April 30, 2006

Readers are wonderful

My revised manuscript is due in New York on Tuesday, but I took time out yesterday to attend a very special event — the sixth annual Romance Readers’ Luncheon, sponsored by my home chapter, Rose City Romance Writers.

Each year the event gets bigger and better, and I’m not just saying that because I organized the first two. Imagine how wonderful it is to be in a room filled with readers and writers, not a one of whom will ask “So, when are you going to write a real book?” or “Oh, you read those kinds of books.” Over 150 women (and two brave men!) mixing and mingling, raising money for Oregon Literacy, brought together by their mutual love of stories with a happy ending. There are no strangers here, only fellow fans of (insert favorite author’s name here) you haven’t met yet. More than a dozen authors from the Northwest were present to sign, schmooze, and have fun.

Keynote speaker and fellow Avon author Elizabeth Boyle had everyone in the room laughing and crying, and sometimes they were tears of laughter. It was great to see so many familiar faces — readers who come to the luncheon year after year, for the chance sit at a table and chat with their favorite author over lunch, have their books autographed, and perhaps win something. No one goes home empty-handed from this event — there are goodie bags for all, door prizes, raffle baskets, and the centerpiece at each table is a gift basket from the author, which is won by somebody at her table. (This year, it was the fourth person to the left.)

RWA recognizes a Bookseller of the Year, and we are lucky that last year’s bookseller is our very own Marcy, the romance expert at the Borders in Beaverton. In addition to taking very good care of local authors and hand-selling our books, Marcy leads a readers group composed of devoted, loyal (and exacting!) fans of romance. They attend our signings and special events, and they certainly attend our readers’ luncheon. Among RCRW authors, we refer to them as Marcy’s store and Marcy’s gals, respectively. Yesterday I got choked up when I realized those same gals had claimed all the seats at my table.

Sometimes it feels like I live from one deadline to the next, losing touch with the outside world. There are friends from work who’ve been following my writing career since the days I was struggling to complete my first manuscript. I see little of them now since they transferred to another location or have left the company entirely. But yesterday there they were, with aunt and grandma and cousin in tow, ready with a smile and a hug.

Validation from readers is not the only reason I write books. A fan wanting their picture taken with me and the poster of my cover doesn’t help pay the mortgage. Neither does someone telling me they were enjoying my book so much they stayed up far too late to finish it and skipped mass. (Actually, that one made me feel quite guilty.) But when it’s two o’clock in the morning and the manuscript is almost due, and I’ve just noticed a critical flaw in the logic of why a character does something very important in the story, and my forehead has red marks in the shape of the keys (from banging my head on the keyboard) … that positive feedback sure helps to ease the sting.

April 29, 2006

Seeing the sites

I’ve been in New York the past week. I come here at least once a year, usually twice. Everytime I try to find at least something new to see or do (which isn’t hard). This time I went into Trump Towers and walked across the Brooklyn Bride. I’ll also be attending the Tribeca Film Festival. But, I also like to visit some familiar places….there are two restaurants I love that I eat at everytime I hear. I always go to Central Park. And, of course I love to visit my editors and agents.

Seeing the sites got me to thinking about my home town. There’s a few places I visited as a child (the state captial, a couple of historical houses etc) that I haven’t gone to in years and I’ve been thinking that I should revisit those places. It also made me think of other places I’ve visited and would like to see again.

If you had a chance, where would you like to go again? Or, anyplace new that you’re dying to visit??? Inquiring minds want to know

April 28, 2006

Moving On

Everything changes. For some of you, that’s good news. “You mean, I don’t have to stay at this job/in this relationship/in this house forever?”

For me, change has always been difficult. I don’t do well with even small upheavals, not to mention the major ones. But they keep coming anyway.

The biggest change for me this week is that I moved. I’m sure my move was no worse than any of yours have been. Nothing really important got broken. The movers were sort of not really on time, they only took seven or eight smoke breaks, and they only dropped about 4 or 5 things.

And yet when all the stuff had gone from one place to the next, I didn’t feel any better. Was moving really the right decision? Was everything better here than in the last house? There I had a place for everything. In this new house, I don’t know where anything goes, and when I put something somewhere I question if that’s the best place for it.

Wondering, questioning, doubting…they’re all part of changing.

And that’s how writing is as well. I have to start a new book on Monday. Well, actually, I’ve started it, but my editor didn’t like it. She liked the premise, but she didn’t like the hero or the heroine or the whole way the book was going.

