I'm Not Gonna Write You a Love Song

"Promise me
You'll leave the light on
To help me see
The daylight my guide upon
Cause I believe
There's a way
You can love me..."
~Sara Bareilles

This is my new favorite song:



Fun, right?

And I am 50 pages from the end of Summer's Song, so that's my goal this weekend (maybe even today!). Finish the damn thing, put a period, type "The End" and then wait for some good-natured, patient, HONEST critique partners to give me feedback...

I'm off to write!

I'm So Pleased with this Article!

"Romance is the fiction that owes no allegiance to the God of things as they are. In the novel the writer's thought is tethered to probability, but in romance it ranges at will over the entire region of the imagination." ~Ambrose Bierce

So here's my big announcement for the day: go check out my feature article at WOW! Women on Writing! They always do such a nice job setting up their pages and all their features, and I love the way it turned out. Also take a minute to read the Editors' page...they say some nice things about the article and the romance industry in general.

I also have an article coming out with The Samhellion this month, on creating book trailers. Next time I have my webmistress update my website, I think I'm going to have her add a page with my article links. I never really intended on getting into that area of writing, but it's been a nice way to promote my author name and get some free advertising (and some paying markets!) at the same time.

Happy Friday!

It's All About Happily Ever After

"I claim there ain't
Another Saint
As great as Valentine."
~Ogden Nash

Big congrats to Crystal B. of Williamsburg, KY, the winner of my Valentine's Day Giveaway Contest! Crystal will be receiving 2 books, free downloads of my 2 novels, chocolate truffles, and beauty goodies. Thanks to everyone who entered ~ I had a great turnout. And just a reminder: I hold some kind of contest every month right here on my blog. Usually I give away a book, but you never know...I like to toss in other fun things as well. So stop back next month (or sooner!) to see what the March contest will bring...

***

Most of my regular readers know that I freelance for the awesome ladies over at WOW-Women on Writing...and Senior Editor Annette Fix is celebrating the release of her novel The Break-Up Diet today! You can order it on Amazon or from your local bookseller.

The Break-Up Diet is the true story of a 30-something single mother/aspiring writer who is working as an exotic dancer, searching for Prince Charming, and trying to find a perfect balance between her dreams and her day-to-day life as Supermom.

~Annette Fix is the Senior Editor for WOW! Women On Writing, an author, and spoken-word storyteller, living in Laguna Niguel, California with her Danish Prince Charming, her aspiring photographer son, and two rescued dogs.

Looks great, right? Also, check out the Break-Up Story Forum, a place where women can go to read and share their break-up and dating stories, the book blog, and her MySpace page.

***

Finally, in honor of Cupid's great day, here are two classic poems and three classic movie scenes, all of which should warm your heart and remind you of the power of true love and happily ever after. It's why I write about it, after all :)

Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

i carry your heart (ee cummings)

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Carol Spradling

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! Before we get started with today's author interview, just a quick reminder: today is the last day to enter my Valentine's Day Contest! Click here for all the details ~ I'll announce the winner right here, tomorrow!

Now welcome Carol Spradling, author of historical fiction and romance. Her first book, Cost of Freedom, is due out with The Wild Rose Press this spring.



Hi, Carol! So tell us: was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I was always fascinated with Colonial America, but there were two events that captured my attention in a way that I knew I had to write about the 1700s. One was my middle school, history teacher, Mr. Igo. When he taught, he would pull his chair in front of the class, lean in, and speak as though it were story time. His animation and passion for this period stayed with me, deepening my infatuation with the time.

The other, I read a small blurb in a magazine about a woman who lived in pre-Revolutionary War America. Her husband was away, fighting with the Patriots while she lay dying of an undisclosed illness. A friend begged her to send word to her husband. She refused, commenting that her life was insignificant to what he did. It was more important that he stay where he was than be with her.

I knew this woman’s story had to be told.

Wow, that's interesting. Can you tell us about your upcoming published novel?

