June 12, 2007

Some Background on Writing A Warrior’s Taking

A Warrior’s Taking will be out two weeks from today! So I thought I’d share some of the challenges of writing this book. It was fun, coming up with a magical scenario that would work, but definitely a challenge.

The first thing I did was develop a background for the hero, Brogan MacLochlainn. Since he comes from a long line of sorcerers on the British Isles, I decided to give him a Celtic background. (When Sarah meets him, she assumes he’s Scottish because of his brogue). Brogan’s ancestors were the mentors of the druids, so I gave them a name that would be reminiscent of druid – Druzai.

Obviously, Druzai sorcerers have not dominated Britain throughout history, so I had to give them a reason for leaving the isles. I decided on a scenario that would also give me the villain for A Warrior’s Taking (and for the sequel, Temptation of the Warrior – April, ’08).

In my made-up, magical world, a thousand years before Brogan, a powerful Druzai sorceress named Eilinora instigated misunderstandings and wars between the Celtic tribes. Her intention was to cause so much destruction and bloodshed that she would be able to enslave the tribes and destroy the Druzai, making her queen of all that remained. Instead, Druzai warriors overcame her, captured her, and imprisoned her in a place that was to keep her secure forever.

At the same time, the Druzai elders decided that the only way to be sure there would never be another sorcerer who would try to dominate the non-magical people of the earth (the Tuath) was to remain completely separate. Hence, they created their own homeland, an isle called Coruain, hidden from the Tuath. They made laws forbidding interaction between Druzai and Tuath, and Brogan firmly believed in these laws.

Also in the Druzai’s distant past, two powerful talismans (called the blood-stones) were concealed so that sorcerers like Eilinora would not be able to use them. They were hidden away in time in the Tuath world, and no one but a powerful seer would be able to locate them.

So that’s the backdrop of Brogan’s world. Brogan’s cousin, Ana, is the seer who locates the blood stones, and Brogan must leave Coruain and travel to 1813 England to find one of them. His brother, Merrick, will go to 1825 England to find his. This is the external motivation (see Robyn’s post yesterday) of both books. The two brothers are also forbidden to use any magic while they’re in the Tuath world – because Eilinora might be able to find them through their sorcery. It adds conflict and complications, since both brothers would find their task a good deal easier if only they could use magic.

Next time, I’ll let you in on Sarah’s backstory.

June 11, 2007

The End of the Harry Potter Saga?

It’s hard to believe it’s finally so close at hand, but one of the summer’s biggest book releases is just around the corner. Just like thousands of other fans, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the day, and I am prepared to line up first thing in the morning on the date of release in order to get my hands on it as soon as possible. And (Gasp!) it’s not a romance.

That’s right. It’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and I am waiting with bated breath along with other Potterphiles to find out just how JK Rowling wraps things up in this final book of the series. For months now, some rather alarming rumors have been doing the rounds, and I have to say that I’m not quite sure what to expect. Apparently a response from Ms. Rowling to a question from one of her fans regarding Harry’s future has led people to believe that she may actually kill Harry off. Is this true? False? Only time will tell. But this much is known: Rowling has admitted that two major characters she didn’t originally intend to kill off will bite the dust! But which two? She’s not saying, and the speculation is running rampant.

Now, as a romance author, my hackles are rising at the thought of such an unhappy ending for the Potter crew. I don’t want to believe that Rowling would kill off one of the main trio of Harry/Ron/Hermione. But at the same time, I can see the reasoning behind such a decision. Talk about adding some major drama! And with the fifth movie due out in theaters around the same time as the book, sales are bound to go through the roof on this one.

So, calling all you Potter fans out there! What do you think? Who will live and who will die? And while you’re at it, what would you like to see happen in this last book? I’m sorry to all the fans of the Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny pairings, but I’m rooting for an eventual Harry/Hermione hook-up. I’d love to see an epilogue several years down the road where we find out that Harry and Hermione ended up together. And I am holding out hope that both Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy end up playing for the good guys. (You know, I’ve always had a thing for those bad boys. )

Please, feel free to share your thoughts and opinions. Speculating is half the fun! And don’t forget to scroll down and check out Robyn’s post on writing and GMC.

