How Does Your Garden Grow?

Instead of writing the Regency novella I'm supposed to be working on (theoretically for a Christmas book), I'm sitting here messing around with photos from my garden. I kept thinking all last month that I ought to take some pictures when the roses were really in full bloom, however, I didn't do so. I took pictures of our puppy, Molly, instead. She's a Chesapeake Bay Retriever and a real handful. I feel sorry for poor old Rowdy, our chocolate Lab, because he puts up with a lot of her nonsense. But he's good with her and when she gets too aggravating, we let him inside to relax for a while.

Hard to believe it's already May and the "first flush of spring" is pretty much history for 2008. Around here, you've got to get your peas and cool weather crops like lettuce, cabbage, and radishes planted in January or February. I blew that this year—didn't make the time table, but I tried to make up for it by planting tomatoes and pepper plants last month. Unfortunately, our few remaining chickens found the fresh, nice plants pretty tasty, so I'll have to start over again. Sometime soon, too. I also sort of missed the whole "rose bush ordering" deadline as well and it will be too hot to do any planting in about three weeks.

We do have a few roses, though, and I've come to treasure those bushes that will grow with benign neglect. My garden has dwindled down from around 140 roses to around 100. I'm through with all the sprays and nitpicking. I stopped showing roses in favor of working more on my writing, so I'm not so concerned about growing the perfect rose. Now, my garden consists mostly of Old Garden roses (roses hybridized before 1900) and a few other very hardy types that can withstand the rigors of a garden in the humid, hot southeast.

As you may have guessed from my book 'SMUGGLED ROSE', I sort of like roses. The idea for the book arose from my research into roses and varieties that might do well around here. My research took me down some fairly dark alleys, and I discovered some fascinating history, particularly concerning the Empress Josephine and her gardens at Malmaison in the early part of the 19^th century (the Regency period in England). The Empress had problems with folks rampaging through her gardens at night and stealing roses, so she had to engage guards. 'SMUGGLED ROSE' grew out of the notion that some of those stolen roses might have been smuggled to rose enthusiasts in England. After all, if fistfights could break out in Regency London when a limited stock of some new rose was put on auction, then more than one person in England was fairly interested in roses and more than a little eager to get the latest variety.

Hence, Margaret, my lady rose smuggler, was born. My latest book, 'I BID ONE AMERICAN', doesn't have much in the way of gardening, but I'm sure gardens and specifically roses will work their way back into future stories. I can't hardly help myself.

In my garden, 'Knockout' is one of the few modern, shrub-type roses that actually lived up to its reputation for being hardy and prolific. It has been covered with fragrant blooms for a couple of weeks, and I haven't sprayed a drop. In fact, now that I think about it, I believe I also forgot to feed most of my roses, including 'Knockout', last year. So that rose is giving its all and then some. A few of David Austin's English roses do well here, too, although I tend to buy the ones that are listed as "tender" or have the old Tea and/or Noisettes in their family tree because those do best here. David Austin may despise the old Teas and Noisettes, but they are the backbone of my garden because they can withstand the climate and flourish without any effort on my part, whatsoever. You gotta love a rose like 'Reve d'Or' which will attempt to take over the world without even the slightest encouragement. It broke down three metal arches and we finally had to cut the darn rose back and put up a huge wooden support system. It has now completely covered that once more and is home to several bird nests. So far, it hasn't been able to break up the wooden beams, but it's not for want of trying.

Most of the time, however, I find that rose advertising tends to be somewhat optimistic about the health of most roses. And what grows in one person's garden, often fails for others.

For example, I love 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' which is a Bourbon rose hybridized around 1842. It has lovely, fragrant, pale pink blooms that look like Hybrid Tea blooms, but it's a lot healthier. At least for me. I've never sprayed or fertilized the darn bush and it keeps pumping out those blooms in a big spring flush, another huge flush in the fall, and sporadic blooms throughout the killing heat of summer. However, I recommended this rose to friends who grow roses near Wilmington and they have not had very good luck with it. But their soil is sandy and mine is clay. They can grow Hybrid Teas and I cannot. For the most part, Hybrid Teas die within a few months of planting here. So…your mileage may vary.

A few other bushes that seem to do well for more people than just me are the Old Garden roses in the Hybrid Perpetual class. This class was sort of a precursor to the Hybrid Tea, but I find them much, MUCH healthier. In fact, they are pretty much in constant bloom, have a wonderful rich rose fragrance, and seem almost entirely disease free. Varieties I grow include: 'Sydonie' and 'Marchesa Boccella'. Another class that is very healthy is the Portland and I absolutely adore 'Yolande d'Aragon'. (And yeah, if you click on the links--those are all pictures I took of my roses...not to brag or anything... *grin*.)

Didn't mean to spend the entire blog on gardening, but it's been on my mind lately.

Wishing you lovely weather and a nice layer of dirt under your fingernails!

Amy

SMUGGLED ROSE Gets 4-Star Review!

After my last blog about passive voice, I had initially intended to do some more studying and wax poetic about some new point of grammar, such as the horrible comma. However, two things stopped me.

One: I don't have a grammar book published later than 1963, and I sort of think comma usage has changed since then.

Two: I got the latest issue of Romantic Times (http://www.romantictimes.com). For those who have never seen this magazine, it is a lovely monthly publication for booklovers and has book reviews on all kinds of romance-related genres. And…in the June 2008 issue, they reviewed SMUGGLED ROSE!

I was shocked and amazed. Then I was shocked that I was amazed, because, hey, my publisher worked very hard to get my book reviewed by them (thank you very much, Cerridwen Press).

Now, I know authors are supposed to be above all that sort of thing and not pay the least attention to reviews. However. Authors should not pay attention to reviews when they are lousy. Otherwise, they should pay a great deal of attention to them and brag incessantly.

Writing is a lonely, frustrating, and often demoralizing task that frequently leads to nothing more than a series of slaps and blows about the head. If you had an ego when you started, in a few years, chances are good that you'll either have no ego left or it will be so hardened that even Superman couldn't puncture it. So many of us are pathetically grateful to get even a single nice phrase, even if it's just a whiffle-waffle: well, it doesn't totally suck.

So when you happen to walk the half-mile to the mailbox, pick up your issue of Romantic Times, flip through it and see your name… It's no wonder that you feel a little faint. You close your eyes. You take a deep breath and steel yourself for the worst. It's just a review, you tell yourself. It doesn't matter. It's just one person's opinion. Get a grip.

Then you see… FOUR STARS!

And a rather nice review beneath it! To quote just a line or two:

Corwin's wonderful story is much like the traditional Regencies that readers sorely miss. The hero and heroine are a fine match, and the secondary characters add a lot to the story. The ending is exciting and quite nicely done…

There's more, too…

Then you let that breath out and start shaking. You realize this isn't just one person's opinion—your book is GOOD! And now—everyone will know—your book is GOOD!

So you go home and discover you don't exactly have any champagne to break out. And you're out of beer, too. And in fact, the only thing you have is some very old cooking sherry that's mostly dried up sludge in the bottom of the bottle. So you cook a few hamburgers to celebrate and remind yourself that next week, you can always go back to ordinary. And you might even cover the curious use of commas in your blog.

But for tonight…well…I think a little R&R is in order.

Passive Voice

Everyone knows they are supposed to use active voice—not passive—when they write, but a lot of folks have difficulties identifying passive and often confuse it with past progressive or other verb tense forms. I know for a long time, I was guilty of that. I thought I could identify passive voice entirely by searching for the word “was.”

I could not have been more wrong.

Passive voice should not be confused with verb tense.

Verb tense is action + time. What happened and when.

Passive/active voice is the subject in relation to the action. Is the subject the doer or the recipient of the action?

I am by no means Madame Grammarian or an expert in grammar by any stretch of the imagination. It wasn't until NYT Bestselling author, Sabrina Jeffries, beat me over the head with the meaning of passive voice that I really "got it". Now, I'm going to give you the benefit of my beating.

Because it is seriously important for writers to become proficient in the tools of their craft, and grammer is the most important tool. So I’ve done a little studying. What I hope to do here is explain what passive voice is—and what is not—and show lots of examples.

