Fiction Writing and Other Oddities

The End of June

2009-06-25T21:05:00.001-04:00

Wow, what a week. First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson passed away. Guess that's one secret the health nuts forget to tell you when they insist that running that extra mile and eating that cardboard, uh, healthy cereal will keep you young. No one lives forever. And as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather die two days earlier than eat Kashi for breakfast. Not to pick on one brand or anything, you understand.

So anyway—it's a little scary when you start seeing familiar faces you grew up with dropped under six feet of soil. I'm really feeling that cold wind blowing up my skirt these days, particularly since all the parents on both sides of my family have passed away. The next row to be scythed by Death is mine. Brrh. Chilly.

And morbid. So enough of that, already. No more bad news, please. Nobody dies for the next few days. Promise.

Writing-Related Stuff

Romance Writers of America asked me to participate in a task force studying e-publishing with an eye towards preparing materials for writers considering publication with small press and e-publishers. There has been a lot of controversy about the whole e-publisher and small press issue as it relates to questions like: are small press/e-published authors really considered published since they don't typically get an advance for their books? You see, most writers' organizations have strict guidelines about what constitutes "being published" to distinguish serious, professional writers from your average Joe who self-published his memoirs. Most of the time, the dividing lines are drawn around the following questions:

Did you get published by a "recognized" publisher? (Most of these are based in NY—and criteria for publishers to get on the recognized list is generally whether said publisher pays an advance to all of its authors and if that advance is of a certain dollar value…)
Did you get X dollars for an advance? Some organizations set this at $3,000. Some set it at $1,000.

Most e-publishers use a different payment structure. They don't pay an advance, but they pay authors every month or every quarter after their book is released. Generally, authors don't make much with e-publishers, particularly with a first book, but over time, productive authors with e-publishers can make money. Some authors actually make enough to live on, so it can be a good avenue for authors with books that are just too different for the NY big boys to acquire.

Anyway, I'm working to avoid controversy and provide fair and honest information that may be of use to our authors. It's an interesting group and a very complex topic.

Good News (If Any)

Semi-great news: looks like my editor is preparing the contract package for my paranormal. And the fun thing is that my critique partner, Lilly Gayle, has a paranormal under contract now with my publisher, too! So I'm hoping we can cross-pollinate and make guest appearances on each other's blogs sometime next year when our books are released. This is a new genre for me, since I generally write historical/historical mysteries, but it was a fun change of pace.

Once I actually get the contract paperwork and sign it, I'll feel "set enough" to talk more about it. In the meantime, I'm pretty pleased.

Also, I was delighted with Long and Short Reviews nominated my historical short story, OUTRAGEOUS BEHAVIOR, for best story of the week last weekend. What a nice surprise! They also gave me a lovely review, which made my day.

And although I got two rejections for another historical mystery, one of the rejections said the editor would like to look at the manuscript again if I beef up the romance a tad. So I'm giving that a whirl. It would be super if I could have several books come out in 2010, what with this dry spell in 2009.

What I'm Reading Now

I just finished Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard. What a fun read! Here is a snippet of the review I wrote for it…

This is the first Elmore Leonard book I've read and I have to admit, I really enjoyed it. The characters were charming and funny, even when they were beating up folks. It is always interesting to me to see how an author portrays what are essentially very bad people in a moderately sympathetic manner and Leonard is very, very adept at this.

Jack Foley is a bank robber with a very interesting moral code. It's okay to rob banks, but not dupe people. He's honestly a bank robber, I guess you could say. While I find that sort of moral hair-splitting a little distasteful, for purposes of a novel where you don't have to actually associate with these people, it's okay. I like Jack. He's charming and he's actually honest. If you ask him what he does for a living, he's right up front about it. He robs banks and he's just out of prison. Take it or leave it.

Cundo Rey is a little more difficult as a character. He never really gelled for me, but I take it he "starred" in another book, so maybe if I read that first, I'd have glommed on to him a little better. The reader isn't meant to like him as much as Jack, though, and Leonard makes sure of it by Cundo's treatment of his girlfriend, Dawn Navarro.

And Dawn, well, if you think the other two characters are in a moral gray area, well, she's pretty well drifting as close to black as she can without actually being a mass murderer or anything. She dupes folks for money. It's interesting in that I suspect this moral hair-splitting may say a lot about Leonard's sense of morality. It's okay if you do bad things as long as you are honest about it and don't dupe people.

What I liked: Loved the characters' interactions and the peek into the lives of people I would never in a million years associate with in real life. J There's a sort of evil fascination to getting a glimpse of life on the wild side. The plot was twisty, although I have to admit there was an inevitability about events that made it somewhat predictable. This is good in the sense that what happened HAD to happen because of the characters', well, characters. On the other hand, this also made it a little predictable once you understood the characters. It had to go the way it did for better or worse.

What I didn't like: There wasn't anything I hated. But I couldn't really get into Cundo Rey or his backstory. There were just elements that didn't mesh for me, such as his previous existence as sort of a male exotic dancer. I could have wished for a little more of the unexpected, too, in the plot. Nothing really surprised me.

On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It's definitely on my keeper shelf.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm redoing the historical mystery, The Bricklayer's Helper, to add a touch more romance for resubmission to my publisher, The Wild Rose Press. I'm really, really hoping they will ultimately accept it as they did such a good job with my previous historical, I BID ONE AMERICAN.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Writing is a difficult art to learn and requires constant care and feeding. One of the key elements, however, is discovering what gives you joy. For me, my joy in writing comes when I can come up with a humorous situation. The more humor I can infuse into a story, the more I enjoy writing it. The manuscript I'm submitting now, The Bricklayer's Helper, gave me tremendous joy in writing it. Each night, I would lay in bed thinking about what possible terrible—and terribly funny—thing I could do to Sarah and William (my heroine and hero) the next day. I could hardly sleep. I kept wanting to leap out of bed and continue writing. Only sheer exhaustion kept me from doing so.

And while some books I write are much darker, like my paranormals, I know that if I get stuck or depressed, all I have to do is think of the silliest, stupidest, funniest scene I can. My enthusiasm immediately returns, even if I later have to remove that scene.

If you can find what "turns you on" creatively, you can use it to drive yourself forward through all the roadblocks and deadends. Use what you can. You can always edit the junk out later.

Have a terrific weekend!

June 2009

2009-06-03T11:22:00.001-04:00

It's June already? What the heck is going on with time, anyway? It seems to compress at random; needlessly, too, I might add.

Good News (If Any)

I'm awaiting word on my paranormal manuscript with The Wild Rose Press. The editor who read the manuscript liked it and is recommending it to the powers-that-be for purchase. So that's a small, tentative hurray with hopes that the powers like it and buy it. That would be sweet! Especially since I got not-so-good news from another publisher who was looking at one of my historical mysteries. She liked it, but due to the current economic climate, the company is restructuring and may ultimately decide not to do it. But I was thankful to her for giving me an honest assessment of the situation. That shows true graciousness and thoughtfulness that is rare today. I hope they are successful at restructuring and that, even if they decide not to do historical mysteries in the future, there might another genre/place for me with them in a few years.

Still awaiting word on a few queries and submissions, but realistically, I doubt I will hear anything before August or September. In the meantime, I'm going to be bundling up query packets for a mystery I'd like to find an agent to represent.

Other good news: my dog Molly is doing fine now after getting bit on the upper lip by a Copperhead. And even better news, my husband and I saw a King Snake on the path and King Snakes eat Copperheads and Rattlesnakes. So I have every hope that the King Snake will eat the Copperhead that bit my dog. It would be so just if that happens!

What I'm Reading Now

Just finished Gold of Kings by Davis Bunn. Great adventure story with just enough romance to be really satisfying to me. When we first meet the hero, Harry Bennett, he's in a Caribbean jail and there's not much worse that can happen to him. Or so we think. But he gets sprung on orders left by a dead man, Sean Syrrell, only to be immersed in an adventure to find a treasure lost for centuries. Accompanying Harry is Sean's niece, Storm, and Emma—an FBI agent who can't seem to stay out of trouble, either.

There's a crafty and nearly unstoppable assassin on their tail and the FBI want to arrest Harry for the supposed murder of another person interested in the treasure they seek. After the first few chapters, Harry might actually have had a more restful and better time of it back in prison!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book—mostly because of good old Harry. The guy just can't stay out of trouble and that is my favorite kind of character. He was a little quirky and a little different and very lovable. Bunn did a fabulous job with Harry and I'm glad Bunn didn't stoop to the obvious and set up a romance between Harry and Storm. The two characters like each other, respect each other, and save each other's bacon, and I enjoyed the interplay between the two a great deal. The relationship was handled with grace and subtly—something rare in many of today's novels.

Storm Syrrell was less entrancing to me, and I have to say I'm a little sick of these "unique" and artsy-fartsy names. I class the name Storm in the same category as Hawk for a man. Get over it already—can't she just be a Jane or Mary? Maybe not Mary, because that rhymes with Harry, but Jane would do. And frankly, after a surfeit of these "romantic" names, Jane actually feels unusual and unique to me. It's even spelled properly.

Sorry, didn't mean to digress about the name. But Storm did seem a little less real to me than Harry—for whatever reason. But it did nothing to mar my enjoyment of the book. If you get a chance to read it, do!

And I just picked up Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard and am enjoying that. Nothing beats a good crime novel, especially with a delicious, understated sense of humor.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm struggling to write at the moment, mostly because I keep going back to edit things so I can do some more submissions. I guess that's progress, too. However, last night I wrote a few more lines in my Christmas novella. I won't make the deadline for it, but maybe that's okay and I can submit it for next year (Christmas 2010). If I can finish that, I want to write a mystery. Not sure if it will be contemporary or historical, but it will be one or the other.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Backstory!

What is backstory? It's when an author digresses from the current time/storyline to give the reader some background about something. Usually, it's junk that happened in the past that made the hero into the man He Is Today (or the heroine into the woman She Is Today). Everyone tells you to cut out all backstory. Obviously, you can't cut out all of it, otherwise the reader won't understand what is happening or why the character is acting the way he is. But you can certainly trim it back, usually to just a phrase stuck in where it is absolutely essential.

There is so much written about backstory already, but I think I can boil it down to a few salient points:

Don't include backstory that's just history. That is, that has nothing to do with what is going on RIGHT NOW in the book. For example, Melissa Sue is facing a decision about whether to move to the country because she just inherited a huge house. Backstory would be: Melissa Sue was orphaned when she was seven and went to live in a children's home in the Ozarks. And in this instance, the fact that she lived in a children's home in the Ozarks is completely irrelevant and should be excised from this passage. It's only marginally relevant that she was orphaned, and that detail can be inserted in a small phrase, if it's necessary to know that the inheritance was a surprise because of it. That's all. There is absolutely no need to go on and on about the children's home and what the Ozarks looked like, etc, unless it has direct and dramatic bearing on the events at hand.
Don't include characters (and character names) in backstory for characters who will never be mentioned again. They have no relevance in the current story. Do not take attention away from your main characters by throwing in a bunch of names/characters who aren't even in the current story. For example, if Melissa Sue inherited her house from her great-aunt, that's all you need to say. You don't even need to give the great-aunt a name and history—unless that fact has some relevance to Melissa Sue's current problems.
Information must be critical to the current problem the character faces. See item 1. And only reveal that information when it is necessary to describe the character's immediate problem. Otherwise, the reader will just be jarred out of the story, tension will be lost, and your pacing will suffer.

