Category Archives: Thoughts

50 Shades of Awesome!

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Sorry, couldn’t resist that title. This post is going to be about Fifty Shades of Grey, but I’m on cloud nine right now. People are buying Where the Heart Lies! This is (kind of) a new experience for me. I’ve never had a book up for pre-order before (at least I don’t think so), and my editor just tweeted to let me know Where the Heart Lies, which doesn’t come out until July 16, is the second most popular ebook on the Carina website. Wow! Admittedly, it’s on sale for 99 cents during July, so a lot of the buyers that would balk at $5 plus might be willing to take a leap of faith for less than a dollar. Anyway, if you’re interested in keeping track of my newest book’s progress, you can check out the Carina Press website.

And now on to the actual blog post. Fifty Shades of Grey. Seems like everybody’s talking about it. I actually resisted reading this one for a while, but I eventually realized it’s going to be an important influence on my chosen genre. Plus, people kept asking me what I thought about it. And I kept reading what other people thought about it. And finally I decided I needed to make up my own mind about it.

Let me start off by saying that in no way do I consider this a review, and I hope it won’t influence anyone either to read it or not. That’s entirely up to you. I really don’t think Fifty Shades of Grey is going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but, on the other hand, I can now see why it’s made such an impact.

Let’s look at the book honestly. It’s erotica. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Especially when it’s well-written erotica with a bit of a plot, which Fifty Shades definitely is. Is it a book you’d want your mom to catch you reading? Probably not. Your husband? Maybe. Is it a book you can discuss with your friends? Yes. In a book club? Um…probably not. At a quilting bee? Ummmm…. Leave it where your kids can read it? NO!

Fifty Shades of Grey is knocking down barriers. I classify it not only as erotica but as romantic erotica. My first thought when I finished it was, “Wow, the world has changed when a book like this can make it onto bestseller lists and become a household name.” Remember when you had to search a romance for “the good parts”? Well, there’s no searching necessary in Fifty Shades. Flip a couple of pages and you’ll find a good part. Guaranteed.

My second thought was, “Damn. She cheated.” She being the author, E.L. James. Why do I think she cheated? She didn’t finish the story. At least, she didn’t finish the story I wanted her to finish. In fact, she hinted at answers, led me on until the last page. I followed her heroine all the way through to the end, and honestly, I couldn’t believe the last page was the last page. I even double-checked to make sure my Nook had all the pages. She couldn’t end the damn book that way! No author would do that!

Of course, I knew at the time that the book was a trilogy, but I have to admit, I would have preferred that she cut out some of the sex scenes and finish the damn story I wanted her to finish in one book. I’m not sure I want to wade through two more books to have the questions answered that I want answered. I may, but then again, reading time takes away from writing time and I’m not sure I want to spend it on her books. So there, E.L. James! Take that! I may not buy your other books. You can’t make me!

But I probably will.

And that’s where I realized James succeeded where many others fail in the erotica world (and romance and scifi and any other kind of literature). I care about these characters. Amidst all the sex and bondage and other stuff, she created two characters I actually like. I want them to resolve their problems. I want to know the answers to the questions James raised in the first book. And the only way I can find out how the story ends is to read the other books. At least, that’s the only way I’ll be satisfied. (Ahem.) I could probably find a friend who’s read the books and could tell me how it ends and what the answers are, but I want to get there myself. So yeah, I’ll probably be investing more money in James’s career, helping to send Fifty Shades of whatever right back to the top of the bestseller lists. Even though she cheated, I’m going to let her get away with it.

Damn it.

Romantic Heroes: Alpha or Beta?

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Recently I asked some Facebook friends (quite a few of whom write romance) which kind of hero they prefer: Alpha or Beta? A lot of romance publishers are calling for Alpha heroes right now, a trend I’m not sure I totally agree with, but which I thought might make a fairly interesting blog post.

So, Alpha heroes. These are men of power and confidence. Usually arrogant and abrasive. Classically handsome, Chippendale-worthy, even. Businessmen make good alpha heroes. Military men, firemen, police officers, doctors and other “manly” (read in a deep voice) professions work well, too. Alpha heroes usually have secrets or a dark past, and they’ve always got a wall around their heart that the heroines must break down before they have a chance at a real relationship. The closest thing I’ve ever written to a pure alpha hero was Dan Mason in SECRETS OF THE LOTUS. And yeah, he followed the typical arc of abrasive billionaire playboy to tamed and devoted lover of Josie, my heroine. Dan was fun to write. I enjoyed trying to get inside the head of a man (albeit an imaginary one) and figure out what it would take to bring him to the point of loving one woman.

