chapter, a paragraph, a partial or a full to present our very best work. And we owe it to ourselves to do whatever we have to do to make sure our work is at its best before we send it out into the world.

Most important, we need to be true to what we write. Romance doesn't need to be dressed up or over-iced with intellectual philosophy, long preachy passages on social issues, efforts to raise it to the level of "literature" or any other apologies for what it is. Give me a real romance. Give me two people who fall in love in spite of the odds, who find each other no matter what the obstacles. Give me characters I can root for, or fall in love with or really wonder if they will ever live up to their potential. Give me adventure or comedy or angst or grand drama laced through and covered with all of the things that make my heart sigh and my soul smile. Take me to times and places I want to go and show me how love is the most powerful force on earth. Take no prisoners. Make no apologies. And hold nothing back. Show me what you got, romance writers ! No Book Wrecks here!

What are some things that wreck a romance novel for you? What do you do to avoid wrecking your own books?

Meet Author, Hildie McQueen

2011-12-28T04:00:00.000-06:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Hildie McQueen at Moonlight & Magnolia conference in October 2011, I found her to be a gracious and inspiring writer.

I thought it would be perfect to introduce Hildie over the Holidays, when friends and families gather. I am fascinated about how everyone celebrates and the writing process-so I get to find out the best of both.

Hildie, I am glad you could make it here today, especially in the middle of this very busy Holiday season. So tell me, how do you and your family celebrate the holidays? With family, quietly? Huge party?

A little bit of both. On Christmas Eve we have what we call a“Griswald Christmas party” at my house. We invite a hodgepodge of friends, over to eat, exchange gifts and playgames. It’s always a blast! Christmas day is more traditional, we haveturkey or ham and the fixings, mostly just hang out. This Christmas since it falls on Sunday, Iforesee a bunch of sleepy people leaning on each other! --Nice! I like that--festive and relaxing.

Do you try and write during this time?
I am taking vacation the week of Christmas. My plan is to finish edits on my current novel,a western romance and send it out to my beta readers by end of the month. That is my goal anyways [sigh] we’ll see what happens.--Best laid plans always go awry-but I am beginning to think breaks are necessary.

What do you like the most about the Holidays? The least?

During this season the good in people comes out and it’s nice tohave that positive energy in the air. It’s hectic yes, but at the same time it’s so much fun, I love the hurryand scurry of the season. The leastwould have to be the sadness that comes when you can’t share them with someoneyou love, I know some folks feel especially lonely at this time of year. --So true! (I like that you have a party for your friends, that is neat)

What was your first book published? Tells us a bit about it.
My first book “DesperateBetrayal” was published this year, in September. I was in the Highlands of Scotland at thetime, so it was a magical time for me. Iwas in double heaven.

DesperateBetrayal is a Paranormal Romance. The story takes place in Atlanta,Georgia. Basically it’s about a youngwoman, Emma, who must convince a terrifying demon slayer, Cyn, to rescue hersister who has been kidnapped by demons. The twist is that after Emma discovers that he’s a single parent andbegins to care for him, she still must decide if she can still betray him.
--Very cool..it is so on my TBR, calling to me....

What is your favorite thing about your hero/heroine?

Cyn is a contradiction in terms. It’s cool that he is a singleeasy-going dad by day and a brutal demon killer at night. (my kind of Hero)

Emma is spunky and tenacious; I love how strongly she defendsthose she loves. --I like heroines like this.

What was the hardest scene to write? The easiest?

The hardest scenes for me were the fight scenes. I don’t watch enough movies with swordscenes, so I had to do that to try to capture the moves.

The easiest for me is the dialog between characters, so most ofthe dialog scenes came pretty easily. --I am envious! I have to fight for the dialog, so that is a gift. :)

What is your next project?

I have a couple of projects in the works at this moment. Most pressing is the sequel to Desperate Betrayal, which is titled Desperate Surrender right now. (Thatcan always change.) The manuscript is atmy publishing house for edits. I hope itwill be out in the late spring. --Wonderful!

Another project is in a new genre for me, I am completing editson a Western Romance, not sure who I’m sending it too yet. It’s been interesting writing a western.--now that is a leap-paranormal to western. I like that you do different genres, I think that helps with the creative process.

Do you have a day job as well as write? If you do, what is your profession?

I have worked for the government, military intelligence for over30 years. Boy I feel old right now. I ama full time administrative assistant, so I type pretty fast. *smile* --Very cool! You've done a lot.

I squeeze in writing where I can. I do have a routine. I make ita point to spend two or three hours on my writing, blogging, etc. everyday. --I agree that is so important to do something toward your writing craft daily. You are very inspiring.

For the New Year, do you set goals? What are yours this year?

I do set goals. My goals for 2012 are to organize around myhouse. I want to simplify, pare things down. Also to be healthier. I thinkthose have been my resolutions for twenty years…So this year I’m entitling themgoals. That should work right?--I think so! I am doing the same.

Thank you so much for coming Hildie, it has been a pleaure. I hope you come again soon!

As a gift, Hildie is giving an Ebook copy of "Desperate Betrayal", please put your email at the bottom (i.e. Jane doe at g mail dot com) of your post. The winner will be announced December 30th, in the comment section and I will email you.
***The Winner is Livia Quinn** Congratulations!

Release Date 12/27/2011 - SWEET REWARD

2011-12-26T22:30:00.000-06:00

The title tells it all! Go and celebrate Christy Reece's latest release by buying it! Check it out. Sadly, it's the final story in the Last Chance Rescue series. But how much you want to bet it's a humdinger? I bet only on sure thangs.

T'was the Night Before Christmas

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-06:00

On this Christmas Eve I think back to when my 29 year old daughter (Noel Eve) was only 2. For several years I would read the story T'was the Night Before Christmas to her. The Christmas of her 10th year she told her mother and I, she figured out who Santa realy was and didn't want the story read anymore. Flash forward 10 more years when her mother and I were packing to move from Florida to Alabama while Noel stayed in Florida attending college. Noel asked me to read her the Christmas story in June just before me drove to Alabama. We told her that the book was lost. Noel cried for two hours.
This year Hallmark has an audio book you can record your voice on reading the story. Yes, you're ahead of me. I bought one and recorded the story, mailed it to her and a few days later Noel called me crying tears of joy as she listened to her Dad read her the story out of the book.

Seasons Treatings: Meet Casey Crow

2011-12-22T03:02:00.000-06:00

Tell us about Can’t Fake This.

Casey: CAN’T FAKE THIS started out on a whim. At the last minute, I decided to enter this 10,000 word contest. I’d written spicy mainstream, but this was my first dive into erotic waters. I didn’t win the contest, but after having what I thought was a good start, I added some more words and low and behold, this erotic became the first manuscript I sold.

The story is about a divorcee ready to reenter the dating world. Anna Ryan is determined to be the best “product on the market,” which requires a lot more experience so she propositions sexy police officer Chase Harris to teach her how to make hot, passionate love as opposed to just having sex. He takes it a step further, instructing each lesson based on The Twelve Days of Christmas.

I love that you incorporated the 12 Days of Christmas into this story! Is there a favorite "day" in your story that you'd like to share?

Casey: Chase gives Anna two Dove chocolate candies to symbolize Two Turtle Doves. This is my favorite day because it’s so different from the rest. It’s the only day they don’t make out. Anna would definitely disagree with me, and in fact gets in a huff because Chase makes her talk when she wants much more than that!

What was the most challenging part?

Casey: By far the most difficult part was coming up with so many detailed sex scenes and making each one fresh and unique. It sounds funny saying that because really there are worse things to have to write about than sex, you know? But twelve days equates to a lot of stripping down, and there are only so many ways you can take off your clothes. LOL

Since CAN'T FAKE THIS is a holiday-themed story, I'm curious...at what time of the year did you write the story? And if you wrote it in say June or March, how did you get yourself in the holiday spirit?

Casey: I wish I had a better story, but I didn’t have to break out the Christmas CDs in the middle of July. I wrote the original 10,000 words (for the contest) for a few weeks in October so as luck would have it, it was late November, early December when I decided to add more to the story. I do think writing CAN’T FAKE THIS added to my Christmas spirit. It’s such a fun story.

Describe your writing process.

Casey: I’m a plotter for sure, but the outline is very vague so if my characters want to take a detour, I’m okay with that. I’m also linear. As for as my schedule goes, after taking the children to school, I go to the gym (because if it doesn't happen in the a.m., it's not going to happen) then write until it's time to return to "mom" mode. I usually squeeze in some time late at night, too.

What is the best writing advice you received?

Casey: I’ve been fortunate to have tremendous support, especially from my mentor, the fabulous RITA nominated Cynthia Eden, whom I bug all the time with questions. I’m pretty sure along my journey since joining RWA in 2009, Cynthia said, “Don’t give up.” Rejections are to be expected. Keep writing through them, and your writing will only get better.

What is the worst writing advice you received?

My writing is southern and sassy. Down-to-earth. I try to write like folks actually talk so those no-no’s you’ve heard about “was” and adverbs, I’ve learned to take in stride. You can’t let rules overrule your voice.

What are you currently reading?

On my nightstand this week is Tangled up in Love by Heidi Betts.

You’ve long been a fan of romance novels. What prompted you to cross over to the writing side of things?

Casey: In high school and college, I only read text books. I was a bit of a nerd. Okay, that's a lie. I was a huge nerd so I didn’t even get started on romance until I was twenty-five. Oddly enough, my mom, an avid reader of all romance genres first encouraged me to write. About the time I started thinking, “I could do this,” she said, “You can.” Thank goodness too, because I love it and turned the hobby turned into a career when I joined Romance Writers of America in 2009.

You spent some time in pageant life. What was that like?

