August 24, 2007

My name is…

Have you ever had a pet peeve that sort of comes and goes. Like sometimes it bothers you more than others? Mine is my name. My first name may not be mine, but my last name IS and it seems like people can’t spell it right about 75% of the time.

PetersEn

Now don’t get me wrong, I get that the ‘en’ isn’t as common a spelling as the ‘on’, so I guess it doesn’t bother me so much when someone doesn’t know me or doesn’t have any reference to how to spell the name. They guess and they guess ‘on’. But what bothers me is when they either ASK me how to spell it or they have reference material to go by and they STILL don’t spell it right.

PetersEn

For example, at the car dealership where we get our car serviced. I went in there the other day and they couldn’t find us in the system. They swore up and down that we’ve never been in the system. Now I remember, quite plainly, spelling our last name out the last time I was there (because I ALWAYS spell our last name out). But I still said, “try s-o-n”. Sure enough it was there.

PetersEn!!!!!

It happens all the time in writing-related life, as well and there it bothers me more since spelling my name incorrectly can cause confusion when readers look on the shelf, when they try to find my website, if they go to Amazon, the list goes on and on. In the past six months, I don’t think one reviewer, interviewer or workshop description has spelled my name correctly. This bugs me because of a few things:

1. They likely have an email from me WITH my name spelled correctly in the signature (since I always sign business-related emails with my full name).

2. In the bio they have asked me to include with workshop materials, my name is spelled correctly. As it is in the workshop description (”Petersen will do a Q&A session” should be your first indication that my name is spelled s-E-n).

3. They have a book sitting in front of them with the correct spelling of my last name plastered all over it. The spine, the cover, the copyright page… anything?

If you’ve done this to me lately, don’t think this is directed at you specifically! Like I said, it seems to be happening more and more. And this week, it’s really starting to bug me.

PetersEn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 22, 2007

Author vs. Review

With a new book release, there are plenty of things that authors worry about – the worst of which are, I think, the reviews. As authors, we put an awful lot of stock in what an individual reviewer has to say about our work. Obviously, not every reader is going to love every piece of work we put out, but we can’t help but be upset or hurt when we read a bad review. The reviewer’s words stick in our heads and keep on repeating.

Our editors are reviewers, too. They receive our manuscripts as written, and then make recommendations on how to improve them. I don’t know about other authors, but this stage is difficult for me, too.

So, think about it. You sit down to begin your next book. You start working up the characters and suddenly a less-than-complimentary review starts to reverberate in your head. How can you write now, especially when you know that everything you write is doo-doo? Or your editor’s words come back to you … and you wonder how you ever got an entire book down on paper in the first place!

Even the good reviews do it to me. I think about what it was that the reviewer (or editor) liked and become preoccupied with those features and try to think how I might incorporate them into the current book. It’s a no-win situation!

But I don’t think I would trade this occupation for any other.

As you wish…

Do you remember The Princess Bride? The fun, the adventure and the romance? It’s one of the most quotable movie of my generation. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love it, child or adult. Well, there’s a new movie out, one that, I think, is The Princess Bride for this new generation. I will have to see it again to see if it has the longevity that Wesley and Buttercup’s story has, but I’m thinking it does. So if you’re looking for a movie to see, go see Stardust. It’s innovative, funny, romantic and all around fun for everyone in the family. I’m so suprised it hasn’t gotten more media play as it has a stellar cast, including an unforgetable role for Robert De Niro. So this weekend when you’re looking for something to do, grab your sweetie or your girlfriend or your kiddo and settle in with a big bag of popcorn, sit back and enjoy one of the best movies this summer.

August 21, 2007

Who’s Bringing Sexy Back?

Whatever Justin Timberlake!

Today is release day… again… for my Jess Michaels alter-ego! Today the third short story I wrote for Avon Blush is available for purchase. Here is its lovely cover (click to order):

The Lover Hunt

So how I come I wrote three short erotica pieces? The answer is simple. They asked me.

Okay, that isn’t the only reason. Most of my early Jess Michaels work was shorter. In fact, until the release of Everything Forbidden in November, all my Jess Michaels work is either a novella or less (around 45,000 words or shorter). I’ve always loved working in a shorter medium. Everything just feels so immediate and dire. I think it adds to the sexual tension in a story and it definitely makes my pulse rise when I write that length!

So I hope you enjoy!

August 20, 2007

Curses!

Does profanity bother you? It never used to bother me. I wouldn’t say I ever used it freely, but I could hold my own with someone dressed up in a sailor’s costume.