So this is the hard part about being a writer. You have to decide how to fix the problems. If a book is like a home, then my job is to decide whether I need to simply move a lamp, rearrange the whole room, or pick up and just move on.

If the book isn’t working, how much do I unpack before I call the movers, buy boxes, and start over? Most of us try pretty hard to make something work before we commit to a change that drastic. I’m no exception. When my editor says she likes the premise, that makes me think my house—the structure of it—is secure. It’s the inside that needs some work. So I start thinking about my hero and heroine, their needs, their motivations, what makes them tick.

And that’s where posts like Robyn’s on Archetypes and Margo’s on Plots come in handy. It’s not that I can pick an archetype and pick a plot and write a book. But archetypes, plots, tried-and-true conflicts are a starting place that help fill the blank page, much like a new coat of paint brightens the white walls of a room.

So Monday, in my new house, I start working on my sort of new book. It’s exciting; it’s scary; it’s not my favorite thing. And I just keep wishing I still lived in my old house or was writing one of my books that’s already done. The boxes and the questions are long gone. Everything is comfortable and you know where everything goes.

So, console me. I don’t really have it so bad, do I? What’s a few boxes and little chaos? Tell me the biggest change in your life or the story of your worst move. How’d you deal with it? Was it exciting? Terrifying? Did it all work out okay in the end?

April 27, 2006

Where and When: Does it matter?

I was contacted yesterday by an aspiring writer friend who wanted to ask a few questions and chat a bit about her current work in progress. For purposes of this blog entry, we’ll call her “M.” (Very Mission Impossibl-ish, hmmm? And this blog entry will self destruct in…) Anyway, I have always believed that “M” is a wonderful writer, and there is little doubt in my mind that she will be published someday. However, while she has been writing straight historical fiction for some time, she is rather new to the world of romance writing and is a bit clueless when it comes to all the ins and outs of the industry. Of course, I am always glad to offer what advice I can, as I was once in the same place she is and know how much it can mean to have someone with a bit more experience lend a helping hand.

So, we were chatting away blithely when she brought up the fact that her current project is one she is really excited about, and I have to agree that it sounds like she has the makings for a really good book. The storyline is intriguing, she has some wonderful ideas for plot points, her hero and heroine are engaging. And, by the way, it’s set during the Civil War.

That’s when I slammed on my mental brakes. Yipes! If you have been writing historical romance for any length of time, you more than likely have heard the stories. Civil War romances aren’t selling right now, so publishers aren’t buying. The same goes for Westerns and Colonial-set romances. Pirate romances and Indian romances are few and far between. As someone who can remember the days when the settings for historical romances were as numerous as stars in the sky, I suddenly realize how much I miss that variety of choice, and how daunting it must be for aspiring authors struggling to break out who write in those time periods.

And I know this lack of choice must be equally as frustrating for readers. Of course, Regencies are topping lists all over the place, so someone must be buying them. And as someone who writes them, I know how lucky I am that my chosen time period just happens to be popular right now. But what if I wrote Renaissance-set historicals instead? Would I be published right now? Or would I still be among the numerous aspiring authors out there still waiting for The Call?

Which led me to a quandary. What do I tell “M?” Do I advise her to change her time period? Tell her how difficult it might be to get a Civil War era romance published? Do I have the right to discourage her in such a way? It truly sounds as if this is the book of her heart, and I hate to be the one to rain fire and brimstone down on her happiness, but I do want to be honest. Do I urge her to go ahead and write it, all the while assuring her that sooner or later the market is bound to change again?

I suppose I’m one of those optimists that likes to believe that things always turn around. What is popular today won’t necessarily sell tomorrow, and “M’s” Civil War romance might soon be coming to a shelf near you. The Jaunty Quills are giving a workshop at RWA National this summer titled “What Historical Slump?” And while I believe with all my heart that historicals are NOT dead, as so many have claimed, I do believe that there IS room for more variety.

So what do you all think? As an author or aspiring author, do you let the market dicate what and how you write? Or like me, do you just happen to be lucky enough to love writing what is currently selling? And what about you readers? Are you discouraged by the lack of variety in settings and time periods in historical romance? Or are you enjoying the Regency trend? Would you encourage your favorite author or authors to write the book of their heart, no matter what the time period? And would you buy it if she did?

