Friday Fun Facts: Small Town Charm

Happy Friday! I'm so swamped with school work I can barely breathe these days...Septembers seem to get crazier every year. Still, I try to take a moment or two each day to tear my mind away from work - and yesterday as I was leaving school, I happened to catch sight of this:

They waited patiently for the light to change, then turned onto Main Street. I love the rush of city life, but oh yes there is something about small towns that absolutely charms the heart :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: Call for Submissions from Lyrical Press

Hello all writers! One of my publishers, Lyrical Press, has just announced the opening of 4 new lines, and they're seeking submissions for all of them! Here's the skinny:

Embrace

• Fresh take on popular contemporary romance tropes.

• 40,000 – 70,000 words

• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Enemies to Lovers, Boss/Employee to Lovers, Reformed Rake, Millionaire Playboy, The Love Triangle.

• Engaging hero. Alpha male preferred.

• Believable, relatable and likable heroine.

• Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.

• Erotic romance will not be considered for Embrace.

• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.

• Please include Embrace in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Once Upon

• Erotic twist on fairytales, myths, legends and folklore.

• 30,000 – 95,000 words

• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus

• Alpha males are a must.

• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.

• Erotic romance welcome for Once Upon

• Digital only.

• Please include Once Upon in the subject line of your query, and word count, fairytale, myth, legend, or folklore used in the body of your email.

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Hometown Heroes

• Fresh take on small town contemporary romance.

• 40,000 – 70,000 words

• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Best friend’s sibling…all grown up, Childhood enemies to lovers, The bad-boy next door, Just came to town.

• Engaging hero. Beta heroes welcome.

• Believable, relatable and likable heroine.

• Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.

• Erotic romance will not be considered for Hometown Heroes.

• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.

• Please include Hometown Heroes in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

Vintage

• Modern take on retro-style period romance.

• 40,000 – 95,000 words

• Authors we love: Johanna Lindsey. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood, Rosemary Rogers)

• Periods considered: Regency, Viking, Victorian, Medieval, Tudor, Pirate, Western, Native American.

• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus

• Alpha males are a must.

• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.

• Erotic romance welcome for Vintage.

• Digital and print.

• Please include Vintage in the subject line of your query, word count and period used in the body of your email.

 

Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.html

Please submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com

 

 

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Monday Mentionables: Avoid the "Threes"

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” (Ernest Hemingway)

Have you ever heard that expression, "Bad things happen in threes?" I actually looked up the origin, and here's what I found: This is a well-attested folk superstition on both sides of the Atlantic: [1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. XII. 489] . It does seem to happen that way, doesn't it? We twist our ankle going downstairs, run out of gas on the way to work, and then wait for the third lousy occurrence to happen later that day, whether it's dropping lunch on the floor, losing a client to a competitor, or even missing the elevator so that we're late to our favorite class at the gym.

Consider this: A sequence of threes is not a good thing in writing either.

I've been spending the last couple of weeks proofing the audio files for my books One Night in Boston (my first) and One Night in Napa(my fourth). Both are coming out as audio books in early 2013 within a few weeks of each other, just sort of the way the timing worked out with the narrators. First off, I'll say that it's interesting to revisit books I haven't read through in years. Interesting and cool, too. It's also obvious that my writing has grown since that first book, most notably in my reliance (or lack of reliance these days) on the use of series of threes:

"I need that list. I need a map of Boston. I need to find out if anyone named Dillon Murphy is listed in the phone book."

"He should have known better. He should have waited for Sam to leave. He should have locked the door behind his friend."

"What do you need to say? That you're going to whisk her away from her life? That you're still in love with her? That everything will be just like it was back in college?"

See? After awhile this pattern of threes becomes sort of like the adage's "bad things" - you want to avoid it. So for newer writers, especially, keep an eye out. Do you fall into patterns, like the use of a series of threes in your descriptions? Consider cutting and varying those patterns whenever you can. I found that there are hardly any in One Night in Napa, and I do think it's better for that.

It's cool to see your own writing mature over the years and over the books...so soldier on, fellow writers! Keep writing and keep learning :)

Friday Fun Facts: I'm up for "Best of "August"!

Happy Friday, readers! My first chapters and book covers that were featured over at D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapter" blog are now up for "Best of..." voting for the month of August. I'd love for you to help me win bragging rights!

The poll is right here (and hey, if you don't feel like reading all those chapters, maybe possibly you could just vote for one of my covers? Please? I do love them...and I have a few in the running).

Please share the news with your followers too - it's always nice to gain a little recognition in that big bad publishing and marketing world!

