Silence

Silence. I never really thought about it. The quiet of the clock ticking when there’s no one in the house. The stillness outside while walking to the mailbox. The blank void while driving without turning on the radio. Silence. It was always there, but I never noticed.

Until it went away.

When did life get so crazy? Is it just me, or does the world seem to be on overdrive? Cell phones, computers. Suddenly asap isn’t fast enough.

I’m spinning my wheels trying to keep up, and the treadmill seems to be speeding up. Suddenly I’ve become so busy I don’t even have time to visit the salon to get my hair done.

What’s the point of this post? Well, I’ve made a decision, and I’m shouting it from the rooftop. I’m welcoming back the silence. I need it to write, to sustain my health, my sanity, my happiness. I’m learning to say no, and I will actually practise it. It’s Friday night as I write this, and for the first time in months, I have no weekend obligations. Starting tomorrow, I will sleep late. Savor a large cup of coffee and think about my new novel while relaxing in my jammie pants.

What about you? Do you covet silence? How do you achieve it?

Regan's Turn at Bat! Why I like Time Travels

At least I think it is. I don't know where time manages to flitter and frittter off to. One moment it's 9:00 a.m. on the first of the month and suddenly it is midnight on the last day of the month. Where did those hours and minutes go?

At the grade year I stopped at the end of my last class and for some odd reason started to cry. I couldn't stand the teacher; none of us could. But for some reason I felt like I had to talk to her. I told her I was lost trying to figure out where the year had gone. What she told me wasn't all that happy, but it was definitely insightful. She said that from there on out time would seem to pass faster and faster. What was once a year would be a month, a month now a week and days would speed by. She was right. This is also the one teacher who's jaw would drop if she knew I was a multi-published author -- I was THAT bad in English class.

As I said, she was right. Time does seem to speed by more and more and I think that is why I not only enjoy reading, but writing time travels. It gives me a chance to see time stopped in its tracks and the chance to go back and do it right or better or more to my liking. The first I ever read was H.G. Wells The Time Machine and it's still a favorite. I also totally enjoyed the movie Time After Time with Malcom McDowell and Mary Steenbergen (I think that's how you spell it) which is about, essentially, H.G. Wells and the speculation he had his own time machine. My other favorites are the Lives of Jenny Logan (I own one of the rare copies ), Final Countdown, The Philadelphia Experiment and of course, Somewhere in Time. Even the Final Countdown and the The Philadelphia Experiment have happy, romantic endings. In the Final Countdown Katherine Ross gets her man and who can forget the final scene of The Philadelphia Experiment when Michael Pare walks through the fog to return to the future to be with woman he loves?

If you could travel to any place in time, where would you go?

ROMANCING THE BOTTLE?

"Did you ever hear of Captain Wattle? He was all for love, and a little for the bottle." was written by Charles Dibdin. The quote's funny. Over our lives we have discovered that what makes things amusing is that they are steeped in truth. So Charles Dibdin made us think and we've ran with his character and his love and drink.

Still, love and 'the bottle' together? Good or bad or indifferent? Depends on how you perceive romance and the affect of drinking while in the midst of romancing. In many ways, the use of drink dilutes (pun intended) the power of love. Therefore, should it be used as a plot device or avoided? We answer the afore question this way, we wish to write sober-based love-ships believing drink is a distraction but as a plot device it has possibilities.

Captain Wattle turned and heard, "Kiss me dear!" Saw Belinda with her lazy eye and one-tooth smile and felt fear.

How often has 'the bottle' influenced love. What's the old joke? Everyone looks better after three drinks. We all know about coyote ugly. We've all heard the way to get the ditzy babe on the roof is to tell her that the drinks were on the house. The concept of all that is so unattractive.

With the hook on his one hand, he de-corked the rum, turned to Belinda and smiled a gritty grin stating, "One minute, mum."

We sat down and made a conscious choice that we would not use 'the bottle' within our work when it comes to the relationship between our hero and heroine. Our characters are not teatotallers. We will not aggrandize drink nor preach sobriety. Will it be banned completely? No.

A chug... a chug-a-lug... a chug-a-lot was followed by an unintended burp and a change in this story's plot.