That's about it.

Best wishes for a successful week!

Amy

Mid-May

2009-05-20T20:50:00.001-04:00

I can't believe May is heading toward closure already. We've had a difficult spring since my mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the chemo was a little rough on her and she passed away right before Mother's Day.

Good News (If Any)

I've got a ton of submissions out. A few of them should be getting back to me next week. Note to the editors reading my manuscripts: if it's not good news, delay all you want.

I did submit a short story today to Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. And I submitted a short-short story to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine last week. I'm on a short story binge.

What I'm Reading Now

GOLD OF KINGS by Davis Bunn. It's a mystery/action/adventure story similar to the recent mega-hits like The DaVinci Code. It's fun and so far I'm enjoying the change of pace. I like the hero in the story (the poor chump) but I'm so-so on the heroine. I guess I'm a sucker for a guy who keeps getting the raw end of the deal.

I also just finished plowing through a couple of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Mags. The last few months I've been in a mystery mood. I tend to go in phases like that, where I get the itch to read books in a particular genre. I also bought a bunch of Columbo DVD's. And some of the original Dark Shadows DVD's.

A few months ago, I was in a "ghost story" mood and was shocked to find how few really good, spooky ghost stories there are. There is my favorite, The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson and then…um. Well, now, we start to have a few problems finding others in that vein. Modern horror is okay, but I really, really like the understated, creeping horror without the constant overwhelming blood-baths and orgies. I'm still dying to find some new ghost stories—any length—that are more eerie than gory. I end up going back to this huge volume of tales of the supernatural published in 1940—but I think I've read everything in there at least five times.

Hence…Dark Shadows. This weekend, I'm going to indulge in that guilty pleasure and see the very beginning where Victoria Winters arrives and …

What I'm Writing Now

I was supposed to be writing a historical novella for Christmas, but I just can't concentrate on it. I may have to switch to a contemporary murder mystery, instead. Or a different historical. I have a historical murder mystery brewing that I'd like to write, as well as a contemporary one.

My real problem is that I'm sort of waiting for word on some other manuscripts I've submitted. I don't want to build up a pile of manuscripts in a particular "series" unless I can get the series off the ground to begin with.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I'm back on my old "characterization" hobby-horse. I keep returning again-and-again to that topic. As a writer, I firmly believe the story IS the character. If you have terrific characters, then the plot will flow naturally from the characters and their predicament. It doesn't take much—all you have to do is figure out what the characters really would do given their personalities and the set of circumstances you initially thrust them into. And then you subsequently have to make every good decision your heroine or hero makes into a bad decision that just gets them deeper into trouble.

Sort of like what happens in real life.

It sounds so simple and yet it is so hard to do well. It's very difficult to give your characters free will and then have them go off into unplanned (and undesired) directions and have to completely redo your plot. As a writer, I really resent my hero's arrogant presumption that he has a life and can make his own decisions, thank you very much, and to heck with what I planned for the plot. And my heroines…well. She's usually even worse.

I really hate having to redo the entire plot half-way through because of uncooperative characters. And I have to do it every single time! Just once, I'd like to win that argument and have the book turn out as I originally conceived it.

Anyway, I do have one tip or exercise. Pick up a magazine every day and randomly select a picture. And then write a 250 word story about that picture. Trust me, if you want to become a better writer, exercises like that will work wonders for your creative muscles.

Besides, it's fun.

Last Week of April

2009-04-27T10:49:00.001-04:00

Good News (If Any)

I'm initiating queries for a new series of mysteries set in the fictional town of Peyton, NC, situated on the glorious Crystal Coast, an area Blackbeard used to romp around. I've got the first one, Whacked!, written with plans for a linked set of three under development.

My paranormal manuscript has been submitted to my current publisher, The Wild Rose Press. If they like that one, I already have the rough draft of a third one written, with plans for a third under development.

I'm still waiting to hear back from the publisher on a historical mystery I submitted a few months ago, as well as a couple of other submissions.

So, no "good news" per se—and I may be getting a lot of bad news in the way of rejections over the next few months, but hey, it's all in a day's work for a writer. It's comforting to think that even great writers suffer the same humiliation, although I doubt that many of their rejection letters start with "Dear Author".

What I'm Reading Now

The Mercedes Coffin by Faye Kellerman.

Maybe I'm just not in the mood for this or something, but I'm finding the book a little slow going. I mean, when Decker goes to interview a suspect for the third or fourth time and there's still no one home…my interest sort of sags. But I have a couple of brand new books awaiting me, so if I can struggle through to the end, I've got others to look forward to.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm trying to decide about writing a historical Christmas novella. Or working on another mystery—either contemporary or historical. Just not sure. That's the problem with having a lot of submissions running around. Once I hear from any of them, I'll know which direction to take.

So maybe I should just write the novella. Although I may also try a short story aimed at the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine—just for the fun of it.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I've been thinking about suspense versus mystery and my own enjoyment of mysteries. Generally, folks indicate that one of the biggest differences between suspense and mystery is the knowledge of who the villain is. Although if you use that definition, Columbo would be suspense instead of mystery, because you always knew who the murderer was—it was just whether Columbo could catch him (or her) or not.

But I think there's another important factor in mystery, and that is motive. These days, suspense frequently features a serial killer as the villain, and the motive is dismissed as something as trivial as: he's a sociopath; he doesn't like women with blonde hair; he had a bad childhood; or…just because he's bad. Sigh. Maybe that's why I'm not that into suspense. The motive isn't all that important.

With a mystery, even if I know who the villain turns out to be, I still want to know why and how. The motive and method are almost—or more—important than the who. In fact, the why is what is keeping me reading The Mercedes Coffin. I just want to know the motive.

And it's motive that fascinates me enough to write mysteries. Because I'm always trying to work out: what would force a person into a position where he (or she) thinks murder is the only answer? Why doesn't the person just walk away? (Which is, frankly, what I would do—I can't imagine what would make me kill someone—unless he was actually attacking me. I'm more of a walk-away-&-never-to-speak-to-you-again person.)

Glorious April

2009-04-09T18:53:00.001-04:00

We are having absolutely gorgeous weather! All the azaleas and dogwoods are blooming and the hummingbirds are starting to return. Which reminds me that I need to get a few more feeders.

Good News (If Any)

My historical short story, Outrageous Behavior, has been released and is doing much better than I anticipated. And in fact, The Wild Rose Press has a big sale on short stories this month, so it's only 99 cents! A spectacular bargain and a great way to see if you like an author enough to buy longer and more expensive pieces. Outrageous Behavior has been in my publisher's Top Ten Bestsellers list all week (the list is dynamic, based upon sales) and even hit the number #1 slot earlier in the week. So I'm pretty jazzed about it. Besides, I really like the story. If you've ever struggled to be kind and polite while watching those who are bigger, badder and bolder walk off with the prize, then this story is for you.

When etiquette fails, Outrageous Behavior prevails!

What I'm Reading Now

In The Woods by Tana French. I'm only about 150 pages into this mystery set in Ireland, but I'm really enjoying this book. For some reason, the British writing style appeals to me strongly. Maybe it is the wry, understated wording and the vivid descriptions that really bring you into the story and into the characters' heads—but whatever it is, this is an excellent example. The prose is smooth and the characters very likeable, and yet not perfect. The mystery is sad and compelling. I, for one, hope the rest of the book lives up to the beginning. We shall see.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm editing a paranormal manuscript, based upon a rejection/revision letter I got from my publisher. I'm pretty excited about it because revision letters are good and almost always help you produce a better manuscript. And the cool thing—I've already finished a rough draft of another paranormal that features one of the characters from this first one. So if I can work through the revisions (and not mess it up too badly) and see the first one, I can whip out the second one pretty quickly—at least quickly for me. Since I take about two years to produce a decent manuscript, this may cut me down to one year between books in this line, which would be sweet.

And I still have a contemporary mystery that I want to fix up for submission to an agent.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Don't write in first person unless you mean it. J That's part of what happened to that paranormal manuscript. I wrote it in first person. I still sort of like that version best, but in the paranormal romance genre, they really prefer 3^rd person. So I rewrote it in 3^rd and I've got to tell you, that was a nightmare. I will never do that again.

Personally, I love first person. And I don't especially want to head hop or know what is going on in the minds of the other characters. If the narrator is doing his/her job, then she's interpreting what the other characters are thinking. Whether that character's interpretations are right or wrong—well, that's the story, isn't it? It shows something about the POV character's astuteness and ability to understand others. Sometimes it reveals a fatal flaw in that character, because of her (or his) inability to interpret the actions and emotions of others at all. And I'm really, really good with that. In fact, I don't really like head hopping or jumping around from one character's viewpoint to another if I'm supposed to be identifying strong with both. It pretty well keeps me from settling down deeply into any one character. Which probably explains why I like first person so well, and why I read so many books told in 1^st person.

Of course, I also like books told by an omniscient narrator and such books may include POV shifts to inanimate objects or animals. But hey, those things don't have deep thoughts to sink into, so I'm good with that. And it's usually done for humorous effect, anyway. Strangely enough, it also seems to be an almost exclusively British thing, too. I read a brilliant book where even the wind had a personality and POV, ever so briefly. Somehow, the British seem to have more fun with their writing, although I've found a few American authors who are also willing to have a little fun, too.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Not to mention, I'm supposed to be cooking dinner.

Have a great weekend!

End of March

2009-03-25T09:38:00.001-04:00

Good News (If Any)

No good news, per se. But I did submit another manuscript, The Bricklayer's Helper, last night to my publisher. I really, really hope my editor likes it. I love this story—I wrote it after reading a newspaper article from an old "Broadsheet" from the Regency period in England (early 1800's). An orphaned girl disguised herself as a boy in order to find work. She worked as a bricklayer's helper, then as a footman, for a number of years. She even married her landlady's pregnant daughter (the landlady blackmailed her with exposure) so that the pregnant girl wouldn't have a child out of wedlock. Unfortunately, her efforts came to naught when she was exposed, but it was a fascinating story. This woman chose that path to avoid the only other "profession" open to a young girl with no money or family: prostitution.

Anyway, I sort of took that story and ran with it—making it into a mystery (she's orphaned when her family is killed, and now the killer is after her!) with a bit of romance. The poor heroine hires an inquiry agent who seems more interested in his reflection in the mirror than in finding the killer stalking her. Oh, well. Life is tough for my characters.

This story comes after my previous book, I Bid One American, and features the Archer family again. Those characters just can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Did I mention that Highland Press contracted with me for The Necklace? We haven't started the actual work on it yet, but I did sign a contract. The Necklace is actually a prequel of sorts to I Bid One American, so I'm glad it will be coming out—maybe in 2010, I hope. This one features a cursed gem that's been in the Archer family for a number of years…

What I'm Reading Now

The Little Sleep by Paul Tremblay. I just finished it last night. The main character is a private investigator suffering from narcolepsy—you know—where you fall asleep at inappropriate times and suffer from hallucinations. It was fascinating. Funny and yet dark. The poor guy isn't even sure if he remembers who hired him, or if that was a hallucination. J His life is going down the toilet fast, but he's clinging to the rim, anyway, and I loved it.

