Critical vs Creative

I want to draw attention to 2 things my co-bloggers said in recent blogs: Kimber Chin said she was shamelessly promoting her book Breach of Trust which coincidentally comes out the same time as my historical romance, Flower of Passion; May 1st. I disagree, not shameless at all! [& thanks for leaving that promo door open for me, Kimber]

Then there was what Michael Davis, author of Tainted Hero said: He hates the editing process. Which happens to be the feelings of a whole lot of writers. I'm just the opposite. I love it. I love tightening up those run-on sentences. Adding description that draws a reader into the story. Love finding that gem of a sentence and polishing it until it literally shines, then reading it again and saying, "Wow, did I really write that?"

It's the 1st part, getting the story out of my head & onto the computer screen that I hate.

That's because the 2 halves of my brain are almost always in conflict. The creative half needs to come first, but the critical half keeps putting its 2 cents in before its turn. In other words, my muse is constantly being interrupted. I've tried lots of ways to get the critical side to shut up and wait its chance. I even have a big, colorful sign that says "Internal editor out to lunch." I hang it above my computer when I'm working on a 1st draft. So far, it hasn't worked. Maybe it doesn't eat.

I'd love to leash the critical side until I'm ready for it. How wonderful it would be to translate the images in my head into the computer without a gazillion interruptions! At that point, who cares if I've misspelled something or if that comma should be a semicolon, that period a question mark?

So if anyone has a way of quieting the critical brain [short of surgery] to allow the creative brain to flow, please share!!!

Rose Lerma
roselerma.com

The Family

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

Author of: Tainted Hero (Champagne books, 1/08), Forgotten Children (Champagne books, 7/08), The Treasure (Golden Acorn Publishing, 12/07)

It likely comes as no surprise that once you break through that thick barrier and become a published author, you experience some changes. For example, like it or not, a new mistress enters your life, the next book and the urge to get it out of your mind and into the computer. But there’s also an affect on your family. No, I’m not talking about the fact they never see you anymore. Let me give a few examples to illustrate.

1. When they were in their early teens, I asked my two sons, “What do you want to do with your life?” They each gave me a list of professions they were considering, and then I corrected their mindset. “No, boys. I mean, what would you like to do to draw enjoyment out of life. There has to be something that you’d like to do just for fun.” Both sons answered they wanted to write. That was the only time we discussed the topic. Twenty-two years flew by and I decided to do something I always wanted to do but never had time: write fiction. Shortly after reading my first novel, my two sons started writing fiction themselves, but they took a different road. A bizarre journey down the trail of horror stories. We still help each other by reviewing drafts and providing plot and character changes, but where as they think my stories are too emotional; I think theirs are too gory. It’s a constant battle, but we do benefit from each other’s insights. If you’d like to read some of their published stories, they have samples here. Be warned, they delve into the really dark side of fiction writing. I have nightmares after I read one of their stories.

2. In one of my novels, the main character loses his sister to a terrible flaw in the legal system. The character is plagued by guilt because he couldn’t save his little sister. Well, my sister’s name just happened to be the same as the hero’s sister. Go figure. Being that I modeled the hero after my mind set, it seemed appropriate to name the fictional sister after my sister. When my sister read the story, I got a phone call that went something like this:

“Hey bro, it’s your sister.” “Hey Babe, what’s up?”

“Read your book.” “And?”

“Great story, loved it. One problem.” “Like what?”

“Why the hell did you kill me off?” “What?”

“I'm finally in a book and you killed me.” “Yeah, but you had an important part.”

“What, being a corpse.” “But you were critical to the Hero’s turmoil.”

“Next time, let me make it to the end.” “Uh, sure thing Sis.”

3. Several of the characters in my stories come from relatives. Why? Because my female relatives have such colorful lives. For example, in TAINTED HERO, the hero’s cousin got word her husband was at a topless bar when she was pregnant. With her hormones flaring, she drove to the bar with an ice pick and commenced to flatten all the tires on his car. When the cops approached and asked what she was doing, she informed him her husband was inside looking at nude women while she was carrying his seed. The officer hesitated, then told her to be careful and got back in his car. When the husband got home … well, you’ll have to read the book to find out what she did then. Point is; the story was true. It was one of my cousins. Course I had to get permission to use it, and you can expect to see a lot of my relatives real live adventures in upcoming stories. I’ve got some wild relatives.

