Thanks to everyone who posted. Great comments!

Mimi, you won the drawing of Sarah Wendell’s book “Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels.”

Please email me from my website www.cindykirk.com and give me your snail mail addy and I’ll put the book in the mail to you!

Most of us have a lot of books on our “keeper” shelves. Books that we re-read numerous times. Books with characters that we know inside and out. What we don’t have on those shelves are books with content so irritating that we never finished the book. Or if we did finish, there’s no no way in h*** that we’re ever going to read that book again.

Recently there was some posts floating around FaceBook on what readers do and don’t like in a book. There was everything from certain names to more specific pet peeves. It got me to thinking about what actions/events will make me quit reading a book.

Here are mine, in no particular order:
1. A hero or heroine who is unfaithful (unless she/he thought their spouse was dead)
2. An animal being killed. When I thought that Rex the hamster in one of Janet Evanovitch’s book might be murdered, well, let’s just say if he would have, I don’t think I could have continued reading the series.
3. A hero who isn’t just dark and tortured, he’s downright mean.
4. A whiny, bitchy heroine. In many cases, I think the writer was striving for “spunky” but carried it a little far.
5. A book where someone I really care about dies (Okay, I’m a wimp, but I read for entertainment, not to be depressed)

Tell me one thing that turns you off when reading a book and you will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Sarah Windell’s book, Everything I Know About Love I Learned From Romance Novels.

The drawing will be Sunday night at 9pm CT so check back then!

A friend and I were recently discussing some of the Soaps that are going off the air. At one time I was a One Life to Live and General Hospital fan. The discussion made me stop and think what television shows that I really like (or have liked in the past) and what it is about the characters that kept me coming back for more.

Off the top of my head, older television series that intrigued me: The Big Valley (illegitimate son showing up and becoming part of the family); Starman (an alien and his son on the run from federal agents); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (a spy and a housewife teaming up); Remington Steele (a man from out of nowhere taking on a made-up identity); Prison Break (a prisoner who isn’t just another convict). Current shows that I like are Castle (a writer working with the police); Burn Notice (a spy who is trying to find out who burned him) and Downton Abbey (a show set at the turn of the 20th century in England).

An unscientific analysis seems to indicated that I’m drawn to characters with secrets.

It got me to wondering if my reading habits mirror my TV watching habits. I like Suzanne Enoch’s contemporary series with the cat burgler, Samantha. I like historical romance which would explain my love of Downton Abbey and all things Jane Austin.

How about you? What television shows do you like? And what about those shows appeal to you? I’d really like to know? Oh, and does your taste in TV shows mirror your taste in what you read?

Everyone who has already posted on my blog this weekend (Na–you got in by the skin of your teeth ) has won a copy of If The Ring Fits!

Just email me through my website www.cindykirk.com (contact me link) and give me your mailing address. I’ll put the book in the mail to you!

Thanks again for posting!

I spent this past weekend in New Hampshire at a writer’s conference. Once the conference ended I headed north to the White Mountains. It was here I discovered The Mount Washington Hotel.

As you can see by the picture, it’s a very large, old, elegant hotel. But when I went around the back of the hotel, I discovered the verandah:
Guests were sitting on the verandah drinking and eating snacks. Some were enjoying conversation with a friend or loved one. Some were reading. Some were simply relaxing and enjoying the scenary.

Though I didn’t have time to stay and relax, I have to admit I could envision myself sitting in one of those deck chairs. The last time I really completely relaxed was at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Sitting poolside, enjoying a diet coke, a good book and the warmth from the sun.

When and where was the last time YOU truly relaxed? On Sunday night at 9 pm CT I’ll draw a name from everyone who posts and answers that question. That person will win a copy of If The Ring Fits, my latest release.

Let’s give a big Jaunty welcome to my friend, Diane Kelly! Note that if you comment you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a FREE BOOK!

People often ask me how I became a writer. My answer? Because I worked for criminals.
I know what you’re thinking. What the heck?

Although I enjoyed writing projects in English class and was commended on my writing skills by my teachers, becoming a novelist wasn’t something I planned on when I was young. Sure, I wrote stories, poems, and song lyrics in spiral notebooks kept hidden under my mattress and dreamed about being a writer, but in a very abstract, theoretical way. After all, novelists were cool people with interesting ideas and great clothes and hair who grew up in intriguing places, right? They weren’t nerdy, flat-chested suburban spawn with braces, bad acne, and a cashier’s job at Kmart (sea-foam green smock provided free of charge!).