If you're looking for a different kind of mystery, I highly recommend this one. I really like off-beat characters and this is one of the better books containing a whole slew of them.

What I'm Writing Now

Starting work on a Christmas story, actually a novella. I need to finish it by the end of June, so I've got to get my thoughts in order. J However, it looks like a murder may take place and a ghost may have been involved. Somehow.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

Epiphany Moment: The payoff in the world of romance novels has changed. Which I'm sure everyone but me already knew. Duh.

Used to be, the payoff was love and commitment (usually in the form of marriage).

Now, the payoff is sex.

Okay. What-ever.

But it does make me kind of sad. For me as a reader, it can be hard (no pun intended) to feel satisfied at the end of a romance novel. Particularly when there are multiple "payoffs" throughout the book. One more, at the end, becomes meaningless as a "wrap up." Who cares by that point? Obviously, every other reader in the world, except me. All right. I admit it. I'm an idiot.

But here's an example of what satisfies me, from another genre. Mysteries.

You can define the payoff in a murder mystery as the revelation of "who did it," "why they did it," and the restoration of order and justice. Well, that happens once. At the end. It's a real payoff. And like all payoffs that mean anything, you have to wait for it. You get hints, but not the real deal until the end. It's not like the author can restore order and justice and then continue the book—the story is over at that point. And that's one of the reasons I'm a huge mystery fan. Because I like that sense of completeness and order in an essentially chaotic universe. The sense of justice served—but not before the end of the book.

Mysteries and suspense that let me down on the payoff by doing something like allowing the bad guy to escape due to the ineffectual justice system—well, I'm unlikely to read those authors/books again. They are missing the essential point: a satisfying payoff. I get enough of real life in real life. I don't need a book to know bad guys get off all the time due to technicalities. Or they are simply not caught to begin with. That's life. Not fiction.

Or at least, hopefully, not fiction.

Just like the horror authors miss the point if there's no one left alive at the end. King never kills off all his characters. [Spoiler alert] The kid survives in The Shining. Phew. Payoff. And that's why (no matter what you think of him or his writing) he is a master in that genre. Someone has to survive. And hopefully, order has been restored (even if just temporarily beaten back into the dark depths). That's the payoff. He understands that and gives the reader what they need. A really scary story and a great "phew" sense of relief at the end. Good triumphs over evil (at least for five minutes).

So, back to romances and my general sadness. I guess it shows how hopelessly out of touch and out of date I am. I mean, I know women don't care about marriage and commitment, anymore. They are not a woman's sole goal the way they were up until about the 1950's. I get that. Heck, I've been working at a very demanding career now for over thirty years. But for me, romance is inextricably bound with commitment. And yes, marriage—which in my simple mind, is the legal instantiation and proof of commitment. And I've got nothing against sexy novels and such—but unfortunately, sex isn't a payoff—at least not for me. And once it occurs, the "romance" is over. So yeah, if it occurs at the end, I'm good with that—because it rolls up into love and commitment as a satisfying payoff. But if it's been occurring regularly for the last 200 pages, well, who cares at that point? I don't care anymore. The ending is therefore weak.

That's just me—as a reader—though. Just a random, useless opinion.

I'm just one gal who got sidetracked.

March is Going Quickly

2009-03-19T15:10:00.001-04:00

I decided to try a new format for my blogs, since I've been falling behind because of my furious work on new manuscripts. I'm really, really working hard to get submissions out there on a number of fronts for both professional and psychological reasons. Submitting manuscripts to publishers is more like buying lottery tickets than anything else. At least it seems that way to me. There's no telling who is going to like what. Sometimes you win, but mostly you lose. The more times you play the game, the more likely you are to win something. Although the lottery is more random in that playing more games does not change your odds of winning.

Psychologically, it's easier to take a rejection if you have four or five other submissions pending because your crushed spirit still has the balm of a few more fruitless submissions that you haven't heard back on. Yet.

Good News (If Any)

I do have 1 short story coming out this month, on the 25^th to be exact. It's a sweet Regency called: Outrageous Behavior. And I already got a 4-star review from Novel Editions, so I hope you'll check it out. Because it's a short story, it's cheap and doesn't take long to read, so I'm hoping folks will find it to be their cup of tea.

And speaking of cups of tea…

I'm attending a Regency Tea given by the Durham Library system in the Raleigh, NC, area. The tea is March 31^st in the evening and it promises to be a lot of fun. If things get too boring (I'm a terrible conversationalist), I have a trick up my sleeve. Many eons ago, before the earth's crust entirely cooled, I obtained a desk of Regency-themed Tarot cards. So, if we can't think of anything to talk about at the Tea, other than the weather, I can whip out my Tarot cards and do a few informal Regency Fortune-tellings. At least that will save me from the dreaded silence that seems to fall when you're facing a bunch of strangers and have no clue what to say.

What I'm Reading Now

I'm reading a few short stories in The Strand magazine. There is a Mark Twain and a P.G. Wodehouse, so I really can't go wrong. I love short stories. When I want something to read at bedtime and for whatever reason don't feel like plunging into another novel, I generally pick up my volume of The Collected Works of H. H. Munroe (aka, SAKI) and read a few of his short stories. It doesn't matter how many times I read them—they still make me chuckle.

What I'm Writing Now

I'm working madly on polishing the final draft of The Bricklayer's Helper. It's a sweet Regency mystery/romance and features the Archer family from my previous book, I Bid One American. It was a lot of fun to write, so I hope my editor agrees and I can find a home for it. I've given myself a deadline of April 3, 2009, to submit it. Then, I'll get to work on polishing up a paranormal I have lying around. I'm considering trying the Nocturne line for that one (if I find the guts to do so). After that query goes out, I'll be submitting a few queries for a cozy mystery called: Whacked!. That one is ready, but I'm trying to pull together a query that agents will bite on. It will be my first contemporary mystery, so we'll see what happens.

What—If Any—Thoughts I have

I'm trying very hard not to think.

So far, I've succeeded.

2009-03-03T21:27:00.001-05:00

News

Coming Soon

My Regency short story: Outrageous Behavior is coming out March 25 from The Wild Rose Press! Yippee! If you're looking for something short, sweet and inexpensive, take a look.

Regency Tea & Book Signing

The Cary Library (Raleigh/Durham, NC) is hosting a Regency Tea with romance authors Liz Carlyle, Amy Corwin, Claudia Dain, Sabrina Jeffries and Deb Marlowe on March 31 at the Paige Walker Center. There will be a tea expert there, giving a period correct tea and a book signing afterward.

The Cary library is asking attendants to sign up ahead of time at their location, as seating is limited. The event is free, but you have to sign up and get a ticket ahead of time. We just heard that they are nearing capacity.

Hope to see some of you there!

What I'm Reading Now

You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled by Parnell Hall.
Cozy Mystery

What a riot! I love this book. It's got me laughing with the snarky dialogue and impossibly twisted situations the "Puzzle Lady" gets herself into. I really recommend this (and can't wait to finish it and get some more in this series).

What I just Finished Reading

Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
Mystery

I really enjoyed this book and am giving it 95 out of 100. It's definitely on my "keepers" shelf, and I'll be picking up the rest of his books. I'll start out with my only quibbles: a) The main character's name is Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels, with the Chicago police department. Well, as everyone knows, the nickname for Jacqueline is "Jac" not "Jack" (which is incidentally the nickname for John). Obviously, he wanted to play on the Jack Daniels Whiskey theme so he had to stretch it. Sigh. It would have been better to leave it as Jac Daniels—he could still play on the Whiskey theme and it would have been smoother; and b) Jack's voice was decidedly masculine. I got used to it, but never really "felt" the narrator's "female-ness". It was like a man pretending to be a woman. J

Small quibbles, nothing bad, probably just moi.

Gotta say, though, this book moved! He carried you right along with the story of a serial killer calling himself The Gingerbread Man who decided to cut a wide-swath through the female population of Chicago. Pretty gruesome, really.

The writing is tight and exciting, and the story moves right along at a fast pace. It's hard to put it down, really. And I love Jack's wry sense of humor.

Total: 95 out of 100

What I'm Pondering

How to write true-to-life Regency dialog without completely boring my audience and making them think all the characters are hopelessly dorky. You have to update it, but the question is the degree to which you can do this without straying too far into way-NOT-historical. I'm working on a Regency mystery—a serious Regency mystery—and it requires accuracy.

What made me think I could do this?

Promo-ho-ness

Contest

You need something to cheer you up, right? You know you do. With spring almost here—but not quite—and that general blah feeling that results from the end of the holidays and arrival of more bills, you're in desperate need of a nice surprise. Maybe even something you can curl up with and read. Something that will let you read not one, but thousands of good books…

A Sony e-Book Reader! Yeah, that's the ticket!

The Wild Rose Press is running a contest to give away a free Sony e-book reader! The contest runs until March17, so be sure to visit and find out how to enter. I'm one of the sponsors so you can use the purchase of my Regency romantic mystery, I Bid One American, to enter! And I was pleased to discover that Book Utopia considered I Bid One American one of the best books for 2008! Thanks!

Post-Holiday Deflation Cure

2009-02-02T22:00:00.001-05:00

The holiday frenzy is over. You've gotten all the gifts you are going to get and are now, unfortunately, paying for them. And you're deflating like a balloon someone forgot to tie off.

But wait! It's not too late to get something for yourself. Something you can curl up with and read. Something that will let you read not one, but thousands of good books!

A Sony e-Book Reader!

That's right--The Wild Rose Press has got another contest running, just click on the contest link to find out how to enter. This one runs from Jan through March. And, of course, I'm one of the sponsors so if you decide you'd like to use the purchase of my Regency romantic mystery, I Bid One American, to enter, now is the time to go for it! I was pleased to discover that Book Utopia considered I Bid One American one of the best books for 2008, which brought me great pleasure.

And just in case anyone wants a small taste to whet their interest, here is an excerpt from I Bid One American...

Miss Haywood flushed and took another sip of tea, choking when she swallowed too quickly.

"It's amazing what rubbish they print," Nathaniel said. "You obviously have more sense than to believe what you read."

"So you two did meet in the garden," Lady Victoria interrupted.

His grin widened.

Miss Haywood frowned at him and caught his gaze. She shook her head very so slightly. "We met on the terrace," she corrected.

Apparently she didn't want the Archers to know Nathaniel had dragged her off into the bushes. And that suited him. She needn't have worried about him admitting that to her guardian. No one had been compromised. There was no earthly reason to discuss it.

"Well, nevvy? What of it?" Archer asked. "Garden or terrace?"

"Terrace, certainly," Nathaniel replied smoothly.

"Miss Haywood was instructing me on the identification of moths." He tried to recapture Miss Haywood's gaze to reassure her, but she resisted him. "It was all very correct."

"Yes. And you were very polite, too, as I recall. It quite impressed me at the time," Miss Haywood said. "Exceedingly polite."