4. Then there’s the most important family member of all, my wife. I did modeled one heroine after my mind’s view of my wife, but with a bit more physical interest. Of course, I’m sworn to secrecy to never tell which one it is. Still, there have been other affects. For example, all my wife’s friends warn her to keep an eagle’s eye on me, seeing all these chats I participate in with all these female readers now that I’m an author. They’ve even gone so far as to warn me that they’ve got their eyes on me (and they’re not joking). Just don’t want an old man to have any fun.

My next post will discuss how stories evolve and take on a life of their own. Till then, have a good one.

Big Mike

The Seasonal Writer

I have two speeds, off and on. When I’m on a project, whether it is writing or launching a new product, I’m on it. Blinders on. Focusing on that task and that task alone.

That’s why I’m a seasonal writer.

For 8 months out of the year, I play in the business world. I LOVE it. I’m a business gal to my soul.

For 4 months out of a year, the slow summer, I write. I LOVE that also (can you tell that I’m a Gemini?). I wear my daytime pj’s and live full time in my fantasy world. I also get my drafts up to edit level. Have to because by the end of the summer, I need to send them off to my pre-editor (I plot and edit all year round).

It sounds like paradise but not everyone can handle it. A writer buddy of mine NEEDS the craziness of her day job. It inspires her. Other writers NEED to write full time, year round or at least that’s the financial goal. They have no passion at all for a non-writing job.

Me, I’m a seasonal writer and usually it works out well….

Except for the shoulder months. Like now. When I’m winding up a contract gig and starting to think about the next novel. I get anxious. I get excited. I can’t wait. It is torture, this ending, this waiting.

I feel the same about the writing towards the end of the summer. Working on that third or fourth draft, I can’t wait to be done. I count the days to getting back to the business world.

What is your preferred writing schedule? If you’re a reader (and all writers are also readers), do you see a seasonal swing in your reading tastes and consumption?


$

Kimber Chin's first novel Breach Of Trust is launching May 2008. That is not helping with her shoulder season craziness.

ROMANCING THE GEM

A gem (not germ) of a story idea hits you, but then you remember a well-known piece of advice… write what you know. If we only wrote what we knew our choices for plots would be extremely limited. What to do! What I do is research the net, newspaper stories, and badger those who are expertise in the field I want to probe.

I love the mystery of the isolated coves and inlets of the Eastern Shore Region of Nova Scotia. Drug smuggling by sea is prevalent there but what did I know about it? Zilch!

Google is fine for finding general information, yet it alone can’t give that personal touch that will reflect in the story. For Means To An End, I contacted an RCMP officer and got his perspective from their point of view, then decided to go into chatrooms to see if I could locate prison guards who could tell me something about the seedier side of life. I needed this awareness since the characters were dealing with criminal elements.

Not to end my research there, I needed a heroine who could personify a character against the justice system to provide immediate conflict with the RCMP officer striving to bring down the drug trade. To develop her I contacted another writer who worked in the Justice department here. To boost the setting’s sensuality, I persuaded my hubby to take me to stay in a chalet at the resort where the H&H relationship developed. We went back three times, lol.

Much of the information I received I could also use in Undercover Trouble and the book practically wrote itself. Something About That Lady was drawn from what I did know having lived in Alberta and passing a huge ranch on each trip to Banff.

A Spirited Liaison, which is an April release from Champagne Books, required more than a rich imagination and a Kenny-Rogers type privateer who plays such an integral part in the development of the H&H relationship. I researched museums and diaries of real privateers and, to go into it deeper, I enjoyed a cruise on the Bluenose11 to learn what it would feel like for my characters to hear the sails billow and feel the sea breezes from the vantage point of the ship modeled on schooners of long ago.

So don’t be put off by writing on what you don’t know… learn what you need from the experts. Happy writing! Carol McPhee: http://www.geocities.com/carolmcphee2003

Research, Research, Research! by Angela Ashton

I love reading and writing Historicals and Time-travel novels. Half the fun is in the research. In order to bring a good historical to life, you really have to give the reader a good picture of the times...what foods were popular? How did they cook them? Where did people live? Politics? Fashion? Speech? ...and more. In writing time travel, you have twice the fun in the search!

It takes some time and dedication, but if done right, the end result shines like a pirates doubloon.