Note, big warning repeated: Do not confuse verb tense with passive or active voice. Passive or active are determined strictly by the doer or recipient of the action.
And, believe it or not, there are actually times when you should use passive voice.

Key to Passive Voice: Identify who or what is doing the action. If the subject of the sentence is performing the action, then it’s active, regardless of the verb tense used.
If the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action, then it is passive.

Active: She hit him.

“She” is the subject of the sentence. She is doing the action, i.e. she’s doing the hitting, actively (and one might say, aggressively). Active.

Passive: He was hit by her.

“He” is the subject of the sentence, but he’s not the one doing the action. He’s the recipient of the action performed “by her”. So he’s passively accepting a sock to the jaw. Passive.

First Rumor to Dispel
The word “was” indicates passive voice.

No, not all the time. If you see “was” in combination with a verb ending in “ing” then it is probably not passive voice. It is probably past progressive showing a continuous action that happened in the past.

For example:
He was walking.

Past progressive, active, not passive. “He” is the subject of the sentence and he was actively, continuously walking, in the past.

If you see “was” in combination with a verb ending in “ed” or “en,” etc, then it is probably passive voice.

For example:
The tray of food was dropped by the waiter. Passive. The tray of food is the recipient of the action. It was dropped by the waiter.

Not Passive Example 1: “Was” + “-ing” verb

He was walking to the store when a bus hit him.

“Was walking” indicates that he was in the act of walking—continuously walking—when he got hit by a bus. This is not passive voice. It is past progressive. You can think of this verb tense as “in the progress of doing something,” with the emphasis on progress. Hence, progressive.

Remember: verb tense is action + time--the tenses tell you what was done and when it was done.

You would not say:

He walked to the store when a bus hit him.

Not only does this sound strange, but it suffers from temporal distortion because “walked” indicates that he had finished walking when the bus hit him. Excuse me? Was he just standing there? Or maybe you mean, he walked to the store after the bus hit him.

That’s what I mean by temporal distortion. You no longer know what the correct timing is in this sequence, because you used the wrong verb tense in a misguided effort to avoid “was.”

Clearly, it is not the verb tense that indicates if a sentence is active or passive, because both of those sentences were active.

Passive Example 2: “Was” + “ed” verb

He was attacked by a bear at the corner of 5th and Main.

“Was attacked” here indicates the bear actually performed the action—not the man. This is passive voice. And it is passive voice told using past tense.

[Most stories are told in some form of third person, past tense, so most of my examples are written that way. However, you can use any verb tense and still have passive voice if your subject is the recipient of the action.]

Examples of Various Verb Tenses + Passive/Active Voice
Just to prove this point, here are examples of all the verb tenses, used in sentences constructed using first passive voice and then active voice. Some of the examples are extremely awkward—sorry about that.

Note again, it is the subject in relation to action that indicates passive or active voice. It is not the verb tense, which is action + time. (Although if you see the word “being” in the sentence, chances are good that it’s a passive construction, unless it’s future progressive.)

PRESENT - NOW Verb Forms

Present Tense

The cart is dragged by her into the woods. Present tense, passive voice
The cart is the recipient of the action.

Now, active voice:
She drags the cart into the woods. Present tense, active voice
She is taking action.

Present Perfect Tense (indefinite time/continues to present). Uses has/having with the verb's past participle, e.g. ending in -ed.

The cart has been dragged through the woods by her since 2PM.

Present tense (continues in the present), passive voice.

A better passive voice example is:
Discrimination has undergone examination for its effect on society since 1960.

Present tense (continues in the present), passive voice.

Now, active voice:
She has dragged the cart through the woods since 2PM.

Present tense (continues in the present), active voice

Present Progressive (continuous action, happening now). Uses am/is/are with verb ending in -ing.

The cart is being dragged by her through the woods.

Present progressive (continuous action, now), passive voice. Note "being".

Now, active voice:
She is dragging the cart through the woods.

Present progressive (continuous action, now), active voice.

Present Perfect Progressive (action began in the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future). Uses has/have been + verb ending in -ing.

The cart has been being dragged by her through the forest.

Present perfect progressive (continuous action that may continue in the future), passive voice. Wow, that’s awkward. Yuch.

Maybe a different passive sentence would help:
A transfer of funds has been undergoing consideration by the committee for quite some time.

Now, active voice:
She has been dragging the cart through the woods.

Present perfect progressive (continuous action that may continue into the future), active voice.

Another example may make this clearer:
She has been considering quitting her job if her boss doesn’t ease up. Active voice.

FUTURE – in the future

Future Tense
The cart will be dragged by her through the woods. Future tense, passive voice

And active voice:
She will drag the cart through the woods. Future tense, active voice

Future Perfect Tense (Action occurs in the future before some other action). Uses "will have" + past particple of the verb.

The cart will have been dragged into the woods by the time we get there.

Future perfect tense, passive voice

And active voice:
She will have dragged the cart into the woods by the time we get there.

Future perfect tense, active voice

Future Progressive (Ongoing, continuous action in the future). Uses "will be" + verb ending in -ing.

The cart will be being dragged into the woods by her this afternoon while we are out.

Future progressive (continuous action in the future), passive voice.

And active voice:
She will be dragging the cart into the woods this afternoon while we are out.

Future progressive (continuous action), active voice.

Future Perfect Progressive (Ongoing, continuous action that will occur before some future time). Uses "will have been" + verb ending in -ing.

The cart will have been being dragged into the woods by her by 4:00pm.

Future perfect progressive (future continuous action that occurs before some specified time), passive voice.
A better example may be:

By next year, the decision will have been undergoing review for over three years.

Future perfect progressive, passive voice. The decision is being reviewed, so it is the recipient of the review. “We” is implied as the entity taking the action. If this was rephrased in active voice, it would be: By next year, we will have been reviewing this decision for over three years.

And active voice:
She will have been dragging the cart for over an hour by 4:00pm.

Future perfect progressive (future continuous action that occurs before some specified time), active voice.
A better example may be:

By the year 3000, doctors will have been treating cancer with radiation therapy for over 1000 years.

Future perfect progressive, active voice. The doctors are treating cancer, i.e. the doctors are taking the action against cancer.


PAST – happened in the past

Past Tense
The cart was dragged into the woods by her. Past tense, passive voice
She dragged the cart into the woods. Past tense, active voice

Past Perfect Tense (Action took place in past before another past action). Uses "had" + past participle of the verb (e.g. ends in -ed).

The cart had been dragged into the woods by her by the time we got there.

Past perfect tense, passive voice

She had dragged the cart into the woods by the time we got there.

Past perfect tense, active voice

Past Progressive (action happening when another action occured). Uses was + verb ending in -ing.

The cart was being dragged into the woods by her when she saw a bear.

Past progressive (continuous, past action), passive voice.

She was dragging the cart into the woods when she saw a bear.

Past progressive (continuous, past action), active voice.

Past Perfect Progressive (continuous action completed before some other past action). Uses "had been" + verb ending in -ing.

The cart had been being dragged into the woods by her for over an hour before we got home.

Past perfect progressive (continuous action completed before some other past action), passive voice.
Here is another example that’s still awkward, but maybe more understandable…

Before we ended the meeting at 5PM, the recommendation had been undergoing discussion for over three hours.

Past Perfect Progressive, passive voice. The recommendation is the subject, and “we” are discussing it. The action is “discussing”.

And now active:
She had been dragging the cart through the woods or over an hour before we got home.

Past perfect progressive (continuous action), active voice.


Obviously, some of these forms are exceptionally awkward—at least in the examples I selected. There are certainly less awkward examples I could have written. Maybe. Thank goodness we rarely try to write fiction with such strained, awkward language.

When is it okay to use passive?
Now comes the really interesting part—at least to me. There are some times when you have to use passive, or at least want to use passive, in order to preserve emphasis and not to change the subject.

Remember the big key: passive versus active is essentially the subject of the sentence in relation to the action. If you write everything in active voice, you can sometimes inadvertently change the subject to an entity (e.g. a cart) that is less important.