Cost of Freedom is the first book in a trilogy set in 1770, Boston. It opens with William Jackson at the Boston Massacre. He tries to diffuse the situation but gets wounded, rendering him unable to continue with the Sons of Liberty. Unknown to him, childhood friend, Abigail Matthews arrives in Boston, thinking herself an indentured servant. One night, she is alone in a cemetery and overhears two Patriots plotting against her beloved England. She flees with this information but is captured and taken to William’s home. On opposite sides of the conflict, they re-ignite their friendship, but it is not until Abigail shoots a British soldier and is marked as a traitor that she begins to see the Colonies and their fight through William’s eyes.


Sounds exciting! So how do you go about developing your characters?

Most of my characters present themselves. As I formulate the idea for a scene, they arrive,
generally with their own attitudes and thoughts of what should transpire. It is not uncommon for me to have an idea for a character’s speech and behavior. The next thing I know, I’m following them down a side road, wondering how I got there. I always find it advantageous to allow them to be themselves, rarely have they lead me astray.

As a published author, what advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

Write from your heart. It doesn’t matter what you write or how well you construct a sentence. Get the ideas on paper. You will have ample opportunities for revisions. Also, write for the joy of it. If your main goal is to be published, you will find writing frustrating.

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

Writer’s block hasn’t been a problem. I am a ‘chunk writer’. Basically, whatever scene I’m thinking about on any given day is what I work on. When the flow dries up, I move on to something else. Sometimes, I’ll write small paragraphs, ideas basically, in several scenes. Other times, the entire scene will unfold in one swoop.

When I do find myself without a pressing scene, I will look over what I’ve written, pick one spot and think, what would happen if I did this. I also like to take a deeper look at the characters and try to determine what is the driving force behind them. This generally opens up an entirely new aspect in which to work.

With historical fiction, although the foundation and some of the characters are based in fact, my main characters are fabricated. This gives me the liberty to put them in places and situations without adulterating history. Plus, it breathes life into the period, providing a fresh perspective.

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

Oh, I have to use the computer. I can’t touch type. For me to transfer written work to the computer screen would take forever, not to mention be frustrating. I will jot thoughts and ideas down on paper because inspiration strikes at the oddest times and a fired-up computer isn’t always handy.

Thanks for being here and sharing your experiences, Carol. Is there anything else you’d like to mention to readers today?

I hope you will enjoy William and Abigail’s story as much as I enjoyed telling it. Updates, excerpts, and soon-to-be announced release dates for Cost of Freedom are available at my website.

Happy Release Day!

"Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book, If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for?" ~Alice Walker

It's the official release day for my good writing friend, Marianne, whose romantic comedy One Love for Liv is available today from Samhain Publishing!

And here's the trailer I made for it...

Head over to her blog and wish her a happy release day, OK? Even better, go over to Samhain and buy yourself a copy of her book. She writes good comedy, believe me. I've only seen about 1/2 this novel, in its draft form, so I'm excited to finally read the whole thing!

Congratulations, Marianne!!!

Nineteen Minutes

"At fourteen you don't need sickness or death for tragedy." ~Jessamyn West

I just started reading Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult. Anyone else read it? It's about a school shooting, and from what I've heard, she delves into the social aspect of cliques in HS and what leads one boy to become so desperate he brings a gun to school. I'm only a few chapters in, and so far it's...OK. I do like her writing a lot, and the book is seamless and easy to read. But there's something that has rubbed me the wrong way, something I almost can't put a finger on. It might be the way she creates caricatures of the high school students, in their various groups, or the way she makes the mother of the shooter (and one of the primary victims) these Every-women that we should relate to, understand, and forgive for their shortcomings.

It's probably just that I teach high school, and so any attempt to write a fictional account of what happens in teenagers' daily lives naturally falls short. They are much more complex creatures than the media gives them credit for. And it is probably that part of me (that is not a parent) that cannot excuse mothers and fathers who are absent from their child's lives, who buy their children cars for their 16th birthdays because it is easier than taking a pay cut and being home in the evenings to go to games and look over homework and talk about tough times, who think their children's bedrooms should be off-limits to adults, who think it's OK to give your child unlimited privacy on the computer because, after all, back in the '60s that's all they wanted too, privacy and space and a place to rage against authority.

But I digress.

