Okay so this probably isn’t going to be so much of a how-to-blog as just a how-I-do-it-blog. Not because you asked, but because this is an on-going process in my life and on my mind a lot. Especially lately since we’ve had to make room for the girls. I’m of the opinion that organization is not a one size fits all sort of thing. I think you have to find your style and that can often take a lot of trial and error. I know, for instance, that my mother and I organize very differently this is most noticeable when we’re cleaning or unpacking after a move. She has an out of sight, out of mind kind of philosophy and mine is more of the a place for everything and everything in its place.

Just that phrase gives me a semblance of peace. If everything has a place, then everything can be put away. This is both a blessing and a curse for me. Because (and I know you can see where this is going…) if I don’t have a place for something I will just leave it out until I know where to put it. This can cause significant problems if finding that place takes me any length of time.

Which brings me to my organization style. I love containers and I’m rather partial to baskets. I think I have baskets in every room in my house. They’re great for corralling everything from toys to toilet paper. They make everything neat and tidy and keep me from getting a little nutty. I’m one of those who don’t like to see a lot of clutter, but at the same time if I just hide everything behind cabinets or closets I can’t ever find anything. So I compartmentalize everything in containers. I have them in my pantry, cabinets, closets, bathrooms, bedrooms and everything in between.

I even use them, so to speak, on my computer, in the form of folders. I organize my email (which is also color-coded) my documents and my photos. Everything is labeled and categorized. I might have to click through three levels to get to what I want, but I know right where it is. Keeps me from getting crazy which is precisely what will happen if my inbox is more than one scroll long.

So how about y’all? Are you organized? Do you have a specific style for how you organize things? Is your computer organized too? What about your car?

Write What You Know (and Love)

Hello! Thank you so much to the Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills—and of course, Jaunty—for having me on the blog today. My first novel, Sweet Enemy, has yet to hit stores, so I’m pretty new to this whole guest blogging thing, but it’s so exciting to be here! I was going to bring Armando, my cravat wearing stuffed armadillo to meet Jaunty today, but he’s a little shy. Perhaps next time…

Today, I thought I’d talk a little bit about how I got here—aside from being invited by the lovely and talented Robyn DeHart . Like most authors of historical romance, I grew up reading it. Once I discovered my grandmother’s hidden stash (stuffed on the lowest bookshelf, hidden behind her recliner), I was hooked! Well, after a degree in Chemistry, getting married, and several years in the workforce, I decided I wanted to write them, too.

Great! Good decision! But now, how to do so?

Well, I’ll skip all of the boring details about how the left brained chemist in me decided to thoroughly dissect my six favorite romance novels and examine each facet in detail. Instead, let’s jump right to the first bit of advice first time writers hear: Write What You Know.

Hmmm. Good advice. After all, I need my own unique voice, right? But what in the world could my life experience bring to a historical romance novel? I mean, after all, beakers and ball gowns don’t mix, do they?

Wait. Beakers and ball gowns don’t mix…Beakers and ball gowns don’t mix… That line stuck with me. And the idea for a Regency-era lady chemist was born. She would, of course, eschew Society (because of the aforementioned non-mixing). So what would make her enter the glittering world of the ton willingly? Well, what if she were searching for her father’s killer?

And here’s where I added to the first time rule: Write What You Know AND What You Want to Read. You see, I love a good mystery, too. I just prefer them to have plenty of romance. And, as a former scientist, I love a good experiment—and a good challenge. So I decided for my first time out, I’d tackle a romance AND a mystery. Why not, right? So my story line became this:

Beakers and ball gowns don’t mix, so when a lady chemist goes undercover as a husband hunter to investigate the earl she thinks may have murdered her father, romance isn’t part of her formula. But it only takes one kiss to start a reaction she can’t control…

And voila! I was off! Now, since we’re having such a fun time, I’ll spare you all of the ugly details about my first flailing attempts and about how, in the despairing place somewhere in the middle of the first draft I decided I was a terrible writer who was crazy to attempt to write a mystery AND a romance in my first ever manuscript and yanked out all of the mystery in an attempt to make it more simple (and subsequently couldn’t stand the story anymore and had to figure out how to put it all back in, only better). No, I’ll just tell you that in the end, I am so glad I stuck it out and I hope readers will come to love Geoffrey and Liliana’s story as much as I do.