I’m going to give a lot of examples, because this is very, very important and is really the crux of this entire article.

When you write, one of the things you really have to think about is: who or what is the “focus” of attention right now? Depending upon your answer, you may need to use passive voice if you don’t want to shift the focus, even temporarily, to another subject.

In other words, if you don’t want to change the subject.

Focus Example 1

“What happened to Nancy?” he asked.
“She was hit by a bus on her way to work,” the receptionist said before breaking into tears.

“She was hit by a bus” is a passive construction. But, most people would agree, the important focus in this conversation is Nancy.

Now, if you were really, really against passive voice, you could have written this entirely in active voice:
“What happened to Nancy?” he asked.
“A bus hit her on her way to work,” the receptionist said, turning on her computer.

Yes, that does work and is entirely active voice, but it shifts the focus to the bus and away from Nancy. It distances you from Nancy and makes her less important. For some people, if they are not paying close attention, they may actually think this is a non sequitur and repeat their question, because they were expecting to hear an answer that had Nancy as the subject—not a bus.

There is nothing wrong with this, but in real conversation, we often use passive voice to keep the focus on the person we are discussing, instead shifting to a thing, like a bus.

Note: some people (and therefore, characters) will prefer to use active voice in the above conversation because they prefer to keep people at a distance. By changing the subject to “the bus” the speaker may be more comfortable talking about the accident because it makes Nancy’s plight more distant and therefore, more bearable.

This is one way that you can make active/passive voice work for you—and help you define your characters. A hero who is uncomfortable with emotions and likes to keep people at a distance, may prefer to say, “A bus hit Nancy.” It’s direct, impersonal, and active. Those may be your hero’s main traits.

On the other hand, a hero who is emotionally connected to Nancy and focused on her and her tragedy, may say, “Nancy was hit by a bus this morning.” It reveals his focus on Nancy and the writer can use that to show his emotional “reference.”

This “focus effect” is why many newspaper articles use more passive voice. The news articles want to maintain the emotional focus on a particular person, especially if that person is famous.

Focus Example 2

Nancy Sinatra was walking along the beach yesterday when she was attacked by a walrus. Her body was dragged into the ocean and was later found by beachcombers.

That’s a fairly typical example you might find in a newspaper or magazine, where the really important subject is Nancy Sinatra. The reporter does not want to shift focus away from her—or her body. So he slips into passive voice to retain the emotional impact and focus. Nancy (or her body) is always emphasized.

For even more impact, this may be written (still in passive voice) as:
Nancy Sinatra was walking along the beach yesterday when she was attacked by a walrus. Nancy’s body was dragged into the ocean, and she was later found by beachcombers.

Notice here, I not only kept Nancy as the "centerpiece" of the sentence, but I reinforced this by using her name (instead of just “her body”) so that you could not “objectify” her and diminish her significance. I made it “more personal.”

Let’s dissect this further, because I don’t want you to confuse exactly what is passive about that paragraph.

Nancy Sinatra was walking along the beach yesterday – Active voice, past progressive.

When she was attacked by a walrus. – Passive voice, past progressive. The walrus is doing the attacking. Nancy is the victim (or object) of this action.

Nancy’s body was dragged into the ocean, and she was later found by beachcombers. – Passive voice, past progressive. Both parts of this sentence are passive voice.

In the first part, the walrus is still doing the action, and it’s doing it to Nancy’s body. In the second half, the beachcombers are performing the action (finding a body) and Nancy’s body is the object they found.

You could rewrite this in active voice as follows, but notice the subtle difference in emotional focus and emphasis.
Nancy Sinatra was walking along the beach when a walrus attacked her. The walrus dragged her body into the ocean and beachcombers later found the mauled remains.

When you rewrite this in active voice, the second part of the first sentence shifts the focus away from Nancy to the walrus. You de-emphasize Nancy and take a step away from her, creating distance. You are now thinking about the walrus, and it’s the walrus you are visualizing and not Nancy’s poor, lifeless corpse being dragged around.

In the final clause, you shift focus yet again to the beachcombers. This makes a further shift away from Nancy, until she becomes quite distant and unimportant. You end up deemphasizing Nancy and focusing instead on the walrus and beachcombers. Her body becomes just another piece of detritus found on the beach.

So, you don’t want to switch to active voice if you will lose your focus and emotional impact. You may have to use passive to avoid creating distance between your subject and the reader.

That said, there are times, particularly in comedic writing, when you quite deliberately want to switch focus. Active voice can be just the ticket.

Focus Example 3

Nancy Sinatra was walking along the beach when a walrus attacked her. The walrus dragged her into the ocean and ate her, resulting in a massive case of indigestion. Local wildlife rehabbers managed to capture the walrus in time to save its life. The leader of the team, Ted Wilson, blamed Nancy for her irresponsible behavior in getting eaten by an endangered species and cautioned others to avoid putting their own, ridiculous health routines above the welfare of our treasured national wildlife.

In the first sentence, you end by shifting attention to the walrus.
Then you shift from the walrus to the rehabbers.
You end with the focus entirely on the rehabbers and Ted’s advice.

That’s all active voice. And we shifted quite neatly away from Nancy to the plight of the poor walrus that ate her, and finally, to the views of a bunch of rehabbers, led by Ted Wilson.

If you were writing about Nancy’s tragic death, you’ve failed.
If you were trying to make a statement about the environment and our responsibility toward endangered species, then you succeeded. (Or, you just created a bit of sarcastic humor—depending upon your view of Ted’s advice.)

If you want to shift focus to achieve some effect, then by all means do so. Just be aware you are doing it.

Oh, and don’t let me leave you with the impression that I’m saying passive is somehow better—it’s not. If at all possible, you should use active voice. Just make sure you don’t arbitrarily and blindly “follow the rule to use active voice at all times” at the expense of your story.

And don’t assume that any sentence containing the word “was” is passive.

Life Lessons

I hope you're not expecting anything mega-brilliant. Since I usually blog on what I've learned about creative writing, tonight I thought I'd list a few things I've learned over the years. Nothing earth-shattering. Some are just plain dumb. Many are things that any normal two-year-old could have figured out. Several items are shopping-related. J

(Note: I don't really want to endorse one product over another—but some things have just worked out for me, and I believe in sharing.)

So, drum-roll please, here are a few things I've picked up over my vast number of years on this planet.

Product That Just Work

1. Crocs. I've lived a lifetime with blistered, bleeding feet—particularly when I took the advice of shoe store salesmen and got my feet measured and bought the most expensive running shoes in the place. And then, to compound my misery, lately my feet have started swelling and getting hot. Until I found Crocs. No more blisters. No more calluses. No more taking my shoes off to get through security in airports. Little happy feet.
   
   1. Hint: buy those gel insoles and put them in your Crocs. It's like an extra layer of, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, cushiness. It feels so good I want to cry. It also keeps your socks from getting caught on the Croc nubbies and twisting as your walk.
      
   2. Related hint: buy those socks especially created for people with diabetes. I don't have diabetes, but I have to tell you, socks created for people with that condition are unbelievably soft and comfortable. And if you wear them with gel insoles in your Crocs, you will bawl like a baby in relief.
      
   3. Final, related note: Who care what it looks like? It's comfortable.
      
2. Plastic sled thingies from www.cabelas.com. They are just these long, oblong sled thingies that are sort of wagon-shaped except without the wheels. They come with a nylon rope for the handle. We unhooked the nylon rope and slipped a foot-long length of old hose onto the rope, and then reattached the rope so that we would have a nice, soft, flexible handle to grip (instead of just the nylon rope). And what is this good for, you ask? GARDENING. I can't tell you how many wheel barrows and wagons I have broken over the years. Flat tires, broken axles, broken handles—not to mention the wheel barrow's complete inability to cover rough terrain (like downed trees in the woods, for example). Then we got this sled thingie and wowee! I can drag a hundred pounds of dirt around like nobody's business and it slips over fallen trees in the woods, uneven turf, over rocks, and even over those stupid brick edgings I was unwise enough to use to encircle my garden. Suddenly, I can move anything, anywhere. There is no barrier this thing can't slip over. If I can get over it, this sled can slide over it, too. I use it to haul plants, dirt, leaves, yard junk—you name it. And you can use a couple of bungee cords to hold very large stacks of branches to the sled while you drag them away, too. It's the best garden implement under $50 I've ever seen. Other places probably sell similar sleds—I just never checked out other places. So check out Cabelas. I think it's actually meant to haul dead things out of the woods, but what the heck—it's great for gardening. And it's plastic so it never rots or needs oiling or air for the tires or anything!
   