In KILLER DOLLS our heroine, Letti, had an employee who speaks of drinking and how it has touched her life, no not negatively, and Letti has contracted with a service company and 'the bottle' very seriously effects judgment and dramatically the plot outcome. We will not take the path of all the Jason movies and execute all drinkers... or will we... we could... we have taken control of our keyboard... tink... tink... drink... drink... bomb... dead!... oops... back space... erase... erase.... undo... no redo... what... is the truth... read our work and you will see threads that are common in each.

His head spun to the left and then to the right Belinda turned beautiful and was his for the night.

So with a sober smile I state, quoting Al Bundy, using his sneer-face, "Pretty women make us buy beer, ugly women make us drink beer!!!" There is a funny smell caught in that quote and a stench of poor relating. Romancing the bottle and romancing maybe innately a contradiction and it goes against our base philosophy about love. To quote ourselves, "...love can be found anywhere, anytime, by anyone as long as you recognize it."

EXCERPT THREE

Letti gasped at the unexpected behavior but she wasn't adverse to it. After all, he did something similar when he had kissed her so suddenly in her apartment. It felt like one of those fantasy moments, something right out of an old-fashioned bodice ripper. Yet, the moment wasn't quite right. There were those guys. Shouldn't they be a bit prudent, or did the possibility of danger turn Taut…well…taut.

She struggled but he refused to release her. He couldn't let her do anything that might spread the ricin. Gallagher had provided photos of ricin victims. He would not allow this to harm Letti. No one was to be hurt. Not again. Not on his watch. That imperative directed his next decisions.

His hold was an aphrodisiac, animalistic, driven, homogeneous with her want, placated only by submission to it, and her body began to respond. Shallow short breaths followed the intense heat smoldering in her groin, incinerating any resistance, and guaranteeing conflagration of raging flames of lust. The tight, pucker of her nipples signaled her growing arousal, and heaviness attached itself to her breasts, having that need to be touched. She surrendered to his authority, submitted, and urged him with her acquiesces to take more.

Once she stopped thrashing about, in the dark veil of silence still at her back, he grabbed her blouse, hand over one breast; she reacted to his touch as he balled the cloth in a huge hand, recalled the words, cut over-the-head garments away, and with one violent motion foreshadowing tremendous strength, tore it from her. In silence, he held it at arm’s length and disposed of it in an adjacent plastic-lined trash basket.

KILLER DOLLS IS AVAILABLE: Unaware that bio-terrorists are using her handcrafted dolls to attack the innocent, Letti Noel finds herself falling for Taut Johnson, an undercover FBI agent. Even as deceit is a growing barrier to their love, it's the stalking terrorists that are a threat to their lives.

We love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us and leaves an s-mail address, we will send you a gift and add you to any future mailings.

Angelica Hart and Zi
KILLER DOLLS ~ September 2009
SNAKE DANCE ~ February 2010
CHASING GRAVITAS ~ July 2010
angelicahartandzi@yahoo.com
angelicahartandzi.com

KILLER DOLLS can be purchased at
Champagne Books
http://www.champagnebooks.com/

One Reader at a TIme

I attended several book signings this past summer and early fall. Each presented it's own set of challenges and rewards, so I thought I'd categorize these places and discuss my experience with each so far.

Types of places to sell:

1. Regular book store like Borders, Barnes and Nobles
2. Independent book store which might include used paperbacks
3. General entertainment stores like Hastings
4. Libraries
5. Fairs, flea markets, etc
6. Conventions
7. Writer's programs
8. Special venues specific to subject in book

Three weekends ago, I had the opportunity to join Diana Castilleja at Kyle Market Days to sell my books. It was a beautiful day, though a bit windy. She had the tent set up when I arrived and we had a most enjoyable day. I only sold one book, but I still mark it as a success. The buyer let Diana know later that she enjoyed it. The following week, I joined Diana and Linda Mooney at the Borders in South Austin. We talked to a lot of potential readers, passed out a lot of marketing material and between us, sold eight books. I only sold two but again, I mark it as a very successful day. For one, Borders keeps our book indefinitely on the shelf. If those two readers like what they read, I'm hoping they'll return to buy more.