Then, of course, I became a teacher, and no matter what those little…cuties did or what happened to me (bang shin on chair, break a nail) I had to refrain from using profanity. It got easier after a while and I pretty much reserved my cursing for when I was driving.

Now I hardly ever swear. I think what really did it is actually being a teacher. I would hear these six-graders spewing curses I wouldn’t have used unless something really, really bad happened (like someone cut me off), and they sounded…well, stupid. I know the kids thought they sounded cool, but a 12-year old saying f-this just sounds like a kid with a dirty mouth.

So what about a 30-year-old saying that f-you! Kind of sounds like an adult with 1) an anger problem or 2) a dirty mouth.

So now I try not to curse at all, but it seems like the moment I realize cursing isn’t so cool is when everyone else decides it’s fine.

A few years ago, I assigned my students a short story with dialogue. They, of course, wanted to make it “authentic,” which meant they wanted to include profanity (probably poorly spelled profanity). To get away from this problem, I told them they could use any words that were used on TV shows—not on cable—just regular network TV.

So a few weeks later I get the papers, and the dialogue is riddled with “bastard,” “damn,” and “bitch.”

What the *&%@?

But when I yelled at the kids, each cited me a network TV show that had used the word in question. I don’t watch enough TV, obviously, so to test their veracity, I tuned in.

Guess what? They were telling the truth.

And then a few months ago, I see a news story where the courts decided that using the F-word on TV wasn’t such a big deal because it doesn’t have a bad meaning anymore. (That wasn’t how the courts put it, but it was something to that effect.) So now if someone on live TV uses the F-word, like at the Golden Globes or something, and the network doesn’t cut it or bleep it, that’s fine. They won’t be fined by the FCC.

So what do you think about profanity? Does it surprise you that young kids use it freely? Does it seem like it’s no big deal anymore? Should it be?

August 18, 2007

Grandparents

My husband and I were reminising this week about grandparents. We’d seen a car just like one his grandfather used to have and he started talking about all the things his grandparents and he had done together when he was growing up.

I met my husband when I was sixteen. I knew his grandparents from the time we started dating when I was seventeen…and they were indeed a wonderful couple. They lived on a farm outside of town and loved nothing more than to have the grandkids come out.

Unfortunately I don’t have the same memories. My paternal grandmother and maternal grandmother died before I was born. What was I left with??? A paternal grandfather who didn’t care for children and a maternal grandmother who’d had seven children but only cared about the youngest…and consequently only cared about that aunt’s children.

But I was lucky. I had great parents, very warm and loving and supportive. Yet, when I hear friends talk about their grandparents, I have to admit I feel envious….but I was so lucky in the parents department that I’m not going to complain.

Still, it would be nice to have grandparent stories to tell–but I have none, nada, zip. How about you? Were you lucky like my husband….or deprived like me?

August 17, 2007

Try It, You Might Like it!

Okay, chances are if you were a picky eater as a kid (Like me!) you probably heard the above statement from your mother, father, grandmother, etc. more times than you can count. I was definitely hard to please and very finicky as a child, and I’m sure I must have dealt my parents fits. I can remember turning my nose up at peas, augratin potatoes and tuna noodle casserole, just to name a few. And I’m still not too fond of peas. Yuck! (Though, strangely enough, I tended to like veggies that other kids hated, such as brussels sprouts, broccoli, and lima beans.) I was what you might call a texture person, meaning how the food felt in my mouth was a big decision-maker. Anything mushy, gushy in the center was out. (One of the reasons why I like cherry flavoring, but hate actual cherries.)

I’m still pretty picky to a certain extent. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I have my favorite dishes and I tend to order them over and over. I know what I like and very rarely do I venture out of the box. But on a recent trip to Applebee’s, I was feeling particularly adventurous and decided to try the Fiesta Lime Chicken that a friend had been raving about. Now, lime flavoring in chicken just didn’t sound right to me, but I tried it and I have a new favorite.

This philosophy can also apply to other aspects of your life. Take movies, for example. I am not a huge Die Hard or Bruce Willis fan and had no desire to see the new Die Hard movie that came out over the summer. But my friend poked and prodded at me until I finally gave in and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen in the past few months.

So, are you a daring person and try a lot of new things, or do you tend to be a bit more like me and play it safe, sticking to the things you know? And have you ever tried something you were certain you would hate, only to end up loving it?

August 16, 2007

The Homer Simpson School of Reviewing

My local paper has it all, I’ll tell ya. Local news, AP stories for National news, the comics (in full color)… heck, they even have restaurant reviews. Well, they CALL them restaurant reviews. But I think you have to use the term loosely.