Robyn gets down and dirty with GMC

There have been three key lessons I’ve learned the hard way along the rocky road to becoming published. I knew about GMC early in my writing career, but it took me a while to figure out how to apply it. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes and prevent some of your own.

Lesson 1: “Good writing is not accidental.”

I heard that sentence at the 2000 RWA conference in Washington DC – it was in a self-editing workshop taught by Stephanie Bond and that one little sentence revolutionized my writing career. I’ll say it again – “good writing is not accidental.” This is fairly self-explanatory, but for me it was huge. This was freeing and at the same time filled me with an almost overwhelming sense of responsibility. On one hand this meant that I was the only one responsible for what went on in my book, what words were on the page, who the characters were, etc. The more I thought about this responsibility, the more free I became. This freedom enabled me to be specific and deliberate in my approach to writing. I am now able to write with confidence (well, that might be a stretch) and know that by the time it is all said and done, I’ll have a finished book that is tight and cohesive with a memorable romance. It’s a slightly renegade way to think of writing since many writers like to perceive writing as more of a mythical experience – characters taking over and plots that come in dreams – and writing can be mythical sometimes, but never for a moment believe that you are not the one in control.

Lesson 2: Romance readers want the romance

This is fairly self-explanatory, but think about it for a moment because we often forget. Think about your favorite books – your keepers – why are they on your keeper shelf? For those of you who’ve heard editors speak about books they’ve bought, what is it that we hear them say? Sure they talk about that elusive sparkling voice and high-concepts and hooks, but time and again, it comes down to the romance. It is the same for all genres – mystery readers read for the who-dun-it, horror readers read for the scare. It’s the beauty of genre fiction, readers know what to expect when they pull a book off the shelf. So if this is true, if we as readers want romance, why then is it so difficult to write books centered around the romance? Let me share my experience with this.

It took me 2 years to write my first book. Granted, that wasn’t 2 years of consistent writing – I was busy. Okay, so I wasn’t any busier then than I am now, but I was ignorant, unorganized, unfocused and frankly unmotivated. Writing wasn’t a top priority. But that’s another workshop. So upon completion of that first book after 2 years of hard work, I sat down to read my masterpiece – which I was certain would be the next best seller and would make everyone ask, “Amanda Quick who?” – only to discover that while my characters and plot were indeed interesting, there was something missing. The romance.

So what do you have if your romance novel is lacking in romance? Well, technically you could have a variety of things – what I ended up with was episodic scenes that were connected by weak transitions and a relationship that didn’t make sense so that my happy ending was neither satisfying nor deserved. While layering is often necessary during revisions, you shouldn’t have to layer in the important stuff. Meaning if you’re writing a mystery – you shouldn’t have to layer in the mystery. Same goes for the romance. The romance is the main stuff – it’s the whole point – all the other elements should arise from and center around the romance.

Lesson 3: GMC has to pertain to your story

I know, DUH!, but somehow I missed this point. I’d heard all about giving your character’s goals before I started my first manuscript, so I gave everyone in the book goals. The problem – those goals had absolutely NOTHING to do with the plot or anything else in the book. I just tacked on random goals b/c I knew my character’s had to have goals. Once I realized that the goals needed to pertinent to the story, it all made a lot more sense.

I share those lessons only to let you know where I come from and how I view the writing process. You might be wondering what the first two lessons have with GMC, well, nothing. But they do have a lot to do with making GMC work to your benefit. There are three steps to take to make GMC work for you.

1. Develop GMC for your hero and heroine
2. Identify your hero and heroine’s character arcs (which in turn reveals your theme)
3. Build scenes that arise from the GMC and the character arcs

Let’s jump onto the basics of GMC and maybe this will make more sense as we progress.

You could sum up GMC in the following sentence: Character wants (blank) because (blank) but (blank). The blanks are the three elements – the G, the M, and the C.

Goal – what do they want?