Sweet Enemy – A Veiled Seduction Novel, will be coming out February 7, 2012—just in time for Valentine’s Day. It is the first in a series of three featuring science-savvy heroines with a touch of mystery. I will be giving away a signed copy to a random commenter (who agrees to be patient…February…long time off ☹)

So, to start off the conversation, tell me—what types of romances do you love best? Ones with a little mystery? Ones that focus strictly on the juicy inner angst of relationships? Light, humorous and witty? A little darker? All of the above?

Please visit me at www.HeatherSnowBooks.com I’d love to hear from you anytime!

Many of you might remember when I announced earlier this year that The Professor and I had become parents in a rather unorthodox way – we are currently foster (though very soon, adoptive) parents to two very precious little girls. To say that this has changed my life is a gross understatement. Those of you who are parents know this. I mean who hasn’t heard when they’re pregnant – a baby changes everything. Isn’t that even the tagline for some commercial – though I can’t recall what the product is. In any case my life these days doesn’t really resemble my life from even this past March.

It’s obviously affected my day-to-day activities and my writing has suffered. In hindsight, I wish that when they’d arrived I decided to simply take some time off, have maternity leave, if you will. But I didn’t do that. Instead I tried to write amidst the sleepless nights and the emotional stress of becoming overnight parents to two little girls who have not been given the best in life. And frankly it hasn’t gone well and it’s driven me a little nuts, unnecessarily I think.

But alas that’s not even what I want to talk about today. The other thing that has been shoved to a back-burner is my own health. Now I know what you’re all thinking, I can’t be a good mom if I don’t take care of myself first, but honestly how many of you actually do this? Before the girls I was an avid Weight Watcher, I never missed a meeting and I’d lost nearly 40lbs. I think I’ve only been to like 3 meetings since April and well, let’s just say at some point I stopped pretending and just put the program on hold.

Well, today the girls started a Mother’s Day Out program that they’ll attend twice a week. And it just so happens my WW meeting is on Tuesday mornings. It felt so great to walk in there this morning and start over. I told my leader that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I don’t want to even think about these past few months or the weight I’ve gained back or how I haven’t exercised and I haven’t made healthy eating choices. Today is day one, a new beginning.

Now I could wallow in this and think about how many new beginnings I’ve had. I’m one of those who has struggled with my weight my entire life. But I know from experience thinking those sorts of thoughts only hurt me. And the fact of the matter is, my weight will always be an issue. Even if I lost all that I wanted to lose, I would still have to work my program to maintain because I have food issues. This is not an unusual problem otherwise we wouldn’t be the fattest nation. So I know I’m not alone.

My question to you, is how do you get back on the wagon? What are things you do to get your mind in the game, whether it be getting back to the gym, eating better or starting something else you might have let fall to the wayside.

Treasure Me, the 3rd book in Robyn DeHart‘s Legend Hunters series sold to Germany, that will complete the trilogy in that country.

Most writers have a spot in their home (or their local coffee shop) that they call their office. I have a lovely office in my house – though I do wish the walls were painted – and I’ve written books in it. Though lately, since we got the girls, my office is also the room where the baby naps and sleeps and so I’m working elsewhere in the house most of the time. Despite this, it’s still one of my favorite rooms in the house. I’ve actually rearranged some of the furniture, and these pictures are from when we first moved in, but you’ll get the gist.