Casey: As a dancer and gymnast, I was on stage my whole life, but I began competing in pageants at fifteen to prepare for Jr. Miss (now Distinguished Young Woman). I’ve done everything from glitz to natural. I prefer youth development programs where talent is the primary focus. I’ve competed in the Miss America and Miss Universe systems. I have to say it was pretty cool being Miss University of Alabama, but my most memorable reign was Miss Motorsports, where I got to be a NASCAR spokesmodel and hang out with all the famous drivers.

Pageants typically have a negative connotation, but the friendships, public speaking skills, and confidence I gained make me a firm believer in the many positive aspects they provide. My eight-year-old daughter now competes and likes the fact that she has more nationals titles than me. She has sung in Branson, MO and opened a concert for CMA artist Ashton Shepherd. None of that would have been possible without her pageant experience. As a pageant coach for over twenty years, and I still get such an adrenaline rush teaching modeling and interview to girls of all ages. It’s incredibly rewarding to see one’s self-confidence grow with each lesson.

If you cook, do crafty stuff, or have a hobby, please share the details with readers.

Casey: I do cook and love crafts, but considering I’m about four years behind on scrapbooking, I don’t think it counts if it stays in a box under the bed. The one thing I truly do for just me is take a dance class. I used to own a dance studio so this is a great way for me to keep in shape and up-to-date for when I choreograph for my pageant students. I’m in a class with a bunch of other teachers and former dance competitors. It’s not easy by any means. The best part is that we rock the house during recital time. Old ladies, apparently, still have it.

Is there a genre you’d like to write?

Casey: I’d love to write YA. Over the years, I’ve worked with hundreds of teenagers either as a dance instructor or pageant coach, and it fascinates me how they flip flop between still being kids and being incredibly mature.

Any upcoming conferences?

Casey: I’m presenting my PITCH PERFECT workshop at Silken Sands, sponsored by the Gulf Coast Chapter of RWA, the sister chapter to Southern Magic. You can register at http://www.gccrwa.com/silkensands/ and enjoy March 16-18 on Pensacola Beach! Plus, the So. Magic contest winners will be announced there!

I’ll also be hanging out with the cover hotties at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in April in Chicago. I’ll present the same workshop and they have asked me to be a “Pitch Doctor” in the pitch room to help writers right before the pitch to editors and agents.

What's next for Casey Crow?

Casey: Thanks for asking! I have two other manuscripts on submission right now with various agents and editors. HUSTLER’S DREAM is about a southern socialite pool shark who hustles the wrong guy, or is he? FEELS SO RIGHT is about a country music agent and her ex-boyfriend songwriter. I’m also half way finished with FAST DREAM, the sequel to HUSTLER’S DREAM, about a female NASCAR tire changer in love with the driver.

I just signed with Siren Publishing for DANCE WITH A MILLIONAIRE, which features a ballerina. It will be out in e-book in March 2012 and print in July. This one, like my other works aside from CAN’T FAKE THIS, are spicy mainstream.

I swear they’re not autobiographical! But, I’m passionate about the things I enjoy, and they invariably make their way into my writing. My tagline is “Sexy, Sass & Southern” and all my heroines are just that.

Buy Kindle version on Amazon

Buy all versions at Loose, Id.

Visit Casey at http://www.caseycrow.com

CAN’T FAKE THIS Excerpt

See the CAN’T FAKE THIS book trailer

Follow on Twitter @caseyecrow and Facebook Casey Crow

Casey Crow is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama with degrees in Business Management and Dance. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Mobile. Casey resides in south Alabama where she stays busy running her two young children to way too many activities. She also works as a dance choreographer, pageant coach of twenty years, professional emcee and model, and certified Miss America preliminary judge. In fact, she is a former Miss University of Alabama and NASCAR spokesmodel. She is addicted to CASTLE & REVENGE and works out constantly to compensate for her addiction to Barq's root beer. She enjoys playing pool, tennis & golf, but never has the time and is therefore, pitiful at all three. Casey writes erotic and spicy contemporary romances with the tagline “Sexy, Southern & Sassy.”

Bring on the holiday rush!

2011-12-20T06:30:00.001-06:00

Because writing is the method that orders my thoughts—my form of quiet meditation—I’m thankful for this opportunity to post. Back-to-back major holidays demand a little time apart. A little time for reflection. A little time to ponder the big questions. A little list of reasons to be thankful for all this, despite the stress.

I’m thankful for the gift of writing. Because addressing my own goals, motivations and conflicts (sometimes) prevents me from blurting out random thoughts without regard for the consequences.

I’m thankful that my characters can play out dramatic scenes, heedless of the potential impact of their words.

I’m thankful for friends and family and this season set aside for gathering. Because it’s their anxieties and antics that provide an unlimited supply of plots and characters for the rest of the year!

I’m thankful for Southern Magic and RWA. Because it’s my fellow writers who understand that writing is not a self-indulgent hobby. It’s a gift, a calling and a terminal condition. I’ve tried to quit a half dozen times, but without the prop of written words I fail to maintain a sense of balance.

Happy Holidays, y’all! Shop, light candles and gather together! Make merry! In a wild moment, add lights to your bottle tree! And make a bit of quiet time to write.

The One in Which I Talk About POV

2011-12-18T08:00:00.002-06:00

Let me warn you--I'm about to put on my lit professor hat. It's not one that I wear all that often, but today, I'm going all out.

I want to talk a little about POV today and how understanding what we're really talking about can help you become a better writer.

Since beginning to write and joining RWA, I've heard a lot of talk about POV that makes my poor little academically trained brain twitch. I've heard people confuse POV with voice, confuse shifts in perspective with shifts in POV, and then critique others based on those misunderstandings.

Now, I want to be clear. To some extent, knowing the fancy-schmancy literary terms for these concepts isn't necessary to write. It may not even really be necessary when you critique someone''s work. I think it's perfectly possible to know that something is wrong, even if you call it by the wrong name. But, calling it by the wrong name often obscures what we're trying to say and doesn't help the writer make improvements.

Plus, I don't think it hurts to know what you're talking about, when you start talking. So, here goes.

Point of view can be divided into two camps- First person (me, me, me!) and Third person (him and her). That's pretty basic, I know. But it pays to be clear.

First person, in a lot of ways, is the easiest to get your head around. You have a single character narrating. It can be the protagonist (hello, Bella Swan) or it can be someone close to the protagonist (a la Nick Carraway in the Great Gatsby) or it can be someone not really related to the action of the story (the way Death narrates The Book Thief.) Anyway you look at it, the first person narrator is defined by and imited to that particular character's consciousness. They can't use vocabulary that the character wouldn't use or description that the character wouldn't come up with. The language of the text has to be appropriate.

Easy enough, right? Okay, then, stick with me.

It's third person that gets tricky.

So here's the deal- third person narrators can either be completely or partially omniscient. They can know everything about everyone, some things about some people, or particular things about only one person. Most are only partially omniscient. Most are limited to one or two main characters.

Most Romance is written in third person, limited omniscient POV. We are usually limited to only the hero and/or heroine's perspective (although, occasionally, we'll get something from another secondary character). The thing to remember, though, is that the narrator is still separate from the author. Even though s/he isn't named like Nick Carraway is, every single 3rd person narrator is a fiction, just like Nick.

And there's only ONE narrator in a third person narrative. Period. The narrator is an over-voice. If you have multiple narrators, you're dealing with a bunch of 1st person narrators.

So what about all this head-hopping I keep hearing about? Wouldn't that be multiple narrators? Wouldn't that be multiple POVs?

In a word--no.

I think that a lot of writers confuse the shift in voice or discourse with a shift in point of view.

Let's take one of the most notorious head-hoppers of all, the unparallelled Nora Roberts for an example:

"This, he thought as he took her face in his hands. Just this, so worth the wait. Soft, sweet, a yielding tremor, and her arms came up to wrap around his waist, to draw him into her.
The next flash of lightning didn't make her jolt. She rolled with the thunder, sinking into that lovely flood of pleasure."

Some might see the above passage as a shift in POV--we're "hopping" from Beckett's point of view to Clare's in the space of a single sentence. But that's not really what's happening.

If you look closely, the POV stays the same--it's still an outside narrator, third person, with some measure of omniscience. What's changing is the way that particular point of view is using free indirect discourse.

Here's what I mean:
Direct discourse is quoted speech/thought. He said, "I'm going to kiss you."
Indirect discourse is reported speech/thought: As he kissed her, she thought, what a lovely flood of pleasure it is to sink into a kiss.

Free Indirect discourse is a way of using the language/consciousness of the character through which you are focalizing* the narrative, which is what we have in the example above. There is no quoting, no reporting of Clare or Beckett's thoughts. Instead, the narrator uses the language of the characters to evoke the immediacy of first person narration without using first person narration.

Get that? It's the same narrator. The same POV. Nothing has changed except the language the narrator is using.

On one hand, the narrator does head-hop. But the narrator never breaks out of the third person omniscient narrative. The narrator does not change from Beckett to Clare.

Let me repeat that--it's worth repeating--the narrator DOES NOT CHANGE.

So why do you care?

Who, knows. Maybe you don't. I think the better question is what can we learn from this?

First- we can learn to speak more precisely about the craft that we're undertaking. That, at the very least will reduce the amount of twitching my poor little brain experiences.

More importantly, though, I think by understanding what we're really talking about when we talk about POV shifts, means that we'll be making better, more conscious choices about our craft.

EVERYONE uses free indirect discourse in Romance. It's a convention of the genre. Usually we wait for a scene break or a chapter break to switch, say between hero and heroine, but getting into the head of the characters is what makes romances so compelling. It's not just "he did this" and then "she thought that." We get into their heads, because authors use their language to narrate from an outside perspective--it gives the stories an immediacy that they otherwise wouldn't have.

I've most often heard this described as shifts in POV. All together now--IT'S NOT!

