Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Cindy K. Green

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! (I love these days). Today I'm featuring fellow Wild Rose Press author Cindy K. Green. Enjoy!

Cindy, I'm so glad you could join me here today. Can you tell readers a little about your background?

Two of my goals when I was a teen was to be a writer and a teacher/or professor. I am now a published author, have degrees in history and education, and taught middle school history, math and English. Not too bad. Born in California, I currently live in North Carolina with my husband of thirteen years and two young sons. I now stay home and write as well as homeschool my kids. Visit me at http://www.cindykgreen.com/ to learn more about me and my books.

As a fellow teacher, I definitely appreciate your ability to tackle middle schoolers (yikes!). So when did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I feel like I’ve always been writing. I have a folderful of stories written from when I was 10 to 18 years old. In college, I stopped writing fiction and excelled in non-fiction history, winning some awards. But it was once I stopped working and became a Stay-at-home-mom that I began to write fiction again. At first the writing was of a cathartic nature. I wasn’t working and I had just moved to a new state. I needed something and turned to writing. In time, I became more seriously turned toward publication. And a couple months later, I had my first contract. That was July 2006.

Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

This summer my 2nd NovelTea book, NovelTea Next Door, was released through The Wild Rose Press. It's a romantic comedy/romantic suspense series filled with fun literary references. It concerns bookstore/tea shop owner, Juliet Truesdale, and government secret agent, Grant Gerard. This second addition to the series is written in first person from the perspective of the hero. I had a lot of fun writing this book and getting into the head of my hero and really fleshing him out for the readers. Happily, this has also been a well-received and best selling series. My latest release, a short Inspirational story, Relationship Rescue, released last month with The Wild Rose Press. It is a story of failed love and second chances. As one reader said: Sometimes touching, sometimes funny, this short, sweet read will warm your heart.

Sounds like a treat to read :) What advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

The greatest thing aspiring writers can do is read and read and read—and then write and write and write. Read books in your genre and then read books and articles on the writing craft. And just keep on writing. Join a critique group and continue to learn.

What kinds of books do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

I love to read Historicals and Romantic suspense. These are also my favorite genres to write. My favorite author is Jane Austen with her novels, Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice being on the top of my list. I love that Jane created characters that stay with us – that have enough depth for us to analyze. She has created characters we can laugh at, despise, and fall in love with. What a gift. And most importantly, I love her style of wit and sense of humor. As an author, I completely appreciate her works and am inspired in my own writing.

Ah, I'm a Jane Austen fan myself :) Now for the tricky question: how do you balance writing with the rest of your life?

Finding balance in my life is a never ending battle. I’m home all day, yet I never seem to have enough time for everything. On top of being mom, maid, and accountant—I’m also a teacher to my two boys. In between all that, I have to try to find time to write and promote my works. One of the things I have done is set up writing days. Two days a week and a few hours on the weekends, I am free to write. In fact, once I set particular writing days I became much more productive. My husband keeps the kids busy during those times and I am able to stay completely focused. On the other days, I get household chores done and spend time with the family. The house is still usually a mess but it’s better and everyone has been a lot happier.

What is your favorite movie? Did it inspire your writing in any way?

Oh, this is a difficult one; but after consulting my husband, I believe my favorite movie at the moment is the 2005 Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. You are probably seeing a theme as I’ve already admitted to being a Jane Austen fan. I do like the 1995 Colin Firth P&P mini-series so I was skeptical when this movie first came out. However, I thought they hit the heart of the story is this 2 hour film. I do love the P&P story and all its terrific characters. This particular movie had outstanding acting. It was a totally different take on Darcy and MM played it so well. There is a lot more underlying emotion and tension in this version. But what I really love about this film is that it is absolutely BEAUTFUL. It is an art-film-worthy, and the soundtrack in one of my favorites. When you listen to the audio commentary with the director Joe Wright, you begin to appreciate this gorgeous adaptation all the more. Has it inspired my writing? Certainly! Characters like Darcy and Elizabeth will continue to inspire. Has it inspired me as much as my other Austen favorite, Persuasion? Not as much. I’ve plotted out my own Persuasion story that I hope to write one day.

Cindy, thanks so much for being here and giving us a peek behind the scenes of your writing life.

Readers, if you'd like to know more, or pick up a copy of her book, you can visit Cindy at http://www.cindykgreen.com/ to learn more, read excerpts, and find out about contests. You can also join Cindy's newsletter by sending an email at newsletters@cindykgreen.com and ask to be added to the list.

Keep up with the NovelTea Series at the NovelTea Blog at http://www.novelteaseries.blogspot.com/. Cindy also contributes to two blog groups White Roses in Bloom at http://whiterosesinbloom.blogspot.com/ and the Author’s Studio http://authorsstudio.blogspot.com/.

Authors, remember: if you're interested in being featured here on a future Writers' Wednesday, just send me an email or leave a comment in any post.

Have a great day!

A Couple of Cool Links

"Whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof." ~ Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

A couple of cool links I thought I'd share today:

Share the Love - This relatively new organization collects donations of gently used romance/women's fiction novels and gives them to women's shelters. If you have a growing collection of books you liked but probably won't read again, you could always consider donating them to this good cause.

Romance Novel TV - This company, located in NJ, features videos and interviews of romance authors, along with book trailers, reviews, and news about the industry. (They also provide advertising for authors, if you're interested.) They were at the NJRWA conference taping some of the workshops; they also walked around the book fair the last day, doing interviews with some of us signing there. The President and VP of the company (twin sisters, by the way) loved the concept of my "One Night..." books, which was cool. If my interview shows up on their site, I'll make sure to let you know!

A Conference Recap: Part Two

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about the NJRWA "Put Your Heart in a Book" Conference, here are the workshops I attended and my brief summary of them all. Hope the writers out there, especially, find this info useful:

"Perfect Your Pitch" - This workshop reminded us to have a "logline" when pitching our work to editors or agents, a brief "hook" sentence that provides a "high concept" -- that original idea that will make publishers and readers love your book. Similar to the elevator pitch, it's the idea of summarizing your book briefly by highlighting the hero, heroine, and their Goal-Motivation-Conflict. I must have learned something, because at the book signing, a reporter for Romance Novel TV told me I gave "great synopses" of my books :)

"Sell Yourself...Sell That Book: - A workshop on promotional techniques, it basically highlighted a lot of ideas I already do (bookmarks, brochures, ads if you can afford them, guest blogging, writing articles, etc.) One new idea I did pick up: send "buyer packets" to booksellers, complete with ARCs of your book (Advance Review Copies), bookmarks, business cards, and candy. A Borders bookseller who was in the audience said "Booksellers LOVE candy." And make friends with your local independent bookseller/bookstore!

"Building Your Supporting Cast: How Secondary Characters Can Make or Break a Novel" - A decent guide on how to avoid letting your secondary characters take over the plot (or turn so flat that they drag it down), she mentioned Captain Jack Sparrow from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies as one of the most classic secondary characters to ever take over a story -- it's true, if you think about it :) Anyway, she said DON'T EVER give a secondary character a POV, and don't let a secondar character do any action that advances the plot. Those things should belong to your primary characters only.

"Ask the Bookseller" - Given by a Borders Romance Fiction Buyer, this workshop was an interesting look at what Borders buys, how they promote it, and how to get your name in front of readers. She said the biggest sub-genres in romance these days as far as sales are paranormal, urban romance, romantic suspense, and "soft romance" (sweet but still sexy, small town, nostalgic stories a la Debbie Macomber). She also said book signings, even for big name authors, haven't had the draw they used to, and they even recently cut all "Events Coordinator" positions. They do have a "Romance Reading Room" on their website now -- check it out.

"Building and Repairing the Single-Title Plot" - Eloisa James talked about the biggest problems she sees in single-title plots (not complex enough and subplots not developed enough). She gave some suggestions for improvement, too: make your characters multi-faceted (no stereotypes!), make your dialogue short and punchy, cut out A LOT if the middle is sagging, and consider writing series to save yourself the time of creating a whole new world with every novel you write.

