So Here's The Problem...

"When they asked me what I liked best, I'll say it was you."
~from "City of Angels"


I realized yesterday, as I was helping my sister prepare the big meal, what my one work, One Night in Boston, is missing (doesnt' inspiration strike at the oddest times?) It's the fact that my hero and heroine don't officially meet until almost half-way through the story. I gave them both a lot of conflict up to that point, as well as some flashbacks to remind them about each other...but they don't see each other face to face until chapter 10 of 24.

Hmm...that may be a problem.

I mean, I know there are other romances where the H/H don't meet right away, but then how much *real* romanctic tension is driving the story forward? I know my story doesn't have to be totally formulaic, esp. if I want to write mainstream rather than for a Harlequin category or something, but still. When I compared it to the other work I'm actively preparing for publication, the latter one is filled with sexual tension almost without my trying, because on every damn page the H/H are running into each other, from chapter 1.

So while the realization depressed me a little, because I like ONIB and think it has a decent storyline, I think at least if I go back and tackle another revision, I might have a good idea of what needs to be fixed.

Sigh. Oh, well. Live--and write--and learn.

Giving Thanks

“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.”
-- Alice Walker

I have decided that if I ever write an article about character development, it will focus on using animals to develop character traits and storylines. My writing friend Marianne does it all the time. And when I needed an extra chapter in Paradise, USA, showing the developing friendship and attraction between my hero and heroine, I tossed in (well, not literally, of course. That would bring PETA running) a kitten. A very small, very pathetic kitten caught in a downpour. And guess what happened? It turned my hero into a mush--which my heroine liked--and it turned my heroine into an assistant in the rescue--which my hero liked.

And I mean, when you think about it, you can tell a lot about someone from how they treat animals. Right?

I’ll be away for Thanksgiving but back on Friday. Here’s wishing all of you a wonderful holiday to spend with family and friends--don’t forget to tell them how much they mean to you!

I am thankful, of course, for every single person who has supported me on my writing journey. That’s all of you out there!

Making Progress

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart. And try to love the questions themselves.”

~Rainer Maria Rilke

I love Rilke’s poetry, by the way. If you’ve never read any of it, you should.

Yesterday I got a response from another e-publisher who is interested in One Night in Boston. The editor of Samhain Publishing wrote, “I read your manuscript with great interest. You have an engaging voice and a knack for writing interesting characters. I was immediately curious about the story and look forward to reading more. If the complete manuscript is still available, I am interested in reading it. Though I am enthusiastic about the project, I am certain that you understand that this request does not guarantee that I will offer you a contract…”

Well, yeah. I’ve certainly been through that whole full-manuscript-request before, so…

Still, it's nice to get a full-ms. request. Samhain does seem to be one of the more reputable e-publishers, with quite a list of authors and genres; they also publish in print, though I’m not sure how they decide which ones they’ll do. Anyway, it’s a nice compliment and always good to explore options, so I’ll send that off later today.

Happy writing!

Thinking in Pictures

“The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.” ~ Jacques Benigne Bossuel


Yesterday I put together my suggestions for my cover for Paradise, USA and sent them to my editor at Virtual Tales. And I have to admit, it took longer than I thought it would. It was actually a challenge, because of course we writers have these ideas in our heads of what the setting of our stories look like, and we do our best to bring them to life over the course of a story.

But think about trying to convey the world and the mood and the key elements and the most important scene of a full-length novel in a couple of paragraphs. Tough!

My writing friend, Marianne, makes collages of her works, which I’m beginning to think is a really good idea, because then you have in front of you the physical makeup of your characters and your setting. Hmm. Maybe I’ll give that a try next time around.

In the meantime, I’ll confess that I really can’t wait to see what the artist comes up with for my cover. I’ll share it with you as soon as I see it!

Happy Friday

“It seems right now that all I‘ve ever done in my life is making my way here to you.”
~ from The Bridges of Madison County

Did anyone else enjoy this book (or the movie version, with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep)?

I’m going to break with what I think is majority opinion and confess that it didn’t really do anything for me. I mean, okay, I did appreciate the romance, because I’m a sucker for a love story, especially one that lasts a lifetime, but I don’t remember swooning over it the way some of my friends did.

Maybe it’s because I read it when I was in my early 20s and couldn’t really identify with a middle-aged hero and heroine. I also think something in the idea of a woman cheating on her husband, for some guy who just showed up on her doorstep one dusty afternoon, left me cold too.

Actually, now that I think about it, there was really little fallout about the fact that the story is centered on an extra-marital affair. Wonder what that says about readers’ concepts of love/romance/commitment…Hmm…

Anyway, I’m spending this weekend working on a final (hopefully, but who knows what that word really means, in the world of writing) revision of the first 15 chapters of Paradise, USA, which I’m going to have to send off to Virtual Tales soon. I’m also supposed to be thinking of ideas for my cover, which is exciting but a little unnerving too.