He stared at her. Her sky blue eyes twinkled roguishly above a pert nose lightly dusted with freckles. One long red curl twined over her shoulder, making her mannish scarf anything but masculine. His eyes drifted lower to the slight curve of her chest, remembering what Harnet said about women with slender builds….

Harnet could say what he wanted, Miss Haywood looked very much like trouble to Nathaniel.

There now, that's enough of that. Back to blogging.

I do have a tip. It's one of those things that applies to more than just writing--it really applies to any endeavor. And it's one of those things that just seems like common sense. But it is also extraordinarily hard to remember when you are in the throes of whatever you are in the throes of.

Always have more than one iron in the fire.

That is to say, when possible, always have multiple submissions going, and/or multiple projects you are working on. It's not just because it increases your chances, but because of the psychological benefits, too.

If you have several submissions going, with several manuscripts submitted and/or at various stages, than the failure (rejection) of any one item isn't as devastating. Because you have other chances to make it.

I'm the first to admit that while this sounds easy, it is not. It's not that easy to write, edit, and polish multiple manuscripts (or projects) to the point where you can be squirting them out in parallel. Or have one manuscript accepted for publication, another undergoing the submission process, and another being polished, but the more you can do that, the less any one failure will bite.

Sure, failures will bite. Don't get me wrong. But it will bite less if there are other prospects.

And like I said, this is true with just about any endeavor you care to mention. Including the lottery. Well, maybe not the lottery. I'm told having more tickets in no way increases your chance to win since it is random. But I find that hard to believe.

So get out there and pursue whatever makes you happy, and do it in large enough numbers to win a few successes, too!

Outside the Zone

2009-01-28T20:57:00.001-05:00

Lost my first attempt at this blog so...buyer beware.

I recently had reason to remember my own advice about reading outside of your comfort zone. I get a lot of books for free in exchange for reviewing them, so sometimes I select book I wouldn't normally read. This is fabulous for finding new authors and sometimes, if you are an author, you also get that buzz of creativity that convinces you to try something different.

Not that I really need to try anything different. I already have a computer-full of manuscripts I will probably never sell because there doesn't seem to be a market for zany murder mysteries with a touch of romance set in early 19th century England. Who knew no one else would like such a thing and publishers wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole?

Be that as it may, I recently agreed to review a book by Charlie Huston called "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death". It gave me a crazy new idea for yet another book that I'm sure will not sell--but what-ever.

And although socially, I will claim until my dying day that Huston's book is totally outside my comfort zone, to be perfectly honest, it is not.

It is not the kind of novel a 15-year-old girl should admit to reading, especially to her parents. (And no, I don't fit into that category.) It is also not the kind of novel anyone would expect a fifty-something professional woman to be reading. (And I'll never admit to fitting into that category.) In fact, I can't think of anyone who could comfortably admit to reading this book to any member of his/her family. Unless the reader is homeless and has no family members who can read.

But I loved this book.

I mean, any book that begins with the hero engaged in an argument about who is the bigger a$$hole is, well, it's funny. I know it should not be, but it is. (I'm trying to clean up my language so that it will match my prim-and-proper exterior, but it's hard when there is so much amusement to be derived from seeing the look on people's faces when a well-dressed, polite, soft-spoken fifty-something woman sprinkles in a few choice swear-words. It is irresistible. Sorry. I digress.)

So I should start by saying, this book is not for you if...

If swearing is offensive to you.

If the thought of exploding bodies fills you with disgust.

If you have no sense of humor (but it has to be a sort of sick, cynical humor).

If you don't find yourself laughing at hopelessly inappropriate moments. (This is a terrible fault of mine that I can't seem to control.)

If you can't stand to read books with experimental punctuation.

This book is not for the faint of heart or the remorselessly, politically correct crowd. Or those who insist the normal rules of grammar be used.

And the book is about those marginal characters you see hanging around in the alleys behind tatoo parlors. So if that disturbs you, this is not the book for you.

Did I mention that I love this book?

It is not, however, without flaws.

Flaw 1: There exists a certain set of authors who believe that our existing rules for punctuation and grammar are not good enough for them. They insist on creating their own rules. (I read a great deal of experimental fiction, so I am not speaking from an uneducated, "never-seen-this-before" perspective.) They believe this enhances the immediacy of their work. Or whatever they believe in their supreme over-confidence.

They are always wrong.

Huston obviously believes his system makes the dialog "more real". He is wrong. It makes it annoying. I liked the book in spite of this, not because of it.

In fact, although I got the hang of his punctuation after a couple of pages, there were several places where I had no idea, after reading the section three or four times, which character was saying what. But, did I mention that I still loved it? Despite this, I still loved it.

Note, however: I loved it despite, not because of, the peculiar punctuation and grammar. It did not help. In fact, it hindered.

Sigh.

So anyway, in order to present a useful review of "The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death" I read a few of the other criticisms. If at all possible, I wanted to present some new perspective to help potential buyers make the ultimate decision to plunk down their hard earned money.

Some reviewers remarked about what they considered to be a meandering, slow-to-start plot. I have to disagree with this, vehemently. Yes, if you only consider plot to be external events and "stuff" that happens to a character. Web, the main character, is initially occupied with sleeping and sponging off his best friend.

The initial plot is to dig the hermit-like Web out of his comfortable stasis and make him face life. While action-wise he spends an inordinate amount of time having extremely funny and snarky conversations with a variety of people, there is more happening than that.

He gets a job and realizes he actually wants to work. He wants to live again. And we see the process, in all it's quirky, funny glory as he begins to work, finds himself in a relationship, and is forced out of his shell. We find out about the trauma he suffered that made caused him to escape into his shell to begin with.

It is about his character development, not about external events/action.

And as with any good novel, once he starts to try to re-enter the world, all sorts of bad things happen to him. Hence the mystery aspect.

So I have to agree that the first part is slow. It is what it has to be for Web to break out of his suspended animation and move forward. In fact, I was so enthralled and jazzed by this book that I had to stop reading it at bedtime and had to actually read it during the day.

Web was endearing and funny and his predicament was so agonizing that I could not stop reading it. And despite the exploding bodies and gore and things I know I should not laugh at, I read it with a stupid smile on my face and laugh at the back of my throat.

Start of a New Year

2009-01-08T18:56:00.001-05:00

Can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog but I have a good excuse. I've been working insanely on several manuscripts.

Over the holidays, I got a good rejection and that's next on my "to-do" list. If you're scratching your head (or other body part) about the concept of a "good rejection," then here's the deal.

Bad Rejection: Dear Author, Due to the volume of submissions we receive, we can't possibly be expected to respond to every query with the sort of personal rejection we'd prefer. Thank you for your submission, but it does not suit our needs at the current time. We wish you good luck submitting it elsewhere.

Now I don't know about you, but when a rejection ends in "good luck submitting your work elsewhere," it always sounds a little sarcastic to me. Like yeah, good luck there, sport.

I did get some of those, too, over the holiday season. Some were sent with a painful apology at sending a rejection just in time for Christmas. Others are waiting (I can feel them out there) to send rejections after the holidays are over, when you're suitably depressed, anyway.

But in the midst of all the well-meaning sarcasm, I also got a good rejection.

Good Rejection: Dear Amy, thank you for your submission. We read it with interest and although we cannot offer a contract on it at this time, if you would consider revising it, we would love to see it again. ...And then they list the things they'd like me to think about revising...

Yeah. I can do that. You betcha. And this time, I'm not even close to being sarcastic, because that's the opportunity I've been waiting for. Maybe not the opportunity, which would be a multi-book contract with nice fat advance, but it is definitely a good opportunity.

Now, not all rejections like that are "good". In some cases, the changes requested not only don't improve the book, but they actually may lead you down the road to ruin. (Been there, done that, wrote the book, went broke.) So you can't just accept any rejection requesting changes as an opportunity you want to pursue.

If you're sure your book is exactly the way it has to be, and you can put your ego aside long enough to be able to determine this truthfully, then that rejection letter is just a rejection. Move on. Submit the book elsewhere until there are no more elsewheres to submit it.

But if the suggested changes ring a bell with you, and you think, Yeah, that's what I wanted to do when I wrote the book in the first place, then you should pursue the opportunity to the fullest extent the law will allow.

Word of Warning: There is no guarantee that you will make that sale after you modify your manuscript. You may edit it to death or just downright ruin it. (Been there, done that, too.) Editing can sometimes make things worse, not better. And the suggested changes are often just someone's idea of "what I would have done if I had been the author".

In my specific case, I read the changes with a sensation of relief. Because the editor somehow divined what I was trying to do with the manuscript and suggested I do that. I won't go into why I went down a different rabbit hole with the manuscript, but suffice to say, I really liked the editors suggestions.

So now I just have to make the changes, polish, and resubmit. It's exciting and a little intimidating, because I know how easy it is to drop my little glass unicorn of a manuscript and break the horn off, turning it into a plain old glass horse. (To borrow a bit from a much more famous writer.)

And I'll probably be fairly quiet because before I start work on those revisions, I'm working on some other revisions that I need to finish by the end of January for another project.

No to mention that I want to start writing "A Feng Shui to Die" which is going to be a lot of fun. Seriously.

Then, I have all these submissions I need to start sending out, so that I can start collecting more rejections for 2009. I've got a goal of at least 100 rejections in 2009.

Hey! I have a goal! And I didn't think I was going to have any goals or New Year's resolutions in 2009.

Cool beans. Oh! Jumping up with excitement I also want to thank the wonderful folks (or lady) at Book Utopia who put my book, I Bid One American, on her list of best books in 2008! Not to mention, she noted one thing about me that is just the best! She said there was a whimsical quality to my writing! Thank you! (Sincerely and without sarcasm.) I love her. (But not in that way.)

I love whimsy. And the whimsical. That's why I like P.G. Wodehouse and Piers Anthony's XANTH books. And Charlotte Macleod's Convivial Codfish. Whimsical is fun and funny, and it makes me feel good to know that others see that lovely quality in my writing. If I thought editors would accept it, I'd be even more whimsical than I am. Whimsical and sarcastic. Dark chocolate with an ooshy-gooshy white chocolate center.

So, see ya around, and I'll try to keep up with blogging and the occassional e-mail.

Good luck to everyone out there in Cyber-land. Best wishes to all!

Overwhelmed for the Holidays

2008-12-18T20:29:00.001-05:00

This week I took leave from work, thinking I could get a lot done. I'm working to polish up a manuscript for submission so having five days off seemed like the thing to do.

The plan started out well. Uh, okay, maybe not. For some unknown reason, I thought it would be a good idea to collect old photos and make scrapbooks for my husband's family for the holidays. Seemed simple enough. Three scrapbooks and I wouldn't have to worry about gifts. First there was the scanning. Ten straight hours. Then there was cutting out the pictures and sticking them into the books. Forget about fancy designs, I did a few little touches, but mostly, I was busy just peeling little sticky tabs off a roll and pasting the pictures to the pages. Another ten hours. One day. Another ten hours the next day.

Because the albums had pages that were 12"x12", the book itself added another inch for the spine and about ¼" all around for the covers, making it about 14"x13". So there was the question of a box. Or rather three boxes and a trip to several places to get them. Then I had to cut the boxes down because they were way too tall.

