May 20, 2008

Email

I remember the first time I ever used email. I thought it was cool but really cumbersome. This was when the Internet was still in its infancy, and I had to type in code in order to send a message to a friend who also had an account at the college we attended. There was no Hotmail, no Yahoo, no Gmail. It was just a blue computer screen and some nonsense code and my message.

It seemed easier to talk just using my new mobile phone (which, by the way, weighed about 8 pounds and got no reception).

Things have certainly changed, and while I cannot imagine life without email, there are things that bug me about it.

When people don’t email me back.
Hey, I understand that people are busy. If they’re anything like me, they get like 500 emails a day—mostly SPAM, but some that require an action or reply. I don’t expect an instant reply, but within 48 hours would be nice. Recently, I was organizing an event at work and needed to know how many would attend. After weeks of sending emails and asking who would attend, half a dozen people still had not responded. In desperation, I finally emailed them this: “I don’t care it you come or not. I just need a count. Email back YES or NO.”

Still nothing!

So I figure they’re not coming. Of course, at this point I could have actually walked down the hall and asked them if they were coming, but what’s the point of email then? Plus, if I ask them about it personally, there’ll be that awkward sorry-I-didn’t-respond-to-your-email apology. Then I have to say that it’s okay, but really it’s not because it if were okay, I wouldn’t have had to email them 8 times and then walk over there!

So anyway, where was I? Oh, right. So I figured they wouldn’t show. And then, of course, they did.

The useless Reply All
Sometimes, in the spirit of efficiency, people send an email to several recipients. I’m all for this. Recently, a friend of mine sent a mass email to let everyone know that her dog had emergency surgery and might not make it through. The email must have gone to 60 people. I emailed her back privately, but some people hit Reply All. Those emails just clogged my Inbox. They were sweet but not meant for me. I didn’t even know most of the people.

Failure to Trim
I completely understand, in a business situation, keeping the original emails at the bottom of the page. One or more of the parties involved in the decision may need to refer back to something mentioned in an earlier email. The Jaunty Quills do this all the time when we’re making decisions about this blog. Sometimes we ever chime in using different colors to differentiate our responses.

But when I send someone a personal email, why keep my letter in the reply? If I send a letter via snail mail, no one would return it with their letter. I think not trimming personal emails is kind of weird for some reason.

So am I alone? Do any of these things bug you? What bugs you about email?

May 19, 2008

Tera Lynn Childs Blogs on Adaptations

When I first decided to become a writer, it seemed logical that I would write what I loved to read: historical romance. The breathtaking tales of Johanna Lindsay, Suzanne Enoch, Sabrina Jeffries, Julia Quinn and especially Jane Austen inspired me and I wanted to write equally breathtaking stories. My foray into writing historicals was short-lived because, well, they’re hard. I switched to writing contemporaries where I didn’t have to think about voice or word choice or historical accuracy any more. (Hats off to the wonderful historical authors who make this seem so easy!) Anyway, eventually my quest for my voice’s niche led me to young adult fiction, but my heart was still in historicals. So is it any wonder that my first attempt at writing YA was a modern adaptation of a Regency classic? Here’s some of what I wrote:

Everyone knows a homecoming king needs a queen. No one really cares whether he wants one or not, the whole school is so certain of this that some people are already claiming his royal title.

Not the most brilliantly penned lines in literary history, but a fun modernization of the opening lines of Pride and Prejudice, no?

Since my roots in writing are in historical romance, I thought I’d play around with a few more of my favorites, rewriting choice bits in my own voice from a contemporary teen point of view. Here goes…

Daphne ignored her three brothers, who hovered at the edge of the gym. What girl in the history of high school had to spend her first homecoming dance with three–yes, three!–older brothers watching every move? It was bad enough she didn’t have a date–who’d be crazy enough to ask out the baby sister of the Bridgerton boys?–but the only reason she was dancing right now was because her oldest brother’s friend, Simon, had been guilted into asking.

adapted from The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Can’t you just see the Bridgerton siblings taking the high school world by storm? The brothers would be every teacher’s nightmare. Especially Colin. Most especially Colin. He’d have gotten very familiar with the principal’s office, I’m sure.