All in all, the conference revitalized my own writing and gave me a lot of good ideas to work with over the next few months. Now if only I could find the time!!

A Conference Recap

"The way of the world is meeting people through other people." Robert Kerrigan

I had the tremendous opportunity to attend the NJRW "Put Your Heart in a Book"Conference over the weekend, and while there were a few glitches (which shall remain undiscussed), overall I gained a lot from it.

So much so, in fact, that I'm going to have to break my recap into a couple of blog posts!

Today, the Very Cool People I met at the conference:

Keynote Speakers:

J.R. Ward - OK, I'll confess, I haven't read any of her books (paranormal romance). But she gave a really dynamic talk about her theory of "persisting and reinventing" oneself as a writer, which is what she did when she proposed her (now hugely successful) Brother vampire series. She said over and over again how important it is to listen to the voices in your head as a writer, and write the story you really want to write, regardless of "the rules" of the genre.

Eloisa James - A Harvard, Yale and Oxford grad who also teaches Shakespeare at Fordham University AND who writes best-selling historical romance. I LOVED HER! She was smart, eloquent, and inspiring. She talked about making your writing "real," about writing from the heart and putting real pain/angst/fear into your book - even when it has a happy ending, it needs those elements as well.

Lisa Scottoline - Hilarious Italian divorcee (and a former trial lawyer) who writes best-selling legal thriller. She told a lot of anecdotes from her own (rather warped) life and ultimately told us we should tap into the truths of real life - however we see that real life - when we write, 'cause that's what readers will identify with and enjoy the most.

Random Fellow Writers:

J.K. Coi - She's appearing on my blog for Writers' Wednesday in a couple of weeks, and she pops in to comment every now and again. Bought her novel My Immortal 'cause it's gotten rave reviews.

Jo Piraneo - She's my website designer, but I found out she's a writer too - I never knew! She offered to mention me to her agent, so that's a plus-one for networking :)

Jennifer Shirk - Fellow Samhain author (actually, a bunch of us had dinner together, and I met Samhain's executive editor in person too - Angela James).

A fellow Absolute Write member, who recognized my name from the forums and ended up buying one of my books at the book signing on Saturday. Let's hear it for virtual networking!

And Jenna Kernan - OK, I didn't really meet her, 'cause I already knew her. She's a member of my local RWA chapter and local Tuesday night critique group...and she let me crash in her room when the hotel...ah...screwed up my reservation. So thanks, Jen! I owe you one :)

Tomorrow, a recap of the workshops I attended. You won't want to miss it!

Featured Author Interview: Gayle Trent

I know, I know, it's Saturday - and I usually feature author interviews on Writers' Wednesdays. BUT today is a special day...it's a stop for debut author Gayle Trent, who's doing a virtual book tour and was kind enough to choose Allie's Musings to visit today!

Author Bio:

Gayle Trent is a full-time author. She is currently at work on a new cozy mystery series involving her hobby, cake decorating. The series features Daphne Martin, a 40-year-old divorcee who has begun the second phase of her life with a new home and a new business venture--Daphne's Delectable Cakes.

Gayle lives in Bristol, Virginia with her husband, daughter and son. She previously worked in the accounting and legal fields, and her last such job was as secretary to a Deputy Commissioner in the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission. Though she enjoyed the work, it was a long daily commute and she felt she wasn't spending enough time with her family. Now she writes while her children are at school; and thanks to a crock pot and a bread machine, can often have dinner ready when everyone gets home.

"I think it's important to be here for my children...to take part in school functions and to be an active part of their lives," Gayle says. "I can certainly sympathize with moms who work outside the home--been there, done that--but I would encourage everyone to make time to visit their children's schools, to have lunch with them [at school] occasionally, to get a feel for who their friends are...little things like that."

Welcome, Gayle, and congratulations on your brand new book. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

Murder Takes the Cake tells the story of Daphne Martin, a forty-year-old divorcee who returns to her fictional hometown of Brea Ridge, Virginia to start her life over. She has left behind an ex-husband who is in prison for an attempt on Daphne's life, a dingy apartment and a stale career. She has started fresh in a new home with a new career, Daphne's Delectable Cakes, a cake-decorating company Daphne runs out of her home. She is thrilled to be living closer to her beloved niece and nephew, although being close to other family members brings up lifelong resentments and more than a couple complications. Daphne is also reunited with childhood friend, Ben Jacobs, a full-fledged HAG (hot, available guy). Then Daphne finds her first client dead.

Ooh, sounds intriguing! So how do you go about developing your characters?

I try to empathize with each one. Daphne, of course, was the easiest because she's the main character. Other characters, such as Myra, were a little more difficult. Myra provides comic relief, but I didn't want her to come across as a caricature or stereotype. She's lonely. Her husband is dead, and her children have moved away. She tries to be helpful. She loves to talk, and so her character provides a lot of information as the story progresses. Even though Daphne sometimes groans when Myra comes to the door, I want the reader to understand each character's perspective and to see the friendship developing as the women get to know each other better.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

I do suffer from writer's block. Often I'll write a scene and not know where to go next to get the characters where they need to be to advance the story. When that happens, I'll put a "What Next?" header at the top of my page and write possible scenarios. I let my imagination run wild, and sometimes the scenarios can get pretty bizarre when I have no clue what should happen next in the story. But, as I'm writing my A, B and C scenarios, usually something will click and I'll realize that's it. Other times it helps to talk it out with someone. When I was writing my novel The Perfect Woman, I discussed possible killers with my husband. I'd talk over the reasons Person 1 should be the killer, then I'd explain why, on second thought, Person 2 would be the better choice. When the book was published and my husband read it, he said he was really surprised by who the killer turned out to be. "Why?" I asked. "I told you who it was." "Yeah," he said, "but you kept changing your mind!"

Describe your writing space for readers.

Wow, what a mess, right? But everything has a purpose...even if it's just to keep me entertained. I write mysteries, so it's good to have "Nancy Drew's Guide to Life" on hand. Plus I have some serious writing books to my left and on a shelf to my right. The greeting card is one I bought when my husband used to come home for lunch every day. It depicts an old woman in a long black dress and an old man in a suit and hat on a bicycle. The woman is asking, "Coming back at lunch, Tiger?" And he's replying, "You know it, Baby." Beside that, I've printed out one of my favorite Bible verses, 1 John 4:4.

Atop my desk, I have a number of toys. I have an M&M decision helper. You ask a question and then pull its arm down for the answer. I have finger cymbals; a snowglobe; Chinese relaxation balls; a figureine of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus; two globes - one small crystal one and a larger one I bought at Target for $1 so I can figure out where those obscure foreign countries they sometime talk about on the news are; a "pupper-weight" which is a Chocolate Lab puppy because in the series before this one the heroine had a Chocolate Lab named Matlock; a chick which chirps when placed on your hand; a Pooh cross-stitch pic advising "Put it all off till mornin'"; a YoYo and Hoops Christmas ornament my son and I added just last week; a kitty mail holder; and two Madame Alexander dolls I got in McDonald's Happy Meals because they reminded me of the costumes my MIL made my children when they were 2.

On my tiny corkboards, I have a button I got at BEA in 2006 which says "Don't Even Think About It"; a candlewick Christmas ornament I made for an article earlier this year; a keyring; an Origami heart my son made me; the orthodontist's card; and a Valentine featuring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. Hmmm...bet you wish you hadn't asked. ;-)

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to read, do cross-stitch and other forms of needlework, bake and decorate cakes, play games and watch movies with my husband and children, travel and spend time with our pets.

When you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

I write in longhand in a composition notebook. After I've finished writing for the day, I transcribe that into the computer. It gives me a chance to edit and revise as I go along.