My favorite spot in my office is my big cube shelf. It contains all my research and writing craft books. I have books on all aspects of the Victorian period, other bits of English history, some Scottish books and then I have some books that are specific to the books I’ve written. I have several books about Sherlock Holmes as that was a main aspect of my book A Study in Scandal. Then I have books on chocolate factories, Atlantis, Pandora’s Box and I have an actual bound copy of the Illustrated London News from 1865 – this was the inspiration for my paper in Courting Claudia, my debut novel. The shelves are organized by category and everything is neat and tidy and I just love to sit there in the evening while I rock the baby and gaze at my books full of tidbits that someday might become a crucial plot point.

I’m going to stop before I totally geek out about all my writing craft books. On top of that shelf I keep copies of all my books, including foreign copies as well as the awards I’ve won. It’s a great place to come for inspiration when I’m feeling down about my career or I’m stuck in a certain story.

I also have my TBR shelves in here – for you hard-core readers, you know that’s my to-be-read pile which translates to two bookshelves stacked double on each shelf. And this doesn’t even include the mounting list on my Kindle. I’m so far behind it’s scary, but hey at this rate I don’t think I’ll ever run out.

Hidden in the closet of my office are my scrapbook supplies – I have tons. Colored paper and alphabet stickers and templates and oh, the list goes on. I don’t get to scrapbook as much as I used to, but given the opportunity I love to pull out my supplies and make pretty pages. So I guess technically this room could simply be called my creativity cave. Well, and part-time baby sleeping room these days.

In any case, do any of you have a home office or a cubby where you do crafts? What’s your favorite part of your house? Tell me about your special spot and I’ll pick one lucky reader to win a copy of my e-novella, Her Gentleman Thief.

One of the things about writing that I didn’t realize when I first started was how profoundly personal it would be. Perhaps that makes me an idiot, but that aspect kind of took me by surprise. But I suspect that writers, genre fiction and romance writers, in particular, are very much in tune with their own personal issues – the things that make us tick, that big bag of crud we drag around filled with our greatest fears and insecurities. I suppose song writers probably are equally as aware, but I digress. The point of all of this is if you pay close attention you start to notice things about you – not all of them are the icky things either.

Recently I was reading a book and I had a big epiphany that doesn’t really surprise me, as I can clearly see the pattern in my reading tastes and several of the books I’ve written myself, frankly I’m surprised it took me quite so long to notice. Especially when I look back on a post I wrote here four years ago. So here it goes….when it comes to guys, those romantic hero types, I really am drawn to the pursuer. I suppose this might be why I don’t gravitate toward the more traditional alpha hero because they aren’t always pursuers.

The book I was reading recently that brought all this to my attention was Suzanne Enoch’s The Care and Taming of a Rogue. Now Suzanne is one of my very favorite authors, she’s definitely my go-to gal whenever I need a good pick-me-up because her books are just delightful and perfect in all the right ways. And I love, love, love her heroes. And her heroes are always pursuers, even if they don’t quite understand it themselves, they are completely captivated by the heroine, just can’t get enough and go after her full-throttle. Their unwavering pursuit just makes me feel all gooey on the inside. This is what romance novels are about for me.

Now there are plenty of great ways to put together a romance novel, but at their core, it’s either boy pursues girl or girl pursues boy and both work. But for me that one that makes me come back again and again is the former. It even happened in my own love story. When I met The Professor I wasn’t so sure about him. He was really smart, an intellectual and frankly I felt a smidge intimidated and wondered what we’d ever talk about. And he was so very different from any man I’d ever dated or been attracted to. But he pursued me deftly and it worked.

So how about you? What kind of hero do you gravitate to? Do you notice when you’re reading which character is the pursuer?

Robyn DeHart’s Legend Hunters trilogy sold to Turkey. Seduce Me, Desire Me and Treasure Me will be released simultaneously in Summer 2013.