“No way.” Meredith stared at the glowing computer screen for a second, then clicked the message into the trash.

“What?” Ella asked. “Let me see.”

“Oh, sorry,” she said. Another quick click and she moved the message back into her inbox. As Ella read the email, Meredith paced. She’d thought Nick was gone for good, but that hope had disappeared. Along with her chance at valedictorian.

adapted from Once Upon a Wedding Night by Sophie Jordan

Imagine all the notes and missives of Regency–and yes, Sophie, Victorian–England, coming at cyber-speed. I bet dumping a girl via parchment was as much of a faux pas back then as a texting dump is today.

“Step off!” a girl snapped.

“Come on, baby. You know you want some.”

Alex didn’t want to play hero–not tonight. The end of school party raging inside had gotten too much for him to handle. Too much spiked punch and wild, summer-is-finally-here abandon. He’d escaped into the backyard and planned on escaping all the way back to his car, and then home.

But he couldn’t let a girl get groped in the garden. That was so not cool.

“I told you to let go, Reggie!”

“You’re just playing hard to get,” the clearly thought-impaired Reggie replied.

Well, the sooner he broke up this little love/hate-fest, the sooner Alex could go home. He stepped around the corner of the garage, ready to give Reggie a mouthful of fist, when the girl–a blonde babe he’d never seen before–hauled back and kneed the idiot in his fruit basket. Guess she didn’t need rescuing, after all.

adapted from When Dashing Met Danger by Shana Galen

Must admit this one was the hardest. Not because of the content–a party is a party in any era, and so is an unwanted grope–but because this was my first attempt at writing from the POV of a teenage boy. It was more fun than I expected.

I’m not sure what this proves–except that a good story is a good story, whatever the setting and/or genre–but it was a lot of fun. Anyone want to take a whack at modernizing one of your favorites? Or, if you’re afraid of dipping a toe in the YA pool, share your favorite moment and I’ll see if I can work some teen mojo.

Hugs,
TLC

May 18, 2008

One more winner

And the winner of Kathryn Shay’s autographed book is Dorothy. Email me and we’ll work out the details. Congratulations!!!

Winners

In my blog the other day, I promised a book giveaway, and I’ve done the drawing. There are two winners: Amy Addison and Sarah.

Contact me - margo@margomaguire.com and I’ll collect your information. Congratulations, ladies!

May 17, 2008

Cheryl St. John on Physical Attraction

Cheryl St.John is a RITA nominee for her novella in A Western Winter Wonderland. Her next releases are the Harlequin Historical western Christmas anthology, The Magic of Christmas 10/09, and a December HH with a title still being decided. Cheryl blogs about sexy cowboys at http://petticoatsandpistols.com/ and you can visit her at From the Heart http://cherylstjohn.blogspot.com/.

Women are attracted to the men they see as the strongest and most attractive. It’s all about biological quality, or the survival of the species. It’s doin’ what comes naturally. Female birds are attracted by the most colorful or attractive of the other gender, same with animals and mammals. Many males take part in battle rituals for the female, therefore strength and endurance win out. Nature is making sure the strongest survive, that the species will be carried on by the most capable, the best hunters and providers.

It’s our instinct to be drawn to a provider and a protector. This is why those alpha heroes appeal to us as readers. Reading romances validates the universal hope that there is one special person for everyone. Stories of successful relationships reassure us that many women around the world share our dreams.

Attraction is all about chemistry. In our heads we know that in selecting a mate, a human female must consider more than the initial attraction. The ability to make wise selections is what sets us apart from the animals. We have the ability to and the luxury of compiling all the information before we make a choice. Regrettably too many women will admit that relationships founded on sex appeal alone were not the stuff futures are made of. But there has to be something there – something that draws you to this person and keeps you attracted to him through thick and thin.

So what about facial hair — real facial hair that takes some time and testosterone to cultivate?