Beta heroes are fun, too, though. Funny, still good-looking although maybe not in the classic way (think Johnny Depp or even Adam Sandler), Beta heroes are men with hidden strength. And when they find a woman in need, they are more than willing to spend that strength on taking care of her. They’re not good at keeping secrets from the woman they love, even if they have a painful past. In WHERE THE HEART LIES, my hero Liam Addison is definitely a beta hero. He has a secret that tortures him, but he keeps it because he doesn’t want to hurt his heroine Alicia. I may have enjoyed writing Liam more than any other hero. A recovering alcoholic who’d made more than his share of mistakes in the past, Liam was deeply flawed and yet so loveable, I couldn’t blame Alicia for falling for him.

With all that said, I want to salute the real heroes in our real lives.

Real men are not romantic heroes, but let’s face it. If we found a real romantic hero (alpha or beta), we wouldn’t be very comfortable with him. The heroes and heroines of romance novels, regardless of their problems, are perfect people living in a perfect world. We’re real people with real problems who live in a world on the brink of blowing itself up most of the time. We battle our weight, worry about North Korea and terrorism and our kids, are too tired to even think about sex a lot of the time and our nine-to-five is often more like six-to-six-thirty. Or later. Men, all you really have to do to be our heroes is go to that job and hug our kids and let us lean on your shoulder every now and then. That’s a real hero, and he’s worth a thousand romantic heroes.

Slacking off: Writing is hard work!

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The New York Times published an article recently about the amount of productivity being required of authors in the digital age. At one time, the article said, a book a year was considered enough, and any more would glut the market. However, with the advances in e-publishing and the other demands on readers’ entertainment time, much more was required of authors to keep their audiences. James Patterson, it was pointed out in the article, produced a book a month with the help of co-authors. Another author interviewed said she writes 2,000 words a day, seven days a week.

The article sparked a tidal wave of discussions on writers’ websites and blogs. How can you maintain quality when so much quantity was required? Aren’t writers supposed to have a life? Writing is hard!

And the grousing continues. Yes, it is hard, and if you’re a good enough writer, when your publisher comes to you and says “I need you to produce a book a month,” you can just say no. Seriously. If you’re a good enough writer, then when your next book is ready, the publisher and your audience will be there. The critics will love you for not giving in to a system attempting to squeeze literary juice out of very sour turnips.

Look at J.K. Rowling. What if someone had gone to her and said, “Okay, you’re going to lose your audience if you don’t turn out the next six books in your series within the next year. I mean, if you put out a book a year, by the time you’re done, your audience will have grown out of Harry Potter.” What would her reaction have been? I can imagine.

I encourage writers to do what I plan to do. Write true. If that means writing a book a year, good. If it means you can turn out a book a month that you’re proud of, do that. But don’t fall into the trap of killing yourself to write trash. (Funny, that, coming from a writer of trashy romances, huh?) But seriously, writing is a journey when you do it right. Your characters take you on that journey and if you try to rush them, you’re going to get a badly written, sketchy travel plan.

I’m going to swipe a quote from the article from author Steve Berry, with whom I once discussed cheesecake while riding on an elevator in New York City. He said, “You don’t ever want to get into a situation where your worth is being judged by the amount of your productivity.” Write on, Steve! (But take a breathing moment every now and then…)

“Amendment One”: Why I agree with Jeff

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This year, North Carolina’s voters get an opportunity they don’t often have. They have the opportunity to stand with our Founding Fathers on the basic principle of what the United States is all about: Equality. Amendment One, or the North Carolina Same-Sex Marriage Amendment, is on the ballot. The amendment defines “domestic legal union” as “marriage between one man and one woman”. In other words, a loving same-sex couple cannot be legally married in North Carolina if this amendment passes. I have every intention of voting against this amendment for the simple fact that it doesn’t make sense to sully our state constitution with an amendment based on limiting other people’s rights.

I didn’t know any of them personally, but I do not believe the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were homophobes. I believe when they said “all men are created equal”, they truly meant all human beings. I like to believe they were idealists who craved a utopia. I don’t think they wanted a nation where any law-abiding citizen’s rights were limited by our laws.

I struggled for a while about what to say about Amendment One, not because I didn’t know what I believe but because I didn’t know how to present it. Yesterday, a friend of mine posted a very passionate, well-written article about Amendment One on his Facebook page. His name is Jeff. With his permission, I am copying that plea to my blog in the hopes that it will reach more people.

I’ve hesitated to post this, but I must – it’s cathartic. I may be hidden from your newsfeed or I may be ‘unfriended’. I’m OK with that.