3. Doggie poo for new gardens—if you have a dog that loves to dig, just scoop up some of its "little doggie by-product" and put it around any new plantings or freshly turned over garden plots. It will keep your dog from digging there or pulling up your lovely plants. While this isn't an actual, commercial product, it works.
   

Personal Grooming

1. You can buy really, really expensive toner, or you can use witch hazel. The results are the same and witch hazel is cheaper.
   
2. You can buy really, really expensive "spot products" for those occasional breakouts, or you can take a cotton swab, drench it in rubbing alcohol, and dab it on your blemish twice a day (or more if you wish). Your blemish will go away as fast, or faster, than it would if you used a more trendy product.
   
3. Baby powder makes a great face powder if you are very fair. In fact, it does a better job of hiding pores than a lot of expensive, commercial products.
   

Life in General

1. You're better off with someone your own age after you hit 50. Yeah, I know—you don't have to tell me about all those great relationships with others of disparate ages. Here's the thing. As you get older, life just keeps getting more and more humiliating. You wake up at 2 a.m. and can't get back to sleep—but you inexorably fall asleep at 3 p.m. You have colonoscopies, things cut or burned off your face (or other areas of your body), age spots, hair loss, sagging skin, dietary issues, reading glasses—you name it. I have to tell you, if you're with someone roughly your own age with whom you can share the reading glasses, compare prescriptions, eat the same diets, and in general are going through everything you're going through, it is an unbelievable relief. It's nice just to be able to share all the discomfort, pain, trials & tribulations with someone who is experiencing the same thing. You're not alone. You don't have to hide anything. You're not becoming weird and creepy. You can grow weird and creepy right along with them.
   
2. Right along with the previous item: try to look good, but be honest, 50 is not even close to being the new 40. 40 is 40 and 50 is 50. And if you're 50 and trying to pretend to the world that you're 40, well, get over it. I believe in staying fit and looking as good as you can, but I'm not trying to make people think I'm something I'm not, mostly because I don't want the embarrassment of explaining later that, no, I'm not really 40. You can't hide your age forever: and as Popeye says, "I am what I am." And there is a lot less stress when you actually realize it. Just take a deep breath and let it all out.
   
3. Smile. That's almost, like, the answer to Life, the universe, and everything. Just smile—it's turning on the light switch to the soul. All of a sudden, good things start coming your way. You're more popular. People think you're nice. You'll feel better. It's shocking and amazing.
   

Lastly, go and read a good book with a happy ending. It'll make you feel better. Trust me.

That's it for tonight. My little list of miscellany.

Words of Wisdom

No matter where you are or what level you've attained in life or your job, there is always something new to learn, each and every day. In fact, it is rare that I don't learn something every day, even if it is only a confirmation that I don't know as much as I thought I did. Which is pretty sad considering I had a number of teachers in High School and College who tried to convince me that I knew more than I thought I did. In reality, I think I knew less than they thought I did.

In any event, in my journey as a writer, I've had many pearls of wisdom thrown at me. Some were just silly (if your heroine isn't sympathetic, give her a pet cat) and some were really important.

Make sure the reader understands the character and character's motivations from the beginning.

That's harder than it sounds because it is so drilled in to writers that they shouldn't spend pages on background info that can be "dribbled in" as needed later. Yes, sort of true, but the reader at least needs to understand the character's current situation, even if it just "superficial" and doesn't explain the deep, dark issues.

I do have to say, however, as a reader, that I actually prefer it if the author gives me one or two pages about the character to give me at least an overview of how the character got to where they are when the book starts. But then, I always like things explained to me. My favorite part of any mystery is at the end where the hero (or heroine) sums up everything and explains why the bad guy did what he did and how the hero figured it all out.

Motivate the action tags.

Another place where I figured the reader would just know and I shouldn't be explaining… Yes and no. What this means is that, if your character flushes, you need to give us at least a hint as to why. Because people can flush for any one of a number of reasons, including anger or humiliation. Most actions can be interpreted in a number of ways and the reader isn't there to see all the body language, so you have to clue them in. She touched the lace of her collar with nervous fingers. It's the word nervous that clues the reader into the fact that the heroine is nervous—her gesture reveals that. However, it is vastly different than the less-than-helpful tag: She touched the lace of her collar.

As a writer, I was trying to avoid telling the reader what the character's emotions were, I wanted the gestures and conversation to show what the character was feeling. The problem was, I wrote things like: She rubbed her palms against her skirt. This left the reader with the image, but no real notion of why the character was doing this. Was she nervous and wiping away the dampness of her palms? Was she trying to control her anger?

You see the issue.

Make sure the action and reaction is in the proper sequential order.

Thomas stood in the doorway and remarked, "It's sure cold in here." When Sylvia refused to acknowledge his presence, he crossed his legs and picked up a magazine, completely prepared to ignore her, too.

The problem in the above paragraph is not one of sequence so much as leaving out an important point. Thomas must have taken a seat at some point, but it isn't mentioned. So the reader is left with the jarring sensation if missing something, since not too many people can cross their legs while they are standing up and still keep their balance.

Thomas said, "Nice work, Alice!"

Alice fumed behind her desk, wishing she had her own office.

Now, in the above sequence, it sounds like Alice resents what Thomas said and wishes she didn't have to share an office with him. But, what if the author meant you to understand that Thomas saw Alice fuming over her lack of privacy and tried to cheer her up by saying, "Nice work, Alice!". That's a sequence problem. You would have to switch the two sentences if Thomas' statement is in reaction to Alice's foul mood. If Alice's foul mood is in reaction to Thomas' statement, then the sequence is appropriate as show above.

Tricky, right?

Just a few things to think about as you write your way into the New York Times Bestseller list!

Creating a Press Sheet

For once, I'm blogging on Tuesday night according to schedule—will wonders never cease?

Maybe it's just because I actually know what I want to write about this week. It's how to create a press sheet for your book. A press sheet is a one page "everything you need to know" bulletin that you can use when promoting your book. You can use it when you talk to booksellers and librarians, and more importantly, when you give information to the press. It is a critical component of your media or press kit and may be the only thing a lot of people read.

For librarians and booksellers, it gives them all the information they need to order your book. And if you include the right information, it may spark them to decide to buy your book.

This is sometimes called a fact sheet. For those of you with a business background, you can think of it as sort of an Executive Summary.

And it's ridiculously simple to create.

I created a press sheet for my book, SMUGGLED ROSE, so I'll use that as a sample template.

Top Section: Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts…

The top section is everything a buyer needs to know about your book. It should include title, date of publication, ISBN, publisher information, distributor information, and the list price. Here is the top section for SMUGGLED ROSE.

Smuggled Rose | Amy Corwin

 

Title:	Smuggled Rose	Distribution:	Baker & Taylor
Author:	Amy Corwin		Jasmine-Jade
Date of publication:	May 3, 2007		[www.jasminejade.com]
Price:	$9.99	Publisher:	Cerridwen Press
ISBN:	9781419956447		Ellora's Cave Publishing
Intended Audience:	Adult		1056 Home Avenue Akron OH, 44310
Format:	Trade Paperback	Phone:	330-253-3521
Genre:	Traditional Regency	FAX:	330-253-3531
		e-Mail:	service@ellorascave.com

 

 

Middle Section: Tease me, tempt me…

The middle section includes a pretty picture of your front cover and the blurb from the back cover. Hopefully, your blurb will be so fascinating that whoever is looking at your press sheet (or reading the back of your book) will immediately have
to buy your book. So, here is the middle section for SMUGGLED ROSE.