Mustaches are often culturally associated with wisdom and virility, and it’s not difficult to understand why. There’s something about a mustache that sings of maturity…masculinity. A subject that comes up often among writers is the youthful appearance of so many celebrities, cover models and singers. While there’s no disagreeing that Matthew McConaghy and James Marsden are fine-looking fellows, there’s something about maturity that speaks to us as women. Josh Holloway. Naveen Andrews. How many times has George Clooney been People magazine’s sexiest man of the year?

Now I know there are many of you who will disagree, in fact a recent survey discovered that an alarming number of women would refuse to kiss a man with a mustache. So maybe facial hair a simply a matter of taste. A big argument against mustaches has been that they’re out of style because so many men wore them in the seventies. The seventies? Men have been shaving — or not shaving — selectively since the stone age! Shaving with stone razors was technologically possible from Neolithic times. The oldest portrait showing a shaved man with a mustache is a Scythian horseman from 300 BC.

Historically, military men have often worn moustaches; in fact the number of nations, regiments and ranks were equaled only by the number of styles and variations. Generally, the younger men and lower ranks wore the smaller and less elaborate moustaches. As a man advanced in rank, his moustache would become thicker and bushier, until he was permitted to wear a full beard.

I’ll bet you didn’t know there’s an American Mustache Association. Neither did I, but they’re gung ho on protecting their rights to bear whiskers. At The World Beard & Moustache Championships 2007 there were 6 subcategories in the moustache category:

Natural Moustache - may be styled but without aids.
Hungarian Moustache - Big and bushy, beginning from the middle of the upper lip and pulled to the side.
Dalí - narrow, long points bent or curved steeply upward; areas past the corner of the mouth must be shaved.
English - narrow, beginning at the middle of the upper lip the whiskers are very long and pulled to the side, slightly curled; the ends are pointed slightly upward; areas past the corner of the mouth usually shaved. .
Imperial - whiskers growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, curled upward
Freestyle - All moustaches that do not match other classes.

Other types of moustache include:
Fu Manchu - long, downward pointing ends, generally beyond the chin
Pancho Villa - similar to the Fu Manchu but thicker
Handlebar - bushy, with small upward pointing ends.
Horseshoe - Often confused with the Fu Manchu style, the horseshoe was possibly popularized by modern cowboys and consists of a full moustache with vertical extensions from the corners of the lips down to the jaw line and resembling an upside-down horseshoe.
Moustachio - bushy moustache, with hair sometimes growing down the sides of the mouth.
Taylor moustache - a thin row of fine dark hairs along the upper lip.
Pencil moustache - narrow, straight and thin like a pencil, closely clipped, outlining the upper lip, with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache. Also known as a Mouthbrow.
Walrus - bushy, hanging down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth. Popular during the American Civil War.
The GG - bushy hair grown only over the corners of the mouth, shaved in the middle.

Now we have that scruffy five-o’clock shadow look and of course soul patches.

So, what’s your preference on facial hair – thumbs up or thumbs down?
I’d love to hear about it if you’ve seen any mustaches on book covers.

May 16, 2008

So Cool!

I have to share this fascinating video with you. And since I’m in the mood to give away a book, I’m going to do a drawing from those of you who comment to let me know how you liked it! Check it out - it’s short.

May 15, 2008

Guest Blogger Pamela Morsi

Get ready Jaunty Quills enthusiasts. Memorial Day weekend is just ten days away! I’m Pam Morsi, your guest blogger today. And I’m here to remind you that hot dogs and potato salad are in your immediate future.

It’s been a busy month for me. I’ve got a new book out and I’ve been doing some traveling around to try to promote it. I like traveling, but I really like staying at home too. So, I try not to overbook myself and spend more time than I really want on the road. With that said, yesterday nobody was more surprised than me when I decided that for this Memorial Day weekend I would head north to Oklahoma and see my old Uncle Bob.

Uncle Bob is a gentle soul, with a smile so wide it makes his eyes disappear, and a laugh that comes rumbling up from a depth of good humor. He’s the last of his generation in my family. He’s outlived his brother and sister and most of his friends. Although he still takes care of his own yard, he’s just not as strong as he used to be. He doesn’t see as well and doesn’t drive unless it’s an emergency.