One thing I have learned over 10 years of teaching adolescents: as much as they complain about and rebel against it, they want structure and boundaries. They want someone to tell them no. They want to know where that line of "no" is, even if they cross it (and they will). They want to be loved and respected for who they are, even if that changes from day to day. They *want* you to know who they are. They want desperately to belong. And they want it to be OK to make mistakes.

Over Christmas break, I had a student who graduated 2 years ago return to visit. We were talking about college, and she said, "You were the only person who ever told me it was okay if I didn't like college right away, and if I wanted to transfer. You were the only person who made it seem like that was an option, that it wouldn't be the end of the world."

Teenagers think everything *is* the end of the world, and they need us to provide a perspective they don't yet have.

We'll see how Nineteen Minutes unfolds. It might prove to be a valuable novel, an insightful look at the world of adolescence. I hope so.

Two Contests You Might Not Have Entered Yet

"Win as if you were used to it; lose as if you enjoyed it for a change." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

You know how much I like and promote contests, right? Well, here are 2 more you might not have heard of...

Fellow Wild Rose Press author Melissa Blue is celebrating the release of her very first novel (hooray!) by giving away both an electronic and an autographed print copy of her book, How Much You Want to Bet? Click here for more details.

Fellow Samhain author Kerri Augusto is giving away an ebook reader to one lucky reader who answers a trivia question about her new novel, Strawberries in Winter. Click here for more details.

Me? I'm still working on trailers, filling out publisher's info for One Night in Memphis, and watching the snow come down outside my window. Seriously. It snowed ALL DAY yesterday, and it's continuing this morning. You'd think I lived in the north, or something, and it was mid-February, or something...

The Timeline of Publishing

"To write what is worth publishing, to find honest people to publish it, and get sensible people to read it, are the three great difficulties in being an author." ~Charles Caleb Colton

So I'm supposed to write a catchy blurb for One Night in Memphis and send it back to my editor at Samhain. Soon.

Thing is, I haven't even looked at the story in about 6 months. I mean, I remember it, of course. But it sure isn't fresh in my mind. That space is all filled up with Summer's Song, my latest WIP. It's like, you finish writing a book, all shiny and new, send it off to an editor and hope for a contract...but by the time you hear back, and then have to write blurbs and do edits and think about promoting the thing, it's been ages since you've been entrenched in the writing of it.

And the time gap between electronic and print publishing? Another hurdle to deal with. You do all this cool promotion when your ebook releases, try to push up the sales and your name so more and more people become familiar with it...and then you have anywhere from 6-10 months until it comes out in print. Then the new release date looms, and you have to figure out whole other strategies to get people to buy it in print and get excited about it all over again.

Now, I'm not complaining. Becoming a published author has been one of the coolest things that's happened to me in recent years. It's just that the whole learning curve about what happens on the other side of signing the contract, is huge.

So I have to shift gears, pull up ONIM again, and figure out how to make it sound so fun and intriguing and appealing - in the space of about 200 words - that readers will want to buy it. Hmm.

I also have to fill out the cover art form, telling what I'd like on the book jacket. This, though, I'm thinking (hoping?) will be easier, 'cause I know cover artists usually try to make jackets by the same author resemble one another, so you can tell it's the same person writing. Plus I like the idea of the cover from One Night in Boston, the clock face superimposed on the city scene, so I'm hoping for a variation of that. We'll see how it works out!

The Red Tent

"If you sit on the bank of a river, you see only a small part of its surface. And yet, the water before your eyes is proof of unknowable depths." ~Anita Dimant, The Red Tent

Update on The Winter Reading Challenge:

I just finished The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Wow - what a powerful book! The author takes the story of Dinah, a minor character mentioned in Genesis, and turns it into a magnificent account of that one woman's life during Biblical times. I hadn't (still haven't) read that story straight from the pages of the Bible, though I probably will now. But according to the author there is little to no detailed information on Dinah, so nearly all of what she wrote in the novel is historical fiction. Here's a blurb:

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.

It's a beautiful book, and I highly recommend it. The story spans from before Dinah's birth all the way through her life and really highlights the role of women, and the power of motherhood and female friendship, especially in a patriarchal society. The writing is simple and lyrical, and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't enjoy reading it.