Goals need to be three things: concrete, specific and they must require action in order to be obtained. This is external that we’re talking about as internal goals tend to be more subconscious. They too require action to obtain them, but action of a different sort and while they are specific, they are typically abstract rather than concrete, i.e., the feeling of acceptance, love, trust, etc. As you’ll see from my later examples I tend to have two levels of external GMC – what I call Big GMC and Story GMC. The Big GMC is the stuff that exists before the book starts, the Story GMC is the GMC that is developed because of some action within the story.

Motivation – why do they want it?

I’ve always referred to this element as being the reader’s secret decoder ring. What I mean by this is this is the element you use in order to effectively communicate with the reader – this is the tool they’ll use in order to understand why our characters do and say the crazy things they do. If a character is properly motivated, a reader will follow them anywhere no matter how improbable it may be. In the GMC equation, the motivation is why the character wants their specific goal – why they want to open that bookstore or why they need to trust others.

Conflict – why can’t they have it?

This is the easiest of the three to understand, but it seems to be the most difficult to get right. Conflict in it’s simplest form is opposition. That’s it. But we really struggle with this and maybe it’s because most of us are women and we tend to be the peacemakers in our families – I’m not really certain why, but conflict can be a real struggle. But it doesn’t have to be. Conflict, in the GMC equation is simply why they can’t have the goal they’re seeking. External conflicts can be acts of God, other characters, or the character gets in their own way.

Internal GMC is made of the same elements as external GMC, but it is different. As I mentioned before, this is the stuff that’s subconscious, meaning your character more than likely isn’t aware of it. The most important thing to note about internal GMC is that it exists with or without the hero/heroine or the events of the book. That is to say, if you took your heroine outside of your book and put her on a deserted island, she would still have the same “issues” that she has in the book. What makes the internal GMC important to the plot of the story, in particular the romance, is that she’s finally met someone that might be worth sacrificing some things for, might be worth changing for. It’s the hero and their interaction that challenges the heroine to deal with her “issues” and eventually grow and change to resolve her internal GMC. The only time this might not be the case is in reunion stories where the character’s have a romantic past that might have led to said “issues.”

I’m going to give examples from Courting Claudia.

Claudia’s GMC

Internal
goal – to trust her own instincts
motivation – because it will give her freedom
conflict – but she’s blinded by her loyalty to others and trusts their opinions instead of her own

External
goal – (big)to get Richard to marry her/(story)quit her job as an illustrator
motivation – (big)because he’s her father’s choice for her/(story)if her father finds out, he’ll never forgive her
conflict – (big)Richard seems uninterested/(story)but Derrick keeps persuading her to continue

Derrick’s GMC

Internal
goal – to trust someone else implicitly
motivation – because it would allow him to have a complete life (the magical internal motivation)
conflict – but he won’t allow anyone to get close enough

External
goal – (big)increase readership for his paper among the aristocracy/(story)prevent Claudia from quitting her position
motivation – (big)because it will allow him to have a platform for more political topics/(story)her illustrations have increased aristocratic purchases
conflict – (big)because the one thing that’s increased his readership among the aristocracy is threatening to quit/(story)he has to court her to keep her employed

How to use elements to build character arc and discover your book’s theme – we all have heard about character arcs and until I figured out this combination, I tried everything under the sun to come up with clear character arcs. I knew that in order to have good fiction, in particular good romance, I needed to have my characters change and grow. This meant they needed to move from Point A to Point B in order to achieve their happy ending. Here’s what I discovered.

Using your character’s internal GMC you can find the two ingredients needed for character arcs: error in thinking and the lesson.

Error in thinking – The Error in Thinking is something the character believes about themselves or the world that is: wrong and keeping them from achieving their internal GMC and thus happiness (love). This is Point A in the character arc.

The Lesson is the life lesson your character must learn before they can overcome the crisis in the big black moment. And, yep, the lesson is often related to the character’s error in thinking. It’s also worth noting that often in romances the hero and heroine’s lessons (and therefore their character arcs) are mirror images of each other. For example, if your heroine needs to learn that it’s okay to lighten up a bit and lose control every once in a while, then your heroes lesson might be that he can still enjoy life even if he’s a bit more responsible. This is Point B in the character arc.