 

Summary:

A cynical earl and a rose smuggler are an unlikely pair, particularly when the smuggler is a supposedly fallen woman the earl owes for saving his brother's life.

Nonetheless, Michael, the earl of Ramsgate, is determined to repay his family's debt by presenting Margaret at Court—an action calculated to repair even the worst reputation. But Margaret has been burned before and is suspicious that Michael's intentions aren't entirely honorable…despite the certainty in her heart that she can trust him.

As the tension between them flares and Michael's feelings for Margaret strain his self-control, an old enemy bent on revenge returns to challenge Michael's iron determination…and threatens to take Margaret away from him forever.

 

 

 

 

Final Section: Wonderful me…

The final section includes a very, very brief biography and one or two reviews. Remember, all of this must fit on one sheet of paper, and visually, the more white space, the more appealing. So if you must err, err on the side of brevity and succinctness. This is not the time to drone on and on and on… But you do want to catch your audience's attention and leave them with the sense that they would like to meet you and that you are a successful author. Here is the final section for the SMUGGLED ROSE press sheet.

 

About the author:

Amy Padgett has been writing award winning Regency romances and romantic mysteries for nearly a decade. Smuggled Rose, her first Traditional Regency, was also the first of her titles to be published by Cerridwen Press for their Cotillion line. She worked as the editor and contributor for the Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society Newsletter for three years and currently grows over 100 old garden roses.

From the reviewers:

"With precise attention to not only societal rules but also characterization, Amy Corwin has authored a riveting traditional Regency romance that packs a lot of punch. Rich with the romanticism of the era that appeals to this reader, SMUGGLED ROSE is a sumptuous tale of love and learning to trust." —Romance Review Today

 

To give you a feel for how this looks "in toto" here is an image of the SMUGGLED ROSE press sheet. The page is obviously "shrunken" and included merely to give you a visual of white space and layout, rather than read the text. In reality, of course, this is perfectly legible and prints out on standard 8.5 x 11" paper.

That's pretty much all there is to it.

And after you create this, you can have the fun of putting together the rest of your media kit, including such items as a cover letter, any news clippings/articles about you, additional reviews, a longer bio sheet, sample questions & answers (e.g. if you are requesting an interview), public appearance schedule, a publicity photo of you, and so on.

Media/press kits can be as elaborate or simple as the need (and your budget) dictates, but in all cases, you should always include your press sheet.

That's it!

Good luck.

 

 

 

 

 

Shameless Promo for Smuggled Rose

Call me an idiot but I just realized I've never actually plugged my own book (or soon to be—books) on my very own blog. Guess it just seemed sort of "exhibitionist" or something. So while my next blog will be about a useful tip for writers (creating your basic press sheet), this week, I'm going to be shameless and promote my own book. I figure folks might like a small sampling of what they will get if they lay down their cash on, SMUGGLED ROSE. It's a Regency—which basically means it's set in the early part of the 19^th century. Oh, and it's about a Lady rose smuggler who really wants to repair her reputation but isn't sure how to go about it. To her dismay, an earl decides to take matters into his own hands and drags her off to "enjoy" a Season in London. Neither one of them expects things to go as truly wrong as they do.

So here's a small teaser (basically, the blurb off the back cover) and an excerpt. I selected the passage which my editor indicated first made her "sit up and take notice". That's got to be good, right? It's the effect you're looking for, at any rate.

See what you think.

Back Cover Blurb

A cynical earl and a rose smuggler are an unlikely pair, particularly when the smuggler is a supposedly fallen woman the earl owes for saving his brother's life.

Nonetheless, Michael, the earl of Ramsgate, is determined to repay his family's debt by presenting Margaret at Court—an action calculated to repair even the worst reputation. But Margaret has been burned before and is suspicious that Michael's intentions aren't entirely honorable…despite the certainty in her heart that she can trust him.

As the tension between them flares and Michael's feelings for Margaret strain his self-control, an old enemy bent on revenge returns to challenge Michael's iron determination…and threatens to take Margaret away from him forever.

 

Excerpt

Without thought, he bent his head to her neck. A shock ran through him at her scent. Breathing harshly, he ran his mouth over the smooth, cool skin, tasting the soft flesh laced with an echo of lavender and rain.

She turned her head away. Her body, instead of relaxing under his touch, stiffened.

Michael raised his head and smiled at her. "Mistress, I won't harm you. We can both enjoy this if you stop struggling."

In response, she kicked him on the shin and twisted her hands to break his hold. He let her go, confused, and she jerked out of his reach.

The fire and single candle did not provide sufficient illumination for him to see her expression clearly, but she seemed almost abnormally composed and chillingly cold. However, her very control made her that much more desirable.

While he hesitated, she moved further into the shadows.

He stepped around the trunk at the foot of the bed. When he approached her, she reached out and plucked what appeared to be a small penknife from a writing table.

The gesture would have been ridiculously histrionic had it not been done in such a calm and calculating manner. Michael smiled, though he knew she could not read his face. The heat of the fire seeped into his back, leaving his face in cool shadow.

"Are you intending to kill me or yourself?" he asked sardonically.

"I can't decide. If I kill you, it'll be very difficult to explain one dead and one wounded Englishman." She paused as if considering the matter carefully. "Of course, I could simply throw your body into the Channel, but that's risky and the tides uncertain. It might inconveniently wash up upon my shore. I don't have a boat, you see, and it would be dreadfully awkward to borrow the Vicar's under the circumstances." She sighed mockingly. "Then there's your brother. I can't expect him to be particularly grateful if I murder you, though he'd inherit the earldom, wouldn't he?"

Nodding, he wondered if he was quick enough to grab the knife without risking a stabbing. It was unsettling to think of Edward celebrating his untimely demise. Michael wished she had not placed the thought in his head.

His brother loved him more than the earldom. Didn't he?

"Give me the knife." Michael held out his hand.

"Do you believe he'd object if I removed you? If so, I may need to ensure he doesn't recover, either. But then, two deaths are so frightfully bad form, aren't they? Not at all bon ton, though I'm sure I needn't worry about that."

"Damn it, just give me the blade. There are many much more pleasant ways to pass the night." She was making an ass of him and he did not find it at all amusing. He sighed. Why did his brother have to get himself shot on this difficult woman's doorstep? Why not in the yard of a comfortable tavern with plenty of wine, good food and buxom serving wenches?

"Your lordship may find this hard to comprehend, but I don't appreciate your suggestions. You don't know me."

"Ah, you're wrong, Miss Lane. You have a certain reputation…"

"Reputation?" She took a firmer grip on the knife as he edged closer. "You don't know—and please discontinue creeping about in that manner! I find it very difficult to hold any sort of a meaningful conversation with you when you insist on acting in this deplorable way. Have you no manners at all?"

Her tone pulled Michael up short. She sounded precisely like his mother when he arrived late for supper. If she screamed, or cried or behaved in any other acceptably hysterical female fashion, he would have been able to laugh at her. They could have both relaxed. As it was, he just felt rather naughty.

He was an adult, not an errant five-year-old, damn it!

"For the last time, put that knife down," he repeated testily. "I don't force myself on unwilling women."

"That's not at all the impression you gave me earlier. And, not to put too fine a point on it, doesn't your set make a habit of insisting your demands be met? Since when has a woman's willingness been a consideration?"

"Damn it, Miss Lane! I don't insist on anything except some sort of regard for personal safety. Now be reasonable."

He was surprised to hear a faint laugh and was thankful she could not see his face. He felt a hot flush rise up his throat and stain his cheeks.

"When faced with unreasonable behavior, the irrational is an effective recourse."

He snorted. The situation was just aggravating enough to tickle Michael with frustration. He examined her again, though the dim light revealed precious little.

She was attractive, but not overwhelmingly so. If anything, he should have been put off by her coldness and her obvious distaste for a man's touch, but her attitude inexplicably fueled the burning within him.

Her shawl had dropped to the floor during their struggle, and though she kept the neckline of her dress closed with one hand, she could not hide the contours of her shape beneath the thin material. His mouth remembered the fine texture of her skin. It glowed pearl white against the darkness. His heart hammered in his chest.