Writers' Wednesday:Another Place to Promote

Hey fellow writers, just a quick mention for a possible promo avenue: Affaire deCoeure magazine is actively soliciting writers to participate in a variety of advertising options. Looks like they have both online and print options, for pretty reasonable prices, so you might want to check it out.

Also, Samhain Publishing is looking for readers!! Want to receive their newsletter? Sign up by clicking here. Though I haven't published with them in a while, I still stand by the quality of their product. If you're looking for a good read, Samhain is a great place to start.

Happy reading!

Monday Mentionables: What Does Your Place Say About You?

“I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope..."
(Meredith Grey)

Well, it's Monday of a 3-day weekend here in downstate New York, since the local schools observe Rosh Hashanah. I had never gotten Jewish holidays off from school before I moved here. Nor had I gotten 2-hour delays (in the event that weather is bad in the morning but improves so that the roads can be cleared) or, to be honest, snow days to speak of. I grew up in an area of NY where winter comes...and comes...and comes. If they closed school because of a few inches (or feet) of snow, we'd be going to school in July. So snowplows go out at 3 in the morning to make sure the roads are clear for the schoolbuses a few hours later. Actually, I have a very clear memory as a child of hearing the plows out on the roads before dawn, on a regular basis from December to March.

Here? They don't really clear the roads - not until the snow stops, anyway. And schools tend to close if there's even a hint of bad weather in the forecast. All depends on perspective, I guess. And I'm not really sure where I'm even going with thisblog post except that I find it interesting how we can be so shaped by the places where we grow up. When I was revising my novel One Night in Napa, my editor said to me, as I was cutting out parts of one chapter, "Please don't touch the paragraph on page....."

These are those lines she wanted me to keep:

"...Did children who lived in the shadows of a mountain range spend their earliest days looking up, dreaming, watching the clouds make shapes? If you moved those same children to a seaside home, would they lose that distant vision? Would they start looking out rather than up, or develop a rhythmic gait that matched the waves they slept and woke to? Did growing up inside a city of skyscrapers create tunnel vision from the day you were born? Or did living your earliest years inside gated walls mean that you looked at the world in fragments, in sliced-up pieces, so that you could never see the whole of something for what it truly was?"

I do truly believe in that influence of place on a person, and it's something for writers to consider as well. Where do your characters hail from? What does that say about them?

I'll be spending Rosh Hashanah not at school, thinking about it and working on my next project. Happy writing!

Writers' Wednesday: It's Audio Book Day!

"What if everything you knew about your past turned out to be wrong?"

Wow, well for me today it truly IS audio book day, in more than one respect. First and most exciting, Summer's Song releases in audio book format today from Audio Lark! That means if you haven't read it yet, and perhaps you have a commute or a trip coming up where you'll be plugged into your iPod for a while, give it a download and a listen! (P.S. - this is my favorite book :) (Another P.S. - I think my cover is the best one on the front page of the website today....what do you think??)

Also, today over at Savvy Authors you'll find my third blog post in a series about audio books that's appeared over the last 3 months. This month is an interview with the owner of Audio Lark, Jennifer Feddersen, and she shares some really interesting tips and insight about the world of audio book production.

Finally, I'm in the midst of audio book file proofing as we speak! I'm going over the files for both One Night in Boston and One Night in Napa over the next 2-3 weeks, and they're scheduled for release in early 2013. I've done it a few times now, but I have to say that it never gets old, hearing someone else read your words out loud. Such a cool thing :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Buy yourself an audio book today!!

September 11th: Do You Remember?

Tomorrow, of course, is September 11th. Do you remember where you were 11 years ago on that day? It's amazing to me that I can still recall exactly what I was wearing, where I was standing, and who told me when the first plane hit the first tower. I remember so much, so many details as the hours unfolded, and I can't believe it's been 11 years. Feels like it was just a year ago. I still have a hard time thinking about it or reading about it without getting choked up.

Prayers today for all those were lost, all those who said goodbye to a loved one that never came home, and all those who worked tirelessly for days and months afterwards to try and help the country heal. We keep moving forward, but we never forget.

Friday Fun Facts: Going Back to Work

"If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others."
(Tryon Edwards)

Ah, here we are: at the end of the first week of school. And what have I learned? Let's see....

That I don't talk nearly as much during the summer as during the school year. My throat is killing me after a full day of teaching!

That it's a challenge to wear heels again, after a summer in flip flops or bare feet. Ooh but legs are letting me know they're there!