April 26, 2006

I’ll Take Archetypes for 200, Alex

We’ve talked about when we started reading and first and last lines and types of plots and conflict, but what about characters. What type of characters do you love? I think so often readers and writers focus so much on the hero, since that is who we must fall in love with, that the poor heroine is left to the side. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a good book with a great hero and a not so great heroine. Frankly, some of them have been down right annoying which makes me scratch my head and wonder why the hero falls in love with her to begin with. But heroes are important, I get that.

It concerned me at some point in the middle of my journey to publication that I was such a heroine driven writer because I seemed to be on my own in that endeavor. Most of the writers I heard talk focused on the hero. I worked long and hard on my hero, with just as much focus as my heroine, but for me the idea, the core of the story always begins with her. So then my job is to craft the perfect hero for her.

I generally start out with an archetypal system when I’m first doing my prewriting and character work and while my characters develop beyond these stereotypes, the names they represent really capture the essence of their character. So if you’re not familiar with the Tami Cowden, et. al. system, then check here for a brief description of each archetype so you can identify your favorites. For heroes. For heroines .

Let’s start with the heroines since that’s where I begin. I think that we have a limited number of characters in our writing arsenal. I don’t mean that in a negative sense, but I think that characters are a big part of our voice and there are certain types that we’ll gravitate to over and over again. It’s what feels natural. It doesn’t mean we’re writing the same characters or same book again and again. In any case I tend to gravitate towards the Spunky Kid, the Librarian, and the Nurturer. I have written a Boss before and a Free Spirit, but I find these more challenging. The Spunky Kid is my favorite and most widely used (Claudia and Amelia were both Spunky Kids) and I think it’s because I find a lot of myself in that archetype. I love how resilient she is and how supportive she is of her friends and family. The Librarian is another favorite, this works really well for historicals, in particular, because you have the repressed, proper and intelligent woman who causes all kinds of trouble for her hero. I’m working with a Librarian right now in Willow’s book.

With heroes I know that the alpha male is hugely popular and I’m certainly not against that, but I don’t really naturally do the dark, brooding alpha guy. With the archetypes, I stick pretty close to the Warrior, the Swashbuckler, the Charmer, and the Professor. I’ve tried to do a Bad Boy a few times and I think I can do naughty, but I’m not sure I’ve ever quite captured the quintessential bad boy. The Warrior, I think is the ultimate hero. He’s the guy who fights for everyone else, the ultimate protector, the one who would walk through fire for the heroine. This guy is full of *sigh* creating potential. I did a Professor with Colin in A Study in Scandal and I loved him. He’s different from the average romantic hero, but I think in the end readers have really enjoyed him. But he’s an intellectual and kind of nerdy, in a sexy way, of course.

The options are really limitless with these archetypes and any other system you choose to use. This just happens to be my favorite. It’s a great jumping off point for creating characters. So what types of characters do you like? Feel free to use your own labeling system if you’re not familiar with this archetypal one.

April 25, 2006

What Plots Work For You?

Woman in peril is one of my favorites. It’s one of the best ways to show an alpha male at his best, and let a feisty heroine go to it. I vaguely remember a Linda Howard book from years ago in which the h&h were stuck in a jungle – escaping from something, maybe? I can’t remember the details, but the couple had a few rudimentary supplies and each one had a lot of attitude. The scenario was fabulous for developing conflict and character. (See? I can’t even remember the details, but something about this book stuck with me!)

Fairy Tale stories are great, too. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella … Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel … well, sort of. Marriage of Convenience is another popular scenario, but it took years before I could ever appreciate it. On first glance, I couldn’t figure how this kind of story could possibly be interesting. The h&h are together, right? So what more is there to say? (heh, heh, heh). MOC lends itself to a historical setting, but I’ve even seen some contemp authors do it well. The film Green Card is a pretty good example of this, although I can’t think of a book offhand.

Mistaken identity or identity subterfuge? Both of these can work well, although every author I know is very careful to avoid the “big misunderstanding” plot, knowing that readers think it’s stupid and contrived. The one I’ve never been able to get into is the masquerade. For some reason, that just doesn’t sit well with me. Of course there are exceptions to this. Wasn’t one of Victoria Alexander’s recent books about a woman who has one glorious night with a hot prince, then tries to keep her identity secret when they meet up later? That worked for me :-).

My personal preference is a story that has a lot of plot as well as romance. I’m not much for ‘situational’ books – in which the characters agonize over each other and their predicaments. I like action and suspense. I enjoy a heroine who moves the plot with her strong personality, and doesn’t just get dragged along by the hero. I like an alpha hero, although if he’s too alpha, I’ll probably want the heroine to ditch him :-).