"Miss Lane," he said, his voice harsh.

"I should get back to your brother. Please hand me my shawl."

"Let me apologize." He was acting badly and impulsively, but he could not stop.

"No. Don't apologize. Hand me my shawl and let me pass."

He picked up the material and let it slip from finger to finger as he studied her. She hadn't dropped the knife, but how resolute was she? Would she truly kill him—or herself?

 

That's it—that's all you get. ;-)

Enjoy!

The Wild Rose Press author: Jenny Gilliam

It is always a privilege to help out other authors, and I am thrilled to provide a tantalizing look at a book just released on March 21, 2008. Jenny Gilliam's THE WEDDING WAR is already garnering wonderful reviews. Her book is out now as an e-book from The Wild Rose Press and Fictionwise, and will be out later this year as a paperback. And she's been gracious enough to give me a blurb and excerpt from her book.

If you are interested in finding out more about Jenny, you can visit her on myspace.com at: http://www.myspace.com/jennygilliam or at her website: http://www.jennygilliam.com .

So, without further fanfare, here is just a small taste of THE WEDDING WAR. I hope you will enjoy it!

Backcover Blurb

What happens when a fairytale-believing wedding planner and a jaded hot-rod builder who thinks love is nothing more than a chemical reaction end up on opposite sides of the aisle at the wedding of her best friend and his brother? A wedding war erupts.

Jake Ryan will do just about anything to keep his brother from making the same mistake he made. He's convinced there won't be a wedding because he's out to stop it. Mia Briscoe's determined this will be the most spectacular wedding she's ever planned. And when she discovers the groom's brother is out to break up the happy couple? The battle begins.

Jake and Mia have both suffered deep emotional wounds that prevent them from making lasting connections. And both are baffled by the intense feelings they bring out in each other. Can Mia teach Jake that love is something to cherish and not loathe? And if she can, will he be strong enough to bury his past so they can have a chance at a future together?

EXCERPT from THE WEDDING WAR

Oh, baby. Come to mama.

Mia Briscoe had never been one for flights of fancy, but the big, bruising man sprawled out in First Class seat 2B made her want to drop to her knees and thank nature for producing such a fine specimen.

If the long, muscular legs clad in soft denim were any indication, he had to be at least two or three inches over six feet. The jeans, worn in all the right places, drew her gaze to what promised to be an impressive package. His black T-shirt hugged thick, sinewy arms roped with muscle and stretched across a pair of well-defined pecs. A ball cap hid his face, but she sensed a firm, square jaw. He stared at a magazine that lay open in his lap, as his long, masculine fingers touched the page.

Mia told herself not to stare, but damn, how could she not when the man's body was so...mouth watering? She whimpered. She actually whimpered.

She'd never been affected by a man like this before. Not even in high school, when other girls swooned over rock and movie stars. To have this reaction here, on an airplane, of all places seemed...strange. And wonderful.

It took her mind off the fact that the last time she'd boarded an airplane it'd been to sit at the deathbed of the woman who'd raised her after her parents died in a car accident. She'd been thirteen. Aunt Eva took her in, loved her and guided her to make the right choices in life. Eleven months later, her aunt's absence still felt as raw as an open wound. Don't think about it.

Mia gathered herself, realizing she stood in the middle of the aisle salivating over a piece of man-candy. She glanced down at the boarding pass in her hand. 2B. Her eyes flickered to the bulkhead.

Wait a minute. Mr. Studly is in my seat!

Wow, she must have managed to repay one hell of a karmic debt, because good fortune shone on her today.

A coiffed and polished flight attendant gave Mia a plastic smile as she passed by. Mia looked back down at Mr. Studly, still engrossed in his magazine.

She cleared her throat.

No response. She tried a more direct approach. "Excuse me. I think you're in my seat."

He finally glanced up and Mia's heart all but stopped.

Oh, my.

Blue eyes, as deep as the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean, stared up at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Intelligence shone in those gorgeous depths, and his dark brows pulled into a frown as he gave her face and body a slow perusal. Mia felt his gaze as if he'd touched her with those tough, masculine hands. She suppressed a shiver.

She'd been right about that square jaw. At eleven in the morning it showed signs of a heavy beard. His strong chin boasted a faint cleft. She'd always had a weak spot for a man with a strong chin with a faint cleft.

He broke eye contact, returning his attention to his magazine. "I'm not moving."

Huh?

"I beg your pardon?" Mia asked.

"You heard me," he said, in a deep baritone.

"But…you're in my seat." She thrust her boarding pass under his nose. "See? It says right there. Seat 2B."

"I can read, sweetheart," he said, sending Mia's blood near boiling point.

Is this guy for real? A hunk of studly man-love he might be, but he had the manners of a garden rock. Wishing he had just kept his mouth shut, she drew up to her full five feet nine inches. "Are you sure about that?" she asked sweetly.

"Lady, I'm not gonna sit here arguing with you all day. You better sit your pretty little ass down or you're gonna be in for a rude awakening when we take off."

Of all the pigheaded, misogynistic things to say! Mia's blood pressure skyrocketed as a fine red mist gathered before her eyes.

Mia wasn't one to stand by while people trampled over her in order to get their way. No, sir. She was no one's doormat. And it infuriated her that this guy expected her to toe the line simply because he said so.

She planted her feet and propped a fist on her hip. "I'm not going anywhere. You're the one who should move."

He glanced at her and smirked. Why did the colossal jerk have to be so damn gorgeous? It wasn't fair.

"Not gonna happen," he drawled.

"The hell it's not."

One black brow lifted sardonically. "What are you gonna do? Tell on me?"

"You bet your ass I am." Mia spun on her heel and smacked into the Barbie-doll flight attendant she'd seen moments ago.

"Is there a problem?" she asked Mia.

"As a matter of fact, there is. This…this person" —she infused plenty of meaning into the word so there was no mistaking what she thought of squatters, "is in my seat." She shoved the boarding pass at the flight attendant, who stared at it as though Mia handed her a smelly sock. "It's right there. 2B." She whirled back on the interloper. "He's in my seat."

While it pleased her enormously to vent her frustration, Mia realized her behavior was a tad childish. True, the man occupying her seat had started this whole mess, but as an adult she should have risen above it. She ran a successful—okay, successful was stretching it—wedding planning business, for crying out loud. She dealt with disasters worse than this on a daily basis.

"Sir?" the flight attendant asked. "May I see your boarding pass?"

He smiled, the act transforming his entire face. Mia wasn't going to fall for his charming act this time. Uh-uh. No way. However, Airline Barbie was a different story. She looked ready to climb on his lap and take him for a ride. While she perused his boarding pass, he flicked a glance at Mia. And smirked.

Bastard.

"Sir, it does say here you're in 2A." She seemed disappointed.

He turned that megawatt smile back on Airline Barbie. "It's just I have this thing about planes," he explained, speaking to the flight attendant as if Mia had ceased to exist. "I have a real hard time flying as it is, so it helps if I sit in the aisle. I thought I was getting an aisle seat, so I just sat here."

"That's the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. You are not seriously going to believe him, are you? He's totally playing you." Mia huffed and folded her arms under her breasts.

Airline Barbie turned on Mia. "Ma'am, you need to calm down right now or I'm going to have you removed from the aircraft."

Mia's mouth hung open. Outrage sang through her blood, but logic and reason, temporarily out to lunch, decided to make a comeback.

"If he would have said that to begin with, I would have gladly given up my seat." There. She even managed to sound the teensiest bit contrite—though she spoke through clenched teeth. "He can have the stupid seat if he's afraid of flying. Okay? It's not that big a deal."

Mia's temper often landed her in situations such as this. However, had The Jerk explained his fear of flying in a calm and rational manner when she'd first spoken to him, she would have gladly traded seats. But, nooo, he had to be a big ol' butthead about it.

Really, The Jerk deserved Mia's ire.

Airline Barbie didn't look convinced. In fact, she and The Jerk shared a commiserating glance, as if Mia had lost her mind. She knew she fought a losing battle. And the hell of it was, she had to sit next to him for the next five hours.