The first novel I ever attempted was Amulet of Fate. It takes place in present day and 14th century Scotland and was SO much fun to write that I couldn't stop with just one novel. Once a Rebel (Book 1 in the Orphan Train series) is just post Civil War and easily the fastest novel I ever wrote and researched (6 weeks). Corsair Cove, coming in August of '08, is set in present day and 18th century.

I'm fine-tuning a novel called Adrian's Angel, set in present day and 1692 Salem...I got so wrapped up in the research for this book that I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to end the story...one night I woke up around 1:30 and had dreamed the entire, perfect ending! Complete with a twist!! (I LOVE when my characters take over!) ...also working on titles called Egyptian Cotton, set in present and ancient Egypt, A Question of Honor, Scottish historical; Spirit of the Djinn (book 1) present day with flashes to King Solomon's days as well as the Djinni realm, and Gift of the Djinn (book 2), and a series of Time-travel Vampire chronicles, just to name a few.

My research often leads to ideas for other stories and I have to say, it's like magic when that happens and I want to write the new story NOW! LOL

Until next time, happy reading...and research!
Angie

http://www.angelaashtonbooks.com/

An Interview With Carol McPhee

I took the opportunity to sit down recently with Carol McPhee, author of Undercover Trouble, Alaskan Magic and, her latest release, Something About That Lady.

What is it about your new release, Something About A Lady, that gets you excited?

Something About That Lady was my first novel published back in 2004. Through publishing with Champagne Books last month it has been revived and improved and there is hope of getting it to a wider audience. Most important is that Jed Cameron is my favorite hero of the dozen or so I've written. The stronger the alpha male characteristics, the farther the hero has to fall to meet the heroine's expectations. Brie Beaumont has issues of her own and after suffering years of degradation she's not about to let a Rocky Mountain rancher stop her healing process.

I see that many of your heroines are older. What makes the older heroine special?

To me an older heroine has a wealth of experiences a writer can use. Older women are generally more secure to start with, wiser in decision-making and more established in her own body, which in itself provides lots of humor and sympathy.

You're a dietitian. How does that training help/hurt with writing?

My dietetic training helps tremendously with hospital stories. Be Still, My Heart! had more of me in it than in any of my other works because a dietitian was the heroine dealing with an autocratic cardiac surgeon. None So Blind also dealt with hospital scenes when the heroine became blind. I'm currently writing a story that starts off in a hospital as well.

Why romance rather than a non-fiction book on nutrition?

Where's the adventure, challenge and thrill in learning about nutrition, something we should all know? Writing romance offers the world to the imagination of a writer. Lol.

For more information on Carol and her awesome novels, check out her site at http://www.geocities.com/carolmcphee2003/

Bio - Nancy Henderson

Website: http://www.nancyhenderson.com/

Writing With Style

No, I don't mean the actual style of the words you put down on paper (or your computer screen). I mean the style of the clothing, the furniture, and the objects on the table.

Some of us set our novels in the present – what is familiar to us. Our characters use items and wear clothing we wear today. Sally the divorcée drives a new Lexus, teenage Adam enjoys a Wii game with his girlfriend, and Mark scours the Internet for an IP address that solves the murder.


Sometimes we set our novels in our own past. We relive those moments in our youth that meant so much to us. This is where things can get sticky. We run the risk of alienating the reader with stuff they can't relate to.

Who remembers Clackers? I still feel the bruises on my forearms I received while playing with those things. What if I casually refer to a child playing with the toy while writing about the Seventies? A twenty-year-old could be yanked right out of the story.

Sometimes agents, editors and beta readers warn us against pigeonholing our work into a certain era. They think we should homogenize our work in order to appeal to the masses.

Should we ignore their advice and run the risk? Hell, why not? With a few fancy keystrokes, we can write these trendy objects into our stories and make readers feel as if they were part of that era. What's the point of escaping to another world if it's just the same as the one around us?

Historical writers do it all the time. They take the reader along for the ride. Through their books we encounter the stiffness of bone stays in our undergarments, smell popular lemony cologne, or maneuver a car twice the size and half the speed of the sensible vehicles we drive today.

Science fiction and fantasy writers can do it, too. They show us gadgets that we never heard of, but somehow they make sense. They convince us that purple jumpsuits with green piping are the latest fashion.