***

Well, my contract for One Night in Memphis is officially signed and returned, and just yesterday I heard back from my editor regarding putting together a blurb and filling our the cover art form. That was fast! And I have a tentative early July release date. It's exciting to think about another novel releasing...and yet a little overwhelming too, when I start thinking about all the ways I'm supposed to market and promote this one. Ah, well. One thing at a time, right?

***

Have you entered my Valentine's Day Contest yet? It's really, really easy! You can find all the details here.

***

Happy Friday!

A Day of Videos

"Restriction on free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." ~William O. Douglas

For your viewing pleasure today, here are 3 (totally different) videos that were emailed to me in the last few days.

What do you think?





I can't embed this one ("I Am Not a Pornographer") but it's TOTALLY worth seeing...even if you skip the other two.

I'm serious. Watch it. Do not leave my blog today without doing so.

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Marisa Chenery

Welcome to another Writers' Wednesday! Today I'm featuring historical and paranormal romance author Marisa Chenery.

Hi, Marisa! So tell us, how long have you been writing? When did you first begin?

I first started writing around 11 years ago. I have always been an avid reader and writing seemed to be the next logical step. I had taken an interest in writing when I was a teenager, but I really didn't put much effort into it at stage in my life. As a stay at home Mom, being an author was my dream job. I could work and not have to worry about leaving my kids.

What's your latest writing project or published work?

I was just offered a contract from Liquid Silver Books for my newest full length novel. It's called Beowulf and Roxie. It's the first werewolf romance I've written and I'm really looking forward to this one being released. I also started working on the sequel to The Blue Lotus, which came out in September at Liquid Silver Books.

Wow, very exciting! Congratulations. Can you offer some advice to aspiring, unpublished writers?

The best advice I can give new writers is to never give. Keep writing and eventually all your hard work will pay off. If you believe in yourself enough, it will happen.

Do you have a favorite author or genre?

I love to read historical, paranormal, werewolf, vampire and fantasy romances. I would have to say my favourite author is MaryJanice Davidson. I have read just about every book she has written and loved them.

Now the question everyone wants to know: how do your balance the responsibilities of the rest of your life with your writing?

Having a house full of kids, I had to have my own little writing area away from everyone else. That has turned out to be my bedroom. The kids know that when I'm up in the bedroom writing they have to give Mom some quiet time alone.

What do you do when you're not writing?

When I'm not writing I like to read or play on the internet. I'm a self-proclaimed internet junkie! I also like to work out at the gym three times a week.

Last question: how do you compose your novels? Computer, by hand, dictation?...

I wrote my first three books completely by hand in coil ring notebooks, which took a very long time. Now I do all my writing on my laptop. Taking all those typing classes in high school is really paying off now!

Thanks so much for being here, Marisa. Good luck with your writing! Readers, if you'd like to know more about this author, make sure to visit her website or blog. And have a great day!

Valentine's Day Contest

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. " ~Author Unknown

First off, a big thanks to LaskiGal, who was kind enough to bestow these beautiful flowers on me...

And second, yes I am featuring a blog contest for February. Of course ~ it's the month of Valentine's Day...what did you think? So here you go...

The Rules:

1. Read my featured author interview at The Romance Studio this month.

2. Answer the questions below and email the answers to allieb@allieboniface.com.

3. That's it! I'll toss all the entries with the correct answers into a box, draw one name, and announce the winner on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2008 ~ next Thursday.

The Prize:

(I know, I know...what do you win?)

1. Two brand new books (yep, two!): The Sex on the Beach Book Club by Jennifer Apodaca and Critical by Robin Cook

2. Chocolate truffles (you knew there would be candy involved, didn't you?)

3. Free downloads of my 2 novels, One Night in Boston and Lost in Paradise

4. A collection of beauty products to treat yourself!

The Questions:

1. Where does Lost in Paradise take place?

2. Allie based the character of Eddie West on whom?

3. What writing project is Allie working on right now?

4. Who are 2 of Allie's favorite authors?

5. Besides writing, name 2 things Allie does in her spare time.

The Monday After

"Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?" ~Jim Bouton

Well, hats off to the NY Giants, who pulled out a huge upset win over the NE PAtriots in the Super Bowl last night. Good for the underdogs, and good for Eli Manning, who has an MVP trophy to match big brother Peyton's from last year.