Her first time in First Class, paid for by her best friend, whose wedding she would be planning for the next two weeks, and it had been ruined by a misogynistic pig who, quite unfairly, resembled a dark, delicious and seriously yummy god.

Well, crap. It appeared her good fortune had turned into a curse.

E-book Reader Contest Open a Few More Days

For those who might have missed the contest a few of the Cerridwen authors are sponsoring, we're extending it until the end of this week! Yippee! There are details on my web page at: http://www.amycorwin.com/march2008contest.htm. Check out the rules so that you can send in a winning entry. The clues were distributed each day during the contest period, but to make it easier for late entrants, I'm including all the clues for the "secret words" below.

Some folks have also expressed an interest in the Cerridwen Press Authors' blog (which also contains information about the contest). You can find the blog at: http://cerridwenpressauthors.blogspot.com/

In addition to collecting the secret words, please note that we have included a tiny picture of a tree, so you will want to note all the pages where you see the small tree. We also have a correction to "tree locations": Lise Fuller's icon is on her MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/lisefuller

And now, for the secret word location clues…

Day 1:

Amy Corwin writes Regencies (and dabbles in other genres, coming soon) -- check her BOOKS page at http://www.amycorwin.com for the secret word of the day!

Day 2:

Micqui Miller's home page (http://www.micquimiller.com) sends you to her books page where a secret word is sitting right on top of her guest book -- the word could be an male animal or it could be something we'd all like a lot of! Check it out!

Day 3:

Sometimes characters have a say in their own character development.  Read how Randy, hero of Finding Sarah, helped author Terry Odell.  And it won't cost you a thing to read it. (HINT: it's FREE).

Check her web site at http://www.terryodell.com for details.

Day 4:

Terri Thackston always puts this person first when she thinks about her next book. Go to her blog at http://www.terithackston.blogspot.com and find out today's clue (this was posted on March 4).

Day 5:

Vicky Burkholder hangs out with these folks and brainstorms her great plots with them.  

Go to http://vickyburkholder.blogspot.com  and find today's word!

Day 6:

Check out Eilis Flynn's website in her reviews section. Her secret word points to generosity in action!

 http://www.coffeeon sundays.info/_sgg/m5m9_ 1.htm

Day 7:

You can find This 'n' That at Sharon Horton's web site, including today's word.

Check it out at http://www.sharonhorton.com

Day 8:

We've got a poet today! Go to http://www.NDHansen-Hill.com and solve this riddle:

'tis a four-letter word with an "m" and a "t", so stop by the lighthouse, look, and see.

Day 9:

Sam Cheever's website contains lots of surprises for readers. Check it out at http://www.samcheever.com!

Day 10:

She never knew when she grew up that she'd be writing romance for this publisher. Check out Jenyfer Matthews' bio page at her web site (http://www.jenyfermatthews.com) for today's secret clue.

Day 11:

Jude Atkins writes romantic suspense. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe you'll find that's true (and her picture) if you check her web page at www.judeatkins.com

Day 12:

Karen likes fantasy and mystery along with her romance, but for Christmas get her a vampire. Please! Check http://www.kmccullough.com for today's secret word.

Day 13:

Next to Chambord and champagne, Frances likes this best. Go to http://www.francesstockton.com/blog/index.php to find out the answer. After all, this and champagne go together!

Day 14

Liz Jasper's UNDERDEAD is now available in print, but her 2008 EPPIE Award nomination (and WINNER!!!) was for UNDERDEAD in this green version. Look for today's word in VERY BIG PINK TYPE at Liz's website www.lizjasper.com

Day 15:

Mary Ann's Secret word has to do with her FOUR-footed friends, which is a big clue right there to the Secret Word. Check it out at http://www.deadlinehellions.blogspot.com

Now you have all the clues!

Gather up the location of the tree icons, your list of secret words, and send your entry to: GreenBookFriend@yahoo.com

——At some point in the future, I'm hoping to sponsor another contest, so stay tuned!

Writing Favors

After finally passing the two Microsoft exams to upgrade my Systems Engineer certification to Windows 2003 (in preparation for the upgrade to 2008) I was thinking that I could get back to writing. Not. Well, sort of not.

You see, I often volunteer to judge writing contests. I found contests very, very useful to help hone my skills before I got published and I like to help out with them now that I am published, to sort of give back to the community. So I'm trying to get those entries read, think about them, formulate some reasonable comments, and then return them.

One of the things I'm reminded of whenever I do this is how much you can learn from reading other people's writing. In fact, you can probably learn more from reading not-quite-publishable than you can from reading published work. If a pre-published author makes mistakes, they are usually easier to find and easier to see how you might fix them. And avoid similar mistakes in your own writing. I can't tell you how much I've learned this way.

I occasionally go back through my favorite books to try to extract similar how-to information, but a lot of my favorite authors are so good, it is nearly impossible to dissect their writing. It's too smooth and unobtrusive. In fact, it's often hard to read more than a sentence without getting hooked into the story and forgetting why you were looking that the writing, anyway. That is the mark of a very skilled writer. Their writing is so unobtrusive that it does not get in the way of the story. You get sucked into the characters and plot to the point where you almost can't even see the writing.

This is something that may be more true of popular, commercial fiction than literary fiction. Literary fiction often showcases the writer's way with words or poetic voice—sometimes sacrificing story for the writing form itself. Some speculative works also do this—where it's more about the style of the vehicle than about the message it carries. And that's cool. I've been known to really enjoy fiction that is "out there" and uses weird language or a strange style. It's fun.

But if you are writing commercial fiction, then as a writer, you really need to make one critical decision before you start: Is your voice and "way with words" more important than your story?

It's okay to answer yes. But if your voice or poetic style of writing is more important to you than the story, you need to be prepared for a hard sell. You may be writing literature—not commercial fiction. And maybe someday, they'll include your books in "English 101."

Anyway, I was reminded of this issue because of some of the contest entries I've been reviewing. At least two of them had very strong, distinctive voices. One was very poetic. Lovely, really. But the voice and poetry was louder than the story, so the story failed to grip me. I was enjoying the play with words—I could not have cared less about the characters or plot. And I realized after reading the first two chapters that there was no way I would ever read more than 50 pages or so. It was too tiring. Evocative, but tiring because you never got emotionally invested in the story. It was all pretty surface with no soul.

For a story to be compelling and gripping, the reader has to forget they are reading a story. They have to sink into it. And readers can't do that if they are constantly paying attention to the writing or if they have to stop and figure out what the writer "meant".

Unobtrusive. Smooth. That's what you're looking for when someone describes your writing. Don't make the reader go, "huh?" And don't let them see your technique. If they see your technique, they're not into the story.

So, I've got to get back to the contest entries.

Good luck and sweet dreams!

News Flash!

My lovely and talented editor gave me a release date for my upcoming book, I Bid One American! I'm so pleased. The e-book version comes out on May 9, 2008 and the print version will be available on Nov 7, 2008. What a thrill!

Although, my joy is somewhat tempered by fear on a number of fronts. I have a couple of manuscripts that I'll be submitting shortly to several places, but it's always scary not to have another actual contract in my hot little hand. And I would really like to have more books coming out in 2008, but we will have to see what happens.

My more immediate and overwhelming terror has nothing to do with my writing career, except that it eats up time that would be better spent writing. I'm trying to prepare to take the two Microsoft exams (70-292 and 70-296) to upgrade my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification from Windows 2000 to Windows 2003. I was going to let it lapse because I never seemed to need my MCSE for anything. And the two exams to upgrade are going to be retired March 31. And I started to think…oh, no. Maybe I should reconsider.

Of course, then we had a major reorganization. And now they are saying that people who are the senior Enterprise Admins (that would be me & two others) will need to be certified. Grrh. And the only smooth path to get certified for Windows 2008 and the new Enterprise Admin path is to first get your Windows 2003 certification. And for me, the easiest path to that is to upgrade my 2000 MCSE to 2003.

This will be the first time I've tried to take any of the Microsoft exams without first going to a class. I'm trying to do it on my own, since I work at this junk every single day and as an Enterprise Admin, I also get to work on all the problems in our enterprise. So you'd think it would be a piece of cake.