Go ahead. Let your heroine coif her hair like Farrah Fawcett. Let your hero admire the lime green shag carpet. It's up to you to make it real for the reader.

--Sandra Cormier
www.sandracormier.com
www.chumpletwrites.blogspot.com
The Space Between by The Wild Rose Press July '07
Bad Ice by Champagne Books July '08

Laws affecting blogs and bloggers

Michael W. Davis

(a.k.a Big Mike)

Davisstories.com

Author of: Tainted Hero (Champagne books, 1/08), The Treasure (Golden Acorn Publishing, 12/07), Forgotten Children (Champagne books, 7/08)

Hi Again. I know, I know, two days in a week. What's up with the big guy? Well, since no one else was scheduled for the day, I thought I would share a very interesting article I just read on laws that affect bloggers and blogging. Since I think that readers in general might find it interesting, I figured to share with all instead of just our own author loops.

The website Directory Aviva in May of last year provided a lengthy (but well written) article on laws that affect those that create and maintain blogs. I knew its 10 months old, but I thought it might still be of interest. Go here to read the article.

Big Mike
Davisstories.com

Interview with author of TAINTED HERO

Michael W. Davis

(a.k.a Big Mike)

Davisstories.com

Author of: Tainted Hero (Champagne books, 1/08), The Treasure (Golden Acorn Publishing, 12/07), Forgotten Children (Champagne books, 7/08)

Last week, I was asked to do an interview with a newspaper for my novel TAINTED HERO. Since no one was posting today, thought I would share a condensed version.

Where did the idea for TAINTED HERO come from

I was driving home from taking my sweetie to breakfast, and I heard a news report on the radio. It dealt with a topic I had worried about for many years. When I heard it, my immediate thought was, “Wow, its closer then I thought.” Then, “Hey, that would make a good storyline. Its got intrigue, personalized conflict, just needs some sweet loven, Hell, I can do that.” And the seed began. The final draft morphed significantly from the original idea. It developed a life of its own. By that I mean the story took twists and turns I never envisioned at the start.

Where did the characters come from

The hero was based 50% on the physical and emotional attributes of a friend that was a Specops officer in Desert storm, and 50% on myself in my younger days. The heroine was derived from a female I worked with in the Pentagon many years ago. I always found her extremely feminine (please don’t tell my wife). The villain was derived from a self-serving jerk I encounter on several projects I worked on for the Army. I only changed his hair color and age. The son of the heroine was based on images and memories of my son when he was a boy.

Where did the title come from?

The story was renamed three times. At its conception, I used the name Medium Contingency. As the story came to life, I changed it to Moral Paradox. When I sent it out to my hit squad (friends/family that are brutally honest and critical), my son came up with the final title. When I heard it, I knew I liked it. But just to be safe, I surveyed about two dozen friends/family and of the four titles I offered, Tainted Hero won hands down.

How long did it take to write?

The actual creation of the first draft only took about eight weeks. My mode of writing is to lock myself in a back room and leave this world until I get the story out. As corny as it sounds, I actually live the story as it evolves. That’s the fun part of it. The part I hate is the editing. I revised this particular manuscript over thirty times. The entire process, from birth to “I’m ready to submit,” took about five months.

Any other titles we should look for?

My second novel is entitled FORGOTTEN CHILDREN and is due out in July 08 (the cover can be viewed at Davisstories.com). It’s a romantic suspense that will scare the willies out of you. I’m in the process of revising my third novel (BLIND CONSENT) for the publisher. Frankly, I think it’s my favorite so far. It’s a hybrid between so many genres; I don’t even know how to classify it. But some of my hardest critics that loved the first two have said this was the best yet. Course, it’s the readers that really know if it’s good or not.

See ya again in two weeks.

Big Mike
Davisstories.com

Taking it seriously

First off, I'm excited to announce my latest Champagne release, Belonging, is now in print. This is a story near and dear to me, because my inspiration comes from my third great grandmother, who worked as a lumbercamp cook in the late 1800s. Check it out here.

What? You didn't think I'd miss an opportunity for some shameless promotion, did you? *grin*

Oh, all right...

When I started out writing, I considered it a hobby. Writing was something I’d done in periods of time where I didn’t have anything else to do. As the writing bug grew and my desire to become published gradually turned to obsession, I realized I would need to treat my craft as more than a hobby.