Total time, nearly four days and no writing done.

And I had such good intentions.

Now, not to complain, but while I was struggling with this insanely stupid gift idea, I was also without running water for 24 hours because the pipe from our water pump broke. On the bright side, I learned how to use a hack saw and two kinds of glue, including that pretty purple stuff. Not to mention having to move all the furniture in my office searching for a body. Because something started to…smell in there with that oh-so-distinctive odor. I think it's a dead mouse, but whatever it is, I couldn't find it. I think it might be wedged behind the baseboard and I really didn't want to start tearing my office apart. And there is the possibility it isn't a mouse because I also found a rather nice shed snakeskin above my kitchen cupboard. So there is that. Living at the edge of a swamp does have certain disadvantages.

In any event, I can tell you quite definitively that Febreze is absolutely useless when it comes to certain odors. And although it has a certain "mousy" element, I'd really be happier to think it's more reptilian.

And here I am, leave almost used up, with a manuscript I haven't touched in a week. Today, I absolutely intend to work on it, although I don't think that work will take place in my office. Not for a few days yet.

Oh—almost forgot, I do have some good news. My novella, Christmas Mishaps, is available now as part of the Cotillion Country Christmas anthology. Sorry about this ugly link, but if you are interested in taking a look, here is the link for the book: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-6803-a-cotillion-country-christmas.aspx

I love holiday stories. They are such an excellent way to escape the stress of the busiest season of the year. And this year in particular I'm resolute about taking the time to read and relax. At some point.

Happy Holidays!

Guest Blogger Marianne Arkins

2008-12-09T08:28:00.001-05:00

This week, I'm very excited to have a guest blogger, Marianne Arkins. She is a fabulous writer and has allowed me to post a thought-provoking article which intersects with two of my interests: animals and characterization.

Marianne can be found on the web at:

http://www.mariannearkins.com and
http://www.reading-writing.blogspot.com

So, without further fanfare and other general nonsense, here is Marrianne!

All of my novels, and many of my short stories include animals in some way. Why? The answer is simple. I think it's a basic truth: the way people treat animals indicates the kind of person they are underneath any false polish they've managed to create.

That's not to say that you must be an animal lover to be a good person. One of my best friends is terrified of dogs, and barely tolerates other fur-people. BUT… if she saw an injured creature in front of her house, she wouldn't walk past it (though, she'd probably call me to help – still, she would feel sympathy and take action). Nor would she go out of her way to run down a dog (or chipmunk or frog or whatever) in the road. She would, in fact, make every effort to avoid it. She became a vegetarian as a teenager because of the way the meat industry treated animals raised for slaughter. I believe all these quirks indicate her basic character.

On the other hand, it's been clearly proven that many of the most horrific serial killers started out their "trade" on animals and worked their way up. A general disregard for life, especially life that is relatively helpless, indicates the type of people they are. In her San Francisco Chronicle article "Cruelty to Animals: A Warning of Possible Violence to Come" Dr. Margo DeMello says, "Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Andrew Cunanan, David 'Son of Sam' Berkowitz, and Albert 'Boston Strangler' DeSalvo were ALL cruel to animals before they started hurting people."

I had a former neighbor who owned a pit bull puppy. He also had two children, one of whom was a boy of about five years. Once, the puppy came running out of their yard to greet me and my dog as we walked past, leaping about and wanting to play. The boy came to fetch it, and—using a tight fist—punched the dog in the ribs for being naughty. This one action told me more than I really wanted to know about his family life.

Domestic animals are dependent upon us for their care. They're much like children, with the exception that they never stop depending on us. This makes our character's behavior toward animals a way to amplify certain characteristics.

In my eBook, One Love For Liv (available from Samhain Publishing), my heroine dislikes animals of all kinds. Witness her introduction to Spike, a bull mastiff and important secondary character in this story:

Something warm and wet swiped her face, both reviving and disgusting her. She kept her eyes closed and limply swatted at it. Her hand hit fur. "Ugh."

"Spike, back off."

Spike? What was going on? She gave a low moan and tried again to force her eyelids to obey her will, finally succeeding after a Herculean effort. A tanned face covered in five o'clock shadow and smears of black grease swam in front of her. Next to him, its neck surrounded by a studded black leather collar, sat the biggest brown dog she'd ever seen. The creature had drool suspended from its mouth and it looked as if it had swallowed a sneaker with the laces hanging out. Dear heavens, was that what had licked her?

A moment later, she turns to our hero and says:

"I'll sit on the curb. Just get your ugly dog away from me."

"Spike? C'mon, he's gorgeous." He gave the monster a vigorous scratch all up and down its body. "And he's not my dog, but don't worry, he's a marshmallow."

"I don't like dogs."

This isn't a very flattering picture of our heroine, in my opinion, and it wasn't meant to be. She's a snob, and more than a little bit selfish. Hopefully this comes across in how she feels about this overly friendly dog.

In one of my as-yet-unpublished novels, The Possibility of Forever, the heroine begins to fall for the hero because of how he treats her pet rat, Maynard.

Just inside the doorway, she stopped, surprised to see Jed rubbing Maynard gently with the cloth placemat, crooning to him under his voice.

Oh, she sighed silently, her heart doing a little flip-flop in her chest.

Without the impetuous of Jed's treatment of an animal most people would be disgusted by, it would have taken far longer for our heroine to see him as a love interest. It also showed us another side of an otherwise "tough guy".

I love stories that include animals. It's a great way to show (not tell) a lot about the characters… don't you agree?

About the Author: Marianne was born in California, met her husband in Colorado, got a puppy and got pregnant, then moved with the group of them to the frozen north of New Hampshire where her thin blood keeps her indoors six months of the year. It's the perfect scenario for writing! She has a novel, "One Love For Liv" available in print on December 29th, and a novella "Kitchen Matches" available from Samhain Publishing. She also has eight published stories with The Wild Rose Press. Check out her website or blog for more information or to see what's going on inside her brain. If you dare.

The Mystery of Titles

2008-11-25T20:43:00.001-05:00

NaNoWriMo is over for another year, at least for me. And I managed to write my latest mystery in a month. Initially I called it Twilight, but someone told me that title was taken, so I later renamed the manuscript to The Adventurers. I should mention that when I originally thought of the story, it was called: Grave Mistakes. Because everyone in the story makes pretty grave mistakes. However, once again, I discovered that another writer had a mystery with that title. I hate reusing someone else's title if I can help it. So, since one of the pivotal moments occurs on a boat called The Twilight I decided to use that. And you know what happened. Hence: The Adventurers.

Title are obviously subject to change. Which is unfortunate since the title is crucial to my mindset and my general feeling of the book. So I try very hard to come up with a title that reminds me of the concept, especially when I'm writing it. Once that is set in my mind, any later changes to the title never really "settle in" for me―never really encapsulate the essence of the story.

For better or worse, my current publisher has never suggested I change a title. However, I know that most publishers regularly and routinely force their authors to change their titles, usually to something wretchedly bland and vomit-inducing. Particularly for historical-set books with any kind of a romance in them. You usually end up with some sort of peerage, e.g. Marquis, Earl, or Duke; in combination with some adjective having to do with his amorous abilities or general bad-ass-ness, regardless of how well this does or does not fit the story. All these titles are interchangeable and all equally forgettable. Lately, I've been wondering if the publishers realize how they trivialize the books they are selling with these horrible, formulaic titles.

If I buy one of these, it is in spite of the title and horrific cover.

Maybe that's why I tend to be instantly attracted to the often ironic, satirical, if not downright black humor of crime fiction and mystery titles. The Weight of Water, Suicide Blonde, and the story-encapsulating Ghosts. Great, evocative titles. I wish I could come up with something like: The Weight of Water. Of all the titles I've run across over the years, that is, by far my favorite (although not my favorite book). Despite my terrible memory, I've never forgotten that title.

Do titles make a book? Will it make or break your sales?

Heck, no.

As I said, I've occasionally purchased books in spite of the titles and terrible covers, if the blurb on the back of the book interests me.

But when faced with rows upon rows of books, my glance will often et caught by the weird, the wacky, the different title. And I'll pull the book out and read the back, the first step to buying.

So in a way, the title can make the difference.

Or maybe not.

In the end, it's really a crap shoot. No one knows what book is going to be insanely popular and which brilliant book will not. I just need a title to work with.

Quick Update

2008-11-18T21:41:00.001-05:00

National Novel Writing Month is blazing by in flames. I've gotten 150 pages written and am right on schedule.

Except I just realized that I'm behind the times. I picked the title Twilight because it is the name of a sailboat in the story, but just found out that there is some hugely successful book/series with that name! ARGH! So I shall have to pick another. It started out as "Grave Mistakes" but I decided I didn't like that and changed it to Twilight. Now, I'm thinking of "The Adventurers".

Hopefully, I'll finish it by the end of November (yay NaNoWriMo!) and can then let it rest before starting to edit the heck out of it.

In the meantime, after November/NaNoWriMo ends, I'll be working on getting a vampire novel in shape to submit to The Wild Rose Press. I just hope they like it.

This has to be short because I'm working my fingers to the bone trying to complete "The Adventurers" (or whatever I end up calling it).

Happy dreams and I hope everyone is having the best November, ever!

Food for Thought

2008-11-07T10:07:00.001-05:00

I'm not supposed to be blogging at the moment so I'll be quick. This is almost a note to myself about a couple of a-ha!'s that have recently sunk into my pea-sized brain.

The a-ha!'s are not new information. They are old pieces of junk I acquired at some distant point in the past, stored away in the cellars of my mind, and periodically dusted off, intending to think about them but never quite doing it. (And how's that for a run-on sentence? I am the total Queen of run-on, curly writing.)

I like to write these things down because verbalization helps my thinking process.

A-Ha! One

Sensuous, or even sexy, writing is not about the mechanics of who stuck what where. It's not even (entirely) the use (or overuse) of exotic-sounding words and adjectives. Or the use of similes and comparisons to rocks (jewels), fabrics (satin, silk, velvet) or flowers (roses and cherries).

It's about description. Now a lot of authors just layer in those adjectives and comparisons to the point where it annoys you just to read it. I'm totally not a fan of that, and my desire to avoid it lead me astray. I convinced myself I didn't need to write a lot of descriptions. I don't like writing descriptions, and I generally don't like reading them (with a few exceptions). So I "excused myself".

And got further into the weeds, and lost sight of my goals because I began to associate description with sensual with erotic with bad writing in general. (At this point, I'm sure many of you are in a "hair on fire" mood.)

Epiphany: that chain of associations is totally wrong in almost all aspects. There are excellent erotic writers (stick your flaming head into the shower and put out the fire). Sensual doesn't have to be erotic. Descriptions may or may not be sensual, but it is your total best friend for developing deep, complex characters and making your audience "feel, see, hear, and taste" the scene.

Descriptions don't have to be over-written. But they do have to be written.

If you're not writing descriptions, folks aren't going to get into your characters. Your story will fail. Boo hoo.

A-Ha! Two

Problems are food for the brain. If you give your problems to someone else to solve, they will get the food and grow strong, while you starve and grow weak. And you then can't blame them when they get the promotion/glory/money.