Gayle, thanks so much for being here today. Readers, here's a peek at the trailer for Murder Takes the Cake...and if you want to know more, hop on over and visit Gayle's website! She also loves to hear from readers who can contact her via e-mail at gd830@hotmail.com. If you share an interest in cake decorating, please visit Daphne's website, available via click-through from either of Gayle's sites or at http://gayle24202.tripod.com/id9.html.



P.S. - A special thanks today to WOW - Women on Writing for including me as one of Gayle's blog book tour stops. Look for another featured WOW author next month!

Speaking of Editors and Surviving Rejection...

After yesterday's post, I thought it was worthwhile to share the link to this author interview, over on Fumbling with Fiction. Talk about surviving rejection and living to tell about it! Here's an excerpt from the interview:

"Thanks for joining us, Mandy.

Prada and Prejudice is your debut novel, so a big congrats on that. But can you give us a little statistical rundown on how long it took you to get to this point? How many books? How many rejections? How many days, months, or years?

The log-line on my blog says “A published writer is an amateur who didn’t quit,” and sometimes that’s all that got me through the rejections. The first novel my agent sent out on submissions, in October 2006, was THE JETSETTERS SOCIAL CLUB and we racked up about 12 rejections. They were so short and vague; it was obvious JETSETTERS wasn’t doing it. But a few editors asked if I had anything else, and PRADA AND PREJUDICE started to go out on subs in January 2007. Over that summer, I came so heart-breakingly-close to selling that it was devastating when it didn’t happen. That editor even said she loved it and apologized for not being able to buy it.

By the end of the year I had revised it a few times for various editors and racked up 16 rejections. 2008 started up right where 2007 left off—three rejections within the first weeks. However, the third came in the form of a revision request. Even though I was already in my seventh draft, I decided to do it, and I opened up a shiny new (blank!) word document and started over. I never even opened up the old version. I spent a month writing 100 pages plus a new synopsis, and my agent sent it back. And I was rejected in about three sentences. But thanks to the shiny-new version of the book, my agent felt it deserved another round of submissions. (We were up to 22 rejections at that point). So she sent it to six new editors, and two weeks later, we had two offers.

In total, I spent 20 months on submissions, racking up 40 rejections from almost every editor in New York for two different projects, and PRADA AND PREJUDICE went through nine drafts."

So...never take 1 (or even 10 or 20) rejections so seriously that you give up on yourself or your work. This is definitely one of those inspirational stories to tuck away and pull out to read every now and then!

Moving Ever Onward

"A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success." ~Bo Bennett

Update on Summer's Song submission to Samhain:

The editor who requested it (after my previous editor of 2 years there left) got back to me in 3 days, which was awfully nice of her. However, she had some concerns about the story and wrote me an incredibly long and detailed email explaining her concerns and making suggestions for improvement. While she said she'd be happy to work with me in revising the story, and would give it another look, the revisions she wants are SO extensive that for now, I think I'm shelving it.

I'm hugely grateful for the time she took, of course, and I may actually revisit the story in a few months. It's interesting, though: some of the things she disliked I could agree with, while others I really had a harder time seeing. I sent her remarks to one of my crit partners who had read the whole story, and while she also agreed in parts, she questioned the editor's assertion that the ending needed to be more emotional. Most of the beta readers who saw it before made similar comments.

So it's interesting: do I rewrite and address this editor's specific concerns? It is, of course, one person's opinion, but she's the person who holds the golden contract, so... Do I rewrite but keep the elements that I (and several readers) think already work? Do I submit it to another publisher? Do I just chalk it up to experience and not rewrite it at all?

Right now it's too fresh to think about, and discouraging, of course. I mean, I know rejection goes hand in hand with writing, no matter how long you've done it, but it's still a little disheartening to know as an established writer you can be turned down at the drop of a hat.

Live and learn, I guess.

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Devon Gray

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! Today I'm featuring one of my good virtual friends and fellow Wild Rose Press authors, Devon Gray. Devon and I first "met" after she reviewed Lost in Paradise, believe it or not. Since then she's published one novella of her own with another on the way -- both of which I've had the opportunity to create trailers for. Enjoy her story!

Hi Devon! I'm so glad you're able to join me here today. Can you tell my blog readers a little about your background?

I have done a lot of different things prior to becoming a full-time writer. First and foremost I am a wife and mother. I have been married for twelve years, and we have two children, a boy (9) and a girl (6). They keep my busy and happy! As far as careers, I have kind of been all over the place. I have a degree in Psychology, but started out in Public Health. As a result, I found myself doing restaurant health inspections (gross) and teaching birth control classes for incoming college freshman for Planned Parenthood (gross…funny, but gross). I have also been a waitress, bartender, accounting clerk for a restaurant chain, personal trainer/lifestyle and weight management consultant and a regional vice president with an international network marketing company which sells natural skin products. Of all these gigs, nothing made me as happy and fulfilled as pursuing my passion for writing.

When did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I began writing poetry as a teenager. I can thank typical teenage angst for the birth of my creativity. It wasn’t until my late twenties that I attempted a novel, and when I got hung up I put it aside. I decided to tackle writing for publication two years ago, and eighteen months into the adventure I got the contract for “Addicted”.

Tell us about your latest writing project or published title!

“Addicted”, which is available now from the Wild Rose Press-The Wilder Roses, is a story of a woman who relocates to a small beach town for the summer to find herself; what she discovers instead is the lengths to which she’ll end up going to have one man. It is definitely the darkest story I have written, but it was very satisfying to write.

How do you go about developing your characters?

An idea for a character will come to mind and I will start the “what if” game. What if this character suffered through a painful divorce? What would she do? In my current WIP, the answer was get as far away from her ex as possible. She relocates to rural Georgia from Phoenix. But why? What if she purchased a dilapidated farm house from an ad on the internet? What if she was just that desperate? I will continue this process until I have motivation and conflict for both characters, and any secondary characters in the story.

What advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

Don’t quit! When things get rough, and they will, persevere. The last writer standing gets the book contract. Immerse yourself in the craft. Attend workshops, online classes, get a critique partner. Never stop learning. As your writing improves, so will your chances of selling your story. Decide that you will be published, and that failure is not an option.

What do you find most difficult about writing? What do you find most exciting or rewarding?

The most difficult thing for me, hands down, is the process of changing my natural writing style. I am a pantser all the way, and this approach is riddled with challenges if the writing is being approached as a long-term career. Since established authors can sell a book by proposal alone, being able to write a detailed synopsis prior to writing the book is vital. To be efficient with my time, I need to know where I’m going with my writing. I am missing snippets of time during the day where I could be writing if I had an outline. Staring at the computer for twenty minutes trying to figure out what I’m going to do with the story is a huge time suck. Luckily for me, my critique partner is a die-hard plotter, and she is a tremendous help.

The most exciting part to me is the writing itself. It is such a big part of who I am, so when I am able to work, I am very content. The most rewarding part to me, so far, is receiving an email or a review from someone who was touched by what I wrote. I remember the summer prior to starting to write again I read fifty Nora Roberts books. I loved the “literary trance” she transported me to, and I decided then that I wanted to try to do the same thing for others. I wanted the fruits of my efforts to make someone else happy. It’s very fulfilling.

How do you balance writing with the rest of your life?

In the past, not well. LOL. I attended a workshop by Stephanie Bond at a recent conference and what she said really got through to me. It is because of her that I understand the importance of becoming more organized with my career, and that I understand how my diversion in my life affects my family. She pointed out that to most of us, our family was around before our writing career. This inspired me to become more organized with my time.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

Yes! I find it best to just walk away from the project for a bit. An hour, a day, however long it takes. Of course, as a pantser this is a common occurrence. I am hoping with what I learn about plotting this phenomenon will occur less frequently. Oh, and there is a wine called “Writer’s Block”. I like to pretend it helps.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I love to take long walks. Our neighborhood is awesome, so I grab my iPod and head out for an hour or so. I am also a magazine junkie. Happiness to me is sitting on the sofa with a pile of magazines and TLC’s “What Not to Wear” on the television. My hubby doesn’t understand why I am so enthralled with the show. Me either, actually. I just love it!