I suppose I should fit some time in to visit the grocery store as well, before everything that might appear on a Thanksgiving table is completely sold out.

See you Monday!

Self-Promotion

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."
~ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

As soon as I found this quote, I knew it was a no-brainer for today's blog. I started playing the piano when I was eight years old, and my greatest idol in the world of classical music has always been Mozart. His music is spell-binding, brilliant in its construction and purely pleasant to listen to…even more so when you discover that he wrote so much of it before the age of 25. Pure genius.

Well, as any published or aspiring author knows, promotion is the key to success. A few years ago, a writing friend of mine told me to start “getting my name out there.” I sort of said yes, yes, and then returned to my writing without worrying too much about it.

But here’s the thing I realized after awhile: really, it doesn’t matter how good a writer you are. Even if you manage to get yourself published, there are a thousand other writers out there who have also managed to get themselves published…and you’re all competing for readers and name recognition.

So how do you get it?

What do you think is the best way for an author to get his or her name in the public eye? What’s caught your attention, in the past? Reviews? TV spots? Oprah’s recommendation? A friend’s recommendation? Have you ever discovered a new author by browsing in the bookstore or the library or even online?

I know there are a few of you out there visiting for a quick read. Drop me a post and share your thoughts on this one!

Working Hard

“If I may so express it, I was steeped in Dora. I was not merely over head and ears in love with her, but I was saturated through and through. Enough love might have been wrung out of me, metaphorically speaking, to drown anybody in; and yet there would have remained enough within me, and all over me, to pervade my entire existence.”
(from David Copperfield)


‘Tis the holiday season (how many shopping days left?!), and Virtual Tales is offering a promotion for anyone who buys one of their gift certificates: a free serial copy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (check out the link on the right). What a great timeless holiday story, right?

So I’m working hard on finishing up one WIP that was recently requested for full ms. review by Red Lily Press, an e-publisher that is opening up as of December. Since I didn’t have a lot of luck with agents (I have a few partials out for review but it’s been a while), I’ve decided to explore the world of e-publishing a little more closely. While I still admit to having this feeling that e-pubbing is not “real” publishing, I suppose if I want to see my work in print I should set aside my pride a little. I also like to think that building my writing resume is a good thing, and that can include some online credits, as long as I’m careful which avenues I look into. Just from the searching I’ve done so far, it looks as though there are many, many e-pubbing sites, some obviously more professional-looking than others.

So we’ll see. Meanwhile, check out that Dickens promotion! And hey, if you put a Virtual Tales gift certificate on your holiday list, it will come in handy when my novel Paradise, USA comes out sometime next year!

I Do?

“You told me it was a matter of life and death.”
“A woman always is.”
(“Ever After”)

Did you know that a man’s life expectancy actually goes up after he gets married…while a woman’s goes down? Makes you wonder what, exactly, each gives to and gets from the relationship, hmm?

I was in the store yesterday and heard the woman beside me talking about her husband who had just passed away. They’d been married 57 years. Wow! Some people, of course, see marriage to one person as a primary goal in life--not only a goal, but an achievement of tall order, considering the instant gratification and throw-away society in which we live. Others see it as an institution in which to raise a family. Still others see it as a trap, a mistake, a commitment that takes more than it gives, in the end.

How many people today do you think like to see a romance novel that ends with a marriage, or at least the promise of a marriage? How many just want to see the hero and heroine together at the end? Has marriage, as a convention, become passé in the genre? Is it the author’s job to sell a happy marriage, and all its benefits, to her reader? Or is a commitment in the here-and-now enough to satisfy most readers?

Well, in other news…I signed and mailed my contract with Virtual Tales today. Exciting! Now it’s back to one final read-through of the first 15 chapters before I start working with my editor. Looking forward to each new step…

Good Friends and Loving Faces

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


Went back to my hometown and visited my oldest and dearest friend from grade school this weekend (she's on the right)...



Also spent some time working with the local animal rescue people, who have been trying to save 250 cats that were rescued from abhorrent living conditions back on Labor Day. The cats are now (finally, after a lawsuit in which the woman who had hoarded the cats was told that no, she did not have the right to get them all back) looking for good homes...so if you know (or if you are) anyone who lives anywhere close to central NY, consider finding a home for one of these cherubs. How can you resist this face? Check out their site if you're interested...

Happy Veterans' Day, and Happy Weekend

"Without affection and kindly feeling life can hold no joys."
(Cicero)

It's true.

I'm going out of town for the weekend to visit family and a dear friend from grade school that I haven't seen in a couple of years. Should be nice.

Then it's back to the computer, back to the thrilling and overwhelming experience of editing my newly accepted story and starting to work on marketing too.