Now, when does baseball season start?

***

The game wasn't all that exciting until the 4th quarter, to be honest, and even the commercials didn't wow me this year. Anyone else feel differently? The Life Water geckos dancing to "Thriller" were kind of cute, and I loved the Budweiser one with the dalmatian coaching the Clydesdale. Did anyone else notice how many health/energy drink ads there were? Forget the Doritos this year...apparently we're on a health kick now. Shaq did one for Vitamin Water, and then there was that bizzare one for some energy drink with a greasy fat man hooking up jumper cables to himself to start a woman's car. Gatorade, though, did have a cute "man's best friend" one with a very slobbery dog drinking his own "energy drink " - water.



***

Got a telephone call yesterday from our local ABC news affiliate...an automated poll about who I'm voting for in the primary on Super Tuesday. Should be an interesting day. While I'll admit I haven't completely made up my mind about who I'm voting for, it's been an interesting race so far. I never thought John McCain would be so far out in front for the Republicans, and well, to see a black man and a woman vying for the nomination in the Democratic party warms my heart. Wonder who'll be on the ballot come November?

Super Sunday

"Football players, like prostitutes, are in the business of ruining their bodies for the pleasure of strangers." ~Merle Kessler

So are you watching the Super Bowl tonight?

Hubby and I will head over later this afternoon to a friend's house and get together with 2 other couples...it's become kind of tradition. Most of us work together, and buy squares in the Super Bowl pool, so we'll root for each other's numbers just as much as the score, in most cases.

Except this year the NY Giants are in the big game, so most of the room will be cheering for them. I'd like to see the Patriots win, though - a whole undefeated season? That's historic.

***

In other news, I'm so happy because I've had a chance to start working on my 3rd? 4th? umpteenth? revision of Summer's Song. LOL This is the last time through before I send it out to some poor unsuspecting readers for feedback. So far it's going well, and I'm liking most of what I've written (always a good thing!)

***
And here's the latest trailer I made!

Another Contest, Another Winner!

"Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark." ~Annie Dillard

Drum roll please...the winner of my January Book-Blog Giveaway is...

LaskiGal! She wins an author-signed copy of Cast in Stone, a beautifully written paranormal romance by Kerry A. Jones.



(LaskiGal, email me at allieb@allieboniface.com so I can get that mailed off to you.)

Congrats, and thanks to everyone who visited my blog and commented all month long. I'll be holding a Valentine's Day contest in a few days, with another fun giveaway, so make sure to stop back and check it out!

Also, I'm a Featured Author over at The Romance Studio for the month of February, and I'd love for you to read my interview when you get a chance. I talk about Lost in Paradise and why I love the main character of that book so much (hint: you'll need some of that trivia to enter the Valentine's Day contest...).

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Friday....and Happy February!

"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently." ~Bill Watterson

Just a quick heads-up: if you haven't signed up for my electronic newsletter, and you'd like to, there's a little form right over there on the sidebar. I only send them out every other month, and it's usually a brief "what I've been up to with my writing these days." The February one goes out this weekend!

And here's your Friday Feast...

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Ooh, I'm eating it right now: Quaker Oat Squares - crunchy and good flavored, with fiber and all that good stuff.

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
We just bought a new chair for the computer desk in our home office...it is SO much more comfortable than the old one!

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?
I'm not a big TV watcher, but I do think that cell phone one with the father talking to the guy who wants to date his daughter is pretty funny ("See? We're both in her Fab Five. I'm right next to you...it's like I'm watching you...all the time.")

Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).
Lavender Lemurs

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
Gone outside without a winter coat since November. I'm already ready for spring!

And here's a funny audio clip, too!

BEST TELEMARKETER PRANK EVER

A Story with a Happy Ending

"A recent government publication on the marketing of cabbage contains, according to one report, 26,941 words. It is noteworthy in this regard that the Gettysburg Address contains a mere 279 words while the Lord's Prayer comprises but 67." ~Anonymous

I thought that quote was sort of interesting...