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book(s)?

That I was able to finish them and they made sense! See why I’m desperate to plot? LOL

When you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

I write on my laptop and obsessively back up the files to at least three places. I have a Mac, so my books are stored remotely somewhere in California as well. I am not a techno geek, so this concept completely baffles me, but knowing if disaster strikes I can retrieve my work from Cupertino helps me sleep at night. I also just purchased an AlphaSmart Neo, and I can’t wait to use it! It is basically a word processor that has no internet capabilities. You can take it anywhere, and it automatically saves everything you type into it. When you are done for the day, you simply transfer it to the word document on your computer.

Anything else you’d like to mention?

I think I’ve rambled enough! More about me and my books can be found at my website http://www.authordevongray.com/ Thanks for having me!

And thanks for being here, Devon! Readers, this author has a new book coming out in November, and here's a taste for you:

What's Your Birth Order?

"Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music." ~William Stafford

Stole this meme from Marianne, who featured it yesterday:

First Born Children

The first born child is usually the child with the most attention directed at him/her. This common event is part of the reason this particular child turns out the way he/she does. There are two typical types of first born children, compliant and aggressive. The first born in your family can be either one of these two types, and have these typical traits:

Compliant Traits

People Pleasers
Crave Approval
Nurturers
Caregivers
Reliable
Concientious
Cooperative
Team Players
"Grin and bear it" mentality

Aggressive Traits
Movers and shakers
Natural leaders
Perfectionists
Driven
Conventional
Always have things under control
Assertive
Want things their way

These two types of first born children may seem very different, but they do share quite a few characteristics:

Common Traits
Energetic
Logical
Ambitious
Enterprising
Scholarly


And oh yes, this is pretty accurate, as far as I'm concerned! What about you??

Naughty Paris

Have you ever been to Paris? Have you ever dreamed about it? Well, Heather Stimmler-Hall presents the colorful side of the city, specifically with the ladies in mind, in her book Naughty Paris: A Lady's Guide to the Sexy City.

Naughty Paris is an interesting collection of information: quotes, advice, travel guides, and gorgeous photographs taken by Canadian photographer Kirsten Loop. I knew little about the city when I started reading, but Stimmler-Hall gives a nice, if frank, overview of what to expect from Paris' shops, spas, hotels, restaurants, and nightclubs. She goes as far to include reviews, addresses, and telephone numbers too, so readers could theoretically plan much of their vacation using Naughty Paris as a guide. Be warned, though: this is a book about indulging one's hedonistic side, as you might guess from some of the chapter headings, and her focus is the woman who's looking for a fling with the city (and its men). Family travelers should steer clear:

Sexy You (French Beauty, Spas, Cosmetics, Hair & Nails, Body Art)

Get in the Mood (Sexy Culture, Naughty Shopping, Sensual Education)

After Dark Rendezvous (Wine & Dine, Dancing Diva, Sexy Shows, Naughty Adventures)

and so on...

Stimmler-Hall's writing is clear and appealing, and whether you're a single gal looking to treat yourself to a no-holds-barred foreign fantasy or a reader who's simply interested in the complex sexual culture of Paris, you'll likely come away from the book with some interesting tidbits. I do wonder how wide a market she'll find; it's not a book for everyone, obviously.

That reminds me: Stimmler-Hall is kicking off her East Coast tour next week, with more info about dates and places here.

Even better: she'll be the featured Writers' Wednesday interviewee right here on November 19 as she wraps up her tour, so make sure to check back to hear directly from the author herself!

A Day of Rest (from Blogging, Anyway)

"Do not let Sunday be taken from you If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan." ~Albert Schweitzer

Just a quick pop in today to say that I'm taking a break from blogging 'til tomorrow.

Too many papers to grade.
Too many EPPIE entries to judge.
Too many chapters of One Night in Napa to revise.

But tomorrow I'll have a book review here for you - of Naughty Paris: A Lady's Guide to the Sexy City. In the meantime, check out the author's website. It's interesting.

Update to Yesterday

Yesterday I mentioned that my Samhain editor left, rather suddenly, leaving me feeling a bit stranded. Well, I came home to find an email from another editor there asking me to resubmit Summer's Song...so I will, this weekend, and continue to cross my finger that it finds a home.

***

In other, rather cool news, I was Googling myself yesterday (c'mon, you do it too, don't you?) and I found a comment referencing One Night in Boston in a blog post over at Dear Author. Actually, the post itself is interesting; check it out:

"One thing I heard out of RWA 2008 was the difficulty in selling the big straight contemporary.

What I hear from alot of authors is that it is hard to sell a contemporary without a hook, like suspense or paranormal. What I heard from readers is that they can’t find enough good straight contemps (without hooks like suspense and paranormal). I have loved the contemporaries that I have read recently such as Susan Mallery and Kristan Higgins. Lisa Kleypas’ contemporaries for St. Martin’s Press seem to be successful (both made the New York Times). Deirdre Martin who writes the hockey books for Berkley and Rachel Gibson who writes for Avon also have had good success, if not the NYT List, they both have made the USA Today list.

Jennifer Crusie is an iconic name in romance fiction as well, hitting the New York Times with Bet Me. One of the most popular romance authors of modern time is Susan Elizabeth Philips. There appears to be a disconnect between what the readers want and what authors are telling me is not selling.

The above mentioned successful contemporary authors have a wide range of themes/feels to them. For example, SEP and Lisa Kleypas are more angst driven. Jennifer Crusie, Kristan Higgins, and Susan Mallery are more family-centric, but not very morose with nice levels of emotion and humor. Deirdre Martin writes the most women-y fiction of the two and Rachel Gibson perhaps relies more on humor than any of the other authors.

There are also the popular such as Susan Wiggs, Jodi Thomas, Debbie Macomber, and Sherryl Woods who write a different sort of contemporary women’s fiction. One editor described them as light women’s fiction or gentle fiction...

...From chatting with a couple of editors, they are definitely open to publishing more contemporaries but they are having trouble finding manuscripts that appeal to them. On the retail end, it seems that readers aren’t buying enough contemporaries to encourage editors to take more chances. There is an abundance of paranormals and a decent number of romantic suspense books but there are few straight contemporaries.

Is it because contemporaries have a greater sense of realism even if the hero is a billionaire that it is too hard to be swept away? Is the thirst for contemporaries adequately filled by Harlequin and Silhouette categories? Is it because the books feature primarily working woman as heroines and they are less appealing? Are older readers more likely to buy contemporaries than younger readers?

If you read contemporaries, what are you looking for? What would make you pick up a contemporary? Is there a certain look on a cover that signals “contemporary”? If you don’t read contemporaries, why not? What would make you read one? If you are a writer of contemporaries, what insights do you have? (feel free to comment anonymously if you like).

And if you scroll down through the first few comments, you'll see someone named "Fiordiligi" who wrote "Two of the best contemporaries I’ve come upon this year were published with Samhain. #1 was One Night in Boston from Allie Boniface (she recently published another contemporary with them), and Larissa Ione’s Snowbound..."

How cool is that??!

Lost at Sea

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." ~Fyodor Dostoevski

Bummer. I just found out my editor (the one who worked on both One Night in Boston and One Night in Memphis with me - the one who "discovered" me, really) - left Samhain. What's worse is that I'd sent her my manuscript for Summer's Song almost 3 months ago...and now I find that it's somewhere in Samhain-Limbo Land.

While she did send an email to her authors, letting us know, it definitely took me by surprise. And I feel like now I have to start from scratch there. I do know this happens an awful lot - from small presses all the way up to NY houses. But I still feel a little lost.

Killing my Babies

"He that can have Patience, can have what he will." ~Benjamin Franklin

Sigh.

Yesterday I cut 6000 words from the manuscript I'm currently revising, One Night in Napa. In part, this was a response to my Tuesday night critique group, who told me I was taking way too long to get into the central conflict of the story and have the hero and heroine meet. And in part it was my own decision that there are places that can be tightened, especially in the middle where the action needs to be picking up pace faster than it is.