Scary!

Have a good one - and make sure to thank a veteran today. So much sacrifice over the years, and many times we forget how much we benefit from it...

Overwhelmed

"Swoon. I'll catch you."
(from The English Patient)

Ah...I loved this movie, too, even though Ralph Fiennes does spend the majority of it wrapped up in bandages. Who wouldn't want to hear those words? Who wouldn't want to know that someone is standing right beside you, right behind you, with arms outstretched? I'll say it again: ah...

OK, having celebrated for 24 hours or so, after hearing that my story Paradise, USA, was accepted for online publication at Virtual Tales, I have officially moved into the overwhelmed stage.

Maybe this is due to the 5 emails I received today from the people at VT, diving right into the gritty details of contracts and editors and cover art and marketing and...

What's the famous saying? Be careful what you wish for? Because if publication is the goal, it really and truly does leave you less time for the actual writing part. Hmm...

Not that I'm complaining, but it's just interesting to see how much of a business it really is.

Good News

"I love that you get cold when it's seventy degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get that little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes, and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night...I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
(from "When Harry Met Sally")

Ah...who doesn't swoon over the moment when Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan finally figure out they are meant to be together?? This remains one of my favorite movies; I'm not sure why. I know some of the lines are funny enough to make me laugh out loud, and I know I love the actors and actresses who star in it. Maybe it's just that it's so real. The characters don't fall in love at first sight. They even date (and marry) other people. But they finally discover that there is someone out there you are meant to be with, someone who is your friend and your lover and the perfect match for you despite all your flaws and despite all his. I love it.

In other news, I got word today from Virtual Tales that they are going to publish my short novel, Paradise USA (it's been through 2 or 3 other titles), in serial format.

Exciting!

So it's not print. And it's not exactly full-length ebook either. But hey, it's publication nonetheless, and at least a first step to getting my name out there.

So I guess I have some work to do...starting with that 8 page contract I now have to read!

Quotable Quotes

"I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary."
From "Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood


I love quotes. I really do. I love when an author just knocks me over with a combination of words that takes my breath away. So in honor of all the terrific quotes out there, especially the ones from romantic books and movies that make us as readers or viewers want to swoon, I'm going to feature some of my favorites over the next few days. Feel free to jump in, of course, and share some of yours.

Today's is one I first discovered when I was in college, and for a long time I thought it was the epitome of what I wanted love to be: silent and yet all-powerful and all-consuming. Breath-taking (maybe even literally) without saying a word. When I look at this quote today, though, I tend to see the one-sidedness of it. Like, why does the speaker need to be unnoticed? Isn't the best kind of love worthy and recognized in both partners?

Hmm...

Cheers to the First-time Sellers

It's that time agian, when Romance Writers Report comes out and I check to see who's made a first-time sale and how long it took them...

Oh goody, we have some real people this month!

Only one claims she's been "seriously pursuing publication" for 18 months, which is a blink in the book world. I mean, it takes that long for some people to query an agent, get a request for a partial, get a request for a full, and sign a contract. And she sold her first book in that same amount of time?

Only one who sold her first manuscript (Really? The very first one you ever wrote? Come on...that first one is usually written just so it can be buried in the bottom drawer or perhaps hold open a door at some point).

We have one who's been writing for 2 years, one for 5 years, and one for 7 years. OK, I'll give the latter two some props for perseverance.

Ah! My favorite of the bunch: a women who's been writing for 10 years and reports that her first sale "was one of 15 full-length manuscripts she completed before selling."

15?! Wow. Just imagine how much you could learn from creating that many plotlines, that many characters, that many love scenes, and that many black moments. Makes my 4 seem almost paltry.

Cheers to the first-time sellers!

How Old Are You, Really?

I read an interesting column the other day (of course now, I can't remember where) about the age of romance novel heroines. Most seem to be floating somewhere in the 26-34 age range. Years ago, I entered a contest and had a judge tell me my 22-yer old heroine was too young. Hmm. I've always kept that in the back of my mind, as if the general romance readership isn't really interested in a heroine that couldn't possibly have any baggage at the tender age of 22.

But this column talked about the other end of the spectrum - the 40+ romance novel heroine. We know they're out there, of course. But how popular are they, and will they become a bigger trend? What about 50+ heroines? I mean, OK, I'm still in my early 30's, but I'd like to think that romance, that the need for love and affection and good old-fashioned sex, continues well past middle age. Here's the thing: will readers identify with a heroine who's at that age and stage in her life? Or, as this columnist suggested, do most women readers identify with a younger heroine because that's the age they still think of themselves? Are we all, somehow, and somewhere deep inside, hovering around 16 or 25 or whenever it is that we remember really and truly falling in love for the first time?