Earlier this summer, the three of us set up to sell at a Hastings in Kyle but entertainment places are not the best venue for selling. Most of the folks who walked in that afternoon were there to buy music or rent a movie so the clientele wasn't right for us. Will I work one again? Sure. Even when I don't sell, I feel successful because I did pass out bookmarks and connected with potential readers even if they weren't buying just then.

I was involved with one library event which was very successful. We had a panel discussion which pulled in readers, then sold books afterwards. I remember selling about five books but there were about fifteen authors involved so I'm thrilled with that number. I'm going to be working another library event this coming February in which my Once Jilted will be the featured book. I'm really excited about that event.

Lately, I've been making the sci-fi convention rounds with fellow author, Kerry Tolan. He and I just got through selling at Apollocon in Houston and I sold seven books. Previously, he and I sold at Aggiecon and I sold ten there. In February, he, I and Todd Hunter will attend DFWcon which is a much larger gathering. I will be involved in panels and book readings there with the hopes that I sell even more.

Basically, all book signing events are successful in my book. Even the ones in which I sell none or only one. Why? Exposure. So - one reader at a time acts as a fractal, because if one reader likes the book, he/she will spread the word so then maybe two or three more folks will pick the book up and read and then tell their friends.

Word of mouth is the best form of promotion ever.

Making Time To Write

A couple of months ago, I went to a writer's workshop on Time Managment. I'm terrible at making time to write. Everything seems to get in the way. No matter what I tell myself at the beginning of the day, I find the hours slipping away and to my horror, I've spent no time on my writing at all.

At least, that used to be the problem.

Then I attended the workshop because I felt I really needed this. It all had to do with goal setting, but for once, what the presented made tremendous sense.

She explained most authors set their goals much too high and are doomed to failure even before they start. She said what worked for her was setting realistic goals. She worked full time, and squeezed her writing into her busy day by planning to write five pages each day - just five pages.

Always before, I wanted to write a scene, a chapter, all twenty pages and the task seemed daunting, so I'd get nothing done. Instead I'd read e-mails, work on my web page, promote (all important) but all the promoting in the world wouldn't do a thing if I couldn't write another book. But that was my excuse - to me. I needed to promote.

So I did what she suggested. I divided the number of pages a usual book took by five. Since my historicals usually ran about 325 pages, if I wrote five pages a day for six days, (I figured one day would be essential for other things) it would take about eleven weeks to write a whole book. That was less than two months. I could do that.

Now, I write five pages a day - first. Sometimes I find I need to write more, but I also followed another of her suggestions. I stop in the middle of a sentence, or a scene. When I go back to the work, I know what I have to do.

It has worked for me. I'm writing more, feel less stressed and satisfied with my new goals. At least they work for me.

Allison

Writer's write!

Last weekend my local RWA chapter hosted a conference. If you know that RWA stands for Romance Writers of America, I’m sure that you think this conference specialized in writing romance. And I think you would be pleasantly surprised to hear that it didn’t. Of course our Keynote Speaker was the wonderful Kathryn Shay, author of about a million different romance titles (I exaggerate, but not by much). No, our conference was a whole day of simply writers. We had a screenwriting panel, marketing, sci-fi and fantasy, YA, one page critiques and a publisher taking pitches.
Over the years this RWA chapter of mine has hosted several conferences. But all of them have focused on writing romance. So changing to hold a writer’s conference was a big deal to us. To be honest, we might have had more attendees if we had held the traditional romance conference. People would have known what to expect and knowing what you are paying for always makes it easier to fork over your hard-earned money.
But for us, it was important to connect with other writers.
We started to think about ourselves and what we wrote. Very few members of our chapter wrote strictly romance. And we felt we had so much to learn from other writers. Besides, we thought, aren’t the lines of commercial fiction beginning to blur a little? Melt together? Look at the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. A romance? Yes. A paranormal? Yes. A YA? Yes. So how can ignore the simple fact that writer’s write? Where their books are placed in the bookstore is not as important as the fact that they were written.
Jen Bokal

Exercise Your Mind

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” -- Sir Richard Steele

This is the quote I got this morning on my Google home page and it got me to thinking. I was interviewed by Kat Hall, our dear admin at Champagne Books, for the October newsletter at A Champagne Toast. One of the questions is “What inspired you to write?” My instinctive response was that I’ve always been an avid reader and I so enjoyed reading books that I wanted to write one, too.