The last few months, I've noticed some of my team members not monitoring NTFRS replication on our domain controllers (okay, that's technie talk for "they weren't doing their jobs). So I looked at it and found The Nightmare on AD Street. I mentioned it to them. They messed around with it and even called Microsoft and then basically threw up their hands. They did a few things Microsoft suggested, but here's the thing: any time they reached a point where the Microsoft said: and evaluate the results, they stopped and threw up their hands.

They didn't want to think. They wanted explicit instructions they could follow precisely without making a complex decision or understanding what they were seeing.

So I sighed, put aside what I was working on, and picked it up. I joined one of their calls to Microsoft--didn't hear anything new, but just wanted to touch base. Then I took a look around. I found a huge nest of problems that stemmed back a freakin' year--which is how long these people have been ignoring things.

Now my NTFRS replication skills were rusty, but I tried a few things. Discovered the problems were even worse than I thought. Called my boss, made a few plans for some heavy-duty repairs. Went to bed. Woke up with an idea for a way to get some things repaired and make the situation easier to do the big heavy-duty fix. Implemented them. Got two out of three problems resolved, leaving one easy fix to be done on the weekend to take care of the last problem.

All of that is the explanation for how I grew my brain on this food--because now I have freakin' unbelievable skills with NTFRS (and wrote several new internal Wikis for my team members on it).

And my team members still have squat. And their little brains are shriveling even as I write this while I'm growing bigger and stronger.

And the real irony is that there are some higher grades opening up. And they are going to complain if I get a promotion because it isn't fair. Maybe I won't get the promotion, either, but...

They gave me their food. They didn't want it.

Don't give up your food.

First Week of NaNoWriMo

2008-11-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

For the month of November, my blogs are going to be short 'n sweet. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org) because it lets me concentrate on just writing. This November, I'm pledging to write 50,000 words in 30 days on a new Regency mystery called 'Twilight'.

Thus far, I've written:

15 pages on Nov 1; 10 pages on Nov 2; 7 pages on Nov 3; 5 pages on Nov 4.

Honestly, I realize it has been a downward spiral so far, but I anticipate getting back up to 10 pages per day and hanging in there. I won my goal of 50,000 words last year with my Regency romance, Love, The Critic, and I fully intend to win this year, too.

And I'm trying to work through my disappointment at the Romantic Times review of "I Bid One American" which got a measly 3 stars (my last book 'Smuggled Rose' got the full 4 stars) but the only thing the critic could find wrong with it was that Nathaniel didn't solve the mystery until the end of the book.

Well, frankly, if that was their only problem with the book, I'm good with that. Because generally speaking, mysteries aren't solved until the end of the book. Well, duh. And as a writer (not to fill this blog with self-justification) there were certain events and clues that had to occur/be found before the mystery could be solved. This necessarily meant that I couldn't just wave a magic wand and "voila" solve the mystery.

So I feel okay about it, even if they did give it a measly 3 stars.

One other thing I would note. I've been reading a lot of reviews lately and I've seen a distinct bias *against* humorous novels. To a large degree, I believe this is another factor in the 3-star rating. For some reason, unless a book is full of angst, fear, and generally over-the-top anguish, critics seem to think it "less worthy" of a good rating. Same with movies. Comedies almost never win awards.

But I have to tell you, writing something that is light, frothy and funny is really, really hard. In fact, I would argue that it is harder than writing all that serious anguish.

So...onward and upward!

Have a great week!

3 Days until NaNoWriMo

2008-10-28T21:15:00.002-04:00

Just three more days before I start National Novel Writing Month! I'm so excited, and I'm busily trying to finish up stuff to clear the decks so I can write untrammeled and free from aggravation (other than my day job, housekeeping, and other unfortunate duties).

I'm judging a writing contest and have gotten through 4 out of the 5 entries, so I hope to finish that up before November 1. I try to read every entry at least twice and add which I hope are cogent comments. And I never take points off if it "just didn't appeal to me". But the scores are still lower than I usually give and that is making me a little nervous. I may go through one more time before I send them back just to make sure I'm not being overly harsh or critical.

The wonderful NaNoWriMo folks gave me a stupendous surprise gift on Monday. They somehow worked out a deal with CreativeSpace to let us get an actual printed paperback of the book we wrote last year for NaNoWriMo if you managed to win. Winning just requires you write 50,000 words.

So, I had an absolute BLAST putting together a cover for my book. And since I had been prepping it to send to a publisher, I had a good clean copy (as clean as I could make it, anyway, given that my brain often supplies what should be there, even if it isn't).

So...I just got my paperback in the mail! Here is the cover I created for it. I know it's not brilliant, but I rather like it. The book is not a brilliant masterpiece of insight into the human condition. It's a very light historical romance about a poetess who gets blasted by a critic and gives up writing. Eventually, she decides to move on with her life and marry. to her horror, she soon discovers that the man she decides to marry is the critic, himself.

Ah, well. What is a story without a little angst and consternation?

Anyway, it was so much fun to do this and such a nice surprise from the NaNoWriMo folks.

Now, I need to diligently get my bits of plot pieces together for my historical mystery (with a nice, light romantic sub-plot) called Twilight. I've already got some scenes burning in my brain and my fingers are itching to get to the keyboard, but I'm patiently waiting until Saturday, Nov 1, to get to work.

My little AlphaSmart keyboard is due for a real workout. My goal is to write 2,000 words (roughly 10 double-spaced pages) per day, for 30 days. It's definitely do-able as long as you don't worry about eating, sleeping or having a life outside of work.

You may ask: why the Alphie? Didn't you just buy an eeePC so you could write anywhere? Why, yes. I did. But you see the eeePC makes it attractive to *edit* while you write, which is deadly to NaNoWriMo productivity. While the Alphie makes it very hard to edit while you write since you can only see 4 lines of your writing at a time. So all you can do (effectively) is write fresh stuff on an AlphaSmart, as opposed to polishing and otherwise wasting time fussing with previously written material on an eeePC or PC or laptop device.

During the next four weeks, then, I will have only the briefest of blogs since my fingers will be worn to nubs typing new, mind-bogglingly brilliant prose. I will try to keep up-to-date, though, on my progress.

Then, when NaNoWriMo ends, my Christmas novella, Christmas Mishaps, will be out from Cerridwen press! That's due out Dec 3, so I'm pretty excited about that. I don't have a cover, yet, but I'm hoping to have one soon to plaster everywhere.

Hope everyone is doing well and exciting about Halloween and all the wonderful fall festivals. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather, fall foliage, and just basically feel GREAT!

Best wishes and have a spooky Halloween!

Amy

Almost NaNoWriMo Time!

2008-10-21T21:02:00.001-04:00

Lots going on so of course I'm fighting back a cold. At the moment, I'm barely holding my own, but I have the bad feeling the cold may win. In any event, lots to do, places to go, people to see.

I really wish days were 36 hours instead of 24, though, because there are must not enough hours to get everything done.

Found a great quote for authors out there. I'm constantly getting asked about the rules, like plotting, characterization, do's-and-don'ts, formatting manuscripts, writing query letters, writing a synopsis, and the like. To my delight, I now have a great answer.

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

Onward and upward.

The nice delivery guy left me a present today on my porch: a box of print copies of my book I Bid One American. It really gave me a boost. Then, with all those lovely books in my hands, I got a wild hair (or is that "hare"--ouch!) up the you-know-where and entered the book in the RITA contest.

For those of you who have never heard of the RITA (you're in good company, by the way) it is a contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America. They pick the best book of the year in each of the different romance-related genres. I'm not sure I'd exactly classify I Bid One American as a romance, per se, so this was probably a dumb-blonde move, but what the heck. All they can do is laugh at me and give me really low scores.

So what else is new?

Anyway, it's entered and may the best book (obviously, my book) win in the Regency historical genre!

Next on the agenda--well, I've just completed a rash of submissions (a rash to go with my cold--hahaha). And like scattering wildflower seeds, I hope a few sprout. Got one rejection back already, which is record time because they had the query less than 15 minutes (they wanted an e-mail query so they could beat the world's speed record for rejections).

That's what I was busily doing last week, hence my deafening silence re: blogging, etc.

And...drum roll...I'm preparing for NaNoWriMo! Yes, that's right, National Novel Writing Month. Last year, I managed to win by writing about 60,000 words (you only need to write 50,000 to win) on a Regency romance manuscript called, Love, The Critic. It is, unfortunately, not going anywhere but in a drawer, but it was fun.

If I get another wild hair (or hare) I may chop it up and offer it as a serial from my web site. Or something. I sort of it like Love, The Critic--it's a cute little story about a poetess who unknowingly falls in love the man who wrote a scathing critique of her poems and pretty well demolished her career.

Poor things. I'm tough on my characters. But as I always remind my husband: Life's a bitch and then you marry one.

Anyway, this year for NaNoWriMo, I'm intending to work on a historical mystery called: Twilight. Yep, you guessed it--it is indeed set in the Regency period. For those of you who read I Bid One American, you may recall the hero, Nathaniel. Well, his younger sister, Helen Archer, is the heroine in Twilight. It's part of a "triple play" of stories about the Archer siblings who all have the misfortune--or luck, depending upon your perspective--of having the irrepressible conniver, John Archer, as their uncle.

In Twilight, Helen managed to lose the Peckham necklace the first time she wears it at a ball. When she goes to retrieve it, she finds herself smack-dab in the middle of a murder investigation. There is a lot of subterfuge going on, and Helen is going to find it a bit trickier to get that necklace and escape unscathed than she thinks.

Psst, keep this quiet because I don't want to jinx it, but I also just submitted a "prequel" to I Bid One American to my publisher. The manuscript is called The Necklace and it features Nathaniel's older sister, Oriana Archer. Oriana is the lady who manages to find The Peckham necklace after it is lost for years and years. Unfortunately, she's almost murdered as a reward for her efforts.

The Peckham necklace has a very, very bad reputation. =):o)

I'm hoping I can finish Twilight this fall, because with the new year, I want to start on a new historical mystery--although I'm not sure which one. I've plotted out several, and my fingers are itching to start on all of them. I'll just have to see how Twilight goes.

So wish me luck. It seems like I blogged about a lot of nothing, but what the heck. I can't be brilliant and insightful all the time.

Have a terrific evening and stay well!

Bits of Good News

2008-10-07T20:41:00.001-04:00

First the good news: I only have a month to go before "I Bid One American" is released in paperback! Whoopee! Although for the impatient, it is out as an e-book from just about any e-book store you'd care to mention, including:

Fictionwise, Amazon's Kindle, and of course the publisher, The Wild Rose Press. (Sorry about the lack of active links, but MySpace doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me tonight.)

And on December 3, my Christmas novella: Christmas Mishaps, comes out from Cerridwen Press. I just wish I had a cover to show you. But I should get one soon.

I don't have a release date yet on my short story: Outrageous Behavior, but it ought to be fairly soon. We already finished the edits. And during that process, I think my editor at The Wild Rose Press put some sort of brainwashing device into her e-mails because I went insane and gave them a second short story: Rose Wars, to publish FOR FREE!

Yes, folks, another of my stories will soon be let loose upon the world and you won't even have to pay for it. What the heck was I thinking?