So, when we talk about shifts in POV, we're not really talking about shifts in POV. We're talking aout shifts in free indirect discourse. This is absolutely essential to understand because it means that the narrative voice matters--just as much as our heroine or our hero's voice.

Look at it this way--to head hop successfully (and I'd argue that Nora's been pretty darn successful), you have to have an overriding narrator that holds it all together. That 3rd person narrator has to have a strong, authentic, and powerful voice. Hers always do. Pick up any Nora Roberts book and it feels like, sounds like a Nora Roberts book. Same goes for Sherrilyn Kenyon (who also is a master at effortless shifts in free indirect discourse). I'm not saying that it sounds like Nora Roberts, herself, though. I'm saying that she uses a strong narrative presence that has a certain consistency to it.

So what does that mean for us as writers?

It means that we have to understand that we are not the narrators of our books and (unless you're writing a 1st person) our characters are not the narrators of our books.

If you've discovered your writerly voice, you know what I'm talking about. We don't write books that sound like we sound when we talk. We write books that are narrated by our fictional, authorial selves.

To my mind, that's better. (I'm nowhere near as interesting as any of the stories I want to tell.)

But when we critique others by saying that their are POV shifts and there are really only shifts in discourse, we do the person we're critiquing a disservice. I think it pays to be precise. It helps others to be precise.

Okay, class dismissed. Now get out there and make sure you're critiquing things accurately and effectively.

*Focalizing is another fancy-schmancy term taken from narratology. Basically, think of a camera. When we look through the viewfinder of a camera, we never see the whole picture--we're limited. Third person narratives usually focalize through a specific perspective--through one or more characters or through their limitations in omniscience.

Yay~ I Survived My Launch Month

2011-12-16T07:14:00.001-06:00

THE DJINN'S DILEMMA has been out a little over a month and I'm feeling like this:

Or rather that's what I want to be doing...until Jan. 1.

My first launch has been a thrilling rush and exhausting. Love, love, love having my story out and seeing the cover on Amazon, B & N and Goodreads.

I had a lot of fun tweeting, blogging, and getting interviewed, but I'm plumb tired. The two best things to come out of this experience:

1. I realized I'm truly blessed with wonderful friends, who support, encourage and sustain me.

2. Reader notes. I love to receive notes from people who read my story, to know that my writing touched other hearts.

However, now I'm ready to move on, ready to rest and rejuvenate. The third djinn book is like toddler demanding attention. I find myself wanting to shut out the world and spend some quality-time with this story...but I can't.

It's the holiday season and there's school programs to attend, a whirlwind of parties, getting the house ready for Christmas and travel. Taking deep breaths and reminding myself -- balance. Life is about balance.

So how do you find balance?

Welcome Southern Magic Author Debra Webb!

2011-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of sitting next to Debra at a writers conference in Shreveport. We started talking about writing, family and life in general. That's when we realized we had a lot in common. Every since then, she and I have been friends. She's a talented writer and has the longest series with Harlequin Intrigue in her Colby Agency books with number 50 coming out in 2012.

You have over a hundred books published by traditionalpublishers, besides re-releasing your backlist, what made you decide toself-publish your new series?
The Faces of Evil series is one I've wanted to do for a while nowand there just wasn't time and the traditional publishers who looked at theoriginal concept weren't interested. So, I set it aside and moved on. I foundmyself worrying about trends and what the publishers were looking for insteadof being true to myself in terms of where I know my strongest creative assetsare. After going through a life-altering tragedy last year and losing mymomentum in the traditional business, I decided I was going to write whatI wanted to write and publish it on my own. My focus became the storiesrather than whether or not the series would be sellable to apublisher. Due to the permanent damage done to my right arm and hand I wasforced to start this venture with a new method for writing -- DragonSpeak. Itwas difficult at first and I felt certain I couldn't use it for my Colby seriessince there would inevitably be changes in voice and tone. After a periodof trial and error, I finally found my footing. Self-publishing versus sendingthe project out gave me full control over the cover and the content. I knewwhat I wanted and where I wanted to go with this series.

Do you recommend this to newbie authors, not published withtraditional publishers? Why?
Publishing, whether with a traditional publisher or on your own,is a complex and very unique journey. I wouldn't recommend anyone do somethingjust because it worked for me or someone else because the creative process istoo personal. But I am thoroughly enjoying the journey and I would highlyrecommend that all authors explore their options. That's the great thing aboutthis, ebooks have opened up a vast and wondrous opportunity! But that doesn'tmean that traditional publishing is going away, in my opinion. It means we havea new avenue to explore and that there are far more opportunities to bepublished without waiting for a traditional publisher to decide your work iswhat they want. Whether pursuing traditional publication or self-publication, Iwould urge all to make sure the work is the absolute best it can be first!Also, if the self-publication route is chosen, invest in a professional lookingcover. Finally, if you've never been published before focus on the work, get asmany reads as possible and make sure you're writing to your strengths and notto trends. I've toyed with romantic comedy and paranormal in an attempt tofollow trends, but that's not where my strengths lie so I'm sticking withromantic suspense/thrillers.

Tell us a little about the first book in your Faces ofEvil series and how many you plan to publish in the series.

The series deals with the idea of "What does evillook like?" and the various levels of evil and the way that evil can invadeyour life. Obsession, book one, introduces the main protagonists, Jess Harrisand Dan Burnett, along with the members of an ensemble cast who will populateall twelve of the Faces of Evil. Each book will focus on the relationshipsbetween the characters and how the cases they face impact their lives.I absolutely love these characters and cannot wait to dive into the nextstory. Beginning with book three, I will be focusing more on the unexpectedvillains like the ones in Obsession.

How is this series different than the one you write for HarlequinIntrigue, The Colby Agency series?
With a bigger book I can explore the characters more deeply anddevelop subject matters with grittier elements. But the lives and the feelingof "family" among the characters is similar to the Colbys. Ihope folks will enjoy these characters as much as they have the Colby family.

Give us a short scene that defines your heroine.

     “Gentlemen,”Jess said, “and Detective Wells,” she added with a quick nod to the one femalemember on this task force besides herself. “I’ve provided my preliminaryprofile for your review. It’s on the table.” She gestured to the neat stack ofstapled documents in the center of the conference table.
     Eachcoversheet carried the BPD logo, not the Bureau’s. Made sense. Jess was here inan unofficial capacity. Dan wondered how her husband felt about her rushing tothe aid of her former lover. The wedding band she wore was simple, not a pieceof jewelry that would draw the eye. Yet, he had spotted that delicate gold bandthe instant he saw her standing in his waiting room.
     Focus, Dan.
     Thestack was passed around, the final copy of her profile landing in his hands. Heflipped over the cover sheet and stopped. Turned another page and then another.Each was the same. “The pages are blank.” What the devil was she doing?
     Patterson,Griggs, and the two detectives, like Dan, stared from the unmarked white pagesto the woman standing before them.
     Shewaited, hands on hips, until the muttered remarks had ceased. Then she gesturedto the packets they held and announced, “This is the profile I developed basedon the findings you’ve provided.”
     Danopened his mouth to demand an explanation but she silenced him with an upliftedpalm.
     “Ifyou,” she sent an accusing look at him, “called me down here to do your job foryou, then you’ve vastly overestimated your charm and my patience.”
     “Whatin blazes is the meaning of this?” Griggs demanded.
     RoyGriggs had done police work too long to be yanked around by anyone, Quantico’shotshot profiler included. Dan couldn’t believe Jess would pull a stunt likethis without some point she felt genuinely compelled to make. There had to be apoint. And it better be good.
     Jessacknowledged the senior cop, in terms of service, with a nod. “If you’ll giveme about two minutes, I’ll gladly tell you.”
     Danrelaxed. His lips twitched with the urge to smile. There wasn’t a damned thinghumorous about this case. It was her. He’d almost forgotten how she loved toget under the skin of authority—any authority. More than two decades in thenortheast hadn’t changed her much. Her manner of dress was more sophisticatedbut beneath that stylish veneer she was still the same old Jess, he wouldwager. When the lady had a point to make, she intended for the room to listen.Didn’t matter who was in the room.
     “Thereare two potential explanations for the disappearance of these young women.” Shedirected everyone’s attention to the photos on the board. “One is,” she crossedher arms over her chest and stared straight at her attentive, however annoyed,audience, “that they left of their own accord and they don’t want to be found.They’re certainly all of the legal age to make that decision and the only causeto consider vulnerability in these disappearances is the statements of thefamilies who say the actions are out of character. Frankly, their statementsare of little consequence, in my opinion. After all, what parent is going tosay otherwise?”
     “Notpossible,” Chief Patterson objected. “We’ve been through that scenario alreadyand it’s off the table, Agent Harris.” He sent a livid glare in Dan’sdirection. “I don’t know why you’re behind the curve here, but I know theParsons family nearly as well as I know my own.”
     “Macyand Callie are honor students,” Griggs added his two cents. “They’re good,smart girls. They wouldn’t do this to themselves or to their families.”
     “Isuppose you also know those families nearly as well as you know your own,” Jesssuggested. “Like Chief Patterson knows the Parsons.”
     Thetension thickened, forcing the air out of the room. Any inkling of humor he’dfelt at her tactics evaporated. Sweat lined Dan’s brow. Jess needed to get tothe point. If her intention was to piss off everyone at the table first, shewas well on her way.
     “Damnstraight I do,” Griggs mouthed off.
     “Burnett?”Patterson demanded. “What kind of dog-and-pony show is this?”
     “Jess,maybe—”
     Herhand went up to silence Dan a second time. “All right then,” she said calmly.“Let’s explore the other possibility.”
     Dangritted his teeth to keep his mouth shut. Her pointed censure had signed him upfor that same PO’d club his colleagues had already joined. She was the only onestill calm and wherever she was going with this presentation remainedfrustratingly unclear. These people—he—neededhelp. Not a block of instruction in identifying intent or motive.
     “Itappears we all agree that there is only one feasible explanation. These girls,”she indicated the photos again, “were taken against their will by someone whomeans them harm since there has been no ransom demand. We could be looking at ahuman trafficking ring, a sexual predator, or just a plain old psychopath.”
     Aquiet, heavy with agony, coagulated in the air, making a decent breathimpossible.
    “Ifthat is, indeed, the case,” Jess continued, “you,” she pointed to Griggs,“you,” then Patterson, “and you,” her attention rested finally on Dan, “aremissing relevant details in your investigations.”
    Disgruntledglances were exchanged but no one argued. She was right. It was difficult toargue with that. Guilt added another layer to the burden already straddlingDan’s shoulders and knotting in his gut.
    “Everysingle one of you has been in this game long enough to understand the one factthat makes all the difference in this case and all others.” She paused, madeeye contact with each member of the task force. “When a person commits an actagainst another person, violent or otherwise, that act is always driven bymotive. Always. Whether the act was impulse or calculated, a motive exists.There are no exceptions. Whoever took these girls, whether one unknown subjector four, had a motive.”
     Jessmoved to the table and leaned down to flatten her palms on the shiny,manufactured wood surface. “We have to find that motive. Otherwise we won’t belooking for four young women.” She pointed to the photos on the board. “We’llbe looking for four bodies.”
     Thatheavy silence continued to reign for one, two, three more beats.
     “Didyou come all this way just to tell us what we don’t know, Special Agent Harris?” Griggs spoke up, breaking the spell she hadcast. “Or are we going to talk about what we do know?”
     Jessstraightened, eyed him with blatant skepticism. “I read the interviews withfamily and friends. I studied the photos of the homes and the places where thegirls were last seen. Pardon my frankness, Sheriff Griggs, but what you do knowis irrelevant to this case, as far as I can see. It’s all that you don’t knowthat makes the difference.”