First and foremost, writing is a business. I believe this realization is the first mindset needed to taking your writing seriously. Publishers are in the business for one thing only: to make money.

So. In order to make money for yourself and for your publishers, you need to carve out a set number of hours to put into your business, which is what you are: a business.

When not on deadline, I need to write a minimum of twenty hours per week. I do this one of two ways. I work full time, but my nights are generally free, so I usually reserve 7:00 to 11:00 pm for writing time. That’s four hours Monday through Friday. Of course, things happen, so I can’t always keep this commitment, but I’m flexible enough that I can write on the weekends to at least get my twenty hours in. And most weekends I’m writing anyway, so I’m usually working over the set twenty hours each week. Sundays I reserve for my slug time when I flop on the couch, usually reading for pleasure or for research needed for a book I’m working on.

Another way to take your writing seriously is to have a writing space. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, just a spot where you come to write every day and your are free to leave your mess as is and call it your own. For years, I worked at the kitchen table. I now have a separate writing room. It’s cluttered and disorganized, but it’s my space. My cave where I can escape to my own little world. Or big world, depending on what I’m writing at the time. Going there forces me to take my writing seriously. I’m not quite sure how, but it does, so I go with it because it works. Don’t get me wrong, I also write in other places like the library, the local coffee shop (I don’t have the luxury of living near a Starbucks.) or even in my car on lunch hours. This is all fine. As long as it’s somewhere you can work. That’s what’s important.

I also set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. There are constantly changing, depending on what I’m working on. I constantly go back and revise them too. This helps keep me on track so I can see where I’ve changed, if I’ve gone a new direction, etc.

These are some of my own ideas for how I take my writing seriously. You can probably come up with ones that work for you.

Happy writing!

Nancy

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Interview With Eppie Winner Ciara Gold!

On March 8, 2008, Epicon held its award ceremony for the 2008 Eppie Awards. On the following Monday, the Champagne author loop came alive with the announcement that Ciara Gold had won an Eppie for her sci-fi futuristic, A Noble Sacrifice. All very exciting because Ciara is the first Champagne author to receive this honor.

Epic or the Electronically Published Internet Connection is a professional writer’s association organized to benefit those authors that are electronically published. The Eppies were developed to award outstanding work within the electronically published community. The competition is stiff so this is one award that is coveted by those that enter.

1) Can we hear a preview of your acceptance speech?

Too fun. I actually rewrote my dedication page and when I was done, it was a full page of accolades for all those who’d influenced my writing in any way. I e-mailed my publisher and told her I’d even included the kitchen sink. And I know that I’ve probably left out someone very important. Isn’t that the way it always happens? But for those of you writing, the dedication page is very important. Writers don’t get as far as they do by themselves. So – my acceptance speech, eh? Without boring everyone to tears, I do want to thank the Epic Author’s Eppie committee and the judges for all the work they poured into making this a very prestigious award. That said, I owe a lot to the Champagne publishing team and all the writers that make Champagne a publishing company I’m proud to be a part of. I could go on forever, but you’ll have to buy the book to read the rest of this speech.

2) What, other than the Eppie win, makes A Noble Sacrifice special to you?

Some books take months, years even to write and some come very easily. A Noble Sacrifice flowed. The characters came alive in my mind and knew exactly how they wanted me to tell their story. As a sequel to Celestial Dragon, this book allowed me to redeem one of the bad guys in the first book. Doing so was a challenge, but one that allowed me to stretch my mind. I loved creating the world for both books. Writing sci-fi futuristic romance gives me a sense of freedom that is lacking in any other genre. The only rules that exist are the ones I create. Gotta love the power of the pen and the all mighty imagination.

3) A Noble Sacrifice is a sequel to Celestial Dragon. Will there be another book in the series?

I have actually started another book, and now that A Noble Sacrifice has done so well, I will consider finishing it. I’m not sure when as I have three other projects going at the same time and dang if they aren’t all calling to me at the same time. But I trust my muse, so when she finally makes up her mind which book gets first chair, I’ll know then how soon this one will be ready. Vague – I know, but hey, that’s the creative mind for you.

4) What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever received?

Most every writer I know would answer – perseverance. You have to have a thick skin. I was told by a writer friend of mine, Colleen Thompson, that all the rejection letters you receive help you prepare for dealing with tough reviews. Every time I get a review that isn’t quite what I’d hoped for, I remember those words. You just can’t take it to heart and even bad reviews help drive traffic to your site.