Before I launch into that tirade, let me explain a little more about the town I live in. We have a lot of restaurants. There’s a joke that we have two restaurants for every person in town (100,000 people in town). And sometimes, as I drive up the six lane strip that is Veteren’s Parkway, I have to believe that statistic is true.

But here is another fact about my town. Every restaurant is a chain. Okay, ALMOST every restaurant is a chain. We have Olive Garden, we have Chilis, we have Carlos O’Kelly, we have Bennigans, we have four McDonald’s, we have two Wendy’s. The list goes on and on.

And this brings me back to the ‘restaurant reviews’ in my local paper. They review THE CHAINS!! This morning, the restaurant review was for Olive Garden. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Olive Garden as much as the next person. I especially like it for large groups of visiting relatives. It feels more like a ‘nice’ meal, but it’s moderately priced and you know you’re safe with the food. However, I don’t think it’s review-worthy. I mean, what can you say. The breadsticks were breadsticky? The lasagne tasted like every lasagne I’ve ever had at Olive Garden for the last ten years?

Nope. This guy reviews it like he’s reviewing a four-star restaurant in New York City. With a straight face. Like it’s not a chain.

What UP with that??????? And what’s next? Reviewing Dairy Queen?

August 15, 2007

Doing strange things

Have you ever done anything kinda crazy? Not talking bonkers crazy (though that is also fair game), but maybe like the 86 grade gasoline brand of crazy? What would you call that - economy crazy? Crazy-lite?

We saw 70 shooting stars Sunday night, the high point of the meteor shower, and so we decided, hey, pre-dawn hours are supposed to be the best…let’s wake up at 4am and see how many we can see then!!! So we did. And we saw another 100. Very awesome. But maybe just a little weird…

August 14, 2007

Writing a Book Proposal

Every author does it differently. I generally write a synopsis and anywhere from one to three chapters for my editor. She then gives me feedback and I dig in for the long haul!

For me, the process of writing a proposal is fairly complicated. Since I write historicals, I like to feel very comfortable with the era I’ve chosen. I read everything I can get my hands on, in order to get a sense of the time, of the political issues of the day, and of my characters’ mindset.

When I wrote The Bride Hunt, I read extensively on William the Conqueror – not because he was the main character of my book (although he played a minor role) but to understand the ramifications of the Norman Conquest. How did it affect the individuals living in England at the time?

As I do all of my background reading, several characters usually pop into my head, but very few of them will be viable – in other words, I might come up with two or three who will be interesting enough to sustain an entire book. Each one needs to have a solid backstory, with goals and motivations that fit the times. Once I’ve come this far, I’ve got the inklings of a plot.

Back to the library. Now I need specifics. In The Bride Hunt, I’ve got a big, powerful Norman knight who was wounded years before, causing blindness in one eye. I also have a beautiful young Norman lady who is planning to marry an extremely handsome, gentle young knight. My research is going to tell me whether there’s a particular situation that I can throw all three of these characters into … something that’s going to cause a lot of external conflict.

The internal conflict already exists: The big knight knows he’s ugly and feels unworthy of a beautiful woman’s attentions. Worse, he has no land (a very important factor in those days). The lady sees her beautiful young knight as a gentle, wealthy hero, when in fact, he’s just a pretty pansy who is in possession of land only because of his father’s influence with King William.

With further reading, I note that the border between England and Scotland is in dispute (even back then!) with Scottish raiders moving into English territory at will, stealing people and cattle, and any other goods they can carry. This gave me the external conflict: The lady and her beau are kidnapped by Scots, and when the big knight goes to rescue her, he is also captured.

At this point, it’s time to fill out the story. Where do they go? Do they remain prisoners or will they escape? Which scenario will be best for my characters to work out their internal conflicts? Which scenario will show their strengths and weaknesses? Which path will give them the best process to show character growth?

In writing A Warrior’s Taking, I had to create a background and civilization for the hero. I did a good bit of research on Celtic legend, because I wanted his character to be reminiscent of the Celts, with druids and magic. And I wanted it to resonate with some aspect of reality. The heroine’s era is 1813 England. Her home, Ravenfield, is entailed (had to be sure I understood what that meant) and will soon revert to a distant cousin. This means she will have no where to live. The owner of Ravenfield is Captain Barstow, who is killed in the Napoleonic Wars. (Had to check to be sure where and when that happened).

For me, the research is one of the most enjoyable stages of my writing process. Next is putting the ideas together. Making it all work. Turning it into a story that will compel my readers. Cross your fingers that the one I’m working on now will do the same!