Claudia’s character arc

Error in thinking – her natural instincts are incorrect; she can’t trust herself

Lesson – learn the difference between her real feelings and the feelings she puts on because they seem more appropriate

So basically Claudia’s growth was about learning to trust herself, so she starts the book believing her own instincts are not to be trusted and through the book begins to question that until she finally accepts that there is a difference between her honest emotions and those she feigns because they feel more appropriate.

Derrick’s character arc

Error in thinking – he can’t trust anyone but himself

Lesson – that trusting another will complete his life

Derrick’s growth is about learning to trust another person. So he starts only trusting himself and is forced to trust others, particularly Claudia all throughout the book. This isn’t new to romance novels, it’s a rather traditional conflict for characters because it’s a very common issue we face in our real lives.

This example clearly shows two character arcs mirroring each other. Both characters in this book need to learn to trust – it’s different kinds of trust, but all trust. Guess what the theme of this book is? That’s right trust. This has been the easiest way I’ve found of identifying a book’s theme. You identify the emotional issue at the crux of your book through your character’s internal GMC and you find your theme.

So why does any of this matter? Many of you just sit and write until you figure out where your story is going. This isn’t necessarily wrong, but knowing some things ahead of time will save you a lot of time and frustration. Besides that knowing this stuff helps you know your characters so well that you’re then able to create three-dimensional characters. Once you have them, you can use them to brainstorm scene ideas so that you build your story around your character’s GMC. (A quick note for those of you who can’t make themselves plot ahead of time, you can use this method in revisions as well, fill plot holes, strengthen existing scenes, refocus scenes, etc.) Let’s look at some of those very scenes that I brainstormed that made it into the book.

External GMC – brainstorm scenes

The opening scene demonstrates Claudia’s story and big GMC – we learn that she’s at Derrick’s office to quit because she feels working there is being disloyal to her father, although she tells Derrick it’s because she will soon marry. But Derrick convinces her to stay on at the job.

Internal GMC – brainstorm scenes

Even after Claudia and Derrick are compromised, Claudia believes her father is right and Derrick is the wrong man for her. So starts their marriage feeling as if she’s done something terribly wrong and now her father will never forgive her and her new husband will always resent her. NOTE: internal conflict scenes are often more like sequels or bits of internal monologue within action scenes. This is until you get to the big, black moment, when the internal conflict is brought to a head and the character must face their worst fear.

Error in thinking – brainstorm scenes

There are so many scenes throughout the book that illustrate Claudia’s belief that her instincts are wrong, that other people’s opinions (primarily that of her father) are the one’s that are correct and proper. One in particular is when her father tells her she should do whatever possible to get Richard to marry her – even seduce her. Inside, Claudia feels this is wrong and even feels it is wrong that her father should suggest such a thing, but is trapped in her error in thinking that she believes he has her best interest at heart and agrees to do so.

Lesson – brainstorm scenes

There is a scene fairly far into the book where Claudia finally sees the truth about her fathers. She’s spent her entire life trying to please him and it dawns on her that she’ll never do that because he holds her to impossible standards. She realizes that her instincts are not always wrong and that she can take a risk and trust herself and in doing so she chooses herself over her father.

So that’s essentially it. Having a strong grasp of GMC is the foundation to using this method. But once you have that, you simply take those three steps.

• Develop GMC for your hero and heroine
• Identify your hero and heroine’s character arcs (which in turn reveals your theme)
• Build scenes that arise from the GMC and the character arcs

June 10, 2007

Sopranos or NBA Finals?

OK, which one will be the most watched? My guess is the basketball game. You can always TiVo The Sopranos or watch it On Demand. But watching the basketball game after all is said and done? No Way.

June 9, 2007

Paris Hilton

While I’m definitely not a Paris Hilton fan, I’ve found myself following her latest escapade….in jail…out of jail…back in jail again. The whole drama got me to wondring what I would do if “I” were Paris Hilton.