Almost last, but not least: Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction are featuring me in their Spotlight feature this week--which is really, really nice of them. (If you get the chance to visit their site it is at: http://romancewriterandreader.ning.com .) I always love to babble about myself and they gave me plenty of room to do so. I just hope I didn't say anything terminally embarrassing.

Nearly forgot--I'm also featuring a new contest during the month of October: The Unluckiest Heroine contest. The prize is a gorgeous, multi-strand carnelian necklace. All you have to do to enter is visit my website at: http://www.amycorwin.com to find the name of the poor heroine in "Christmas Mishaps" who just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Then send an e-mail to contest@amycorwin.com with her name.

Pretty easy, right?

Finally, I got three rejections--two of which were submissions I was really "counting on". Nonetheless, I'm putting that in the "good news" category because it should complete the set of three. Not that I'm superstitious or anything, but I need to make a little lemonade here because my office is overflowing with lemons.

Oh, I finally got my eeePC updated, and I can now reload my writing software (Writer's Cafe). This has been a bit of a trial for me because every time I tried to update my eeePC, it would start misbehaving and gradually reach a point where it just stopped working.

The nice eeePC folks, though, let you restore it in "factory fresh" condition by pressing the F9 key when you turn it on. I hate to do that because then I have to reconfigure everything to be the way I want it, but I really had no choice the first four times I did it.

However now it looks like I may have found the right combination of updates to do, so later tonight I shall reload Writer's Cafe and get back to work on The Necklace. I really want to submit that to my publisher next week. I actually hope to someday earn royalties on this one. :-)

As far as writerly things and news (not so good)...this last spate of rejections really nailed something for me. If you write a book, but deep down inside you sort of feel "ho-hum" about the characters, then chances are good your readers--and more importantly your editors--will feel the same. This problem often occurs if you're like me, and you really, really want to please some editor/publisher by writing to their guidelines.

Some of us don't fit in, follow the rules, or play well with others. You'd think I'd know by now how to disguise that a little better.

Anyway, not a day goes by when I don't learn something new.

And I like it that way.

2008-09-24T21:08:00.001-04:00

Just finished reading a popular science book about poisons--and it brought home to me how important it is for writers to read books outside their normal areas of interest. I'm not sure this book qualifies for me since I write mysteries and have long held an interest in forensics, but anyway, I enjoyed it immensely.

The book was called: "Molecules of Murder" and was classed as a popular science book. I have to say, it was very popular in my household. My biologist husband stole it from me the minute it came in the door. I finally had to fight him for it. When I got my hands on it, it proved worth the trouble. So worth it that I'm searching out other books by the author: John Emsley.

Emsley has a warm, chatty style of writing and an approach that makes even chemistry—which can often be very dull—fascinating. And as with so many British writers, he has a understated humor that hits the mark, e.g. "…she poisoned her father with a white powder sent by her lover, Lieutenant William Cranstoun, who assured her it would end her father's objection to their marriage. It did—it killed him."

You have to love a science book written like that. Emsley is popular, and no wonder. I wish some U.S. scientists would realize you don't have to be dull and humorless to write about science. In fact, I believe that the cold, somber style of most science papers written in the U.S. is directly responsible for the decline in science students. It was certainly one factor that killed my career in the sciences. That and being told that science papers were not supposed to be funny. Or amusing.

I guess only deadly dull papers can be taken seriously.

Anyway, I'd rather read a British science article any day, since most of them have a much more accessible, warmer style and wry humor even while covering exactly the same subject with the same accuracy.

Americans take themselves way, way too seriously. Science should be fun, not BORING, and so should the articles (in so far as it is possible). I'm not suggesting they be filled with a joke a minute, I'm just suggesting that we need to take ourselves a little less seriously and one or two minor, wry comments doesn't mean the information in the paper is any less accurate or real.

But I digress.

The point is, if you are a writer, expanding your horizons to other fields of endeavor can only make you a better writer. If you are at all interested in science or the application of chemistry to forensics, check out that book (and note--I don't know Emsley and never heard of him before, and he's not paying me to write this--although if he reads it--any small gift he sees fit to send me would be much appreciated.)

"Molecules of Murder" is therefore highly recommended, particularly for anyone with the following interests:

Audience

Writers

Students of Chemistry/Forensics

Folks interested in or involved in Forensics

Biologists

Law Enforcement (I particularly think folks involved in law enforcement would love this book to get a better handle on, or at least introduction to, the chemistry of poison in a very accessible way.)

Nitty-Gritty Review

For those who want a little more info...I'd preface the following with the background info that I have always loved science and forensics, so keep that in mind. But if you love shows like CSI, you may find this book fascinating. "Molecules of Murder" actually gives you the science behind the poisons. In the introduction, Emsley presents you with a brief look at the history of chemical analysis and its application in solving murders throughout history.

The good news for Modern Society is that it appears poisoning's "heyday" is pretty much over. It's on the decline as a favorite murder weapon, and that's excellent news if you're in the law enforcement line.

The book is divided up into chapters relating to different poisons, e.g. Chapter 5 "Adrenaline and the Near-Perfect Murders of Kristen Gilbert". The poisons discussed include: Ricin, Hyoscine, Atropine, Diamorphine, Adrenaline, Chloroform, Carbon Monoxide, Cynanide, Paraquat, and Polonium.

In each chapter, there is a brief introduction of a historical (or recent) case of the use of a poison, followed by these sections: toxicology and chemistry; historical uses; production and application; the effects of poisoning; detection and identification; positive factors; examples of poison attacks; and then a specific case where the poison was used in murder.

While that may sound dry and perhaps daunting, it is incredibly accessible because Emsley makes heavy use of anecdotes and examples from history, recent events and even literature. The broad range of examples is part of what makes this book so entertaining. For Rican, he goes into the details of the murder of Soviet dissident George Markov in 1978. The USSR Secret Service agent actually used an umbrella to deliver the poison to Markov and frankly, for the fascinating details, read the book. It's nothing short of unbelievable and would make a great fiction story although I doubt any editor would find it believable enough to buy it.

Part of the interest of "Molecules of Murder" is th heavy use of short anecdotes. The sections are actually written almost as murder mysteries like Columbo—where you may know who the killer is, but the intrigue comes from how he or she was exposed and the poison identified.

I learned so much from this book and was completely enthralled.

And I totally plan to use it when writing my next murder mystery.

Sweet Dreams!

Random Thoughts on Writing

2008-09-16T21:56:00.001-04:00

Just finished reading a crime novel that I enjoyed, but made me think about how easy it is to read a book, internalize it, and then duplicate elements in it without realizing it. Or at least I'm assuming that's what happened with this author. It was really the most bizarre thing.

Background: I'm a huge fan of Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries. I actually like the books more for the development of the main character than the mysteries (which are rather thin). Rutledge suffered severe post-traumatic stress during WWI and is fighting to be normal, hold down a job, and basically live a life within post-war British society. The glimpses of society during this period--when everyone is trying to adjust--and the difficulties Rutledge faces just getting along (much less investigating murders) is fascinating. I just can't get enough of them.

And Rutledge's biggest challenge is to appear sane when he hears the voice of a dead Scotsman in his head. It's done brilliantly and you feel so anxious for Rutledge in his efforts to control his fragile mental condition. And part of the brilliance is the development of the voice into what amounts to a second character, a Scotsman who died during WWI, due to Rutledge. It is heart-wrenching.

So. Enough background.

I read this new book--well, I won't provide a lot of info about it because I really don't want to criticize the book or embarrass anyone. In fact, other then what I'm going to describe below, the book was one of those "I can't put this down" stories and I doubt anyone else would notice or have this same issue with it.

Anyway, at the chapter 7 mark, all of a sudden, the main character is hearing a voice in his head. Seems it is a reaction to WWII stress. A reaction he never displayed up until that point. And it's not like some horrible thing happened to trigger this, either, during the first 6 chapters.

Seems like the character should have displayed this issue from page one instead of waiting that far into the book and springing it on the reader after you think you know him. Particularly something as important as schizophrenia (or whatever mental illness it is that makes you hear voices in your head). That seems like a major thing that the character ought to be experiencing from the beginning. He shouldn't seem normal and then half-way through the book suddenly become schizophrenic. Unless he forgot his meds.

And he doesn't seem particularly disturbed by this sudden mental degeneration either. Nor does he seem to struggle with it--and with the effort to appear normal--the way Rutledge does. At least not for the next few chapters, anyway.

I'm okay, you're okay. He certainly seems okay with the whole voice thing.

Here's the oddest part. The voice in this guy's head is...yes, that's right. Scottish.

So.

I had not realized that if you suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome brought on by a wartime situation, and you hear a voice in your head, that voice will be Scottish.

Learn something new every day.

But what did I gain from this as far as writing goes?

It may not have been a mistake on the author's part. Maybe she never read the stories by Charles Todd and it is just a coincidence. Maybe no one else noticed that the main character didn't have this trait until chapter 7. Maybe no other readers will find it at all odd, or peculiar, and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.

All these things could very well be true.

But it did bug me. So I concluded:

1) Don't suddenly veer off into left field and inflict new personality traits on your characters half-way through the story. If they are going to be weird, make them weird from the start.

2) Don't use specific, peculiar character traits that are MAJOR traits of characters in series written by other authors. (Note to myself: No matter how much you like Adrian Monk, do NOT make a detective in any story you write an obsessive, anal-retentive, mental case. Even if you want to.)

3) Be careful about absorbing things from other writers and grafting them deliberately, or inadvertently, into your work. It looks...peculiar. (See above.)

I may be a little too hard on that author, but it is something that I want to watch out for in my own writing. It's so seductive and easy to slip up. And imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's also a form of plagiarism in my eyes, even if it is technically--not.

But most of all, the most egregious part of this was that the author took a perfectly fine, sympathetic character and grafted something unnecessary and unnatural and just plain weird onto him. I can only imagine she wanted the hero to be more vulnerable and therefore more sympathetic. But the reader already liked and was rooting for the hero. There was no need to "work up more sympathy" for him.

Leave well enough alone, already!

Writing as a Career

2008-09-09T21:54:00.001-04:00

Writing is such a strange career: I almost never meet writers who are "comfortable" with where they are. In my day job, I'm a computer specialist, specifically an Enterprise Administrators managing over 550 domain controllers in 370 sites nation-wide. And while everyone wants more money, folks are pretty happy with "where they are". I know that back when I decided writing was a dream job (emphasis on dream) that had little to do with reality, being an Enterprise Administrator was my ultimate goal.

So naturally, having reached that goal, I no longer want it. Story of my life. Anyway, I mentioned this computer stuff not to make your eyes glaze over but as a point of comparison. Because writing, in a lot of ways, is never what you expect, and your goals have a way of morphing into something completely unexpected and nerve-wracking.

When you start out, you just want to write. You might never care if you get published, the writing is enough. That's sort of a misty, happy-crappy initial stage. For some writers, there is no desire or need to progress. Sigh.

They are the lucky ones.

But for a few, the idea of getting published takes root. Then really weird things start happening. Just like the acting world, I've seen the development of "strata" of writers.