When this series is complete, what do you plan to do next?
My goodness, I'mnot sure. I'm way too deep in the Faces of Evil!

Now a for-fun question, you’re starring in a movie about your newseries, playing the part of the heroine, Jess Harris, who is the actor playingDan Burnett and why?
My husband!Because he's my hero!

Check out all of Debra's Books, and especially the following.
Obession: Faces of Evil
Impulse: Faces of Evil
Decoded (Colby Agency)

Book Trailer: Circle of Desire by Carla Swafford

2011-12-12T22:30:00.000-06:00

Time Management, Or How I Came To Love Starbucks . . .

2011-12-10T09:23:00.006-06:00

I’m busy. I work full time, sing in my church choir, cart my theater loving teenager to and from endless rehearsals and dance classes, keep house—sort of—stock the family larder with essentials like Cheerios and toilet paper. I’m busier than a three-legged dog marooned on Flea Island.

And expected to meet a deadline.

Not just any deadline mind you, but one requiring I hand over a small piece of my heart and soul, one that has been perfected over months and polished to the point that someone might actually want to read it.

No pressure.

Most of you probably keep a similar schedule. Welcome to the life of the Modern Writer.

Here’s how I manage. My house stays messy. I don’t cook as much as I used to, and I snatch a few moments of quality time with Thing Two in the car between activities. My husband and I high five one another on the way out the door—he’s deep in the throes of rehearsal as Tevya in a local production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

Did I mention I live with more than one theatre buff?

Anyhow, recently I discovered Starbucks.

I know, I know, Starbucks has been around a while. But I’m not a coffee drinker, so America’s favorite coffee house has never appealed to me.

Until lately.

Necessity makes strange bedfellows, the old saying goes, and I am currently in the throes of a love/hate affair with Starbucks.

It’s the kid’s fault, see. She goes from production to production in her theater department and she’s 15, which means she can’t drive. We live too far away from her high school to run back and forth, so I sit at Starbucks and write while she’s at play practice.

I sit at Starbucks a lot.

I’ve developed a fondness for their Passion Ice Tea and bruises on my backside from their hard wooden chairs. (Some other person ALWAYS homesteads in the comfy seat before my arrival, leaving me to roost in one of the cruel chairs.)

At first, I couldn’t write because of the canned music and the constant buzz of customers in and out of the store. Then there was the dull ache radiating from my bruised posterior as I tried not to inventory what the other customers were reading.

Did you know, for example, there’s a magazine completely dedicated to sheep?

But, I’ve adapted. The nerve endings in my butt have died, and my brain has learned that sitting in Starbucks is the cue to write. Now, I no longer hear the music or notice the noise of the baristas. As for my abused behonkus, I chalk it up to suffering for my art.

The point is we can train ourselves as writers. In my case, the green and white blinking light of a Starbucks’s sign throws my creative brain into gear.

Thank goodness, because I have a deadline approaching.

I’ll have a Trenta Passion Tea, please. Hold the sheep.

Creating a Story Bible

2011-12-08T06:30:00.000-06:00

File this postunder “Lessons Learned the Hard Way.”

When I startedwriting my first novel in the winter of 2008 and spring of 2009, I was justamusing myself, really. It was an exercise to try and rid myself ofpost-traumatic stress left over from Hurricane Katrina and severe homesicknessfor New Orleans, which I’d recently moved away from after almost fifteen years.

To condense along, boring story, after a journalism career during which I pronounced severaltimes that I had no ability or interest in writing fiction, I got the bug.Never say never. In July came the agent, and in the fall came the firstcontract. By that time, I’d finished with the second book, which also sold.

So, here I am atbook three, and I’m almost three years older, if not wiser. And I find myselfthinking: Wait, did (heroine) DJ use spellcast rubies or emeralds in the firstbook when she did the transport charm? What was that wizard’s name she metbriefly at the morgue? What were the words she used when she summoned theundead Marie Laveau from the Beyond? Did she have to put blood on her summoningcircle, or just place candles around it? What color were the candles?

Looking up allthat stuff, I realized, was going to take for-evah.So I did something I should have done three years ago: started creating a StoryBible. Or, more accurately, hired a former student intern to read Royal Street and River Road and make a Story Bible for me.

If you’re notwriting a paranormal, some of these areas won’t apply, but here are the thingsI asked my intern to make note of:

--Each character, along with a physicaldescription, physical quirks, specific words used in description (i.e., “eyesthe color of dark chocolate”), likes/dislikes, family members, hometowns, typeof species (wizard, shapeshifter, etc.), cars they drive, nicknames, and in whichbook/scene they first appear.

--Specific places mentioned: restaurantnames, what they eat, places they have meetings, location of homes and offices.Physical layout/décor descriptions of places (i.e., layout of DJ’s house,layout of Napoleon House restaurant/bar, layout of Green Gator bar).

--Species traits. Quirks/abilities of species: wizards,varmpires, elves, fae, water species (merpeople, nymphs, naiads),shapeshifters, were-critters besides loup-garou, loup-garou, historical undeadand difference between them and zombies, ghouls and ghosts.

--Worldbuilding. Magical hierarchy and skills/duties.

--Magic. Charms and potions DJ uses, and what she does/whatingredients she uses. Book and MSS page number where used.

Once my new Story Bible for the Sentinels ofNew Orleans series is complete, I’ll go in and insert photos of places,diagrams of house layouts and places—even characters if I’ve based them physicallyon an actor or actress.

So now, as Iwrite Elysian Fields, to avoidstopping and looking up stuff from previous books, I’m plugging in the wordALBATROSS for every hole. That way, I don’t get slowed down in my first draft.Then, on second draft, I’ll do a search for ALBATROSS and fill in the holesusing my handy-dandy Story Bible (Sarah—finish that thing!).

An example:

“It was a good sign. I’d met ALBATROSSduring a harebrained foray to the temporary morgue that had been set up afterKatrina.”

And:

“Seven p.m. had barely come and gone, yetthe line of people waiting to get into L’Amour Sauvage already stretched downALBATROSS Street…”

If I had donethe Story Bible from the outset, this would not be necessary. Doh.

Are you writinga series or shared-universe books? Story Bible. Really. Just do it. And if youdo it, or a version of it, what’s your method?

I'm Be Home For Christmas

2011-12-06T23:00:00.000-06:00

Taking Stock

2011-12-05T12:30:00.003-06:00

After spending most of 2011 in a writing slump, I decided to kick it into a higher gear in the fall. Here's what I accomplished and where I stand.

1. Checked on submission status and was told the manuscript is still under consideration. Yess!

2. Entered the Golden Heart and actually submitted the ms. Yess!

3. Started new ms. and passed first chapter to critique partner. Yess!

4. Joined Jennifer Echols' Public Shame Writing Challenge. Yess!

I know it doesn't look like much, but to go from writing NOTHING to writing SOMETHING has energized and encouraged me.

Is it time for you to take stock too?

Merry Christmas From Southern Magic

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

The List

2011-12-02T05:34:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year when people make wish lists to Santa. Now, in all honesty, if I could have anything I wanted, I would wish for another me! There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything. But, instead, I'm asking Santa for the second best thing, the Harry Potter series. I've never read the books nor watched the movies. (Why yes, it does feel as though I've been living in a cave!) Needless to say, I'm super excited to look under the tree Christmas morning this year.

What is on your list to Santa this year?

Cozy up with a good Christmas read.

2011-11-30T08:47:00.000-06:00

Now that Thanksgiving is behind me my plan was to get started with my Christmas shopping. Yes, I’m one of those people who has yet to buy the first Christmas gift. There was no way I was facing the Black Friday crowds, but I did have every intention of going Christmas shopping on Saturday. Notice I said, did have. Saturday came and went and I amused myself by organizing my house which has been woefully neglected for the past eight months as I wrote my last novel. On Saturday night, I promised myself I would map out a game plan and start my Christmas shopping on Sunday after church, but who the heck wants to shop in the rain. With the temperature outside dropping, and the rain coming down, I decided someone out there was trying to tell me to stay home and read a good book. It’s easy for a writer to come to this conclusion! I put on my warmest sweats, lit a fire and pulled out Diana Gabaldon’s Drums of Autumn. If you haven’t checked out her Outlander series I highly recommend it.