Of course, this is all pure speculation….but if I were her I’d:

1) Get involved in the Hilton corporation. I’d have gotten my degree while working in the industry, then when I was through school (an MBA would be nice) I’d become a productive member of the Hilton management team.

This would be a particularly good fit for me since I love to travel and I like staying in nice hotels.

2) Rank does have its privileges so I would make sure I had plenty of vacation time to go to fun events like benefits and fashion shows. After all, being a Hilton carries a certain social responsibility.

3) No matter how nice the family estate, I’d have a place of my own.

4) I’d keep her chihauhau, Tinkerbell. I used to have a chihauhau growing up and really liked her. I’m sure I’d like this dog too.

4) I would find a cause I believed in–like literacy–and use my spare time, talents and money to further that cause and make the world a better place. I firmly believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility

5) I would find good friends, people I could trust and hold onto them for dear life. I imagine this would be hard. When you have that much money and fame, how could you “really” know if someone’s friendship was true?

6) I would stay away from drugs and casual sex.

What about you? Ever wonder what you’d do (or not do) if you were Paris Hilton?

June 8, 2007

65 Years

Sometimes people ask me where I get my ideas. I don’t have to think too hard about where my inspiration for writing about long-lasting, loving relationships comes from. This fall, my grandparents will have been married for 65 years.

65 years! Can you believe that? In a few weeks my family as well as my extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins will travel from all parts of the country and gather in Atlanta. While there, we’ll celebrate my cousin’s wedding and my grandparent’s 65th wedding anniversary.

I am looking forward to my cousin’s wedding, but I am also excited about seeing my grandparents. They’re 88 years old now, and I worry that there may not be many more occasions where we’ll be able to meet and talk.

My grandmother is a natural storyteller. I love listening to her talk about growing up and the challenges young women faced in the 1930s and 1940s. She was truly one of the early feminists. She wanted to be a doctor and stuck it out in medical school, even though she faced unfair treatment from male professors who didn’t think women should be doctors.

My grandfather is a veteran of World War II. He was in the Navy and was stationed in Florida for part of his tour of duty.

The best thing about seeing my grandparents together is watching how they take care of each other. My grandpa helps my grandma zip up the back of her dress. My grandmother helps my grandfather navigate the highway (yes, they still drive! My grandfather drove from Michigan to Texas for my wedding last year). These two people obviously still love one another, even after all these years.

So who’s your inspiration for a lasting love affair?

June 7, 2007

From Sarah Granger

By popular demand, Sarah Granger - the heroine of A Warrior’s Taking (June 26th!) - is going to give you her side of things. She does not know that Brogan MacLochlainn has taken a pseudonym for his foray into 19th Century England, and knows him as Brendan Locke, a Scotsman …

If you missed the hero’s narrative, look to the left at “Recent Posts” and click on “From Brogan MacLochlainn.”

I despise having to go into Craggleton to sell my pies, but with my employer dead, there is no money coming in to support us at Ravenfield. Poor Captain Barstow died in battle against Napoleon last year - in 1812 - and left his two little daughters in my care. I intend to see that Margaret and Jane do not suffer a childhood as bleak and vile as mine was.

I, too, was orphaned young, but I had none of the resources of the Barstow girls. Until just recently, we thought Margaret and Jane would have Ravenfield, downtrodden as it was. But no. The estate – the house and the castle ruins – are entailed. A distant cousin has inherited everything and is now guardian to the girls. He is Mr. Ridley, an old bachelor with no interest in the children. When he arrives at Ravenfield, he will either turn us out of the house, or send the girls away to a nasty, old school where the rooms are drafty, the discipline harsh, and the food unhealthy. If only I had a home where I could take them, I would get them away from Ravenfield and Mr. Ridley straight away.

But alas, no man in Craggleton would take me – the daughter of the town drunkard – to wife. Not that I’d want any of the good-for-nothings who tormented me during my early years. And my chances of attracting Squire John Crowell are next to nothing. I’d admired him from afar for years … at least, until Brendan Locke came into our lives.