And note, having an agent will make some of the upper strata easier or more possible, but in no way guarantees the writer will ever make it from one strata to the next. Even having multiple agents doesn't always help.

Night-Writers: This is the first strata. They are the equivalent of those actors and actresses who get occasional "gigs" at community theatre or perhaps even a paid, local production. For writers, this means you have squeaked through the door to publication by smaller publishers, e.g. e-publishers. You get royalties, but there is no way to live on the money because you may make $50-$300 per book and it may take 6-months to write a book (or a year, in my case). Hence the term, night-writer. You have to keep that day job, just like all those wait-folks working in restaurants determined to someday get their big break.

The advantages, however, are that you don't necessarily have to conform to what is popular in fiction. Publishers are more willing to take a chance on you, since they don't have to pay you an advance up-front. You can work at your own pace. You have creative freedom.

The disadvantages are fairly obvious. You aren't making enough to even receive minimum wage for the time you spent writing your book. You're responsible for all your own advertising and promotion, which is typically more money out of your pocket and may actually require you to spend money earned at your day job. Most likely, you won't be able to walk into a bookstore and find your book: they are typically sold via Internet sources, even if your e-book is sold as a paperback. Not a bad thing, just an ego note.

The Commercials: So now, the writer has made it to a level that actually pays advances. These are still smaller publishers, but they do pay advances ranging from $500 to $1000. Just like actors in commercials--you can earn money, and it's fairly nice money, but not enough to live on. Unless you can write really, really fast. Again, if it takes you about 6 months to write a novel (I take about 6 months to a year, or longer) then you may make $2,000. Still not enough to live on. At least for me.

The advantages, though, are that you may actually find your book in a few bookstores (ego boost!). The publisher may do some (small amount) of promotion and may already have some distribution channels which will help you. They also, typically, don't lock you into a multi-book contract with outrageous deadlines, so you still have some scheduling freedom. And you may retain fairly good creative freedom, but...maybe not.

Publishers in this range tend to have stricter guidelines about length and types of stories they will publish. But they will accept manuscripts from writers without agents, so that is a huge plus for some writers who have difficulties finding (or working with) an agent.

The Soaps: Yeah! Okay, so you're not a glamourous writer lounging around with a chef, gardener, housekeeper, and two or three hangers-on. But you have the chance now to actually make a living if you don't mind earning slightly less than those on welfare. Seriously, many writers consider this "mid-list" or at least a living wage, but if you quit your job, it's best if you're married to someone who is working.

You get multi-book contracts, e.g. a three-book contract. Just like a soap actor, you have a little job security (unless the soap actor pisses off someone and gets written out of the story). You get an advance somewhere in the range of $3,000 to $25,000.

The publisher does a little more in the way of promotion, plus they have distribution channels, so you'll actually find your book in a bookstore.

This is the stage all non-published writers who want to be published aspire to (unless they're totally starry-eyed and think they'll leap right to movie star). They (often naively) think if they just reach this stage, they'll be all set. For some, this may be true.

But you know, some folks are just never happy and writers seem to be more angst-ridden than almost any other group of people I've ever meet. Because so many are at this stage and completely fraught with performance anxiety and other woes. Which is actually understandable, given the fact that writers when they reach this stage, often (foolishly) give up their day jobs, thinking they have it made. Or because they have to in order to keep up with the writing schedule imposed upon them by their publisher.

This is where it really does get to be like the soaps. Because mid-list writers are like actors, slightly nicked by a knife and then thrown into an ocean of sharks and told to pretend to be terrified. The camera is rolling. They could be "written out" at any moment and be swallowed up again into relative obscurity.

The advantages are that you're finally able to--possibly--make a living. The disadvantages however, really start to be noticeable, just like those sharks. You now have to meet a schedule imposed by your publisher. This can be a huge problem for folks who take a little longer to write and polish a book.

There is no guarantee of a follow-on contract. Each contract is a separate negotiation and future contracts may depend *gulp* upon how well your previous books sold. This means that pretty much each book needs to be better than the last. Not as easy as it sounds. Your muse needs to buckle down and write every day, regardless of physical or emotional trauma. And having a multi-book contract does not mean they will automatically accept your second or third book. They may decide it doesn't work for them and that's the end of the contract.

Or, you can wake up to find whatever genre you wrote is no longer selling and no publishers will even talk to you. Your agent may give you a nice kiss on the cheek, a pat on the head, and a goodbye forever (except to get those royalty checks on past sales).

Talk about performance anxiety. You have to fight for every scrap.

The Movie Stars: We all know these folks. As a writer, you can become a movie star with your first book, a la Allison Brennan, or you can work your way up like Jennifer Crusie. Regardless, at this level, you have an agent. You have no other job. Your mere name brings dollar signs to the eyes of agents and publishers.

At least for a while.

If you think all worries are over at this point, you are sadly mistaken. One bad book can be forgiven. Two bad books...maybe forgiven. But three? Hmmm. Four? Well, sweetie. There are always the soaps. Or commercials.

In fact, nothing is certain at any stage, except:

* What you write tomorrow must be better than what you wrote today.

* You'll never be completely free of neurosis.

* You'll never know if/when you'll get that next contract.

But you know what? While writing may make eventually me crazy, if I don't write, I am crazy.

Nostalgia

2008-08-26T20:23:00.002-04:00

It's birthday time for all of us Virgo folks and despite my best efforts to dissuade people from even mentioning it, I was lucky this year. My husband got me a sewing machine because my old Pfaff bit the big one and I was using my mother's machine from the 1950's but many of the rubber pieces on it are crumbling. I'm very happy he caught my comment about my desire for a new machine before they became scarcer than hen's teeth. Seems no one sews anymore.

To my shock and dismay, even Wal-Mart is getting out of the sewing and fabric business so I'm not sure where I'll find supplies, but I'm going to keep on as long as I can. I don't sew a lot anymore--who has the time? But I do have a pressing need to sew. I've discovered that if I make very, very wide-legged long pants out of light fabric, I can stave off the ravages of summer rashes. Even a blade of grass brushing against my ankles in the summer will leave long red streaks that blister and itch for a month afterwards. I'd say I have sensitive skin, but that makes me sound like something out of Princess and the Pea, when it's more like something you'd find on one of those late night medical shows. 'Nuff said about that unpleasant topic.

At least I have my new sewing machine!

And my sister really got me where it counts. She took our really old 8mm film and had some video place put them on DVD. It is so incredible to watch ourselves as children--and my mom and dad, who passed away about ten years ago. Those DVD are the greatest gift of all, I think.

This evening I played around with ripping the DVD to my computer's hard drive (it worked) and I purchased a utility which then lets me convert the files to standard mpeg (or other types of movie files). Once I do that, I can "be my own producer" and clip out a few to put up on YouTube. Not that I think there will be a lot of folks interested in watching a couple of kids running around with hamsters, a duck, and a boat-load of Christmas presents... But I enjoy watching other folks' videos, so why not?

And amazing how much work my parents and grandparents put into holidays for us--and we didn't even truly appreciate it (until now). My grandfather made doll beds and furniture out of scraps for our dolls while mom and grandma made Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls, and entire wardrobes for our Barbies and other dolls. Not to mention matching outfits for my sister and me. Our dolls were better dressed than most kids--even if all those clothes were made from remnants from the curtains, table-clothes and upholstery my mom and dad happened to be working on. Mom and grandma sewed constantly. Now I know why, and I can see why that sewing machine meant so much to me.

So here's to nostalgia, birthdays, and getting that happy, weepy feeling over silly things like old movies and sewing machines.

Random Good News

2008-08-19T19:50:00.001-04:00

Despite all the overtime and aggravation at my "regular job" this week has held some really nice goodies for me. My lovely and talented editor, Nicola, has created the cover for my new short story, Outrageous Behavior, and we've even gone through the first round of edits. I know that "going through the first round of edits" sounds mind-boggling horrible, but I actually like it. I'm weird. But I get this feeling of progress when I go through them, especially if the edits are light.

And even when the edits are deeper, I still sort of like it, because it's a challenge that I feel I can rise to meet. I can do this. In short, it makes me feel competent, which is a nice feeling to get once in a while, rare though that is.

So...here is the really nice cover Nicola made for my short story--I particularly like the fish. Fishing actually does have meaning--a fun meaning--in the story and it makes it a little different.

And after all, there are very few ills that fishing cannot solve.

I've been toying with the blurb for this story. So far, I'm thinking along the following track.

As the Season in London comes to a close, Laura finds herself in a predicament. The one man she is attracted to has neglected to make an offer for her, and her family wants her to accept the proposal of a fortune-hunter. Determined not to let propriety stand in the way of her future happiness, she resorts to outrageous behavior to escape the damp grasp of the wrong man—and discover true love in the arms of another.

Nothing is set in stone, but it does rather describe the story in a nutshell.

Then, after I got my edits and cover, I also got the grand news from Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction that my blurb for my Regency romantic mystery, I BID ONE AMERICAN, won their contest! Yippee! That was nice. Especially since I struggled a lot with that blurb, trying to capture the essence of what is basically a Regency "romp" with a mystery sub-plot. Writing those blasted things is a lot more difficult than you might think.

But writers really need to master the art of writing that brilliant, 100-word, blurb that will sell their book, because that is pretty much what you want to put in your query letter, as well. That is, the letter you send to a prospective agent or publisher, tantalizing them into requesting your partial or full manuscript. If that simple paragraph captures their interest, chances are good it will also capture the interest of readers.

Or at least that's my theory until someone hits me over the head with completely undesired facts.

Oh, and did I mention that I sold my Christmas novella, Christmas Mishaps, to Cerridwen Press for their Regency anthology? I can relax now until around October when I'll get the edits for that beast.

In the meantime, I'm polishing up a traditional Regency (no mystery this time, sorry) called, LOVE, THE CRITIC, to send to Cerridwen Press and another Regency romantic mystery called, THE NECKLACE, to send to The Wild Rose Press.

I also have another Regency short story, ROSE WARS, that I'm torn on. I'll either send it to The Wild Rose Press for their "free story" program as a sort of advertisement for my writing, or sell it as a short story. That's a tough decision. At the moment, I'm leaning toward freebie, though. Just because it might be a nice way to rope in a few more readers. :-)

And I've submitted a Regency mystery, THE VITAL PRINCIPLE, to a few places, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. It's a bit of a pecular mystery, but I enjoyed writing it so I'm hoping to find a home for it.

An agent is still studying THE BRICKLAYER'S HELPER, another Regency romantic mystery.

Wow--I've got quite a few manuscripts out there in the wilds. Let's hope a few of them find places to roost.

And I'm getting used to my eeePC. It's got a few gotchas that I ran into--probably because I'm a computer geek and tried some things that a normal person wouldn't--but on the whole I am very pleased with it. In fact, I completed my edits on my short story on it, and am plowing through edits on LOVE, THE CRITIC now, so it is already earning its keep.

I feel like I'm forgetting something that I wanted to add to this blog, but I can't quite think of it at the moment. On the whole, though, the week is starting out fairly well. I've got to get to bed early, though, because I've shifted my overtime to an early morning slot, hoping it wouldn't be as bad as late evening. The jury is still out on that one, though.

Good night and pleasant dreams!