When I finally forced myself to get up out of my cozy comfy chair, I realized I needed to think of a blog topic. I was struggling to come up with something. Chalk it up to too much stuffing and whiskey bread pudding. My poor brain is floating in sugary calories and carbs. One of my writer friends suggested I do a blog on cozy Christmas reads. How come I didn’t think of that? I just finished Mrs. Gabaldon’s book, and the weather is still abysmal. I need more great reading material, and what better to snuggle up with than some great books about Christmas.

I’m guessing there are some others of you out there who might be procrastinating doing something or just want a good book to take a long, hot bath with. Well, look no more ladies and gentleman, after some careful detective work, I’ve come up with a list of five Cozy Christmas reads guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a flutter in your heart.

Number One – The Wolf Next Door by Lydia Dare

They can't even be in the same room together...

Ever since their failed elopement years ago, Prisca Hawthorne has taunted, insulted, and in every way tried to push him away. If only her heart didn't break every time Lord William Westfield left her...
But staying apart is even worse...
Lord William throws himself into drinking, gambling, and debauchery and pretends not to care about Prisca at all. But when he returns to find a rival werewolf vying for her hand, he'll stop at nothing to claim the woman who should have been his all along.
Can Prisca forgive the unforgivable, or are the moon-crossed lovers going to be forced into a battle of wills that could be fatal?

Number Two – A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…

Number Three – Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas

ONE LITTLE GIRL NEEDS A FAMILY
One rain-slicked night, six-year-old Holly lost the only parent she knew, her beloved mother Victoria. And since that night, she has never again spoken a word.
ONE SINGLE MAN NEEDS A WIFE
The last thing Mark Nolan needs is a six-year-old girl in his life. But he soon realizes that he will do everything he can to make her life whole again. His sister’s will gives him the instructions: There’s no other choice but you. Just start by loving her. The rest will follow.
SOMETIMES, IT TAKES A LITTLE MAGIC…
Maggie Collins doesn’t dare believe in love again, after losing her husband of one year. But she does believe in the magic of imagination. As the owner of a toy shop, she lives what she loves. And when she meets Holly Nolan, she sees a little girl in desperate need of a little magic.
…TO MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE
Three lonely people. Three lives at the crossroads. Three people who are about to discover that Christmas is the time of year when anything is possible, and when wishes have a way of finding the path home…

Number Four – The Mischief of the Mistletoe: A Pink Carnation Christmas by Lauren Willig

Arabella Dempsey's dear friend Jane Austen warned her against teaching. But Miss Climpson's Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls' school in Bath, expecting to face nothing more exciting than conducting the annual Christmas recital. She hardly imagines coming face to face with French aristocrats and international spies...

Number Five – Christmas Warms the Heart (The Wetherby Brides) by Jerrica Knight-Catania
Catherine Wetherby Hart, Duchess of Weston, is convinced Christmas will be ruined if the famous Hart Christmas Ball isn't perfect. But two special guests might just make it the best Christmas ever in this Hart-warming short story.

And because I can’t very well talk about cozy Christmas reads without mentioning the Christmas Anthology I’m in I have to add a number six!

A Summons From Yorkshire (Regency Christmas Summons Collection One) by Julie Johnstone, Ava Stone and Aileen Fish.

And just to wet your whistle here is the blurb for my story.

The day Andrew Whitton, Earl of Hardwick chooses his fortune over the woman he loves, Drew discovers that money makes for a cold bed partner. Now, no matter how far he runs, the memory of his betrayal haunts him, and there’s not enough liquor to dull the past or diminish his disgust. * Charlotte Milne trusted in happily ever after until her knight turned out to be wearing rusty armor. Drew, the scoundrel, seduced her, though she very much enjoyed the seduction by the man she’s loved since childhood. Left scandalously ruined, Char flees her home intent upon forgetting Drew and proving her worth. * Separated by disloyalty and pain, each struggle to bury the memories of the other until a mandatory summons from the Duke of Danby sets them on a path of collision to Danby Castle. With the tides of irrevocable change rising, Drew must find a way to show Char that even the most selfish of rakes can be redeemed by love before the woman of his heart becomes the wife of another.

We’ve come to the end of my list, my friends. Now, I have a question for you. Do you have a favorite book that you think is a perfect “cozy” read?

***Everyone who leaves a comment today with an email address will be entered into the Regency Christmas Summons Prize Extravaganza. We're giving away a Kindle and many more prizes.

Have fun reading!
Julie Johnstone
Romance where the Aristocracy Dances on the Edge of Danger and Desire
A Regency Christmas Summons ~November 2011
http://www.juliejohnstone.blogspot.com/
http://www.ladyscribes.blogspot.com/

DOH ! (I pulled a Homer Simpson!) Things That Make You Smile

2011-11-29T18:24:00.002-06:00

I just got home and checked out our blog to see who might have posted and what they had to say. DOH !!! The blogpost I was looking for was mine! I offer my heartfelt apologies and I'd give each and every one of you a jelly donut (MMMM Donuts!) if I could.

I worked the Black Friday sale - 11 pm until 8 am and my mind has been mush ever since. Sorry, but this body is NOT meant to go over 24 hours without sleep. It gives me a serious case of Snow White syndrome. I start out Grumpy move on to Sleepy and eventually become Dopey. Hence my forgetfulness.

I had one of those odd little moments this morning on my way to work. I drive by this particular pasture every day. There are three horses and a pony grazing there every day. They've been there for years. And today they made me smile - a full blown, hey I'm smiling on the way to work (trust me that never happens) smile. It was raining a nice steady rain and I glanced toward the pasture and saw - three horses and a pony wearing RAINCOATS! We're talking each in a different color with a hood over their heads and holes for their ears belted and buttoned up raincoats. I don't really know why it made me smile. They did look rather silly in their brightly colored macks. Perhaps it was because they seemed so comfortable in them. Or maybe it was the idea someone loved these guys enough to go out in the rain and kit them out in raincoats. Whatever it was, it made me smile.

It struck me that writing is sometimes like this. You cruise along writing, grinding out those words and every now and then you take the time to look up, read what you wrote and it makes you smile. Perhaps your characters finally look comfortable in your novel. Perhaps your words fell into place and something about them makes you smile. Perhaps just once every writing day we need to stop and look for the horses in raincoats in our work. Being a "suffering artist" doesn't mean you don't get to smile. It just means you have to look for a reason to smile.

What makes you smile in life? What makes you smile in writing? And do you ever give your characters those moments to smile?

Family Secrets

2011-11-26T17:26:00.001-06:00

We all have family secrets.

For example:

You know for a fact that your Aunt was married twice, not once. Even though she tells everyone the opposite.
Cousin George really does have a sixth toe.
Grandpa keeps a flask of whiskey in the cushion of his chair and drinks it when he watches the game.
Your mother's secret recipe involves only a simple boxed cake mix and cream cheese.
Your uncle did not go out of town for a week, he was in jail for public intoxication and no one would post the bond.
Grandma farts loudly in public and blames whoever is standing next to her. This is why your nickname is "Pooter"
Your cousin is actually your brother....*gasp*

These family secrets can range from the funny to the horrific. They can be immoral, unethical, or just embarrassing. The interesting thing is our families will keep these secrets in any way possible. They'll never speak of it, or they'll lie, deny, and even cover it up. It is what makes the family functions full of drama.

Our characters in our stories and their families all have secrets. Even if you don't know them. They are what motivate our Heroes and Heroines. They help in the conflict and create the tension that leads to interesting things.

What kind of secrets personally and family wise do your characters have? Do you ever reveal them or just keep them internal? Are some funny ones or scary?

Blessings in Abundance

2011-11-24T07:52:00.002-06:00

Too numerous to list but earlier this morning, as I sat in my quiet kitchen with coffee in hand, John 3:16 came to mind.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

What I am Thankful For

2011-11-22T08:00:00.001-06:00

In two days Thanksgiving will be here. This year will be different from my past 59 Thanksgivings. On September 6th my wife of 39 years underwent total right hip replacement surgery. Her operation was successful and on September 9th she went into a nursing and rehab center in order to help her walk. Six weeks later in mid-October her rehab therapy ended due to the fact that she could not walk or do any personal hygiene. It has now been 2 1/2 months and no substantial improvement. Why you ask. My wife, Christine has suffered for 64 years with a condition called cerebral palsy (C.P.). This condition slowly robs a person of the use of their muscles. On Thursday I will bring two plates of Thanksgiving dinner to the nursing home and have my Thanksgiving with my wife.

Now you are thinking, poor Fred how sad. Don't be sad for me, be joyful. I still have my wife and I can share my world with her and her's with me. For so many people this year they won't be able to share Thanksgiving. They are no longer with us.

This Thanksgiving is a time for joyous celebration to me. I will have my first commercial publication of a work of my immagination, MIRRORED. Most of all. I have my writing sisters-you. All of you have been kind, welcoming, nurturing of my writing, and my life long friends.

Now will someone please pass the stuffing.