For two days I’ve watched a controversy on Facebook in my own neighborhood. An offer from a young man to provide ‘Vote Against Amendment One’ signs to anyone who wanted one went the route I suspected it would. That using our neighborhood’s Facebook page to promote a political agenda was not appropriate.

Aside from offering signs myself, I refrained from the debate. It’s too personal. Which is why the those who believe it’s a political or religious issue are wrong. And you have never been more wrong about anything. While Amendment One poses to limit rights in a number of areas I’ll speak to the one that I am an expert on – my own.

I was angry and frustrated to see the dispute in my own immediate environment, but the feeling that I felt the most was hurt. That discussion amongst neighbors was not about signs, political beliefs, or religious beliefs; it was about me. Part of Amendment One is about me. It suggests that I am inferior. It suggests that my feelings towards another human being are inferior. I’m reminded of this every single day. Every. Single. Day. It terrifies me that one person’s beliefs about themselves and how they live their lives has the ability to cast a vote against how I live my life. I have never had that ability, that power, in any vote that I’ve participated and I would never want to.

But it terrifies me even more to think that the unquestionable right you have to be by your spouse’s bedside in a time of need is a right that could be taken away from me or my partner. Many of you go to sleep at night with the comfort that this is something you will never have to face. I go to sleep every night terrified that the government actually has the ability to take that away from me. And they’ve asked you to cast your vote on this. Think about that power.

This isn’t about Democrats vs. Republicans, Right vs. Left, or Conservatives vs. Liberals. This is about people being respected for the human beings that they are. For living your beliefs the way you want to and allowing others to live their lives the way they are entitled.

Educate yourself. Consider others. And remember me when you cast your vote. My name is Jeff. I’m your friend, I’m your neighbor, I’m your colleague. And I have a face. There are so many faces behind Amendment One. The faces of those affected by it. If you are for Amendment One, please ask yourself how it affects you. Ask yourself how it affects your beliefs – no one is taking away your views, your beliefs; but Amendment One takes away the very thing that makes us compassionate beings.

Because Amendment One affects me negatively – I’ve been forced to cast a vote AGAINST it. Please don’t make that effort be in vain. I’m happy to be part of this world, and I’d like nothing more than to be accepted in it. Please stop and think, and take the power you’ve been given seriously. No one is asking you to cast a vote against Amendment One, but I beg you to simply not vote at all if you are for it.

Magic. Again.

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There’s this movie I can’t stop watching. I love it.

I’ve talked before about magic on this blog. If you haven’t seen “We Bought A Zoo”, you should. It’s a lovely story if you look past the obvious Hollywoodizing of the already bittersweet story of Benjamin Mee and his family. (And no, Hollywoodizing probably isn’t a real word, but you know what I mean by it, so it probably should be.)

Okay, put aside the fact that Matt Damon is cute and fun and perfect for the role. Don’t pay any attention to the adorable Maggie Elizabeth Jones who plays his seven-year-old daughter. Ignore the natural beauty that permeates the entire film and the comic relief of the zoo staff. What really made this movie magic? The love story.

I know you think I’m prejudiced, being a romance writer and all. I’m sort of addicted to the love stuff. But I know what I’m talking about here. This movie is magical because of the made up love story between Benjamin Mee played by Matt Damon and his zookeeper Kelly Foster played by Scarlett Johannson. Though not a central part of the storyline, the love story is sweet, sappy and totally magic.

How can I be sure? Well, after I saw the movie in the theater with my kids, I was in the little bathroom holding the stall door for my four-year-old daughter and a little old lady walked in, wiping her eyes. I smiled understandingly. I had just wiped my eyes, too.

She seized my arm. “Do you think he married her?” she said.

Startled, I shrugged. “I-I don’t know.” I didn’t want to tell her that I doubted Kelly Foster ever existed. In fact, I was pretty sure a large portion of the story had been altered (Hollywoodized) to play on our sympathies and desire for romance. It didn’t matter to me because it was a good story and that’s what I went to the movie for (well, that and the chance to look at Matt Damon).

She released my arm and turned away, obviously disgruntled with my lack of enthusiasm. “Well, I think he liked her.” To her, these characters were real. They’d taken on a life of their own, and she had no intention of researching Dartmoor Zoological Park to find out if the story told in the movie was true. For her, it was real, and that was better than true.

Magic.

Breathing moment: Quotes about writing

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One of my favorite authors who I am grateful to be able to call a writing buddy, Ellen Meister, recently posted an inspiring quote from J.D. Salinger on her blog. You can read it here: Side Dish.