OK, I’ve only scratched the surface here. What kinds of plots do you all like?

April 24, 2006

When did you become a reader?

Was it late one night with a book you couldn’t put down? Or on a long car ride, or stretched out on a towel at the beach? Do you remember the moment, or can you only remember always being enamored of the written word?

I spent a lot of time on long car rides as a kid, and from my earliest can remember my brightly colored plastic tapes (Sinbad!), plastic player and the accompanying texts that allowed me to read along as I listened. But even before that it was Dr. Doolittle. I had a Dr. Doolittle book, and would beg my Dad to read it to me before bed nearly every night. “Read about the Push Me Pull You, Dad!” And bless him, he always did.

The Push Me Pull You was a two headed llama (two fronts, no rear), and Dr. Doolittle could talk to it (Yes, I know you know this — save the snark for the llama!). I always wanted a Push Me Pull You of my very own. It delights me every time I open a good book and discover a different kind of Push Me Pull You within. One that reminds me of that youthful excitement, that discovery of other worlds trapped between the pages of a book, begging for me to release them by reading. The same can be said of writing books, but that’s a different post.

When did you become a reader? Or what was your earliest book memory?

April 23, 2006

Last but not least…

A discussion about intriguing first lines wouldn’t be complete without also discussing last lines.

From the earliest writing classes, we are taught that the first line hooks the reader into that book, and the last line sells the reader on the next book.

I think I’ve struggled with last lines as much or more than the opening lines. With the first book I sold, the opening line remained unchanged through every draft except the final one. I did keep that line, it just moved further down the page. The last line, however, changed more often than I changed my shoes. I confess, the title influenced the last change I made to it. When The Matchmaking Earl was dubbed What An Earl Wants, it seemed appropriate to make the last line: Sinclair threw back his head and laughed. Heedless of the crowd, he pulled Quincy into his embrace. He had everything he wanted, right here in his arms.

The last line should make the reader sigh, smile, laugh, cry, sniffle — and even better is any combination of the above. It should make the reader glad she spent the time and money to buy and read the book when there are so many other things clamoring for her attention and disposable income. It should make the reader impatient for the author’s next book. Often, it echoes back to something else in the story, demonstrates a character’s growth, and should leave the reader confident that these two characters really will live happily ever after together. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one sentence.

For my second book, I was in panic mode for much of the writing. It was the first time I’d written under a contracted deadline — a legally binding document that put a time limit on my creativity. I struggled with the last chapter of Kiss From A Rogue, *thisclose* to the happy-ever-after ending, but that perfect last sentence eluded me. Dates on a calendar are closer than they appear. The clock was ticking away. But I refused to panic any further, and sternly told my Girls Downstairs to just come up with something, anything. You can’t fix a blank page. Apparently the threats worked.

Tony wrapped his arm around her, drawing her close. “If either of you come anywhere near her, I’ll cut your tongues out. No one else is ever going to kiss her again. Except me.” As Tony gave her another long, deep kiss, Sylvia decided that was just fine with her.

Sometimes the last line is also a parting bit of wisdom, hard won by the characters during the course of their growth arc. Take this one from Courting Claudia, by Robyn DeHart: “We have a real marriage, Derrick. We have real love. We know that. Who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Most of my favorite last lines make me smile. But humor taken out of context often loses its punch, so I’ll add a little more than just the last line from one of my favorite contemporary novels, Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie. (Remember that Fred is the bassett hound whose “butt failed to achieve lift-off” when he tried to jump up on the sofa.) Alex has just proposed to Nina. “Fred’s going to be in our wedding?” she said, and he relaxed against her and laughed, and she held him close, completely sure of him and his love. Then he rolled to pin her under him and drive her out of her mind again. “I see Fred as ringbearer,” Alex said in her ear. And six weeks later, so did everybody else.

Now it’s back to my revisions, which are due a week from tomorrow. I think the last line is just fine, but the rest of the last chapter isn’t. Yet.

April 22, 2006

Intriguing First Lines

When I go to pick out a book to read, it’s usually the cover and the title that first attracts me. After I flip it over (or open the book) and read the cover copy, I turn to the first page.

Authors are told that you need to hook the reader from the very first line. I’m not sure that’s true, but they do need to hook me from at least the first few paragraphs.