But it's always a hard thing, cutting chunks of your work. I've saved them, of course, in a separate file. And I wonder, even as I'm doing it, how much I am giving in to what conventional wisdom says should happen in the opening chapters of a book. I know full well that I don't write traditional romance novels, that mine are both bound by the 24-hour fetters I put on them and by the fact that I'm more concerned with exploring emotion and human growth than getting my characters into bed. I also know this will probably ensure that I never become a best-selling author in this genre.

That's OK. And I can even appreciate what my critique partners are telling me, that there's too much introductory narrative, too much character introspection, and not enough forward movement. So I changed that.

But I didn't change everything. I refuse to alter my storyline so significantly that the hero and heroine meet in the opening chapter. I know this is what some readers will expect, so I'm sorry. At the same time, the H/H didn't meet until halfway through my first novel, One Night in Boston, and while some readers had a problem with that, others have told me they appreciated the character growth that occurred before they did finally face each other.

So I struggle on. I'm still aiming for 70-75K words with this novel, but now that I'm back to around 60K, I have to take a serious look at what I want or need to add to the storyline. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty satisfied with the edits I made. I just also have to remind myself (and those of you other authors out there) to remain true to the story I want to tell. I can't force myself to follow convention when it doesn't feel right for the story.

And if my readers have to wait a little longer for the hero and heroine to meet and feel the world shift under their feet, well, is that so wrong?

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Cat Johnson

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! Today's a particularly enjoyable interview for me to share, since it's an author I've done several signings with: Cat Johnson. Before I get to the good stuff about her, let me just say that in person, she's charming, funny, and wears five-inch camouflage heels incredibly well :)

Now...you get to meet her too!

Thanks for joining me in virtual world today, Cat! Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

A Prince Among Men is my latest release from Linden Bay Romance. It is the newest novel in the Task Force Zeta series. It’s a contemporary erotic military romance.

If I had to put a name to it, I would say that A Prince Among Men was a result of serendipity. I was finishing up edits on the previous Zeta novel, Model Soldier, and as usual I had leaned heavily on a steady stream of reports coming in from my military consultant in Afghanistan, but great details and stories were still coming in and Model Soldier was done.

My soldier was giving me gold daily. Tidbits like about the Taliban harvesting the local poppy crop to make into drugs, the British air support that saved the US forces as well as the Afghan Army and our Romanian allies from attacks, about the PVC pipes sunk in the ground that they all had to pee into on base…vivid colorful details. I realized I still had a lot to say and decided there needed to be a sequel.

I knew I would continue the story from Model Soldier, using one of the squad as the hero for the continuing book, but I wasn’t sure what the main story would be. Then, fate stepped in. As usual, I was in bed in my PJs with my laptop and coffee, checking email while watching one of the morning news shows when the story of Prince Harry’s secret deployment with a unit to Afghanistan broke and I thought, Oh my god! There’s my new book. I don’t want to give the story away, but that is how A Prince Among Men was born. I absolutely LOVE this book.

Military romance sounds like a really interesting genre, especially with all that's going on in the world today. What are you working on now?

Though I will continue with my military romance, I am expanding into another niche genre. I just finished my very first foray into the world of ménage romance. It’s set in the rodeo world. That was interesting, let me tell you, since I knew nothing about the rodeo at the time! I have plenty of military consultants for my fact checking, but since (in a moment of insanity) I decided to make the two heroes in my threesome book rodeo cowboys, I was in desperate need of an expert in that arena. Thank god I found a bull rider on MySpace who didn’t run when a strange romance novelist contacted him out of the blue begging for help. We’ll see, depending on how the public responds, this book may be the first in a series of rodeo stories. And, possibly, another threesome book may also follow.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book(s)?

I’ve learned a lot about myself through my writing, mostly that I’m more multi-faceted and…elastic I guess is the word, than I previously thought. If you had asked me three years ago about the war, I wouldn’t have been able to tell much at all. Today, I correspond with active troops in the war zone who have become my close friends. I read DoD newsletters over coffee in the morning. I can speak the military lingo to a certain extent. I know when there is a “96”, and what a PCS, TOC, FOB and a MOS is. I know the difference between a commissary, an Exchange and a PX and what digital camo looks like. I am just a font of pretty random military trivia. This is NOT impressive for those in military life, but we have to remember, I was a complete and total military virgin (aka civilian, I guess) just a few years ago, so it is impressive for me!

Why the change? It seems the more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I guess it’s because the war now has a face for me. It’s personal, not just a news story.

In the same vein, six months ago, if a rodeo had come on television, I wouldn’t have been able to change the channel fast enough. Now, I can’t wait for televised coverage and I go to websites for updates on competitions I missed. I guess what I am saying is that my interests are a lot more diverse than I ever imagined, I just needed a personal tie to open up these new worlds for me.

Sounds fascinating! So what kinds of books do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

I read everything from Young Adult (like the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowlings) to the darker urban fantasy and paranormal (like the In Death series by J.D. Robb and the Anita Blake series by Laurel K. Hamilton) to lighter romantic comedy (Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich or the time-traveling Navy SEALs by Sandra Hill). And of course, I read the competition, like the military romance series by Suzanne Brockmann and Alison Kent. (I’m rolling my eyes at myself because I am SO not competition for those two… not yet, anyway!)

I LOVE reading and I have to say the one downside to being a writer (which means I am also a one woman promotional staff, web mistress, proofreader, etc.) is that it leaves much less time for me to read.

Cat, I'm so glad you shared a peek at yourself today. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

I’d love to let your readers know that I have a blog on my MySpace at www.myspace.com/authorcatjohnson. There you may find me ranting one day and making jokes the next, depending on my mood.

I also am currently the voice of All Romance eBooks’ weekly “What’s Hot in Romance” Blog Talk Radio Show where I interview romance authors each week live on air. The schedule for future shows and the archives for past show recordings can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Whats-Hot-In-Romance.

And, of course, you can find out more about Cat's books at her website as well.

Thanks so much, Allie! It’s been a lot of fun!

Why We Love Blogs

"Blogs are whatever we make them. Defining 'blog' is a fool's errand." ~ Michael Conniff

Blogging...it seems as if these days, everyone does it. And if you don't do it, you read blogs by people who do. But I got to wondering, why, exactly, do we read the blogs we do? Oh, there have been lots of articles (and blog posts) written about the advantages of blogging. It draws people of common interests together. It provides information. It allows distant friends and family to keep in touch. It gives people a chance to vent, to grieve, to deal with emotion. It gets authors noticed (!).

My question today isn't why you blog, but why you visit the blogs you do. If you're like me, you probably have a set few you check in on regularly. So...why those blogs? Are they informative? Humorous? Educational, or enlightening? Are they virtual friends whose lives you're interested in? And how did you find them, anyway?

Another Small Press Possibility

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'" ~C.S. Lewis

Just a couple of tidbits today:

For any aspiring (or published) authors looking for publishing houses, I thought I'd mention Black Lyon Publishing. They're a small press that opened in 2007, and while I don't know a whole lot about them, I've read 3 of their books and been impressed by their quality. Also, they have a sub-genre called "Literary Love Stories" that seems to target those romances that don't really fall neatly into HEA contemporary:

Black Lyon general fiction includes literary love stories that don't technically fall into the romance genre. Novels in this line are emotion-packed and though the love relationship between the hero and heroine is strongly at the core, the plot may contain complicated or intense issues. Sexual content should be appropriate to the storyline, not gratuitous. The ending may or may not be a happy one. Secondary characters should not pull the focus away from the two main characters, but should instead add depth to the story. Contemporary stories set in America are preferred, but if you have a different timeline or setting you think may work anyway - query! We have the luxury of flexibility within reason.
65,000 - 85,000 words.

Might be worth a look, for anyone who has something of that nature. If anyone knows anything more specific about them, give a shout and let me know.