On Saturday, the 24th, his high school will have a big alumni picnic. He wants to go and visit old friends. So I’m going to take him.

His class, the Seniors of 1942 faced a world so different from ours, it’s hard to get our minds around it. Many of his classmates quit school before graduation to go into the military. And others who’d signed up for the National Guard right out of Boy Scouts were simply plucked out of class. He knew that he would be going off to fight a war, because the whole world was involved in one.

Bob was lucky to come back, he says. Lucky because some of the battles he was in, D-Day, the Hurtgen Forrest, the Battle of the Bulge, are imfamous for all the guys like him that didn’t come back. I knew that Uncle Bob was in WWII, but I didn’t know a lot about it.

My father was a highly decorated Army Air Corps Medic who served in four theaters of the war. Maybe he overshadowed his younger brother. Or maybe Uncle Bob is just too modest about the contribution that he made.

My first true understanding of these men I’ve known all my life came about while I was doing research for the character named Bud, in my new book LAST DANCE AT JITTERBUG LOUNGE. Let me make it clear, Bud isn’t my Uncle Bob. The old man I created in that story is a composite of a lot of guys of that age and time. The fond memories of days gone by and the scars of events that can’t quite be outlived are both a part of all of them.

This Memorial Day, when laughing and eating and enjoying friends and family, as we rightly should, let’s all do some remembering of those who serve their country in all our conflicts. We do that by being the cheering crowd in the hometown parade and by decorating the graves of the fallen.

I’ll be hanging out with one of the heroes that’s still with us.

Maybe you can find time to do the same. I realize that everyone doesn’t have an Uncle Bob. But just a mile or so from my house is Brook Army Medical Center. Hundreds of men and women are recovering there, rehabilitating themselves for more active duty or a whole new battle completely. Volunteer opportunities abound. I’m sure your own community has its way to say thanks to Vets. We are all so blessed that these people are willing to put themselves in harm’s way. That’s something that can’t be measured into potato salad.

May 14, 2008

Kathryn Shay Guest Blogs on the Appeal of Firemen

Hello, Jaunty Quill Readers.

Since this is my first time here, I’d like to tell you a bit about myself and my work. My name is Kathryn Shay and I’ve written twenty-two books for Harlequin SuperRomance and ten for The Berkley Publishing Group. For most of my life I was a high school English teacher, and began publishing in 1995. I’ll tell you, having two full time jobs for ten years was tough. I also have a wonderful supportive husband (my college sweetheart) and two great kids, now grown, one a writer and one a teacher!

My current release is TAKING THE HEAT, part of the O’Neil series, but one reviewer just said not to worry, she hadn’t read the others (but will now!) and this book functions as a stand alone. It’s the story of widower Liam O’Neil who lost his wife three years ago to cancer and is ready to date again. He meets Sophie Tyler, rough and tumble female firefighter from New York City, and is attracted to her. But his sons are still suffering over the loss of their mother and Liam feels he can’t risk getting involved with someone in a dangerous profession. Too bad, though, because they can’t help themselves and sparks fly, emotionally, physically and on the line.

Why did I write this book? There were several reasons. First, Liam intrigued me. In the other storylines, he’s quiet, sensitive and hurting over the turn his life has taken. He also always does what’s best for his kids, too much so, his dynamic brothers think. It was fun exploring all those facets of Liam, in addition to a sense of humor I didn’t know he had, and, well, a very sexy side, which Sophie soon discovers. That was a big surprise to me and to her and makes for some humor as well as some sizzling sexual tension.

Another reason I wrote about these characters was to explore father/son relationships. The two O’Neil boys, seven year old Mikey and teenager Cleary, play a big part in the book as well as in Liam’s life. Reviewers are pointing to some very tender moments, funny occurrences and some sad things that might bring the reader to tears (I hope so!)