I’d never read this particular quote, but I found it very inspirational. I love quotes, especially by writers or about writing. When I hit a roadblock in my writing, I troll the internet for inspirational quotes. Every year I put a quote in my Christmas card—something that means something to me and that I hope will mean something to my friends and family.

Anyway, Ellen’s quote got me thinking about some of my favorite writerly quotations. One of my absolute favorites and one that I try to live my writing life by:

“I try to leave out the parts that people skip.” — Elmore Leonard.

Here’s one that’s a little less light-hearted, but one that I also love:

“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” — Maya Angelou

That quote right there is why I rewrite and rewrite some sentences. I don’t know if I’ve written sentences that go straight to my readers’ hearts yet, but I’m working on it.

But I have to give one of my favorite authors credit for really nailing why I write, and why I try to write something new every time. Mark Twain said it best, didn’t he, when he said:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

I hope one day I will have broken new ground in the writing game. If not new ground for other writers, at least new ground for me.

Don’t forget to breathe today!

BREATHE honored by Versatile Blogger Award

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A couple weeks ago, I got a nice surprise when my friend and fellow writer A.J. Brown gave me my very first Versatile Blogger Award. I’m not totally certain I deserve this award, especially recently. I haven’t really kept on my posts like I should. However, I’m going to accept it, because I’ve learned that honors and awards offered by friends quite often mean much more than those given by strangers. Thank you, A.J. It means a lot to me that you think so much of me as to offer this.

For those who don’t know about the Versatile Blogger Award, there are a few rules. First of all, thank the person who passed the award along to you. I’ve done that. Link back to his/her blog. Well, that’s no problem. I think A.J.’s already on my O2 Links of Interest, but in case you’ve missed him, here’s another link: Type AJ Negative.

Next, I’m supposed to link back to the original site: The Versatile Blogger Award. Check.

Now comes the hard part. Nominating fifteen blogs for the VBA. Okay, here goes:

1. I’d nominate A.J., but somebody’s already beat me to it. But seriously, if you’re into writing, horror, funny family stories, author interviews, reviews, etc., you should check out his aforementioned blog. If ever there was a versatile blogger, he’s it.

2. Jennifer Reno of Jenn Reno Photography. Why a photography website? Oh my, so many reasons. First of all, I won’t deny it. She’s a friend of mine. She’s read my books and mentioned them on her blog. But really, it’s about her work. Remember the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words?” Well, Jenn has millions of words on her blog, then. Every picture she takes tells a story. One of my favorites is of a little boy in a Batman cape hugging his mother. And it’s not just Jenn’s pictures either. She links to multiple other talented photographer’s sites. It’s fantastic exploring those sites and finding inspiration in the real people depicted on them.

3. John Peter’s Dark Scribblings. John recently revived his Dark Scribblings, and I’m thrilled. He’s posted interviews, articles and just some pretty interesting thoughts. John’s one of those writers who’s really interested in working with other writers, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to do just that on occasion.

4. Steve Lowe’s Assorted Shitzengiggles. If you’re not easily offended, check out Steve’s website. It’s good for a laugh, a giggle, and sometimes a snort. I think A.J. may have nominated Steve, too, but since Steve was one of my original HONEOWPs I feel I need to follow suit.

5. Amanda Von Hoffmann’s Gossamer and Lichen. Another of my original HONEOWPs and a very talented writer. Amanda blogs about writing, books, art and whatever strikes her fancy at the time.

6. Ash Joie Lee. Although Ash doesn’t currently keep up her blog, she’s got a lot of interesting stuff on it, including her ongoing Facebook Status Story.

7. Year of Giving. In 2009 Reed Sandridge was unemployed. He decided to spend his year giving $10 a day to total strangers who would then allow him to tell their story on his blog. Such an amazing blog! Go back to the first day and start reading. It’s 365 days of human interaction and some really beautiful stuff that will restore your faith in humanity.

Okay, that’s all I can come up with at the moment. I know there are more, so I may come back and add some. At any rate, my last obligation as a nominee for the VBA is to tell seven things about myself. Here goes.

1. I’m a Pisces. Even in the “new” astrology I’m a Pisces.
2. I’m taking piano lessons this year. I’ve never played a musical instrument other than a recorder in my life, but I’m taking piano lessons and I’m really horrible, but it’s fun having a new challenge.
3. I don’t go to church, but I do consider myself a Christian.
4. I’m a registered Democrat, but the right Republican could turn me.
5. I consider supercars a form of art. And muscle cars. And I love NASCAR. I’m having a hard time reconciling my love of cars with my desire for clean energy.
6. I stopped writing horror because I wanted to stop thinking about the horrible things that could happen to people.
7. I believe in happily ever after.