I would also add patience when imparting wisdom to a would-be writer. The wheels in the publishing world move very, very slowly. But – once, you are published, you’ll find yourself on a bus that won’t let you out. No worries, it’s a pretty comfy bus with lots amenities, but one with very few pit stops. Be prepared to devote a lot of time to both writing and promoting. Books don’t sell themselves. You have to let the world know the book is worth their time.

The other piece of advice that I was given and believe strongly in is to never stop learning. Just when you think you’ve learned it all, someone, somewhere will give you a piece of wisdom that’s a true gem. Be a sponge and soak up all the information you can on craft and marketing news. You will be a stronger writer when you remain an apt student. Dang, now there’s a profound statement for the books.

Thank you Ciara!

If you haven't read A Noble Sacrifice and want to read the best of the best of Sci Fi/Futuristic Romance, pick up a copy today. Better yet, start from the beginning of the series with Celestial Dragon because, although A Noble Sacrifice can be read on its own, you are going to love it so much, you'll want to read all the books in the series.

Birth of a Story

It comes in the still night hours, first as a whisper, then a nudge. Finally, a shout that leaves me with chills. But, then I always get them.

I jerk awake, grab at the blankets and pray my sleeping husband wouldn’t demand, this time, that I ignore what is happening. It isn’t the first time. I can only hope it won’t be the last.

With care, I slide from the bed and creep through the hall to my office. There was a time when my office was a corner of the kitchen, then a niche in the basement, which created a real problem, but now I’ve graduate to my own room.

Slipping into my chair, I gaze at my sleeping computer. Nothing for it. I have to turn on the machine. It might be two o’clock in the morning, but I can’t let it go. Never.

What is going on, you ask?

Why, a story! A full blown tale, played through my dreams, waking me in the middle of the night, demanding, no, screaming so loudly I must leave that warm bed, and the love of my life and seek the cold, dark office and a robotic machine, just to get the words on paper.

Fortunately, for me, I am married to someone who understands why I prowl around in the dark hours of the night to keep a solitary vigil before a computer screen, or drop out of a conversation to stare at nothing for long minutes before I begin a quick dash to find the always handy pencil and paper.

This is the life of an author. An idea, a precious bit of nothing, springs fully developed into your head and you can not sleep, or carry on a conversation until you have the idea, the character, the scene on paper. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, for a few minutes, solitude becomes your best friend. How lucky I am that my ‘real’ best friend understands.

Being a Famous Author

Someone told me recently that it is a good idea for an author to focus on how they are “famous”: post pictures of yourself with famous people, contribute to charitable events, do guest speaking spots. In other words, create an image of yourself that others are interested in hearing about.

I pondered this for some time. What, I thought to myself, have I done or can I do to show that I am “famous”?

Hmm…I once rode an elephant in the circus. It was a promotional stint while I was running the family auto parts business. My office assistant and I joined the parade signaling the start of the circus perched high atop a pair a wrinkle-kneed behemoths with nothing more than a little leather strap to hold onto. After the parade, our elephants were directed to sit in the middle ring while my assistant and I had a tug of war with a rope. I don’t even remember who “won” because I was too terrified of falling off the huge, wiry-haired beast but it did provoke a lot of comment!

And then there was the time I became an extra in the movie, Forget About It. I was working at a hotel in the Phoenix area at the time and we were hosting the movie’s stars: Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Robert Loggia, Charles Durning. The director, BJ Davis, was staying at the hotel as well and invited my boss and I to the set one day while they were filming. We were directed to become part of the crowd watching an interaction between Phyllis Diller and some unknown actor who was strutting about in a pair of chaps and nothing else. When he turned around, all you could see of him was a pair of tanned buns and a nicely sculpted physique (yeah, I didn’t mind standing there one bit!). Phyllis Diller, a very petite and classy lady, was kind enough to have her picture taken with both me and my boss by BJ but, sadly, he never sent us the photographs. And also, sadly, the film was released on a very limited basis and I can’t even find the DVD for sale so I’ve never seen my one and only, very limited, movie role.