In many ways, I still feel 24 (I have always looked back at that age as the moment when everything in my life was most perfect and unencumbered). So when I'm 50, will I still feel half my age? Maybe not physically, but emotionally and psychologically?

More important, will I want to read about heroines who are my own age? Or will I prefer to identify with a twenty-something heroine because she reminds me of who I once was, and who I sometimes still think I am, inside?

What do you think?

Joke for the Day

What do you call someone who can't stop buying romance novels?

A heroine addict!

(Cute, right?)

I Hate Electronic Submissions

This is not entirely true. Normally, I like them. I prefer them. They're much more convenient, and usually elicit a faster response, than queries sent by snail mail.

But today I had one bite me in the...well, you know where.

About 5 weeks ago, I submitted a query and partial to Virtual Tales. They were interested. So I followed up and sent the first 1/3 of my ms. (they consider works-in-progress).

Today I got an email from the editor with the subject line "Problem With Your Manuscript." Not a good sign.

Basically, when I attached and sent my ms., I somehow attached the wrong file, the file that includes the rough ending of the story and not the polished first 1/3. Terrific.

The only redeeming thing is that they asked me to send a "fixed" version, giving me a second chance. That's awfully nice of them. Because I feel like a complete numbskull who doesn't really deserve one.

Oh! It is so easy to slip up when you point and click and hit a button or two. Yikes...

Linking

I attended a conference at a local college recently, and one of the speakers addressed Educational Technology. He referred to everyone over 20 as "technology immigrants" and everyone under 20 as "technology natives." His point was that today's kids grow up so immersed in the world of all things electronic, that compared to them, we adults are dinosaurs, doing the best we can just to keep up. Or not.

I consider myself somewhat technologically literate, but when it comes to HTML, I'm really limited. Creating a webpage was a big deal for me, and I relied on a template anyway, so I didn't have to do too much. But I really love when people's blogs have links, so this is my first time trying to figure out how to insert them.

My writing friend, Marianne, for example, is a whiz at HTML. She makes it look easy.

Me, I'm just going to start with the small stuff. Like a link to my two favorite shows on TV these days, Prison Break and The Nine.

And maybe a link to another great blog, by agent Kristin Nelson.

Anyone in the romance-writing field should definitely know about The Passionate Pen, too. Terrific, up-to-date info on agents and publishers.

Whew! I'm worn out now. Did it work? I'll have to check and see. Maybe I'll try some more linking tomorrow...

Prison Break

So you know I love this show, right? I mean, when you are actually made to cheer for the bad guys, you know someone has done a fantastic job creating those characters. How is it possible that I actually feel sorry for T-Bag, the evilest of them all, who's killed and wounded countless other people on his break from jail? How is it that he still manages to show a human side of himself that aches for companionship and love?

Good stuff, I'm telling you.

In other news, here's another cheer out to agent Pam Hopkins, who writes some of the nicer rejection letters. Though she turned down my latest project, she wrote, "I regret having to tell you that I've decided to pass on this. However, please keep in mind that there is a great deal of merit in your work, and part of my decision was based on my client list being so full at this time."

Everyone knows that a no is still a no, but I've certainly received less kind words from far more agents. And last time she turned me down, she wrote, "While I liked many elements of this project, ultimately I was just not as enthusiastic about this story as I would need to be to pursue taking it on for representation."

So she doesn't have one single form letter for all her rejections, apparently. All things considered, this is one tactful, kind agent who's worth querying.

The Nine

So is anyone else watching this new TV show?

The Nine

I've really become addicted - great characters, great suspense, and, usually, good writing. But this past week's episode got me thinking.

One character, Egan Foote (great name, right?), has decided to leave his wife, since he's going through this whole mid-life awakening and is dissatisfied with his middle-of-the-road existence. He says to his wife, "When was the last time you were happy? Really, truly happy with your life?"

And she can't answer him.

I had 3 thoughts at that moment. The first was, wow, how sad. The second was, wow, I'm really lucky that I don't feel that way. I'm pretty much happy all the time. And the third was this sort of realization about why a lot of people read romance.

Is it because they're not happy with their own lives? Is it because they want to escape to a place where everyone does in fact live happily ever after? Is it because while they're reading they can forget about their own dissatisfaction?

Maybe not everyone feels that way. But I'm feeling like a lot of people do pick up a romance for those reasons. To remember the rush of falling in love. To know that somewhere, even in a fantasy world, problems can be solved and obstacles can be overcome.

I watched the movie "The Break-up" with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston last weekend. Anyone seen it? Well, I won't give away the ending, but let's just say that though it is billed as a romantic comedy, the ending let me down.

I think, for me, keeping in mind that there are heavy hearts out there is a good reminder of how to shape a romance. Sure, we have to give our characters conflict and baggage. But at the end of it all, we also have to show the redeeming power of love. Right?