We've got ~600 domain controllers, 300 sites, 30 domains and close to 300,000 users. So I keep thinking all this experience has to be good for something.

But I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be easy and I'll probably fail the first time. But I can retake it, thankfully.

Unfortunately, all this studying and fretting is taking time away from writing…grrh again. But I do have a few queries out-and-about. After I finish the Microsoft exams, I intend to finish my "final touches" on a Regency mystery called: The Vital Principle and send that toddler out to walk or fall on its face. And I still have The Bricklayer's Helper staggering around the circuit to see if I can find a home for it.

And I'd really like to write a few more short stories. They're fun.

Anyway—those are my meandering thoughts and worries for the moment.

Wishing you a happy and healthy weekend!

Tips for Writers

Writing is not an easy, armchair diversion—it's more of a blood sport, really. And there's really only one piece of advice that is worth anything: write the best book you can and then write the next, better one.

Not exactly what most writers want to hear. They are all looking for the ruby slippers, the magic key, the holy grail, the answer to life, the universe and everything. (Which, by the way, is 42.) But there is no single answer that will get you published except that first one.

That being said, I have learned a few things the hard way. They might help you, or they might not. Shrug. It's all a crap shoot, anyway. It's more like winning the lottery than anything else, except you don't have to pour your blood and sweat into a lottery ticket.

For serious writers, however, there is at least one fairly critical decision you need to make:

Are you going to submit your book, or get an agent?

'Cause…you don't want to do both for the same manuscript.

Submitting your own book to Publishers

If you decide to submit your own book to publishers, you need to face reality: most sales of new authors involve an agent. There are, however, exceptions.

• E-Publishers and Small Press: Authors are better off selling their manuscripts directly to these publishers. Typically, there is no advance. Authors of erotica and highly sensual material do very well with these publishers, so it is definitely something to think about.
  
• Category: Authors who write category romances or other types of shorter works targeted toward category publishers (e.g. Harlequin, Mills & Boon, or Avalon) then again, you can sell directly to the publisher and generally don't need an agent. There are advances offered.
  

If you want to sell to a large publisher, however, you will probably need an agent. Most large publishers will not even accept a query from an author, although a few will glance over a query letter.

Don't think you can send your book around to all the publishers, get a bunch of rejections, and then try agents as a last resort. This is called: shopping your book. It's deadly. If you do this, then if you miraculously found an agent, you will have placed him (or her) in the position of having no place to send your manuscript.

That manuscript is basically dead.

Agents

If your book is fabulous and you want to sell it to a big publisher: get an agent. Send your queries, partials, and manuscripts only to agents until you sign with one. It's really the only way.

Do not send the book to any publishers, first. Or simultaneously. Do not shop your book and then expect the agent to find a home for it after you've already sent your manuscript to everyone and their brother.

Scenario

You've written a brilliant historical romance. You try a few agents but it's so slow and you just know that it is perfect for Avon, so you go ahead and try Avon while waiting for Agent B to respond. Avon rejects you.

By some miracle, Agent B signs you. Agent B knows the Senior Editor at Avon, personally, and could convince her to buy your brilliant book...except you already submitted to them, so that's out! Agent B can't submit there because you've already poisoned the well with your submission, just because you got impatient.

Do not shoot yourself in the foot.

Best of Both Worlds

But wait! There is a way around this conundrum. Remember that first rule I gave you: write the best book you can, and then write a better one? Well, do that. And then look at both of them.

Take the strongest, best manuscript you have and dedicate that one solely to getting an agent. No matter what, do not submit it to any publishers.

Take the other strong, best manuscript you have (and it better be good, too) and send it to publishers—if you're sure you want to take this risk. Remember, if you try all the publishers, then that's the end of the book's life. It will have to go into the drawer when you're done.

And then write a better, stronger, faster, more powerful book.

Conclusion

This all sounds easy, but self-control is the most difficult part. You want to do something. After months and years of submitting to agents, you want to get it to a publisher. You want to get published.

That's why you have to decide on what you can live with. And it's why you have to keep on writing and improving. Each book you write will be better than the last. Each new book will stand a better chance.

The reality is: You need an agent to sell to a large publisher. So you need the self-control to set aside your best manuscript and submit it only to agents.

And you need the discipline to keep on writing.

Final Edits on Galley

Just finished what I hope are the final edits on the last galley for I Bid One American, my newest novel. It will be coming out soon from The Wild Rose Press. As soon as I get a date, I'll let everyone know—the anticipation is killing me. I Bid One American snagged me an agent and I'm extremely proud of it. Not that I'm not just as proud of my other stories, but as any writer will tell you, the book they are working on is almost always their favorite. This story is a mystery set during the Regency period, about an American heiress no one wants and a duke every woman is after. Unfortunately, after a debutante is killed during a soirée, the Bow Street runners are after the duke as well! So what else can an heiress do but help him out of a tight spot and possibly marry the poor sod.

In I Bid One American, I also introduce Second Sons, Discreet Inquiries—and its founder, Knighton Gaunt. I have several stories planned for Mr. Gaunt's inquiry agents and I'm afraid the murder rate for Regency England is about to go up.

While I Bid One American "brewing" I've also sent another manuscript to my fabulous agent. This manuscript is called The Bricklayer's Helper. It is another romantic mystery set in the Regency—also featuring an inquiry agent from Second Sons, who undertakes the task of discovering who is trying to kill a woman disguised as a bricklayer's helper. I got the core idea from an actual case of an orphaned girl who made the decision to cut her hair, dress in boy's clothing, and get a job as a bricklayer's helper. In the Regency, there were precious few ways for a penniless female child to survive except walking the streets, so her decision meant she could get a decent job and pay her own way. It worked pretty well for her until her mid-twenties when her landlady discovered "he" was a "she." Since about the same time, the landlady's daughter realized she was pregnant, the landlady came up with the scheme to have her daughter marry the disguised woman. The hope was that this would serve the dual purpose of "proving" that the woman in disguise was actually a real man, and making the landlady's grandchild legitimate when it was born. Their plans rather fell apart, but the story was so intriguing I couldn't help playing "what if" with it.

What if the little girl became an orphan because someone had killed her family?

What if the killer subsequently discovered that the girl had survived, and that the girl might have proof that would convict him—or her?

What if the girl realizes someone is trying to kill her and hires an inquiry agent to discover who and why?

And there you have it—the bones of a murder mystery set in the Regency.

A lot of folks have asked why I enjoy writing stories set in the Regency period so much, but really, there isn't just one answer. I like the period and "distance" makes it appear even rosier than it really was. The Regency was a more stratified Society with a great many restrictions, so there is more opportunity for a writer to explore how people find and fit into their place in a society where it isn't just "anything goes" as it is today. It was definitely not an "I'm Okay, You're Okay" situation. I've always been fascinated by the juxtaposition of outsiders versus insiders—who is acceptable and why.

And I like the comedy of manners aspect that Jane Austen does so well.

In addition, the Regency was before the regularization of the police force in London so I can play more with "amateur" detectives/inquiry agents without really stretching credibility too far. There was more leeway for that sort of thing. Now-a-days, no matter what people think, there is little (no) room for amateur detectives because they simply don't have access to the police files, forensic data, and other information that would be necessary to solve a case. The science of the Regency is at a level I can handle.

It does mean I have to do a lot of research, but I enjoy that aspect as well. Over the last few years, I've collected quite a library of original material such as Gentlemen's magazines, Ladies magazines, newspapers, and other source material that is fascinating to read on a rainy day.

Lastly, it's just fun.

So, over the next few months, I Bid One American should come out and I've even got some short stories up my sleeve.

Enjoy and have a fabulous Valentine's day!

Making Someone Love You

The reality is that you can't make someone love you…or can you?

I'm not a psychiatrist, psychologist, sociologist or anything like that. I'm a writer and I'm interested in portraying how people interact. How they fall in love. How a bad guy can manipulate others. Because let's face it, some people seem to be masters of persuasion. You know they are terrible people, but