Last, I got to return to my favorite heroes, firefighters. As many of you know, I’ve done several firefighter stories for Harlequin and this is my fourth for Berkley. I researched the profession by spending several years, off and on, riding fire trucks and ambulances, eating in the firehouses, talking at length to the men and women who make up America’s Bravest and reading things like their training manuals on firefighting and EMS. I went to several working fires in places like a dormitory, a kitchen and a car. I rode along to calls for a stabbing, a flooded basement and a roof rescue. I also spent hours and hours at the fire academy training with the recruits, wearing their gear, handling the Jaws of Life and going through mazes blindfolded. I also had the terrifying experience of making my way in a smoke house, which is exactly what you think—a building set on fire so rookies can train. (Okay, a real firefighter was holding my hand the whole time, but still…)

What did I learn: firefighters are taciturn, until you get to know them; they’re affectionate, after they decide you’re okay; they’re funny in a black humor kind of way; they care about people, though not one of them will tell you he thinks he’s a hero. And, in my opinion, these people are a very special breed who put their lives on the line every single day. I love them for who they are and what they stand for. I think you’ll see this in the book, as well as get a look at their everyday lives and experience some heart-stopping action scenes.

I’d be glad to answer questions, give you more information or just listen to what you have to say. And I’ll pick one lucky winner from the comments for an autographed copy of TAKING THE HEAT.

Kathy Shay

May 13, 2008

I Miss Reading

My life is definitely too busy. I have 7 books checked out from the library, and I’ve only started 3 of them. Plus, I have another I’m halfway through, but it’s not from the library. I should probably put it at the bottom of the stack, but it’s so good!

We’re supposed to go to a party tonight, but I told my husband that if I had my choice I would stay home and write and read. Do you ever want to skip social events and just read? Does that make me anti-social?

I have enough time to write—not as much as I’d like, but enough. But something has to go when I’m writing a book, and since it can’t be my day job and I already only get like 6 hours of sleep, I guess it’s been my reading time.

Do you have enough time to read? What do you do to make more time for reading?

May 12, 2008

Sophie Jordan Blogs on When the cat’s away, the mice will play …

That’s right. It’s just about that time. About every six weeks or so DH jets it for work … destination often some really cool places. Today, for instance, he’s headed to L.A. Since he gets to go to places like that for work, I figure I’m entitled to a little guilt-free fun while he’s gone. Especially since he always manages to squeeze in a little fun when he’s away, too. Also, for those who don’t know, like me, DH works from home. We see each other day in and day out. And while we enjoy the arrangement – I mean how many couples get to work from home together? – it’s no hardship when he leaves town. It’s healthy to have a little time apart now and then.

My daughter sees it as a treat, too. She gets to sleep in Mommy’s bed … and well … shhhhh… but if the food’s not too messy, we eat in the living room.

Today’s agenda? After the daughter’s gymnastics, it’s off for Mexican food with a girlfriend and her daughter and - if she’s free - my cp, Tera Lynn Childs. This place has great margaritas, and, perhaps best of all, a sandbox for the girls. The baby can be passed around between me and my gal pals. When I get home, it’s throw kids in the tub, then bed. Then, because DH is out of town, and I have no distractions, it’s uninterrupted writing – which is hugely important right now since I have a book due in July. Actually, even with all the “playing” going on, I get quite a bit of writing done when DH leaves. When the daughter’s at preschool or the baby is napping (which is quite a bit), I work instead of chat it up with DH – remember, he’s hanging about the house with me?

The rest of the week will consist of little to no cooking – which translates to little or no dishes. The laundry, well, it can wait, too. I either eat out with friends (of course, it’s always at the restaurants I love but DH doesn’t!) or a sandwich/leftovers will do nicely for dinner. Somewhere in the week, there will be a run to Barnes N Noble and coffee with some writer friends. Oh, and I manage to watch a movie (either with a friend or by myself) that DH never wants to see. It’s either a romance-ish type period piece – you know, I’ve never seen North and South – that could be a possibility. Or a scary movie (I like scary movies, but not gore-fests. There’s just a difference, you know?!). DH is a big baby when it comes to those. Harry Potter is about as scary as he can handle, and even then I hold his hand. I’ve been itching to see Thirty Days of Nights. Yes, it looks terrifying, but the paranormal writer/reader in me is intrigued at its premise!

What about you? What do you like to do when “the cat’s away”?

Hugs,

Sophie