*****

I'm running late this morning, so just a quick post, because I wanted to show off this AWESOME promotional flyer that Stella Price made for our booksigning in March. It's beautiful, isn't it?




And also, check out this heart-warming story about a rather...um...peculiar dog at our local shelter who found a home. Even if you aren't an animal lover, the pictures themselves are worth a peek...

The Story of Badgee

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Jena Galifany

Welcome to another Writers' Wednesday! Today I'm featuring author Jena Galifany.


Hi Jena! Can you tell us about your latest published title?

ShadowsForge 4: The Long Way Home was released November 1, 2007 from Whiskey Creek Press. It is the fourth installment in the ShadowsForge series that follows the rock band on tour. The Long Way Home is the story of Brian Cummings, the drummer, his troubled teen years and how it is affecting him now that he is twenty-six and part of a successful band. Two years went into the writing. It is the most emotional of the series so far.

Wow, sounds like a great story! What advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

I would tell any new writer to keep learning, keep listening to those who have gone before and follow. We will never know it all and we can avoid the problems and pitfalls by taking advantage of the authors and editors that try to share their experiences with us. Keep improving your craft and listen.

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


I sometimes have to work at keeping the middle of the story from sagging a bit but have found that if I have two situations going at once, I can switch off when one starts to droop. Exciting is when a plan comes together. When I figure out just the right way for a situation to be handled or written. I love twists and enjoy putting them in at the last minute. If a reader will finish the book and say, "I didn't see that coming!", that's the reward.

Oh, that's definitely true. Next question: when you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

It starts out in my head, rolling around for a while until I know the ending. (I write backwards.) I then work out several possible things that would have happened to cause the ending to be the way I want it to be. When I get a few ideas, I make an outline. Once I've reached the beginning, I start the writing, making written notes and typing them out when I get time.

Authors often tell me that they're inspired by movies they've seen. What is your favorite movie? Did it inspire your writing in any way?

My father was a projectionist (he ran the old carbon-arch projectors that were used to show films back before automation) and I saw movies every week and weekend as a child. (Too many to think about!) If I had to name a favorite it would be difficult. How about "The Lake House", A Walk in the Clouds", and "Swashbuckler". There are probably a lot more but I'll go with those for now. After seeing so many less than great movies in my life, it probably had some effect on my desire to writing but I try not to let any one movie bleed too much into my work, copyright issues being what they are. LOL

Now I would love to write a series like "Firefly." I love to write series and love the way Josh Whedon meshed it all together. Fabulous!

What a neat childhood memory! Thanks for being with us today, Jena. And readers, make sure to leave her a comment so she knows you were here. Any last word for the visitors today?

I love to hear from readers, what they think of my work, as long as it is constructive, even if they didn't like something. It helps me to grow as a writer. Here are some places I can be found around the internet:

Jena's Website

Jena's Blog

Jena's MySpace

Hey! I'm Officially an Author!

"The more you earn, the less you keep,
And now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to take,
If the tax collector hasn't got it before I wake." ~ Ogden Nash


OK, maybe I've been thinking of myself as a true author for a little while now, but the proof came in the mail yesterday: my 1099 form reporting my royalities from Samhain. Yes, that's right, since I've officially made money on my writing, I have to report those earnings to the IRS!

Lucky me.

Still, I won't complain.

I added a little feature to my sidebar, right at the top: Allie's Appearances. I'll keep a list of any places I might be showing up with books or promotional things, in the monthst to come. It feels a little decadent, but hey, if the IRS thinks I'm a professional, I should act like one, right?

Finally, I think I've made a startling discovery about my writing: I'm not sure I write straight romance. {gasp} I think I might write women's fiction, instead.

I didn't even know what "women's fiction" was, to be honest. But I was doing research for an article I'm writing, and I found some interesting differences between the two genres. Primarily, the difference seems to be that in a romance novel, the love story is the central focus. Everything else in the plot works toward and around that.