This holds true for anyone who is a (good) writer. After all, if you don’t like to read, how can you possibly write? It would be like someone who doesn’t enjoy eating becoming a chef – if your taste buds aren’t tempted by diverse flavors and unique spices, you’ve got no business cooking. Same thing goes for an author writing a particular genre – if you don’t love reading romance books, rooting for the heroine and hero to get together and find love, how can you write a good one?

Much like Big Mike wrote in his post, “The Hidden Return”, the authors on this blog don’t do what we do because it’s lucrative. We do it because for us it is something we are compelled to do. We want to give something to readers that leave an impression, make them think, give them a chuckle, or even cause them to shed a tear. We have a story inside us – probably more like dozens or even hundreds– and feel the need to get it down on paper so we can share it with others.

Even romance novels can exercise the mind. Contrary to what many people think, writing a romance novel is an exercise in research, grammar, and the ability to get inside a character’s head and tell a compelling story – at least the good ones. Sure, there’s a lot of trash out there, particularly from the big publishing houses where the name of the game is money and it’s more important to have popular authors shoot out books like a bitch giving birth to a litter rather than create something unique, compelling, and thought-provoking. IMO, the smaller, indie publishing houses do a far better job of publishing really good books, no matter the genre.

So keep your mind fit. Go out and buy a book. Instead of thinking of reading as a luxury reserved only for those rare precious moments when you have a bit of time to yourself, think of it as exercise for the mind – and there’s a lot of great fitness routines over at Champagne Books.

Candace Morehouse
www.candacemorehouse.com

Epilogues

Since I wrote a little on a prologue, I thought I would introduce its little sister who lurks at the back end of the book.

Epilogues are similar in fashion to prologues – the closing scene to the story’s opening scene. As with prologues, you are not necessarily going to employ an epilogue. Often, what new writers consider an epilogue is merely their last chapter.

So, when do you know that an epilogue is right for you? For me, it is an answer to that feeling of unfinished business. A final tie for those loose ends, or a springboard for an upcoming sequel. More importantly, it is an event that happens well after the story should end. An epilogue saves you a dreary extra chapter full of nothing but your attempt at filler between when the climax happened and when you know the unfinished business happened.

For me, an epilogue is all about cause and effect, and centers on how much story time should pass from “cause” to the final “effect”. If this length of time is great enough to jar the reader, and I can’t come up with anything worth spanning that time in a way the reader would find reasonably entertaining, then it’s time for an epilogue.

In my first book Blade Dancer, I saw no need for an epilogue. The final scene said it all.

In Waiting Weapon, however, the climax (cause) took care of an immediate global threat, but left unfinished both some negotiations and the final disposition of the characters. These things required several months of story time to logically be expected to happen. It would have taken me at least another chapter full of talking heads and little real drama to arrive at a final resolution. Enter an epilogue to tidy things up.

Rogue Dancer, my upcoming sequel to Blade Dancer, ended up with a completely satisfactory end scene, however there was no forward movement into the third planned book in the series. Here, where the primary plot was quite finished, the greater story representing the span of the entire series is still very much in motion. This is the “springboard” reason for an epilogue – so one was provided.

Once I have established the need for an epilogue, I follow a loose set of goals:
1. It must be removed in time and/or space from the rest of the story, but be part of it.
2. It is restricted to one scene.
3. It must not be a lot of narrative. Very much showing through dialogue and action.
4. It firmly ties loose ends to leave the reader satisfied.
5. It introduces a scene to intrigue the reader if a sequel is in the works.

Differences from a prologue are few, but important. An epilogue does not have to contain a dramatic scene or “hook” – usually you’re after a warm glow. Sure, you can pull off a “twist” if you want, but such a thing might be more genre-specific. I could see any horror story aiming to leave the reader with anything but a warm glow, for instance.