That's is exhausting to be "on" for seven hours at a time, answering questions and fielding responses and having to constantly think about writing and words without much of a break.

That a classroom is a very cool place to be, because you never know what's coming out of a student's mouth at any given time.

That it is VERY difficult to teach in a room that's 80+ degrees and sweat is running down your back and you're really thinking about how soon you can walk down the hall to the air-conditioned office instead of helping students understand what a thesis sentence is and why it's so important.

That's it's nice to have the support of other teachers in the building who are bemoaning the same issues you are, and who desperately wait for the coffee to brew in the morning the same way you do.

That I have the best job in the world. Years ago, when I first started teaching, I used to think to myself that as long as my basic bills were paid, I would do the job for free. 15 years later, I still feel that way :)

Writers' Wednesday: Tips on Blog Tours and How to Deal with Being Orphaned

"We can smile even though we are hurting and we can feel happy even though we are unhappy. It's called strength." -Thea Destiny


OK, I did take Monday off in honor of Labor Day (and did some labor-intensive writing of my own...anyone else?)

For all you writers out there today, I wanted to pass share some info from the latest Romance Writers Report:

My local chapter member Jennifer Probst (and author of the wildly popular best-seller The Marriage Bargain) has a feature article on Successful Blog Tours. Among her pieces of advice: don't spread yourself too thin when you take on a blog tour for a new release; target your posts to the audience of the individual blogs; don't just re-process information in your posts (readers follow you!); give something away, because followers love prizes; and don't forget to thank your blog host!

Also, the article on being "orphaned" as an author hit home for me. If you are a writer, chances are you might lose your editor at some point. They move on. They make changes, they work up to other positions, and while that's great for them, sometimes it's not so great for their authors. I went through 2 editors at one publishing house. Both were great to work with, but my second one really "got" me and my books. She was a dream to work with, she loved my writing, and she contracted my projects and championed my work. I was so sad when she left :(

I approached my newly assigned editor professionally and with high hopes. Unfortunately, she and I didn't mesh. Over the next 3 years, she wasn't interested in anything I submitted to her. Finally, I moved on. Now, I have a new editor and a new publishing house, and I'm excited about the possibilties. What did I learn from this experience? The same things that are echoed in the RWR article: Always be professional, and don't give up. There are so many editors out there. Sometimes your new editor won't be a good match for you. That's just a sign that you're meant to sell that work to someone else. Don't be discouraged (believe me, I know it's tough not to be). Keep writing, keep going to conferences, keep honing your craft. You will sell again. You will!

Write on, friends :)

Friday Fun Facts: Favorite Lines!

Well, despite school starting up again, I did manage to squeeze a little writing in this week. Here are some favorite sections:

"He grinned, and that was even worse, the last piece to the puzzle that lit up his face and made his green eyes dance with flirtation. I wonder if I felt this way back then? If I just walked into a room or saw him on the beach and melted? Probably. Ten years didn’t change that much. It wasn’t a century, just a slim ol’ decade tucked into her back pocket. Barely any time at all."

"At nineteen, he thought he’d been caught in something silly and young. Thought it might last, thought it might grow, and if by chance it didn’t, thought he’d say goodbye without regrets. Took him ten years to realize that something like that, and someone like Waverly, came along once in a lifetime. Now, older and grayer, he had no intention of screwing things up again, of letting someone else tell him what he could and couldn’t do or have or want."

*****

And here are some things I realized I need to adjust/change/delete when I go back through the story:

1. I need to make the heroine's inner fear more apparent in the small ways she acts from the start.

2. I need to hide the antagonist from the hero earlier in the story.

3. I need to give the antoagonist a few likable qualities instead of being purely bad.

4. I need to make the hero more flawed (even as my inner self wants him to be perfect! from the start!)

And so the writing journey continues...

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: The Persevering Heart

Hi folks! Because I am busy preparing lesson plans (and soon, grading first papers) AND trying to do a little writing on the side, today's post will consist of a fantastic picture/saying I found on Facebook the other day. I love it because I think it's true in so many elements of life: personal, professional, in terms of relationships and writing and moving on and new adventures and dealing with loss etc...

"No matter what happened yesterday, life’s relevance does not diminish. The persevering heart always gives it a new beginning." — Dodinsky

Monday Mentionables: A New Year Begins!