Right now I have a digital short story, set in Regency England, available for both Kindle and Nook. For those of you who don’t have e-readers, you can download apps on your phones and I know for at least Kindle you can read them directly on your computer. But I also know for some of you this isn’t your cup of tea and that’s totally fine. I published this story for a few reasons, one, it’s a different time period for me and a nice little change. Also it’s short enough (and cheap enough) that readers who might not be familiar with my full length books might be willing to give me a try. Hopefully they’ll love it and buy the rest of my books.

In any case, here’s a little teaser from Her Gentleman Thief. Oh and I should point out that despite the title, this is not the fourth book in the Ladies’ Amateur Sleuth Society series though I have plans to release that book (also digitally) sometime late this year, early the next. I’ll keep everyone posted as my details firm up.

Excerpt: Her Gentleman Thief by Robyn Dehart

Annalise bravely looked up to meet the highwayman’s gaze and found herself locked in by the most stunningly beautiful green eyes. And were it not for the silk black domino mask tied behind his head, she might have forgotten who he was and what was happening. The lantern-light flickered off his face, of the features she could clearly see — a strong jaw, sculpted lips, a hint of a day’s growth of whiskers — it was quite evident that he was devilishly handsome.

“Take me with you,” she said.

You can buy a copy for only $0.99 for your kindle or for your nook.

Also today I want to show off two of my newer foreign covers because they’re so lovely, they’re worth sharing. Here we have the German cover for Seduce Me

And the German cover for Desire Me. Which is beautiful, but I think kind of looks like the cover for a western historical.

And one last thing to share today, The Professor is guest blogging at Lila DiPasqua’s Midnight Dance Blog Party and you should go check out what he has to say. He’s sharing all kinds of insider details on the DeHart household. And actually all this month you can meet other romance husbands there, it’s sure to be a great time. I’m also giving something away so be sure to check it out.

So how about it, readers, are you interested in hearing from husbands or other family members of your favorite writers? If you could ask them a question, what would it be? And what about foreign covers, do you like to see how the different countries market and package your favorite books? Well, I can’t give away something there and not here, so one commenter here will win a copy of Her Gentleman Thief.

Robyn DeHart’s Desire Me has just sold to Germany and should be released in spring 2012!

As most of you know I’m pretty noodle-y about the whole writing process. Basically I’m just a writing geek. But the truth of the matter is that whenever I’m struggling with something (writing or otherwise) I have a tendency to dig my heels in and analyze everything, uncover every hidden nuance of the situation. With writing this has happened a lot because frankly I struggle a lot, as I think most writers do. It’s a challenging career, though that doesn’t mean that there isn’t love there just that it takes considerable work.

Lately I’ve been struggling with my current book. I’m at the revisions stage, meaning that I’ve got a rough draft that I’m know trying to make into a book that people will actually want to read. One of the things I often wrestle with at this stage is character stuff and this book is giving me problems. Both characters, but the hero, in particular. Now there are two things I look for when I’m working on this, something I call character essence, though I suppose I probably should call it their core, and the relationship dynamic.

So this character essence or core is hard to describe. It’s something I look for to sum up that certain something of the character, that something that makes the character feel real and unique. It gives me the right feeling so that I know how to get them on the page and keep them consistent. If I can’t find this for a character then I have to keep fumbling around until I get it right because without this, it’s really just words on the page.

The relationship dynamic boils down to the chemistry, the sparks that fly between the hero and heroine. It’s that magic, the big sigh effect that brings readers back again and again to your books. In my opinion this dynamic, though different in every book, has enough similarity with an author’s books that it’s why we tend to gravitate toward our favorite authors. Like I know when I read a Suzanne Enoch book I’m going to get a certain relationship dynamic, it’s what I love about her books and I get it every time.

So not sure if any of this makes sense to anyone else, but there you go, the thoughts in my head. The good news is, after some brainstorming with Emily yesterday, I think I’ve got all of this figured out for this book that’s been giving me trouble. So I sure hope this means that revisions will fly by now. I’m ready for this book to actually be a book.

What about your favorite authors, what is it about their books that make you come back again and again?