How far can you extend an epilogue? As far as you want, assuming you are still relating it to a story. A quick scene from the perspective of your main character’s children...or grand children, is quite permissible. Or someone looking up at a monument ages later. It really has to do with what unfinished business you are trying to close. What you want to do is ensure that the actions, dialogue, and thoughts of the characters in this scene adequately cover the jump in time in such a way to keep things connected and believable. What you want to avoid is narrative staring out at the reader such as “Five months passed, and this and that happened.”

Kerry
kmtolan.com

The Mush Factor

Investment of the Heart was the second book I'd written. It sat on the back burner and after writing several other stories, I brought it out, dusted it off and submitted it to Champage Books. I worried that the conflict wasn't strong enough, that it had too many characters, and then there was the mush factor. A friend thought it was too mushy.

I was delighted when I received a contract for this story and the reviews it's received have been excellent.

"I highly recommend this book. It is one to not be missed. The storyline will remain within the mind of the readers long after the book ends. Kudos to Ms. LaRoque!" Brenda Talley, The Romance Studio

"By the time you get to the end of this story, you will be searching for other books by this author. You will not be disappointed in this story. " Roberta, You Gotta Read Reviews

"The story flows smoothly and moves quickly to a surprising but inevitable conclusion leaving the reader to wonder how these characters fare in the future. That, to me, is a sign of a good author." Gail, Night Owl Romance

So, I guess one person's mush is another's food for the soul.

Thanks for Reading!

Linda

http://www.lindalaroque.com/

http://lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/

The hidden return

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

If you’re an author associated with the big eight (Random house, Penguin, etc) chances are writing is more of a monetary endeavor than the 99.8% of published writers (like myself and many on this blog) who are driven because of the mental return offered by the writing experience. There’s another side of the “return” equation I had not explicitly considered until last week when a reader asked me about several scenes in my first novel TAINTED HERO that moved him in an emotional or humorous fashion. He asked where those particular scenes came from and as I often do, I explained that many things I write about are derived from my personal memories, friends and family. As I went on and on and on, I began to realize that there was an element to becoming a published writer that I had never before considered, namely: sharing my world with others in a form that will extend beyond my time.

You see, the vignettes based on the pain my grandmother suffered for being native American, or the humor from when my cousin whacked her husband in the head with a frying pan for going to a strip joint, or the moment I watched my dad give his lunch money for a month to a single mom out on her luck; they're all real. In these and other elements of my personal life that have flowed into my stories, writing has provided an outlet to share my memories with others, and in so doing broaden the awareness of the wonderful people that mean so much to me.

I also now realize the tremendous opportunity I’ve had as an author to convey to my grand daughter the degree to which she is loved by her Pa Pa. In two of my novels, the activities and scenes blended into the story for the little girl in BLIND CONSENT and SHADOW OF GUILT were based on things my GD was doing at the time or activities she and I were sharing together. At my stage of life I’m clever enough to grasp that each passing year reduces my changes of seeing her into adulthood. What better way to let a young woman know how important she is, that she was loved so much to always be in the thoughts of her father and Pa Pa, and what a gift she is to bring comfort into the lives of so many.

I never considered these intangible benefits when I starting writing, but now when I think about it, what more could you what?

See ya in four weeks.


Big Mike
Michael W. Davis (Davisstories.com)
Author of the year, 2008

Blind Consent, “The answers are buried in the secrets of the past.”
Forgotten Children, “Only Sara knows the truth.”
Tainted Hero, “Sometimes good people do bad things.”
The Treasure, “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.”
Veil of Deception, “Sometimes the truth cuts deeper than a lie.”

It Starts With One

Allison Knight mentioned in her wonderful post that writers have different ways of building characters so I thought it would be fun to share how I now build my characters.

Now build because it took me a while to figure this out. I didn't use this technique with Breach Of Trust or Selling Forever but it will be how I build books from now on.

I start with one character. Yes, I know that a romance is about two people, the hero and the heroine, but all of my novels start as one character's story. I consider my novel ready for an external editor when the story is balanced.

With Invisible, that character was Maeve. I had a pretty good idea of who Maeve was. She is the invisible woman, a woman who prides herself on not making a ripple in the world. She has no history. She doesn't talk about herself. She doesn't get involved with anyone else. She scares easily. She's petite (easier to hide when you're small).