"There's no word in the language I revere more than 'teacher.' My heart sings when a kid refers to me as his teacher, and it always has. I've honored myself and the entire family of man by becoming a teacher." (Pat Conroy)

Ayayayay....where did the summer go? yes, I know: I was remiss last week in blogging, but I'm back now only to say it's the first day of school for me which means my whole lazy summer schedule has vanished for yet another year :(

Don't get me wrong; I love teaching. I also love that there's an ending to every year and a chance for rejuvenation before a whole new group of students arrives. And yes, I know many people out there will tell me to stop grumbling, because teachers have it so easy with summers off. To them I say, then you should be a teacher! Kidding aside, while it's certainly nice to have time off, I don't get paid during the summer, which means hubby and I either need to work side jobs  to pay the bills or save and budget very carefully from September to June so that we have enough in our bank account to cover them. We don't, as some people think, get paid for sitting home and doing nothing.

Not like we're doing "nothing," by the way. More likely, if teachers aren't working a second (or third) job during the summer, we're spending our own time and money learning something we can use in school, taking classes, reading, visiting potential field trip sites, buying supplies for our classroom (out of our own money), or meeting with others to plan for a new year.

I'd also remind non-teachers that unlike many other professions, it is not a 9-5 job that we leave behind once we shut the classroom door for the day. After 7 or 8 hours of teaching, we either stay late to plan lessons, grade work, or prepare for the next day, or we load up our bags with work to do at home (sometimes both). This doesn't include the emotional ways we bring our work home with us either, contacting students with questions or concerns, emailing support staff for ways to reach troubled students, lying awake at night trying to think of a way to deal with the student who acts out because he's desperate for attention or failing every subject or thinking of commiting suicide or so panicked about getting into college he has anxiety attacks every week or...

Sigh.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to school starting up again, heartache and hard work and all. However, this also means I have less time to write, a definite downside, but it also means I will take full advantage of those slivers of time I do have.

By the way, we had a great time in Boston. One place we visited was the Sam Adams Brewery, and our tour guide, a fantastically energetic young guy who knew every detail of the place and all the beers, was none other than........a high school history teacher working a summer job!

Monday Mentionables: I Need Some Boston Recommendations

"In Boston, they ask, how much does he know? In New York, how much is he worth? In Philadelphia, who were his parents?" (Mark Twain)

A couple of notes for writers this morning: All Romance Ebooks is seeking submissions from any "Passionate Cooks" out there for a cookbook they plan to release this fall. If you've got a great recipe(and at least one book listed for sale on their website), here's a way to get your name out there in front of readers AND cooks! More information here.

Savvy Authors has a whole bunch of pitch opportunities coming up in the next couple of weeks - here's the webpage for more details about who's looking for what.

And in a separate note, hubby and I will be spending a few days in Boston...any recommendations for "must-do" things while we're there? So far the only definites are the Sam Adams Brewery (for him) and the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat on the way there (for me)/ We've been to the city before, and are seeing friends so really only have one day downtown, but if you've been there (or live there!) and have some good recommendations, give a holler!

Friday Fun Facts: Studying the Craft

"Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret." (Matthew Arnold)

So I'm currently taking an online course titled "What Does Nora Roberts Know That You Don't?" offered through Lowcountry RWA. Like attending conferences, classes, workshops, and the like are great ways to jump start your writing. This one's only 3 weeks long, but our instructor has packed a lot in already. As a published author, I've already heard and used some of the techniques she's talking about. But there's ALWAYS something new to learn and apply. With a background in Hollywood and movie production, she's got a lot to say about story structure, archetypal characters every story needs, and scenes every story arc must have.

I can see where it's easy to get bogged down, though, especially if you do a lot of reading or studying. Different 'great' teachers have different techniques they swear by, and a lot of the newer/unpublished writers on the class loop with me are getting confused. I think the best thing is to read over as much writing instruction as you can and filter out what works for you. Continue to learn, of course, but don't spend so much time weaving this strategy with that one that you confuse yourself only to end up writing and rewriting the first few chapters over and over again.

Turn off your inner editor and let yourself go. Come back later and edit that page, using the strategies you've learned in moderation, and one at a time. Speaking of getting words down on the page, I've been tinkering with a sequal project to Beacon of Love, which is coming out next year. This one is tentatively titled Inferno of Love and gives one of my favorite minor characters from the first book his own story. This is also the first time I've written a sequel to any of my books, and I'm finding it a lot of fun! It's neat to go back to a town and characters I already know and see what they've been up to in the three years since the other book finished...

Writers' Wednesday: New Cover Art!

“Just give me a thousand words and you may make your own pictures.” (Erica Goros)

Ooh, look! I just got my cover from Audio Lark for Summer's Song, which releases in audio book format September 12th!