Sometimes, Mr. Locke seems like a stranger in a strange land, a barbarian warrior dressed in conventional clothes. His thick, Scottish brogue is intriguing, as are his brawny shoulders and deep blue eyes. I don’t believe I’ve ever met such an extraordinary man – except for Squire Crowell, of course. I am fairly certain our handsome stranger did not just wash up on our beach after a sailing accident (as he told us) … not a man as competent, as agile, and as … well, as virile as Brendan Locke. But he gives no good explanation for his arrival on our shore, nor does he explain how the well-tailored clothes in his satchel managed to escape damage from the seawater. There is something very different … and quite attractive … about the rugged Scot.

Once he recovered from his near-drowning, Mr. Locke became fascinated with our castle ruins, and was determined to explore every stone and crevice. He was also quite enamored of my baking. If I didn’t know better, I would say Mr. Locke had never before tasted a fruit pie, or ever had strawberry jam on bread. In fact, he often acts as though his own name is unfamiliar to him, too.

He told us outright that he plans to return home soon, to his estate far away, and with every day that passes, I find myself anticipating the day of his departure with dread. No man – not even Squire Crowell – has ever affected me as he does. The girls begged him to escort us to Mrs. Pruitt’s soiree at week’s end, but he made no promises. It seemed quite clear that he would leave us within a day or two, but when he kissed me, nothing was clear. His touch made my knees go weak and softened my brain to mush. I hardly knew how to react, and I feared I was falling in love with him, with a man who had responsibilities in Scotland … a man who could not stay.

Nor could I leave the girls. I was their only family now, even though I was merely their nurse and governess. I could not abandon them if Mr. Ridley evicted them from the house, or sent them away to school.

I knew I could not rely upon Brendan to help us. His kisses and the attraction that raged between us changed nothing. I needed to see to the girls, and he still had to leave Ravenfield. But before his departure, he had the gall to say that he intended to see me paired with a man who would make me a suitable husband …

To read an excerpt from this book, go to MargoMaguire.com and click on the “coming soon” link.

June 6, 2007

Robyn’s adventures in Niagara Falls

The Professor and I went to Niagara Falls this past week (with my in-laws) and while it was only a 1-day excursion, it was so awesome. I’d never been there before and admittedly I was a tad nervous considering I’m scared of heights and water. We ended up doing a Grey-line tour, then staying the night on the Canadian side of the border (my first time in Canada). Before we crossed the border for our tour though we stopped for lunch at the restaurant on Goat Island, which gave us a panoramic view of the Canadian falls. Then we could walk down to this observation area to see the Canadian falls up close as well as a nice view of the American falls. It was just spectacular.

The tour was fantastic. We did the Behind the Falls tour, went up in the tower for an aerial view of both falls, got lots of interesting historical facts (like the people who tempt fate to ride down the falls in barrels), then we saw the falls light up at night (didn’t get great pictures of this part). Needless to say I took tons of pictures, but here are some highlights.

This is a view of the Canadian falls from Goat Island

Close up of the bottom of the American falls from Goat Island

The Professor on the Behind the Falls tour…that white stuff at the end of the tunnel was all water - really loud water.

Right after the Behind the Falls tour we walked out onto a viewing platform with great close up shots of the Canadian falls

Another view of the Canadian falls

American falls

Aerial view from the tower of the Canadian falls.

Aerial view of the American falls.

June 5, 2007

Quillerview with Colleen Gleason - redux

Jaunty P. Quills here with a special report! Release day is upon us for Colleen Gleason’s newest book, RISES THE NIGHT! Rises the Night is the second book in Colleen’s Gardella Legacy series. Buffy meets Regency England!

Colleen was with us for the release of The Rest Falls Away (Jan 2007), the first book in the series, and I have been in constant Quill contact to get her to introduce special vampire fighting quills for Victoria to use. Poisoned quills, danger, watch out!

To read an excerpt of Rises the Night, click here! But watch for spoilers for The Rest Falls Away, if you haven’t read it yet!

Colleen, can you give us a synopsis of the second book?