So I ignored my inner yearnings and did the practical thing. I went to college and majored in accounting. Then, because taking the three-day CPA exam wasn’t enough masochism, I decided to go to law school and take another grueling test, the bar exam, so I could become the ultimate nerd: a tax lawyer.

One of my first jobs after law school was working as an assistant attorney general at the State of Texas Attorney General’s office. This was back in the early 1990’s when the tobacco company lawsuits were in full swing. (Nicotine? Addictive? Who knew?!?) So there I was, working my then-skinny butt off to honorably and zealously represent Uncle Sam – well, Uncle Tex – to the best of my abilities, and come to find out the state AG was falsifying documents in order to fraudulently divert settlement funds to his cronies’ law firms. He later pled guilty to criminal charges and spent some time in the slammer.

My innocence tarnished, I then took a job with one of the major accounting firms, proud that such a prestigious outfit would hire little ol’ me. Well, I actually wasn’t so little anymore given that I was pregnant with my first child. But I digress. After cavorting – inadvertently and unknowingly! – with criminals at the AG’s office, I was thrilled to now be among fellow nerds who were surely too straight-laced to engage in criminal activity. I had the privilege to work on occasion with one of the nicest, most polite, and intelligent guys on the planet. His white dress shirts were always perfectly starched, his ties a classic red-and-blue stripe, his hair neatly cut and combed. He looked like a conservative and more sophisticated version of Pee-wee Herman. Lo and behold, this partner was later indicted for tax shelter fraud. Pee-wee Herman was also arrested, though on much different charges.

Was there no one I could trust?

Worried I’d find myself in jail as an unwitting accomplice to my next employer’s criminal deeds, I decided self-employment would be a good idea. I also realized my experiences with white-collar crime made excellent fodder for light and fun mystery novels. My fingers hit the keyboard and thus began my “Death and Taxes” series.

Got an unusual on-the-job story? We’d love to hear it! All of those who post comments will be entered in a drawing to win a free autographed copy of Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure, book #1 in the Death and Taxes series, upon its release November 1st. The winner will be announced at 9:00 pm central time on Sunday, September 25th. For more information about my series, please visit me at www.dianekelly.com.
Thanks for stopping by! And thanks to Cindy Kirk for inviting me to guest blog!

Let’s give a warm welcome to Sandra Orchard whose debut book for Love Inspired Suspense, Deep Cover is now on shelves. Be sure to check it out!

FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHARACTERIZATIONS
The other night my daughter and son were sitting in the room below my office when my teenage daughter started squealing about how thrilled she is with the characters in the novel she’s writing. The next thing I know, she’s calling for help.

Preoccupied with my own writing, I called down, “Can’t your brother help you?”

More cries rose from the floor below. Muffled this time. Something like, “He did it.”

None to happy about being interrupted, I tromp downstairs, to find out what’s going on. Imagine my glee when I find my daughter duct-taped to her desk chair!

“Wait, don’t move,” I exclaimed, and ran back upstairs for my camera. You see, the heroine in the book I’m working on gets duct-taped by the villain to a chair. I’m seeing … research opportunity!!

I want to know how her muscles feel straining against the tape; the yow of ripped hair when its tugged off; the sensation of the scream building in her throat; the taste of panic when she realizes she can’t get herself free. And just how loud can she shout with a piece of duct tape on her mouth?

Our dear pup even decided to get in on the action and play the hero, doing the courtesy of ripping her free!

By this time, my daughter is getting right into the “research”, and my son is rolling his eyes, no doubt thinking that instead of quieting his nutty sister, he’d created two monsters!

Not only that, it gave me a great idea for this blog post: 5 Ways to Improve your Characterizations:

1) Act out the scenario. Concentrate on the five senses. Detail perceptions from the perspective of the point of view character. If the above scenario were from the pov of the hero, instead of the heroine, he might have described the quality of her scream, the jerkiness of her attempts to break free, the contorted look of her face pinned by duct tape. Nothing like seeing, feeling, touching, hearing and tasting to get the characterization right. Of course, my hero would’ve been much more empathetic than me. More like the dog, say.
2) Think back to a time when you experienced a similar event, or comparable emotion. Recall how you felt. Write it out, listing every detail you can remember. Maybe now realizing the oddity of the details you do remember. The specificity of incongruent details can be an effective way to characterize a person.
3) Interview someone who has experienced a similar situation, event, or loss to what your character faces. Ask lots of questions about how they felt, how they reacted, what they wished, what angered them, what helped them, how they coped etc. etc.
4) Interview your character. No, I’m not whacko. I know he or she isn’t real. But interviewing your characters is an effective way to get to the root of the motivation that’s driving them. A motivation you may not yet be aware of. My favorite question is “Why?” I ask the hero why he did something. When he gives me the answer, I formulate another why question related to his answer, and then another, and another. Eventually we dig deep into his psyche to discover what’s really driving his actions and reactions. And armed with that information, I can write more realistic, and better-motivated reactions.
5) Know every characters’ goal in the scene, and use them, and the other forces acting on the characters, to your advantage. That is, use subtext. Subtext is one of the least understood and yet most powerful characterization techniques. Subtext can be as simple as a facial expression that conveys what’s not spoken. It can be misdirection, innuendo, sarcasm, or metaphor. It can be a lie by omission as my undercover hero in Deep Cover finds necessary. Subtext tells the story beneath the story. A classic example of subtext in dialogue is when the heroine tells the hero, “I hate you.”