How to Write Conflict: Using the Holidays for Inspiration

2011-11-20T00:30:00.000-06:00

Great scenes grow from conflict. My home during the holidayscould serve as the inspiration for a NYT bestseller:

My mother is a rabid Alabama fan. Mybrother-in-law is a fervent Auburn fan. (This is why we keep a fireextinguisher in each room). That scene writes itself.
Everyone (except me) fights for control of thekitchen (the arguments that have erupted at the stove over the propertemperature to cook green beans have inspired Greek epic poems). This year is the battle for dressing supremacy. My mother-in-law and grandmother are fighting for hegemony when it comes to this Thanksgiving staple. Vegas odds favor my grandmother. She fights dirty.
The "You Don't Have to Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here"battle rages for hours. I swear, there is tick DNA running in my family's blood because these people can't be burned out of my den. My Saturday School training won't permit me to flat-out ask them to leave, so creativity is my only option. I've tried everything - Christmas music on the stereo, horror movies on the television (yes, I've really done this), husband sleeping on the couch, etc. Nothing works. Nothing.

If Thanksgiving Day isn't rich enough to provide me with inspiration to write conflict, there is always Black Friday. Between shoppingcarnage and trimming the tree (each year my husband and I debate whether Yukon Cornelius or an angel should top the tree - I don't know how that bearded lumberjack keeps winning), my insurance company may up my premiums. Then, there is the Iron Bowl. I don't think I need to comment on that.

I can’t be alone. Where in your day-to-day life have youseen conflict that can help improve your scenes?

The Insidious Nature of Banana Peppers

2011-11-18T06:30:00.001-06:00

The proof is in the colander.

While I spent ten days on Little Lagoon not gardening, my pocket vegetable garden in the foothills produced a dozen banana peppers, one bell pepper, two pecked-out tomatoes and another with a giant green worm hole.

My husband expressed exactly what I was thinking. “That’s it. I’ve had it with tomatoes. Next year, we’re just going to grow peppers. ”

Our frustration stems from high expectations. Genetically, we are both prime tomato-growing specimens. My husband had an uncle who was a commercial tomato grower. And back in the 70s, the government paid my grandfather to stop growing tomatoes through one of those farm price support programs. With all that tomato juice in our bloodlines, we should be naturals when it comes to tomato cultivation.

You see, of course, where this kind of thinking leads.

Straight to places you’ve already been. Safe. Familiar. Dull.

And nowhere near the competitive world of publishing.

If I were to approach writing with the same attitude as tomato growing, I’d begin by saying that I’m a Southerner. Everyone knows Southerners are born storytellers. Getting my tales published should be as easy for me as a cliché.

And yet my name has not yet appeared on the spine of a book. I’ve come across all kinds of bad birds and worms in my quest for publication.

But there’s an allure to striving for a long-held dream.

I should swear off fiction and go back to churning out news releases and brochures and key talking points.

I know I’ll keep attempting to tell a marketable story.

We’ll probably plant tomatoes next year, too.

NaNoWriMo and Starting Over

2011-11-16T18:05:00.000-06:00

Today is about the middle NaNoWriMo--or National Novel Writing Month.

It's been a long few months for me of not writing. Over the summer, I got an agent (yay!), revised my manuscript (yay!), and went on submission (yay?). I also started three different books-- two contemporary romances and a darker YA "issues" romance. They didn't get past about 15,000 awful, horrible, no-good words.

I'm not sure that I'll ever get back to them, and that's strange, because I have this thing about finishing things that I start. The very first novel I tried to write (a terrible category romance that is best forgotten) was only finished because I was determined to finish a book. Half-way through, I knew it was rotten, trite, and downright stupid, but I finished it anyway, just to see if I could.

Over the summer and through the early fall I banged my head against these three beginnings. I pushed forward with the YA, even thought I knew the dialog was flat and the plot was verging on cliche. Nothing was working.

And then came NaNoWriMo.

Writing a book in a month isn't that new for me. I wrote that first terrible novel in about a month. I wrote most of the one that's (still) on submission right now in about a month. I have this thing where I kind of like writing in long, almost-manic spurts. I can stay in the book that way.

NaNoWriMo says that you should start something new, so I did. I shelved those terrible manuscripts that may never get farther than they are now and started on a new idea that popped into my head a few weeks ago, right when I was in the middle of orchestrating the Southern Magic Luncheon--not exactly the best time to start into a new project.

When November 1 hit, I started writing (luncheon or not). Sixteen days later I lave 43,000 words--the skeleton of a novel that I'm slowly, but surely falling in love with. By the end of the month, I'll have a very rough first draft that I can revise through December and Janurary and get to my agent by early spring at the latest.

I'm revising my ideas about finishing what I start. I may go back to those other manuscripts. I may not. Probably not, and I'm starting to feel okay about that. And I don't plan on waiting until next November to let myself give up on the next batch that doesn't work.

So that's how NaNoWriMo's going for me. How's it going for you?

Which ManCandy Would You Choose As Your Personal Genie?

2011-11-15T08:46:00.002-06:00

I recently blogged at Harlequin's Paranormal Romance Blog about how actor Antonio Banderas inspired my dark and mysterious djinn assassin Rukh wih his sexy exotic accent for The Djinn's Dilemma.

Here, take a look at the tribute video I found on YouTube and you'll see why :) It's okay, I can wait!

Several people agreed with me, but many others brought up other candidates I hadn't even considered...a sad lapse that's been remedied :D So here, I'm presenting a few other candidates to star as your personal genie.

(David Boreanaz...hey if could play Angel, he can play djinn :)

(Antonio Sabato Jr. Yum!)

(Hmm, he'd be a feisty djinn!)

And...

(Oded Fehr...hot, hot, hot!)

And another personal favorite ~ Bollywood Actor Hrithik Roshan

So who would choose to cast as your personal genie? Or is there someone I have missed? Write them in, I'm always looking for more hunky fodder for my daydreams *grin*

Mina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. To find out more about her debut novella THE DJINN'S DILEMMA released by Harlequin check out her book page.

You can find Mina at :

http://www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author

http://minakhan.blogspot.com/

twitter: @SpiceBites

Talk This Way, Walk This Way

2011-11-12T05:59:00.002-06:00

Last night, while watching the new Nikita series, I realized something about myself. I love it when a man talks soft with confidence. This new Michael has that gruffness that sends delicious chills down my spine. I wonder if they asked him to talk in whispers, the same as the other Michael in the previous Le Femme Nikita series had.

In my book, Circle of Desire, Collin talks the same way. He might threaten to cut a person’s throat in that soft, quiet tone that he uses to seduce Olivia. It’s scary sexy.

The volume and timbre of a character’s voice can be as much as a part of the story as what he says. A bully shouts and shakes the walls. A whiner shrieks, making a person’s ears bleed. A seductive voice drips honey and soothes the savage beast. Sure some of those were clichés but you get the idea.

My next book, Circle of Danger, will have a hero whose voice box has been damaged. So his voice is rough, like a six-pack-a-day smoker’s. You can easily imagine when he’s tender, his voice will deepen and make your toes curl. Yes. More clichés. But this is blog post and I’m being lazy.

When it comes to how the characters walk, please avoid saying he moves like a powerful panther, cat, tiger, etc. Overdone. Okay to be lazy (see previous paragraph) here, but not in your books. I’ve never seen a man in real life who walked that way. It would probably freak me out. Think about it. Think hard. He would have to be on all fours. Oh, of course, a werewolf or werepanther might could get away with it as long as they were in animal form.

ANWAY, I describe their walk in the same way I do in real life. Long legged stride with a slight shift of their hips. Yes. Men do move that part of their bodies. Otherwise, they’ll look like they have a problem with constipation.

I tell you, if you want to describe a real man’s walk, use John Wayne’s. Below is the last scene in McLintock. The movie isn’t PC any longer, but it’s still funny and shows the famous walk. Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne make great Alpha characters. I guess that’s why they made so many wonderful movies together.

THANK YOU!

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

A WHOLE BAG OF UH UH UH, OR WHAT MAKES A HERO SEXY

2011-11-08T08:00:00.005-06:00

I recently blogged at www.geekybloggersbookblog.com about what makes a demon hunter sexy. Here is my take on the subject:

HOW TO MAKE A DEMON HUNTER SEXY

Start with a strapping, six foot plus alpha male warrior.

Inject him with logic and a literal viewpoint of the universe. Replace sense of humor with an unwavering purpose and devotion to duty.

Load him up with muscles and super strength. Give him a pair of bedroom eyes, a smoke and whisky voice that would tempt a saint, and a body so perfect it would make a male underwear model shriek with envy.

Throw in the face of an archangel.

Endow him with superior strength, a bag of tricks (like invisibility and a built in translator), and several thousand years’ experience in warfare and the hunt.

Give him a magical weapon to use on demons and a different sort of ‘magical weapon’ to use in the bedroom.
Plant him in the Deep South and proceed to bewilder and confuse the heck out of him by having him fall in love for the first time in his eons’ long existence.

Throw in chaos, danger, lots of lust, and add a bunch of zany.

Sit back and watch the fun.

***

Here are some of the responses made by readers about what qualities make a demon hunter (or any alpha male) sexy. The numbers indicate how many responded with a particular trait.

He knows how to use his . . . er . . . magical weapon (2)

Magical abilities (1)

Domestic abilities, most important being the ability to cook (7)

Tough guy in a fight, but gentle with his woman (17)

Glowing eyes (1)

Lithe (1)

Take charge attitude (2)

Drop dead gorgeous (4)

Hot, muscular body and kissable mouth (9)

Sexy eyes (3)

Loyal and honorable (2)

Sense of humor (5)

Mind reading ability (1)

Dark and tormented (1)

Mysterious, but an open book behind closed doors (2)

Great massage and foot rubber extraordinaire (1)

Snappy dresser (1)

Intelligence (1)

Confident, but with an Achilles heel

Courage

Tattoos and a big package. (Although not, I presume, ON his package—Yeow!) (2)

Nice manners (1)

Wears glasses, i.e. like Superman and Clark Kent (2)

Charm (1)

Bad boy who struggles to do the right thing (2)

Sexy accent (3)

Protective (3)

What qualities do YOU think make an alpha male sexy?