In the second installment, vampire slayer Victoria Gardella Grantworth has to deal with some of the decisions she made in The Rest Falls Away. She grows up a bit, and actually has to take a breather from fighting vampires because she begins to get a little berserker and goes off on a porcu–er, I mean a human. She also comes face to face with a creature that she stakes, but it won’t die! Eeek!

Then a famous author, John Polidori, makes an appearance and the next thing Victoria knows is she has to protect him from the vampires who are after him because of the “tell-all” story he wrote called “The Vampyre.” She also meets the infamous poet and lover Lord Byron, and she is betrayed by one of her most trusted allies, whom you would have met if you’d read the first book, my dear Jaunty. (pssst….you can still read Rises the Night if you haven’t read The Rest Falls Away…it stands on its own…but you’d like it more if you read the first one first!)

This book is a little darker than The Rest Falls Away–but pretty much everyone who’s read both of them liked this one even better than the first. (Particularly the Sebastian fans. And that’s all I’m saying on that!)

We learn a bit more about the Venators, and even visit their “headquarters”–for lack of a better term–and meet some other Venators, including a red-headed brawny Scot.

Let’s see…what else…Sebastian and Victoria have a duel, with the winner being able to ask a boon from the other. Max considers taking up gardening. Oh, and Victoria manages to annoy an Italian countess.

Any new places Victoria and co. visit?

She heads to Venice, and then to Rome, where the final showdown takes place.

Has Victoria decided to come back to me?

Nope. Sorry. She’s saving herself for–oops. I can’t tell you that! It would spoil everything!
(That is, unless you’re harboring vampires…then she’ll be there in a trice.)

Harbor vampires, eh? *puts on fake teeth* Ok, well what is your favorite way to eat stake (strikethrough), I mean steak? I myself prefer acorns, tubers and shrubs, but for you, my lady, I’ll cook anything.

I like it medium rare on the grill with a nice garlic/oil crust. And it must be filet, okay? No t-bones or porterhouses for me, darling.

What’s your favorite board game?

Balderdash (not really a board game, but you get the picture) and Trivial Pursuit. Yes, I’m lame.

Paisley or polka dots?

Paisley, most definitely. I’m a girl of the ’80s, and Prince made paisley a permanent love for me.

Thanks so much to the Jauntys for having me back–oh, er, and you too Jaunty. You’re so….delightfully cuddly.

*Jaunty swoons*

I’ll be happy to answer questions in the comments!

June 4, 2007

The Wonderful Thing About Readers…

… is that readers are wonderful things. Oh wait, that’s Tiggers. Sorry. But it actually does apply to readers, so we’ll just let it stand.

Seriously, though, I’ve been thinking a lot about readers lately. It’s such a strange thing for me, as an author, to fathom that I even have readers. And then there’s the business of trying to entice them (with promotional efforts) and keep them (by writing what I hope are the best books I can). But the funny thing is that we rarely really get to see them, meet them or interact with them, online or in person.

There are exceptions. I mean, I have met several of those of you who are regulars here and we talk on the blog or on the Avon Authors board. Which is ridiculously awesome, since I feel like a rock star when you all like my books. Still, it’s hard to remember that there are more than a couple hundred of you out there.

And then I started hanging out on MySpace. It has been a truly eye opening experience for me. See, at MySpace, I needed to search out some readers to friend. So I did searches, looked through reading groups, searched for my name and names of authors I’ve been compared to. But I didn’t just auto friend everyone! I actually looked and each and every page for every single person I invited to my site. And wow, what an amazing group of people romance readers are. There were pages for people who I never would have guessed were romance readers until I scanned down to their Book listings and saw their favorites there! There were people of all races, ages and interests who said romance was their place to be. There were people who skirted around or apologized for their preference and there were those who proclaimed it loud and proud.

It has been a marvelous experience, just seeing all of the people out there who prefer a romance when they pick up a book (or at least seek them out from time to time). So thank you to ALL you romance readers who spend your hard earned money and time on our books. Thanks especially if you take the time out to email or write and tell us what you thought. It means a great deal. Double and triple thanks to you guys who come here every day and comment and interact with us. It makes this lonely job all the sweeter.