Hit me when you see an opening…

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Did anybody else ever play that game when they were kids? My brothers and I played it all the time, pretending we were boxers and yelling at each other, “Hit me when you see an opening!” Of course, we all got hit a few times, and it usually degenerated into a serious scuffle that prompted my mother to send us all outside to play.

Can you tell I was sort of a tomboy?

Anyway, that’s the way my schedule has been recently. If you want something from me, hit me when you see an opening. Unfortunately, I’ve let my blog fall by the wayside, too, and that’s no good. Anyway, to keep you up-to-date, here are a list of my activities so far this year:

1. Received and sent back a contract to Harlequin Enterprises. That was kind of a thrill. I’m now officially a Carina Press author!

2. Am working hard on my currently untitled work-in-progress. I recently started over for a third time! Ouch. That hurt. Couldn’t be helped, though. Every time I got to the sex scene between the hero and heroine, I just couldn’t make them do the deed. They haven’t fallen deeply enough in love. They like each other, but they’re not there yet. I’m really hoping the third time is the charm. I’m now 25,000 words into it and by rearranging and rewriting some existing scenes, I’ve salvaged some of the 50,000 plus words I’d already written. I do hate throwing hard work away!

3. Have gotten a few typos from readers of WEEDS AND FLOWERS. I have to say I’ve been sort of blown away (in a good way) by the reception my little novel received. I happen to love that story, but it was a gamble whether any of you would feel the same. I plan to give it a careful going through with a fine-tooth comb for the last of the editing mistakes and issue a “second edition” sometime in February. Be on the lookout since I’ll have another “free day” once that’s done.

And now I need to go buy a new vacuum cleaner, make a doctor’s appointment, call the bank, and draft a “room mom” letter for my son’s class. And any other of the myriad things that I put off because they get in the way of my writing.

Maybe if there’s an opening, a breathing moment will hit me!

2011 in review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

2011: The Year of Publishing, Self-Publishing and Fighting to Be Published

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I posted a few days ago about self-publishing an ebook for the Kindle. I was overwhelmed by the amount of support I received from fellow authors. I had a lot of reasons for publishing WEEDS AND FLOWERS, not the least of which was nobody else was going to do it for me. Seriously, if I could have found a publisher for my little story, I would have.

For two reasons:

1. Publishing a book in any format is not easy. Maybe it gets easier, but I struggled with it for several hours. I had to format and reformat and even though the instructions told me to format it one way, I found another way worked better. And then, after I published it, I found that there are still some bugs. So yeah, publishing ain’t easy. Even e-publishing.

2. Self-publishing still carries a stigma. Even now. Especially now. After all, anybody with some computer know-how, a completed manuscript and a few hours to spare can publish their book to the Kindle. Many of those stories have not been edited, and some of the formatting is even buggier than mine. (Hard as that is to believe!) But they’re out there in a published form, available to be read.

So how is mine any different? It wasn’t professionally edited, although it was peer-reviewed and I’m slightly better at self-editing than your average person. But really, it’s not any different. I’ve got two professionally edited and published ebooks under my belt. I have another on the horizon. Why would I choose the self-publishing route now?

Answer: WEEDS AND FLOWERS was my first novel, written from a lot of what’s true in me. I write fiction. I make up stuff. And yet, I put a little bit of myself in everything I write. It’s necessary. In fact, I think when I can get to the point where I put a whole lot of myself into what I write, I’ll have gotten the elusive “it”. That’s when people will really start paying attention, and you know why I think that is? Because at our hearts, we’re all basically the same, and what we’re really, really looking for is somebody else to acknowledge that.

My son has a book called “The Hoppameleon” by Paul Geraghty. It starts out with a “very odd-looking creature” who calls out for anyone like him. The book follows the creature through a journey in which he finds several other critters with similar characteristics to him, finally ending up (happily) finding another one just like him. The Hoppameleon’s journey is very similar to what I think we’re all seeking: someone like us.

I always felt I achieved something with WEEDS AND FLOWERS that I never have with my other books. I wrote that novel out of some childhood feelings I’d almost forgotten about but that came to the surface in the process. I reached out in a way and let other people know I’m at least a little bit like them. It’s true fiction in every sense of the word. Almost none of it ever happened, but it’s based on a smidgeon of fact. Go figure.

With all that said, WEEDS AND FLOWERS is available tomorrow only for free download from Amazon. Get your copy here: WEEDS AND FLOWERS. If you like it, leave me a comment here, or even better, a review on Amazon. You might even want to try out one of my other books. Just for comparison’s sake.