Love, Preternatural Style

2011-11-06T15:33:00.003-06:00

We’re all adults here, right? Chronologically, if notemotionally. (Okay, speaking for myself.)

So, let’s talk about sex—writing it. Other writers I’ve metseem to fall into one of two groups. The first type enjoys writing love scenes;they find it toe-curlingly pleasurable. The second plows through it like a tripto the dentist—a necessary, albeit painful, evil.

Color me part of Group No. 2, which is probably why I preferwriting urban fantasy to romance. I love the fun bits—the sexual tension, theplayful banter—and don’t have to worry too much about stuff I’d just as soon mycharacters didn’t share.

Trouble is, as I write the third book in my series, I realize it's hightime my heroine gave it up. (Oh, she’s given it up before—before the seriesstarted—but that only required oblique references.) Now, for several evenings,I’ve abandoned my goal of writing 1k words a day to stare at a screen, trying tofigure out how my heroine and a suitor who shall remain nameless for spoileryreasons are going to “just do it.”

Yeah, yeah, I know. Tab A into Slot B. Blah blah blah. Butmy heroine’s a wizard, as well as an empath. She can zap him with charges ofelectricity, work a charm on him to make him think he’s Superman (or atongue-flicking Spider Man…hmmm…), and then will know exactly how he feelsabout it. Although Lover Boy has a special skill set of his own to bring into the mix.

Did I mention very, very few of the characters in my booksare plain-vanilla human?

So, for paranormal love scenes, the sky (or hell, or thealternative version of Cleveland) is the limit. To ignore their specialcharacters/abilities would be an easy cop-out. Let those abilities take ontoo big a role, and the love scene becomes something else, something that loses the importanceof the transition in my couple’s relationship.

To do a quick “ceiling-fan” cut and run is a cop-out, but writing tooexplicit and I’ve just taken my PG13 series into a different genre. As I told my crit partner, "I can write smut and I can write church bulletin. I'm having trouble with the happy medium."

Decisions, decisions. I think I’ll leave a few pages blankand move on to the scene where the reanimated, axe-wielding zombie serialkiller chases my heroine into the arms of an elf. Yeah, that’ll work.

A Little Preview - Victoria Dahl - Awesome Author!

2011-11-04T23:00:00.004-05:00

Here's a little preview of what we're going to enjoy Saturday at the Romance Readers Luncheon!

Another Cool Writing Tool (Which Is Also a Big Time Suck)

2011-11-02T08:30:00.004-05:00

I truly believe I was an architect in another life. Houses--and house plans--have always fascinated me. When I write, I know exactly what the homes of my characters look like. Sometimes I can find pictures of them. And sometimes I will even do sketches of the floor plans.

Last week, while fantasizing about a vacation home, I came across a Web site where you can design your own log home. It's incredibly easy to use--you can start with one of their plans or create one of your own from scratch. Then you can furnish it, add floors, plant some landscaping, and populate it with people and dogs. You can even link Internet photos to it. Found a table you love at Pottery Barn? Add a link!

At first, I played with an imaginary getaway house for me and my husband. Then it hit me: I could create a real floor plan for my hero's home. And it really got me thinking about things like "Would Matt have a king size bed or a queen size? What color would his couch and hand-me-down chair be?" I hung his hammock on the front porch right beside the old metal glider where the heroine is sitting when she confesses a secret to him.

Hours later, I was satisfied that my hero had the perfect home--and it was exactly like I had imagined it. Now to create my heroine's home...

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T06:00:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite horror storytellers is Stephen King. And my all time favorite of his is... It.

Keeping with the spirit of the day, share your all time favorite scary story.

I'm So Fat Even My Writing Needs a Diet !!

2011-10-28T19:33:00.004-05:00

I recently received notes and a request from an agent as a result of a contest. YAY, right? Absolutely. And while the agent said lots of nice things about my voice, my characters and the story; she also said something that sent this bona fide adjective junkie in search of the nearest thesaurus like a cop looking for the closest Krispy Kreme! My descriptions were “evocative, perfect” and there were WAY TOO MANY OF THEM! Eeeek! Telling me my writing is too descriptive is like telling me chocolate is too sweet. Oh the humanity!

She said my baby is too fat. SOB!

I, of course, immediately sought the opinion of someone I trust implicitly. To my horror this person said “Yep. The kid’s a porker. You need to trim that fat. Can I get you an axe?”

What’s a fat writer to do? That is my question, dear readers. My wonderful story needs a diet and NOW! Anyone have any tips, clues, fen fen for manuscripts?

And do you think descriptions are different for different genres? I write Regency set historicals. I don’t want to write dress-up historicals – thinly veiled contemporaries in Regency drag. But I don’t want my stories to be bogged down beneath avalanches of adjectives. How do you decide how much is too much?

“The road to hell is paved with adjectives.”

Stephen King

Great, now my poor baby has to face two of the greatest fears a Southern woman can endure – Being fat and Going to hell. I can just hear my mama now.

I need an intervention. I need some guidance. I need a really big butcher knife to take to this manuscript! This is all too much for me. Talk amongst yourselves while I go in search of a Krispy Kreme!

INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIE CRAIG

2011-10-27T04:00:00.000-05:00

On November 5th, 2011 is the Southern Magic Romance Readers Luncheon. Among the authors attending is Christie Craig, a versatile writer who not only writes fun adult contemporary romances, she also writes Y.A. paranormal under the name C.C. Hunter. When I had the opportunity to interview her for this blog, I jumped at it. Please join me in welcoming her to Romance Magicians. You will find her a delightful, sharp, and an inspiring woman.

M.V. Freeman

What made you want to write YA?
Well, my story is a little different than most. I wasn’t writing or planning on writing a YA. One could call it luck, but I think it’s more about synchronicity. I had finaled in a contest years before and gotten my book in front of Rose Hilliard at St. Martin’s Press. She liked it but didn’t make an offer. Later, when I got an agent, we sent Rose a proposal for a humorous paranormal romance. Rose loved it and took it to the committee to buy. But it didn’t make the cut. However, she loved my voice. She kept an eye on my career as I started to publish. Then, when they were looking for writers for their new YA program, she contacted my agent and asked if I would be interested in trying my hand at writing a YA. I almost said no, because I didn’t have a clue if my voice would work in the YA market. When I shared my concerns with Rose, she said the reason she’d thought of me for this was because of my voice. She said I was a smarta$$ and teens liked that. Who would have guessed that being a smarta$$ would have gotten me somewhere in life? Especially when my mama told me it wouldn’t. LOL.

What difficulties did you face writing YA as opposed to your adult books?
Well, anytime you write in another genre, you need to be familiar with it. And because I wasn’t, I had to learn it and learn it quick. I read about a dozen YA books in a week. I analyzed what common elements they all shared. And what made them unique. Then I compared my notes to what I was writing, and figured out how YA books differed from Romance books. The one thing Rose Hilliard told me was to make sure not to change my voice. She didn’t want me to talk down to the readers. So I had to keep the voice, but I had to take some serious trips down memory lane to recall all the things that were important to me when I was sixteen. Because writing a YA meant I was going to have to get into the character of a sixteen year old girl.

Can you describe the series?
When Rose came to me, she had a two-word pitch. Paranormal camp. But for me, a story doesn’t come alive until I have my characters and the internal issues that my characters will face. I came up with a story about a sixteen year girl struggling to figure out who she is, only to discover that she doesn’t know what she is. Imagine being sixteen and told you weren’t human. Especially when you didn’t even know that non-humans existed. So the story’s theme is one of an identity crisis. It’s something I think teens and, heck, women of all ages face as we move from one stage of our lives to the other. Of course, there are also other threads running through the story, like friendship and romance. The title of the series is Shadow Falls, and Awake at Dawn is the second book in the series just released Oct. 11th.

What is your writing process? i.e. Do you write a set number of hours, pages? Do you write a rough first draft? Clean? Do you revise?
I work anywhere from eight to twelve hours a day. It’s not uncommon for that to be seven days a week. However, if I’m not on a deadline, I will take off early on the weekends so I can spend extra time with my family. Writing for two publishers and doing some self-publishing requires a lot of work. But since I love my work, it doesn’t feel so bad. I wish I could be so organized that could set out and write a certain amount of pages a day. But I never know how many will come out of me. I’ve written as many as 40 pages in a day, and as little as three. It all depends on how well the story is flowing and if the characters are talking to me. I’m dyslexic, and my first drafts are always riddled with mistakes, spelling errors, typos, and missing words. However, my first drafts are usually pretty clean when it comes to characters and plot. I will sometimes go back and up the conflict in a scene if I realize I didn’t bring it out enough. And I have been in the early stages of a book and came up with some plot twist and decided I needed to go back in and foreshadow it.

I usually reread and polish yesterday’s pages in the morning before I start the new pages for the day. Even then, I have lot of typos and nothing I write goes to the publisher without being read by my faithful critique group.

For the writers: Are you plotter, pantser, or both?
I am a true blue pantser. However, the business side of writing often tries to push me into being a plotter by insisting on little things called synopses and such. How dare they, huh? LOL. So now I will write a synopsis, but my editors know that things will probably change. I recently had another published friend ask to see my YA synopsis because she was attempting to write a YA. I sent it to her and after she read it she called me laughing. She couldn’t believe that at the end of the synopsis I wrote. I do not know who the villain is who lives inside the camp, but it will be the least likely person the reader will suspect. My friend asked me, did you really send that to your editor? I did. And honestly, my editor likes it like that. I haven’t even decided which guy my heroine will end up with at the end of the series. I mean…you know teenagers, my heroine might just change their mind. LOL. However, Rose says she likes me not knowing because then even the readers can’t figure it out.