***

Also, WOW-Women on Writing sent me this nifty little graphic, which will find a home over on my sidebar after today:

They've asked me to host a couple of authors on virtual blog tours, so look for those extra interviews in the next few weeks. I'm always up for helping other authors get noticed!

A Great Book for Dog Lovers

"Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ~Mark Twain

Here's a quick book recommendation, before I head to my umpteen things on the To-Do list today:

Unleashed: The Collected Dog Columns (by Beth Quinn)

It's a collection of short pieces written by my local news columnist, columns she wrote over the years about her dogs and their antics. First off, she's just a great writer. Second, they're wonderfully touching even if you aren't a dog person (but if you are, I imagine you'll appreciate them that much more). If you're looking for a great gift, either to give or receive (the holidays are coming, you know!), give it a look.

Here are a couple of teasers for you...

"I really ought to get rid of that dog," I say to myself as I examine a freshly gnawed window sill. And then I hear my 10-year old boy Brendan laughing that deep, hearty laughter that can only come from the soul. The dog and the boy are in the bedroom, and the dog is dragging the boy out from under the covers by his underwear. This is Cassidy's boy, and it's time for him to wake up and play. The world's a marvelous place this morning, and he needs his boy to share it with him.

***

The trouble with Lassie was, she set an awfully high standard for dogs in the IQ department. All our dogs seem fairly inept by comparison.

Remember how smart Lassie was?

At least once an episode she'd approach a family member, usually Gramps, and have a conversation.

"Woof!" Lassie would say.

"What's that, girl?" Gramps would say.

And Lassie would say, "Woof!"

"Oh!" Gramps would say. "You mean Timmy's foot is caught under a splintered floor board in the hayloft at the Owens farm, Girl? And there's an electric cable about to break and set the barn on fire?"

"Woof!" Lassie would say, and they'd both go off, and Lassie would save Timmy because she was a brave dog as well as a smart one.

The reason I bring this up here is because it might be our own fault that our dogs don't seem quite as bright as Lassie. It might be that we're not quite as bright as Gramps.

What Did I Get Myself Into?

"My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter." ~Thomas Helm

Yes, I'm trying to finish up my revisions of One Night in Napa so I can pitch it at the NJRW Conference in 2 weeks.

Yes, I'm trying to gear up for the book I want to tackle during National Novel Writing Month (in my head and on scrap pieces of paper here and there).

And yes, I signed up to judge the EPPIES this year and was just flooded with manuscripts in my email inbox this morning.

I entered One Night in Memphis in the EPPIES this year, which is the main reason I decided I should help out and judge other categories. And I do enjoy reading and reviewing for LASR. It's educational and enlightening to see what other authors are doing. But yikes, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now! The good thing is that the scores have to be in by November 10, which means a lot of reading in the next 3-4 weeks and then I'm done.

In the meantime, that really nice weather they promised for today is also calling me to do some outside work...and of course there are 2 stacks of papers sitting on my dining room table, waiting to be graded as well.

Good thing I'm a really fast reader~

Of Epilogues and Editors

"I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody's head." ~John Updike

Yesterday I stopped by my local animal shelter, where I volunteer on a pretty regular basis. I had given a copy of Lost in Paradise to the woman who runs the "cat house." (Yeah, that's really what it's called. I actually own a t-shirt that reads "The Best Cat House in Town." Go ahead, laugh). Anyway, yesterday she told me that she'd finished it, "because, you know, it's the kind of book you can't put down once you've started it." She was so glad that I'd added the Epilogue. It isn't that long, a page or two, but it does jump a year into the future and peek at the hero and heroine. And that's funny, because it was my editor who asked for one. Even though I thought I'd given the story its happy ending, my editor suggested I provide a little more. Turns out she was right; it needed an Epilogue.

Just another reminder that sometimes, what we think is so clear inside our our minds doesn't necessarily translate to the page, or to our readers. Thank goodness for editors!

It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend here...what are your plans?

Music or Silence?

"Without music life would be a mistake." ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

I'm a musical person. I started playing the piano when I was 8, I've sung in various choirs since about that age as well, and I sing along to the radio (which HAS to be playing) anytime I'm in the car.

But when I'm writing? I can't listen to it.

I know many people who like that background sound. I know authors who create whole soundtracks to listen to while they're writing. But when I'm working on a novel, I prefer silence. On a rare occasion, I have listened to super-sappy love songs when I'm writing a particularly intimate love scene. In those cases, sometimes the music and the lyrics help my own words to flow. Not usually, though. And I find this interesting, considering music is SUCH a big part of my life otherwise.

What about you?? Any authors out there who feel strongly one way or the other?

In the meantime, this is my new favorite song, just because it's so happy and mood-lifting:

Writers' Wednesday: The Top 10

"Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on without it any more than we can without potatoes." ~Louisa May Alcott

No author interview today - I'm taking a week off. Instead, here's an interesting article for you to peruse: The Top 10 Richest Authors last year.

Can't imagine why I'm not there!!

Why I'm a Facebook Convert

"And yet, all the same - life and human nature being what they are - with a new generation always coming up, the most satisfying thing really is to reach the end of the race with the same companions who were with you at the starting post." ~Cicero

I blogged not too long ago about my grudging acceptance of Facebook as a social network phenomenon. I know teens and 20-somethings use it to keep in touch on a daily basis. Those of us over 30? I wasn't sure how useful or compelling it would be. But now that I've belonged for a few weeks, I have to say...I'm a convert.

Why?

Well, first off, some people from my past have discovered that I'm a writer, and being either curious or happy for me, they've gone out to buy my books. So it turns out that conventional wisdom on my author loops is right: Facebook is yet another avenue for author promotion...and you know I'm all about exploring as many of those avenues as I can!

But beyond that, I've had the very cool experience of reconnecting with friends I never thought I'd see or hear from again. It's amazing how quickly technology can join people, across time and distance. Case in point: last Tuesday, a dear friend from high school ~ one of those people you have a complex relationship with that you can't really make sense of when you're only 16 ~ sent me a "friend" message on Facebook. After I picked myself up off the floor from shock, I messaged him back. Five days later, we were having dinner together, after nearly 20 years of losing touch.

Surreal, right? But also very cool, and very worth joining Facebook in the first place. Plus, he's led...shall we say...a colorful life in those last 20 years, so I may just have found myself inspiration for a really interesting character in an up-coming novel.

I do need to do more to push the promotional aspect of Facebook, I know, especially since I never gave in to the MySpace craze. But for now, it's just sort of neat to see who pops up on my "Friends" page, who comes back into my life to remind me of the person I used to be, and who leads me to write yet another story that explores the ways in which our pasts influence our presents and our futures.

Today, Just Pics, No Talk

A photo montage today...

Our driveway (the top, anyway, in front of hubby's dream garage) 2 weeks ago:

Our driveway after a team of 6 repaved it (finally! I love it!!):

And a mum that I bought last year and stuck in the ground after fall was over...now grown to 3x its original size:

Dayana's having a cool contest and chat at her blog today - go visit!

New Verbs in an Internet Generation

"The Internet is not just one thing, it's a collection of things - of numerous communications networks that all speak the same digital language." ~Jim Clark

All right, so "Google" was transformed into a verb a while ago. If you need information online, you don't search for it, you google it. No-brainer. But the other day, one of my students said, "A friend facebooked me last night and asked..."

And I thought, wait a minute. Really? Facebook is now a verb too? Well, I googled the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and sure enough, it is. Among other things, to facebook means to use the site, to send messages to friends via the site, even to upload pictures to the site.

Who knew?

So I got to thinking, what about other new verbs that the Internet has introduced to our language? Well, there's blogging, of course, and IM'ing. Apparently there's also flickring which means using the website Flickr.com to upload or view pictures. I find it rather interesting the way this shift in our communication methods has also translated to our language. Too, it represents yet another kind of generation gap. Tell someone over the age of 60 that you facebooked a friend last night after flickring and they might look at you like you're speaking a different language.