Still, that first line does hold the power to capture (or not capture) my interest.

So, I’m going to give you some examples of some first lines that I like…and perhaps you’ll then share some from either your own work or from one of your favorite authors.

Here goes:

I’ll start with my own two books:

“Want to get laid?”
When She Was Bad Cindy Kirk Avon July 2007

“Everyone knows the best one night stands happen at weddings.”
When She Was Good Cindy Kirk Avon April 2008

“I’ve heard it said that in order to find her prince, a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs. Start calling me Wart Lips.” Reality TV Bites Shane Bolks Avon July 2007

Dear Lord, how did I mange to get myself into this? A Kiss Before Dawn Kimberly Logan Avon

“Blast that girl!” A Kiss in the Dark Kimberly Logan Avon

“Well,” Lady Oxley huffed, “I suppose there are worse things than having some cit’s daughter marry into your family, but for the life of me I can’t think of it.” This Rake Of Mine Elizabeth Boyle Avon 2005

On Sunday, something washed up on shore. The Lightkeeper Susan Wiggs Mira 1997

What do you think? First line important or not? Have any examples you’d care to share???

April 21, 2006

Things you might not know about authors (and thanks for the memories, too)

This is my last day as a Jaunty. *sniffle* So I guess I should move my hat so it’s no longer at a jaunty angle and take off my “I’m Jaunty” t-shirt (after a week it needs a wash anyway). I’ve had a lot of fun this week, so thanks for all your comments and thanks to the Jaunties for letting me come play in their yard.

Today, I want to talk about things you may not know about authors. So here we go:

We aren’t all rich. — Shocking, I know. This career is strange in that there is always the potential for huge success, but for the majority of us will probably settle into the middle class income range. And even that will take a while. But, of course, people will assume we are swimming in money. But… we aren’t. Sorry to disappoint.

We have lives outside of writing (at least some of us do) — At least, I’ve heard that rumor. Sometimes it feels like it can’t be true. But most authors do have families and spouses and even jobs outside of writing. We have heartaches and successes that the public will never see. No one’s life is perfect, even those big untouchable authors who seem to be living a dream.

We are scared of you — Readers, this one’s for you. We’re scared that you might hate our book. We’re scared you’ll love our book. We’re scared you’ll compare us to someone else who you like more. We’re scared you’ll compare our book to a book we wrote ten years ago and you liked more. We’re scared you won’t buy our book this time. We’re scared you’ll go out and buy our book in droves and change the course of our lives forever (and that #1 will no longer apply). So when you meet us and you’re nervous… don’t forget that we’re nervous, too.

We are scared of ourselves — I’m always terrified I’ll never think of another good idea again. It doesn’t matter that I have a notebook of scribbled ideas that contains enough information for twenty more books if I ever need it. I’m also afraid that when I love something I wrote that it only means I killed my internal editor. And that my publisher or my readers will figure out I’m a total fraud. This is a profession where luck and timing play a big part, even after “The Call” and I’m always trying to read the tea leaves to figure out where I stand. I’m telling you, writers in general are a mass of quivering terror.

We love and hate our work in just about equal measure — We all have Joan Wilder moments (you know, in Romancing the Stone when she’s just finished her book in the very beginning and she’s crying and she says, “Damn, I’m good!”) and we all have moments where we wonder if they’d just take the advance back and let us back out of the deal. My husband says he can track my progress by both my appearance and demeanor at the dinner table. If I set my head on the table (probably getting my uncombed hair in the spaghetti) and say, “I suck, this book sucks, I’m a hack”, he knows I’m halfway through. In fact, he’ll even say, “In three days you’ll be happy again. You’re right on schedule.”

We pretend to be extroverts when we meet you, but most of us are introverts — At least I am. I’m sure there must be extroverted authors. I don’t know any, but they have to exist (just like unicorns and lepricons). For me, though, I write alone in a room with two cats and no adult conversation for 8 hours a day, five days a week. My biggest outing is usually when I run household errands each Friday (that’s where I’m going next). So you put me in a hotel with 2000+ readers and writers, I put on my game face, but inside I’m exhausted. So please, for the love of everything holy, if you see me at one of these things… come say hi.

We love the Happily Ever After, too. — I love writing the Happily Ever After. I think it’s the best job in the world. There is nothing better than putting two characters through hell and then giving them love at the end. No broken hearts or broken lives or broken families. Just Happily Ever After.

The End.