What inspires you? (Music, movies, people?)
All of the above. I can honestly say that I think life inspires me. Which is why it’s important to find time for a life. It’s easy to submerse yourself in nothing but your work, but to do that is dangerous. When you stop living, you become susceptible to facing a lack of creativity. Even though I work too much, I still make time to walk, to chat with friends, to spend romantic evenings with my husband, to babysit my granddaughter, and to make sure I have plenty of time for laughter. Laughter, family, friends, and career, that’s the recipe for my life. Well, throw in some wine and chocolate and you’ll have it right.

What comes after this current YA book? Another YA or Adult?

The last book I completed was Blame it on Texas, the second book in my Hotter in Texas series, which is a humorous romantic suspense trilogy I’m doing for Grand Central/Forever as Christie Craig. It will release Sept. 2012. I’m about to start the fourth book in my YA series. It’s not even titled yet and I have a feeling I’ll be hearing from my editor this week about getting her some suggestions for the new title. The next book to release will be Taken at Dusk, April 2012, which is the third book in the Shadow Falls series.

How fast do you write? For example does it take you a year from start to finish? or months?

I write three and a half books a year. Hence, the eight to twelve hours a day. LOL. It’s a tough schedule but as I said, I do love what I do. Most of the time I can finish a book in two months—but then there’s the editing I do after I get all the critiques back from my group. And as most people know, being a writer involves more than just writing. I have to work on copy edits, promotions, emails, blogs, research, and staying on top of the market by reading. So I generally give myself three months to write a book.

Thank you so much for having me here today. I love talking about writing. And I can’t wait to see everyone in November!

Christie Craig.

AKA C.C. Hunter

Queen of Excuses

2011-10-25T22:08:00.004-05:00

Last month, Southern Magic hosted an all-day workshop featuring experts in crime scene investigation, law enforcement, methods used by private investigators, and criminal defense and prosecution. A virtual smorgasbord for hungry suspense writers. No questions were deemed unworthy and answers poured forth based in fact and enriched by individual experiences. No names were revealed in order to protect the innocent/guilty, of course. I took copious notes, came out of lurkdom with a few questions myself, and enjoyed a fabulous lunch. All in all, a pretty great day.

Last Saturday, a kickoff was held for the upcoming NaNoWriMo or National November Writing Month, during which the brave/determined and the not-so-brave/but still determined will write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Enough said.

After getting off work tonight, I drove to two different bookstores in order to find several of my favorite authors' new releases on their release days. (At some future date I'll stop my endless internal debate over Kindle vs Nook and just buy one!) Of course while there, I had to purchase the highly recommended No Plot, No Problem so that I'll know how to write a novel in 30 days. (See paragraph above.)

November 5 is our much-anticipated Readers' Luncheon. Drum roll, please.

"Okay, what's your point, Marie," you ask. Well, it's simple. We've been generously supplied with the information, the encouragement, the pep-talks/threats (whichever you prefer), to help us accomplish our goals. And let's not forget the overwhelming support of our published fellow magicians. For those of us who tend to procrastinate, no more excuses.

Game on.

Editors make you look great

2011-10-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

As I sit at my computer my mind wanders back to my editing. I'm close to finishing my edits and I realize just how valuable my publisher's assigned editor is. My fears of, will my novel be dissected and fed back to me turned around, not recognizable as the story I wrote. No. The story is still fully recognizable.

What she changed were phrases or sentences that better converyed to the reader what I actually meant for a particular scene. The changing of just one word does make a difference in the emotions of a scene. This being done without altering the intent of the scene.

Did I make errors in spelling, and grammer. Yes I did. The old cliche (can't see the forest for the trees) is very true. We are inside our story and can't see the small details. This is because we have had this story in our heads for a long time. A fresh set of eyes see what our minds gloss over.

Once I'm actually published I will send my editor a thank you e-mail. She deserves it, because without her my novel would sink to the bottom of the sea with my shame.

Upcoming Events for Lovers of Books

2011-10-21T07:58:00.002-05:00

Our annual Readers Luncheon is November 5. Not only do we have the fantastic Victoria Dahl as our keynote speaker and the always amazing Jennifer Echols as the welcome speaker, but we also have a killer list of authors who will be hosting tables. This is a great event, and Birmingham is fortunate to have it.

However, it isn't the only great Birmingham event for readers. The first weekend in February, mystery fans delight in Murder in the Magic City - a one day readers convention at the Homewood Library featuring mystery writers discussing their books and love of writing.

Hot on the heels of Murder in the Magic City is Southern Voices hosted by the Hoover Library. Southern Voices is a four-day conference exploring Southern culture as reflected in contemporary arts. The Saturday programming features Southern authors who share their stories. This event sells out within days of tickets going on sale.

Shortly after Southern Voices, the Heart of Dixie RWA chapter holds its annual Readers Luncheon. This event always pleases by bringing together the best romance writers in the area.

If you are a reader, you couldn't be in a better location. Get your calendar out so you can make sure you don't miss these outstanding events. Did I leave any out? What other opportunities are near by for readers?

Don't forget to buy your tickets to our Readers Luncheon by November 1. They are $35 and can be purchased through the Southern Magic website. Authors in attendance include:

Fred ArceneauxChristie Craig
Margaret Fenton Delores Fossen Lexi George
Debby Giusti
Debra Glass
Lynn Raye Harris
Laura Hayden
Patti C. Henry
Suzanne Johnson
Debbie Kaufman
Kimberly Lang
J.F. Lewis
Kathleen Long
Janice Lynn
Rosemary Clement-Moore
Lacie Nation
Christy Reece
Naima Simone
Arabella Stokes
Sandy Sullivan
Carla Swafford
Chandra Sparks Taylor
T.K. Thorne
Peggy Webb
Shannon West
Barbara Westbrook

Vicious Cycle

2011-10-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

My sister is a fashionista.

I am a rebel.

I hate to shop. I do not want to be a puppet of the clothing industry.

I could declare myself antisocial. Which reminds me of my mother.

I am a rebel.

I do not want to lock my doors, close the curtains, and eat a bowl of cereal for supper at 6 p.m.

Plus, I’ve been invited to go somewhere. Somewhere nice, with nice people. The Romance Readers Luncheon at the Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham Nov. 5. I can’t miss keynote speaker Victoria Dahl, or welcome speaker Jennifer Echols, Southern Magic’s very own Young Adult author. Or the other two dozen or so role-model authors who will be there.

The thing is, the classic outfit I bought ten years ago with the aid of a personal shopper--the knit sweater set and skirt I could wear anywhere, forever, is clearly dated. In order to participate in life, instead of just writing about it, this fangirl has to go shopping.

It’s not quite true that I never shop. I flip through the catalogs that overflow my mailbox. My chest of drawers boasts a complete wardrobe of swimsuits. I browse the pro shop at every country club where I play tennis. My closet is lined with tennis skirts and tops, some of them inappropriately ruffled for my age. And when I’m looking for a bargain on some staple item like laundry detergent, I swing through the athletic wear department at Wal-Mart. I own an astounding variety of white tank tops and black yoga pants.

However, when it comes to non-athletic events, dread overshadows anticipation. I not only have to give up writing time, I have to shop for something suitable to wear. The longer I stay away from the stores, the more deep-rooted my phobia becomes.

In my dream world, the one in which I’m a successful author with a staff a retinue an entourage, one of my adoring and beloved minions delivers the perfect ensemble, fresh and ready to wear, whenever I need to greet the public.

MINION! Where are you? I need to write, but I’m stressed about what to wear!

How To Make A Romance Cover

2011-10-17T23:30:00.001-05:00

(Thanks, Katherine Bone, for pointing me to this. So cool!)

The Emotional Rollercoaster of A Debut Author

2011-10-15T08:04:00.001-05:00

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

~ A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Let me start with a few highs:

My debut novella, THE DJINN'S DILEMMA, from Harlequin Nocturne comes out Nov. 1.WooHoo! Almost there!

And I love the cover.

The artist totally captured my story about a djinn-assassin,Rukh,who hunts in the shadows and then falls desperately in love with his human target. The only way to save Sarah is to find out who wants her dead and stop them before someone else finishes the job.

Also, the lightning is an integral part of the story! LOVE it!

I have read and written since childhood, and always wanted to be an author (okay, sometimes I wanted to be author/vet or lawyer or rockstar), so this first step in publication is a dream come true. I should be super excited...and a part of me is, but another part of me scared out of my mind. Eeeep! My story is coming out Nov. 1. Eeeeep!

Fear #1: I'm clueless about what to do beyond writing the story. Here's my sad tale: I didn't realize my novella is available for pre-order until a kind friend told me. Yikes! In this day and age, an author has to do so much more than just the write the story and I don't know what to do and if I'm doing enough.

Fear #2: No one (besides family, friends, editor & agent) is going to like my story.

Now, I have laughed out loud and cried as I wrote the story, and edited it and re-read it over and over to be sure I hadn't imagined it. I know The Djinn's Dilemma is a good story. But the fear niggles.

It hasn't helped that when I mention the story is paranormal erotic romance, I get the oddest reactions.

One man asked if I'd let my 6-year-old read the book. Um, no. I don't write for that age group, I write for adults.

Of course, I get THE LOOK, followed by "Oh, you write dirty books." In fact, one lady took it upon herself to shout it out at a party. Yeah, I was the center of attention.

The first time it happened, I was stunned. Now I respond, "No, I write sexy books. And yes, The Djinn's Dilemma has amazing sex between two consenting and committed adults who are racing against time & bad guys to stay alive."

Several wise author friends, who are further along the publication road, shared some wonderful advice:

1. Don't worry about things you can't control.

2. Don't obsess over sales #s on Amazon and other sites.

3. Don't read reviews & DO NOT answer reviews.

And they all gave me one big DO:

Celebrate!

Any other do's and don'ts I should keep in mind?