But in women's fiction, the story centers on the main character, her struggles and triumphs in her world - which might include romance but also deals with her work relationships, her family, etc. And it may or may not have a happy ending. (Mine do, so far anyway) Here are some other interesting definitions I found:


"Women's Fiction can be commercial (and usually is) or literary; it can be here-and-now contemporary or a multigenerational saga, like Rosamund Pilcher's books. The woman is the star of the story and her changes and emotional development are the subject."


"In women's fiction the heroine's relationship with her family or friends may be equally as important as her relationship with the hero."

So honestly, I think that is what I write. Don't get me wrong: I am a sucker for true love. But I also feel as though I need to explore more than just that, in my novels. Some of the critics who didn't like One Night in Boston thought the hero and the heroine should have gotten together much sooner. If it were a true romance, that might be an accurate criticism. But as I've been re-reading the galley, I realize that the story is more about Maggie trying to come to terms with her past and her present, than getting her into bed with her hero. (Lost in Paradise, on the other hand, I would call more of a true romance novel. I was experimenting.)

I hope that doesn't turn people away from my writing. I would hope that readers will care less about the label and more about what's inside the pages, though I do know that marketing counts for a whole lot.

Still, when I update my website in a few weeks, I think I may shift my "brand" just a bit and go with something like "Allie Boniface, Best-Selling Author of Contemporary Romance and Women's Fiction." (I can say "best-selling" 'cause I was, on the TWRP list for a while...right?)


What do you think?

This Post Has Nothing to Do with Writing

"You don't have to suffer to be a poet. Adolescence is enough suffering for anyone." ~John Ciardi

Yesterday I sat down and opened up the Sunday paper to find this horrific article:

1 Teen Dead, 1 Critical in Fall

One teenager died and another was critically injured when they climbed onto the roof of an elementary school early yesterday morning and fell 33 feet through a domed skylight, police said.

L.B. , 15, and N.M., 18, fell through the skylight around 2:45 a.m. and landed in the gymnasium below at A.S.K.E. School. The fall marked a tragic end to a night of youthful mischief, during which the teens had been drinking alcohol, police said.

Sometime in the early morning hours, [the girl] and three of her girlfriends sneaked out of a sleepover party. They met two boys at the elementary school. Two of the girls, who were not named because of their age, left the group while the others stayed.

The two girls and two boys stacked plastic milk crates, climbed them and then used an air-conditioning unit to hoist themselves onto the roof, police said. L. and M. split from the other two teens. Each group traveled in separate directions on the roof.

After 20 minutes, they called each other on cell phones and decided to meet on the roof. But L. and M. never showed up. Their two friends found the broken, 4-by-4-foot skylight. M. called his friend to say he had fallen and was injured, police said. Foot patterns left on the roof indicate the pair had been sitting on the skylight when it broke.

***
And all I could think was, There but for the grace of God go I.

I mean, we all did something stupid like that when we were kids, didn't we? Sneak out, or drink underage, or break curfew, or meet a boy who was older than we were, or be someplace we weren't supposed to be? One of the police officers at the scene said, "Nothing involved in our investigation shows there were any criminal intentions or attempts to break in...It was just kids being kids, and it's tragic.""

We can make a thousand arguments: that the parents should have known she was sneaking out, that they shouldn't have been drinking, that they were trespassing, etc. I still agree with the cop: it was such a typical teenage thing to do. (Though personally, I don't know if I would have been sitting ON TOP OF a skylight, and I don't know that any amount of alcohol could have kept me outside on a rooftop when it was sub-20 degrees.) Still, I think we're remarkably lucky, most of us, that we get to live through our mistakes and learn from them.

I'm so sad for the kids and their families.

###

In other, unrelated news, did anyone see this article from a couple of weeks ago?

Marriage Annulled After Separated Twins Marry

Twins separated at birth have married each other without realizing they were brother and sister, it has been revealed.

The British couple's marriage has now been annulled by the High Court after judges ruled the marriage had never validly existed.

The identities of the brother and sister and details of how they fell in love and married are being kept secret. Soon after they were born they were separated and adopted by different families.

Neither was told they had a twin and had no idea they were blood relatives until after their wedding.

***

Good God, can you imagine? Yet I also thought, what a perfect twist for a plotline. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction; you can find fodder for stories just about anywhere you look!