What I love about this cover is that it suggests a few important things about the story: that it's set in a small rural town, that it's about coming home (walking the road back home) and that it's set in the middle of a hot & steamy summer. Love the bare legs :) Also, I think the idea that it's a sweet romance comes across as well. It's interesting to take a look at the ebook/print book cover that Samhain did (over there on the right sidebar) - so different, right?? I love different artists' interpretations of a story!

Friday Fun facts: A Book Signing!

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket."  (Chinese Proverb)
Just one Friday Fun Fact to share today: fellow romance author Liz Matis and I will be selling & signing books and chatting with anyone who stops by at the Kingston Farmer's Market in Kingston, NY tomorrow, from 12-2! Now, where else can you pick up organic produce AND an autographed copy of a great beach read??

If you're in the area, we'd love to see you there!

Writers' Wednesday: Writing What You Know, Loving What You Know

“‎The simple truth is that you can understand a town. You can know and love and hate it. You can blame it, resent it, and nothing changes. In the end, you're just another part of it.” (Brenna Yovanoff)

One of the oldest pieces of writing advice is "Write what you know." It makes sense, to a certain degree: you can certainly write with passion as well as expertise on subjects you know well. But writing also requires imagination, creativity, and in some cases good research, which is why many authors can write compelling stories about places they've never been or worlds that have never actually existed.

I, however, have always preferred writing what I know. That's why I write contemporary romance novels like The Promise of Paradise or Summer's Song. I like using settings and characters based on people and places I can at least realistically imagine. Over the weekend, I went back to my childhood hometown to visit my mom but also to hear Amy Dickinson speak about her best-selling memoir, The Mighty Queens of Freeville. She's the writer of the column "Ask Amy", and she grew up in a very small town about 20 miles from mine. Her book in large part is about the comforts of home, and the details about her memories growing up in a small town reminded me why I love my own.

I love my hometown because after Amy's talk, I walked out of the Methodist Church where the talk had been held onto the village green, which sits in the center of town, surrounded on one side by three churches and the elementary school, and the other side by Main Street and the library and the firehouse. I love my hometown because I walked to my mom's house from there, about a mile straight down Main Street. I passed the bench where I kissed my first boyfriend. I passed the house where I broke up with my second one. I passed the bank where I opened my first checking account, the clothing store where you can buy anything from gloves to overalls to a bathing suit, the minister's house, the Town Hall where I used to go with my mom when she voted. I traced the route I used to run as a member of the junior high track team, and the super-wide street where I practiced 3-point turns with my dad before my driver's test. I passed the elementary school playground where I played tag at 8 during recess and years later drank winecoolers at 21 after midnight.

It is the kind of town Norman Rockwell would have painted, where the houses built in the late 1800s are considered "not that old," where hitching posts still stand along the street, where the volunteer fire dept. floods the green for ice skating in the winter, where every summer Wednesday people bring their lawn chairs to listen to the free concerts played in the village bandstand.

I feel most like myself in this town, like I can peel away all the layers of life that have happened since I graduated from high school and went on to college and work and marriage and life in other places. I love coming home, and it's no wonder I write so many stories about the power of small towns. I DO write what I know, and I love what I know.

Friday Fun Facts: I'm a Quote Junkie

"If music be the food of love, play on."

I'll admit it: I'm a nerd when it comes to literature. I love it. I loved reading from the time I was about 4, and that never changed through high school, college, or graduate school. In fact, the only part I didn't really love about majoring in English Lit were the papers I had to write analyzing authors. I enjoyed reading them; I loved drinking in the language and somewhere I still have a little book where I would write down favorite quotes I came across. I didn't really enjoyed tearing them apart.

That was a driving force in my becoming a writer, I think: I dreamed of crafting language that would make other people pause the way I did so many times. (That's always been a sticking point for me, actually: I'm much more interested in playing with language and phrases than hammering out a page-turning plot. It's something I'm continually working on improving).

In researching the YA novel I'm working on right now, I read through Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (and enjoyed it - told you I was a nerd). Here are some of my favorite quotes from that play, and I'm trying to figure out how to work them into my story. I'll keep you posted!

"Oh Time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t' untie!"

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."

"Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better."

Writers' Wednesday: It's Time for First Chapters!

So today I'm the lucky featured author over at D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapters" blog (great promo opp for you fellow writers out there!). You'll have a chance to read the first chapters of my 5 contemporary romance novels, and if you haven't read them before, maybe today will be a nice little whetting of your appetite :)

In addition, though, all you have to do is post a comment on any of the chapters, and you'll be entered for a chance to win a $10.00 Amazon gift certificate! Hope to see you over there :)