I suppose it's a normal evolution of a society. Are there other new Internet verbs you can think of? And what do you think about this new language, anyway?

New Review for One Night in Boston

I opened my email yesterday to find the nicest surprise: a 5 Blue Ribbon Review from Romance Junkies, for One Night in Boston! It apparently isn't up on their website yet, but here are some clips:

"...ONE NIGHT IN BOSTON is a story where dreams, hopes, regret and forgiveness all meet on one rainy night in Boston.

A thrilling read with characters and a plot that is so real, it feels spooky. The story revolves around two central characters Maggie and Jack, and the loss they have experienced and the chance they missed. While the experience has played a part in making them the people they are today, it also made them bitter and reluctant to try love again. The supporting cast is integral in the build up to that one night where everything seems surreal. Ms Boniface has etched out the best and worst of life before the infamous night in Boston, with you hoping with all your heart for the best outcome for all involved.

People and feelings will be and are hurt, but with gentle let downs and quiet determination, one night in Boston just might be the one night they have prepared their whole life for..."

Always a nice way to start the day!

Contest Winners!

"Did you ever hear anyone say, 'That work had better be banned because I might read it and it might be very damaging to me?'" ~Joseph Henry Jackson

Thanks to everyone who stopped by this week and shared their favorite banned books. It's amazing some of the titles that show up on those lists, amazing what some people will consider reason enough to want a title removed from the shelves so NO ONE ELSE can read or consider it.

Here's a peek at some of those reasons, featured in my local paper yesterday:

**The "Tarzan" books by Edgar Rice Burroughs: "Tarzan was living in sin with Jane." (Actually, Tarzan and Jane were married by Jane's father, an ordained minister.)
**"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll: "Animals should not use human language," and "It is disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level."
**"The Diary of Anne Frank": "A real downer."
**"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl: "The book espouses a poor philosophy of life."
**"A Light in the Attic" by Shel Silverstein: "The book encourages children to break dishes so they won't have to dry them."
**"The Rabbits' Wedding" by Garth Williams: "One bunny is white and the other is black and this brainwashes readers into accepting miscegenation."
**"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain: Excluded from the children's room of the Brooklyn Public Library on the grounds that "Huck not only itched but scratched, and that he said sweat when he should have said perspiration."
**"My Friend Flicka" by Mary O'Hara: "A female dog is called a bitch."

Interesting, right?

***

Finally, congrats to Mamasand2 and Mom (hey, it's my blog, and besides, I used random.org to choose the winners), who will receive a download of One Night in Memphis, their choice of any book from my library, and a lovely hand-beaded key ring. Mamasand2 and Mom, email me at allieb@allieboniface.com and we'll sort out all the details.

Everyone else, enjoy your Friday!

Two Contests Today!

Last day to post for the Banned Books Week contest - tomorrow I'll announce 2 winners!

Before I talk about today's featured book, though, let me just mention the Raven Halloween Hunt that's going on for the ENTIRE month of October. Authors are giving away some fabulous prizes, so click on the graphic below for all the details!

Today's Banned Book: Summer of my German Soldier by Bette Greene

This was one of my favorite books when I was on the young side of adolescence, probably due to my early (though then unidentified) love of all things romantic. If you're not familiar, it's the story of Patty, a fourteen-year-old Jewish tomboy, and Anton, a German soldier in hiding who stays with her family for a summer during WWII. Beautiful and poignant story. So why was it banned? Accordinfg to the ALA, it has racism and offensive language and is sexually explicit. Hmm. I just remember the impossible love story set against the drama of the war.

What's your banned book choice of the day?

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Brenna Lyons

Hi folks - welcome to another edition of Writers' Wednesday! Before we get started with today's featured author, let me just mention that my Banned Books Week contest is still going strong, and will return tomorrow with my latest featured book. In the meantime, every comment you leave on today's post counts as an entry as well...

A big hello to author Brenna Lyons, who joins me today. Brenna, can you tell us a little about your background?

I grew up in Hazelwood/Glenwood in Pittsburgh, PA...one of a few DMZs of the city, at the time. That was back when the mills were still open, and the area was a slum, if you weren't living in project housing. I was lucky enough to attend private schools from halfway through first grade on (St. Stephen's in Glenwood then the former Bishop Boyle High School in Homestead), which made life a little easier. Saying that my family was dysfunctional would be like calling one of my Night Warriors' sacred weapons a butter knife. Reading and writing was my escape from life, and I was good at escaping, even if it meant scribbling down poems and stories in a darkened room and trying to decipher them the next morning. It wasn't hard to learn that neglect was imminently preferable to abuse, and anything that kept me out of sight and mind was good. Cue writing and reading again. My younger brother was allowed to go live with my father in Texas when we were preteens, but the trade-off was that I would stay with my biological mother in Pittsburgh...I was legally allowed to 'run away from home' at 18, a month after my birthday, to be precise...After spending a short period of time living with my father and his second wife (and two of my seven younger sibs (whole, half, and step), I moved out and started supporting myself at 18, while I attended college, holding down two or three jobs at a time. My husband and I married at 19, and 20 years and three children later, we'll still married...twice, but that's another story.

Certainly a powerful beginning to your life! So when did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I've always been a writer. I was writing short fantastical stories, from the time I could form words with a pencil in hand...probably age 5 or 6. I learned that you could rhyme words into poems at 7 and set off on that. I started writing articles at about 10 or 11 and had my first in a local newspaper at 13.

And, I started competing at 11, when I won a place in Taproot for poetry (the youngest winner ever, at that time). At 15, I won a place in the Young Poets Externship at the University of Pittsburgh. At 17, I won a $7500 college scholarship by taking first place in a timed essay competition. I moved from type of writing to type, expanding my boundaries, but try as I might, I could never get past the first few chapters of a novel in college. So, it was something of a surprise when I woke with the dream of what I thought was a short story (April Fools Day 2001) and found (4 months later), that I'd completed my first serial novel (PROPHECY). I launched from PROPHECY into FAIRY DREAMS and then into four books at once (the first three NIGHT WARRIORS books and TYGERS). Now, I have 75 completed novels and stories, more than 60 of them published and more signed. I also have more than 80 WIP, and I write in 17 established worlds.

75 completed novels and 80 WIP (works-in-progress)?! Wow! Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

The latest title I have out is a re-release of RITES OF MATING (one of my two EPPIE finalists from 2006) from my Kegin series. The latest new work I have out is FATES MAGIC, the first installment in the Fates War series. Both of those released from Phaze.

But, my release schedule is teeming. In October, I anticipate two releases: MATCHMAKER'S MISERY from Phaze (Kegin series) and CATCH ME, IF YOU CAN (Urban Grimms) from Under The Moon/Mojocastle. November is an even bigger month for me this year with three releases: DOUBLE IMAGE (Kegin) from Phaze, TYGERS (Renegades) from Under The Moon, and THE LADY'S LOWBORN LOVER (Kielan) from LL Productions. From December through March, I anticipate at least a release a month, but I still have three releases that are undated in that period, which means I can't assign them to a particular month. Those releases will be coming from Mundania Press, LLC., Phaze, Dark Hart Press, and Under The Moon/Mojocastle Press. My first writing priority for the next six months are finishing, cleaning, and editing those 12 or so releases.

Since you obviously have a lot of experience in the publishing world, what advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

I could give a ton of advice, but here is some that I think will be most useful.

1) Get the butt in the seat and write. Don't try to write in order. Don't waste time looking for the perfect title or the perfect opening line. The perfect opening line will almost invariably present itself later. The perfect title may not be so perfect, in the end, and the publisher may order you to change it anyway. In short, you can't edit a blank page, so get something down. And, don't edit obsessively while you go. If you want to jot something in so you don't forget it, do it, but other than that, write first...then edit, or you might get stuck editing endlessly without getting new work down.