The only other incident I can recall is being a twenty-year-old college student (so this was 1983, yikes!). I took a trip to Hollywood with my friend, who had been attending the California Institute of the Arts (she was a dancer) and showed me around. Somehow we managed to get into a very exclusive club off the Sunset Strip. My friend pointed out to me a very short, skinny young man with big, black hair and a big, burly bodyguard glued to his side. I’d never seen him before but my friend was very excited and went over to ask him to dance. He politely declined, saying in his breathy voice, “No, thank you”. Who was he? Prince, shortly before he became so well known and long before he became a symbol called "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince".

So there you have it. Those are my brushes with fame. Now I’ve just got to come up with something bigger and better. And you can bet that all of these incidents will show up in my books someday, somehow, especially now that I am branching out into contemporary romance. Stay tuned for more news!

Vanity Presses

Imagine you’re out shopping for a bag of potato chips. You head to your local grocery store and walk up the snacks isle. Ah, there you are. Several rows worth of potato chips. Quite a few of the bright bags sport “Made in Idaho”. The rest are a mix of tempting varieties from various other states. You make a choice from one of the other regions, and find upon inspecting the bag that the contents are horrible. Ok, so next time you try something else from the off-brands. This time you find insects. Eww. Lesson learned, you shy away from anything not made in Idaho. Had you picked that bag next to the infested one, you would’ve found a delightful treat – but you didn’t pick it. Nor is it likely that you will again.

Replace chips with books, and you have the dilemma presented through vanity presses. What is a vanity press? It is a printing service catering to writers who, for the most part, have no talent for the craft but still want to claim that they are “published”. This is the world of self-publishing, where there is nary a critical eye between the writer and the final product. They will print pretty much anything you send them. Some of these printing services are honest and straight-forward about what they do – charge fees for services rendered. Others will hide behind a guise of being a small press, but guide the hapless writer into a fee-charging service.

Self-publication is not a terrible thing in itself. Writers with no venue for their works – such as poetry, can at least get their work into a form for friends and family to appreciate. Amateur writers who just want to hand out a work or two will also find self-publication a welcome option.

Then, there’s the wannabe. He or she hasn’t the time, patience, or skill to become a good writer, but they dream of being published just the same. They just don’t want to work for it. They do, however, have money and desperation that drives them into the waiting arms of a vanity press. I’ve seen them all over MySpace proclaiming how their book “just got published”. If the damage was limited to their inevitable loss of money and dreams, it would still be a bad thing. How many writers never come to fruition after chasing these expensive short cuts to nowhere? Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop there. A lot of poorly written material from vanity presses is willingly gobbled up by Amazon.com and other vendors. These literary bombs end up right next to works from valid small presses – and end up giving small presses a very bad name.

I have had folks immediately lump me in with the self-published crowd simply because they see that I’m with a small press. It pains me to have to politely correct them on the two greatest differences. A small press pays the author, not the other way around. More importantly for the reader, a small press employs an editorial staff that are motivated to screen submissions for those kind of stories that will enhance their reputation and profits.

Right now, there is a move underway among small press publishers to establish and promote themselves through an association with set standards for admission into their fold. I hope that this effort will blossom into the sort of branding that a prospective reader can look at on a book and say “Ah, this is from a professional publisher.” Vanity presses constitute a growing threat toward credibility for both publisher and author. Only when both authors and publishers can advertise compliance to an agreed upon set of standards that screen out the junk pouring from vanity presses will both our reputations and livelihoods be properly safeguarded.

Kerry Tolan
“Blade Dancer” – now available from Champagne Books
www.kmtolan.com

An A-HA Moment

Many years ago I read an interview with Jude Deveraux, one of my favorite historical romance authors. Don't remember what the exact question was but in her reply was a statement I found strange. Jude stated that she'd had to scrap a story she was working on because the hero and heroine just didn't like each other. And that was after writing the first 100 pages!

I wondered how that could be when she created them so why couldn't she just make them like each other. After all, they're not real.

Several years later when a story I was working on was making me question my ability as a writer, I remembered Jude's interview and had that A-HA moment. I finally understood what she meant, and what was wrong with my story. My hero and heroine didn't like each other either, which meant there would be no happily-ever-after. Which meant it was not a romance. So after more than a hundred pages and hours and hours of research, I gave up on it. It's a decision I don't regret. Those characters are patiently waiting in the back of my brain for the right story and the right partners to materialize.

Rose Lerma
roselerma.com