Does she? Or does she love him and is too hurt by his actions to admit it? Or does she love him, but knows it’s better for him if he doesn’t know, because he needs to go off and save the world or something? The subtext in that simple three-letter statement has the potential for several layers of meaning while generating tremendous emotion in the reader.

Your Turn: I’m giving away a signed copy of my book to one of our commenters. Please share one of your favorite examples of subtext in either a book or movie. OR share a memorable way you got into one of your characters’ head or heart. Check back on Sunday night at 9 pm CT when I’ll announce the winner of the drawing.

Sandra Orchard writes inspirational romantic suspense set along the northern shores of Lake Erie in the heart of the Niagara region, Canada. In 2009 she won Daphne DuMaurier Award of Excellence and sold to Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense the following year. She is an active member of ACFW, several RWA chapters including Faith Hope Love, and The Word Guild. When not writing, she enjoys hanging out with family, especially her new grandbaby, brainstorming new stories with fellow writers, and hiking or kayaking in God’s beautiful creation. Her newly released debut novel, Deep Cover, is the first in her series, Undercover Cops: Fighting for justice puts their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Phyllis,

Email me through my website and give me your address and I’ll put the book in the mail to you!!

Thanks to everyone who commented!

Research has shown that if you have an animal on the cover of a book it will sell better. I think our own Jaunty, Kristan Higgins, should be crowned the Queen of the Pet Covers. Such cute little animals making a cute cover even, well, more cute.

I’ve never had a pet on the cover of any of my books. I’ve had pets in the books, but I must confess the problem is…I forget about them. I mention them once and then you don’t see them again. In real life you can’t forget about them. Why? Because they won’t let you.

I think my pet peeve is when someone hasn’t done their pet research. They choose a certain breed and have them act in ways that breed doesn’t normally behave. Of course we all know not all blue heelers or shih tzus (the two breeds I have at home) behave the same…but I do know that you’d never want to put a blue heeler in an apartment or have a shih tzu as a watch dog.

I’d be interested in knowing if you’d ever read a book where the animal behaved in an unbelievable manner…or if you have a pet story to share. I’ll be drawing a winner Sunday night from everyone who comments and that person will win my current release, If The Ring Fits!

Okay, so I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but surely I’m not the only one who considers Fall to start on September 1. While I realize the season doesn’t officially begin until September 21, I’ll be out of town then so today I’m going to jump the gun and talk about the Top 5 Things I Like Most about Fall.

To tie it into books and writing…whenever I set a book to take place during the Fall, I always look to see what kind of activities and events are happening in that area. In my book that is on the shelves now, If The Ring Fits, I went to the Jackson Hole Events Calendar to see what events I could have my characters attend that would be true to the area.

At this time of year in Jackson Hole, people go to the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival in Jackson. So, guess where my characters went? Yep, to the Fall Arts Festival (and they had a great time!)

Anyway, back to the post and my Top 5 Things I Like About Fall:
1. The cool weather. Note: I said “cool” NOT cold. What’s not to like about weather in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s. As long as I don’t have to wear my heavy wool coat with mittans and a scarf, I’m happy!

2. Autumn leaves. There’s nothing more beautiful than when the trees change colors…and bushes, too!

3. College Football. Need I say more? Oh, yeah, GO HUSKERS!

4. Pumpkins and gourds on the porch. It doesn’t even need to be Halloween to put these out…though I think it needs to be at least October 1. Sort of like not wearing white shoes before Memorial Day.

5. Hot Apple Cider (with a cinnamon stick, of course) or a Pumpkin Spice latte. Yum…..

Tell me what YOU like about Fall and you’ll be entered into a drawing to win my latest release, IF The Ring Fits….on sale now. The drawing will take place around 9 pm CT on Sunday so check back then to see if you’re a winner!