2) Join a critique group (online or not) that includes both published authors in your subgenre and unpublished. At the very least, join writers' workshops like MikesWritingWorkshop and EPIC-eWorkshop loops on Yahoogroups. Learn to take constructive criticism and weed out the nits of the crit partners, but more important...

3) Learn not only to hone your craft and self-edit but also about the industry. Learn how to vett publishers, about contract law (but always have an agent or lawyer for literary contract law on hand to handle NY contracts...any complex contract for you), the industry terms, etc. Hone your professional bearing. This is a career, so you want to know what the terms mean and apply them correctly. You also want to send well-edited communications to all industry professionals. Edit your communications even more strenuously than you edit your book...and the book should be thoroughly edited, to begin with.

4) Learn the ins and outs of dealing with an editor. You need to know that the editor's job is to help you make your book stronger and to protect you and the publisher from lawsuit. But, you also need to know what to do when you and the editor disagree and what to do when the editor is wrong. There is a fine line the author has to walk.

5) Learn the ins and outs of marketing, especially online marketing. No matter whether you are in NY or indie press, you have to do a certain amount of promotion for yourself. Some publishers demand a marketing plan from the author at submission time. Know what your options are and start early. Have a web site and/or a MySpace page for yourself as a writer BEFORE submitting. It shows you're proactive. Know what you intend to do, before someone asks.

That's terrific advice. Switching topics a little bit here, what kinds of books do you like to read? Who is your favorite author?

I'm a fairly eclectic reader. I gravitate toward fantasy/paranormal/science fiction/horror, whether straight genre or cross-genre books. I will also read the occasional contemporary or historical (anything but Regency, which I've never really embraced, for some strange reason), true crime, poetry, classics, mystery... I read everything from sweet romance and YA through erotica. I don't have a single favorite author. My list of auto-buy authors is about 12 long, and my list of 'favorite' authors would consist of about 50 of them. That's not a joke. When I take a few days (or a week) off from writing and editing, I tend to rip through books, right and left. Some of my auto-buys? Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark/Were/Dream Hunters, Christine Feehan's Carpathians, Robin Owens' Celta series, Angela Knight's Time Hunters/Warlords, Rowena Cherry's Tiger Princes, Tee Morris's fantasy works, Jeff Strand's comedy horror (okay, he's too prolific to be an auto-buy, but nearly so), Harry Potter (while it lasted), Elaine Corvidae (nearly so), Jane Graves' DeMarco series, David and Leigh Eddings' Belgariad/Mellorian and prequels, Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series (including the new one...Nox's book), Margaret Carter's vampires, Gloria Oliver...


Describe your writing space for us.


I write in two main spaces. My current office is an 8X12 alcove off the kitchen; the former one was a 10X10 space in the dining room/kids' playroom area. It has shelves for books and WIP along one full long wall; shelves for supplies and promo gear and my filing cabinet along the other, and my desk takes up the full short end of the room. There are a ton of mementos and pictures/paintings around, including: The Accolade, my 'muse' drawing by Robert Quill, a photo of my husband and myself when we were dating, the hand-woven rug my husband brought me home from Bahrain, the Celtic Cross shawl (brought home from Scotland for me), an Irish Blessing plaque, and a painting of a leopard's eyes that is directly above my work space (that my husband bought me right off the wall of a hotel we stayed in for our 20th anniversary, for no better reason than I liked it). I also have fairy decals on the walls and framed awards, reviews and ratings...and one framed letter from a reader from back in 2004! The other place I write is the corner of our couch, on a lap desk.





Love the pics! OK, when you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

When I write fiction or poetry, I tend to write longhand, two lines to a college-ruled line, with gel ink. I prefer blue ink, but I'm also fond of dark purple and dark green. I use black and other colors, when I have nothing else available, which is often, since I go through pens pretty quickly. I use red mainly for edits on paper ARCs/galleys.

Second draft consists of me taking the scenes I've written... I don't write linear. I don't know what's coming on the next page, let alone the last, unless I've already written the last, which is never a sure thing, because I may add more content to what I think is the end. I'm a pantser/organic writer, which means I don't plot or plan. I don't do outlines until the book is finished, if they are required. Pitching on spec means a couple of paragraphs (no more than a page) of rough story ideas and characterization. Since I always start with the character and follow the character, I have a firmer hold on character and motivations/complications than I have on particulars of the storyline, at the beginning.

Back to the subject of second draft... I take the scenes I've written and put them in order in a binder, fill holes and use the margins to add more detail.

Third draft is typing the book or story into the computer. At this point, I add as much as 33% to the book or story, just fleshing out detail. I've also been known to write a new scene directly into the computer, while I'm typing it in.

After that, edits start. I do a visual edit then an auditory edit...then a cleaning edit. At that point, the work is ready to submit. Somewhere around third draft, I've written blurbs for the book/story. If I require a query letter, synopsis or other work-ups, I do them at this point.
When I write articles and classes, I tend to write directly into the computer. These go through the same editing steps that my fiction does.

Brenna, thanks so much for sharing your writing life and experiences with my readers today. If you'd like to know more about this prolific writer, visit her website.

And have a great day!

BBW Contest - Day Two

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too." ~Voltaire

OK, it's Day Two of my Banned Books Week contest, in which I blog about a banned book I've read from this list and you either (a) comment or (b) add a banned book you've read or (c) both. What can you win? The rest of the details are here.

Today's Banned Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I understand why this one was banned, in a vague sense: racism is central to the plot, and there's quite a bit of profanity as well. There's also the issue of rape.

But it is also one of the most honest, beautifully written books that tackles tough issues while also creating some rich, wonderful t characters. Do we really think that by keeping it from young readers, we're preventing them from exposure to the kinds of words and thoughts they hear every day? Shouldn't they be able to read about characters in tough situations and gain something from understanding how those characters deal? Are we going to pretend that racism never existed, that it never affected human relationships - and the justice system - in this country?

Whenever I mention this book's censorship history to my students (who have already read it), they inevitably say, "Are you kidding? That was the best book ever!"

So? What about you?

A Contest for Banned Books Week!

Did you know that the last week in September is always named "Banned Books Week" by the American Library Association? Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year:

"Observed since 1982, this annual ALA event reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. This year, 2008, marks BBW's 27th anniversary (September 27 through October 4).

"BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom can exist only where these two essential conditions are met.

"BBW is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress."

Want to know more about BBW? Click here.

In honor of Banned Books Week, I'm holding a contest this week to celebrate! Because, honestly, as an author myself, I cannot imagine someone else passing judgement on my works to the extent that they decide someone else should not be able to read them.

Want to enter my contest? It's easy. Every day this week, I'm going to be blogging about a book I've read that's listed as one of the Top 100 Banned Books 1990-2000. Every comment you leave on my blog this week will earn you a contest entry. Even better: add the title of a book you've read, also from this list, and your thoughts on it, and I'll give you a second contest entry.

What can you win? A download of my novel One Night in Memphis, plus your choice from my overflowing library of gently loved books, and a really cool hand-beaded key chain (a crafty friend just hooked me up with some lovely ones).

I'll draw names randomly from all contest entries and announce 2 winners - yes, 2! - right here on Saturday, October 4th. This week, let's celebrate the wonderful freedom we enjoy to read whatever books we choose - and encourage others to continue to allow this freedom to exist!

***

Today's Banned Book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I first read this book in my 7th grade English class. We later watched the movie (starring a young Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell., Emilio Estevez...just thinking about that cast makes me want to go out and rent the movie again). I thought - and still think - it's a terrific portrayal of teenagers trying to figure themselves out and fit in despite society and class differences keeping them down. Best of all, it was written by a 17-year old girl!

Why was it banned? Well, I'm guessing because it focused on kids from broken homes and talked about drugs and alcohol. There's also some violence and profanity. I don't remember any of that from 7th grade, though. I just remember loving the story.

RIP Paul Newman

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'” ~Erma Bombeck

A moment of silence today for the passing of Paul Newman. As I said to my husband last night, Now there was a life well-lived.