Her love interest had to be different enough to cause conflict but be able to appreciate Maeve for who she is. Hagen heads an auction house. He places a higher value on things and people with a history. Ohhh… conflict. He can't understand a woman with no history. AND complementary. Digging into pasts is what Hagen's good at. He talks a lot and he talks quickly. Conflict. He doesn't understand non-verbal communication. AND complementary. He talks. Maeve listens. He is a large man but very controlled. Conflict. He scares Maeve at first. AND complementary. He's able to give Maeve the space she needs.

One of the baddies is Isabelle, Hagen's sister-in-law and ex-girlfriend. Isabelle is who Maeve aspires to be. She's secretive. She's self serving. She doesn't care about anyone other than herself. She is Maeve with her privacy paranoia taken one step too far.

Another love interest for Maeve is Tavos Santos (his book, Flawless, is out February 2010). Tavos shares many of the same beliefs about privacy and secrecy as Maeve. You would think these two would make the perfect couple. That they don't shows Maeve that she isn't and will never be who she thinks she is.

Every character in Invisible is connected to either Maeve or Hagen. They either reflect or contrast personality traits, fears, wishes.

That makes a fun book. No lazy characters. They are all working hard to give Maeve and Hagen their happy ending.


$

Every month, Kimber Chin gives away her favorite romance eBook read the month before. To enter, visit http://businessromance.com/

WHY IS DR. HOUSE DIFFERENT?

I've done my best to figure out why both my Life Partner and I enjoy watching Dr. House and his cohorts on TV. When I tell you I don't watch TV, it's the truth. I never can find a program I want to watch anymore. The Viking views all the news , so he tells me what's going on. He's going to discuss the news even if I do watch, so in not watching, I don't miss a thing. never would have started watching House if Elmer hadn't convinced me I HAD to watch one episode. I'm a retired RN, but I never have cared for medical series--House, I had to agree, was different. Of course I realize part of the charm is the fantastic actors on the show, but it's also an intelligent and often amusing observation of what drives human beings. Every once in awhile, part of an episode goes over the top--but that's rare. Both of us can't wait for the new series to start.
The Viking and I, he a Cancer, me a Capricorn, are about as different in our tastes as two people can be. But we both enjoy House. Haven't quite figured out why yet.
Which brings me to another gripe. I rarely find a new movie I want to see. Sure I'm old, but am I that jaded? That much of a fogie? I love amusing comedies, but so many of the current crop fall flat. No one does musical comedy any more. It's quite possible I've just lived too long, but I'm not a prude. In fact, I find it boring having to see, in practically every new movie, actors having sex. At first I found it funny rather than sexy, because, face it, the positions we have to get into look ridiculous on film. No one, including me feels that way when we're involved in these activities ourselves, but watching actors simulate sex in those positions doesn't turn me on. But then, I've been know to skip excessive sex scenes in books as well because I'm in a hurry to know what happens after that. Why doesn't it turn me on? Since it never did, I can only figure, I need the tactile sensations that come with making love. Maybe when touchy-feely movies come in I can enjoy them vicariously. If I live that long.
So, is there any sex in my next book coming out from Champagne in January 2010? Lots. This tale of an American guy, a pilot from Colorado who gets involved with a British spy master during WWI, has everything. Dog fights, sexy French gals, the old double-cross, the inside of a German-run Belgian prison and the possibility of true love, while you watch this brash young American realize life is not as simple as the rules of the Old West he came from. For him, it's either learn fast--or
die. Watch for NIGHTINGALE MAN! Jane

Just a short note

Hi everyone.

Today is my day to pop into the blog, say hello and share. Unfortunately I'm not feeling all that great so there won't be much sharing here. I caught some kind of virus and have been down with a flu like bug for the last two weeks. (I have promised if I'm not better in the next week I'll go to the doctor.)

I was sitting down with my calendar this past week. I had submitted some work to a publisher and was marking the calendar dates to see when I should hear. Well the guides say that you should hear in 14 to 16 weeks on submissions. So I grabbed my handy-dandy desk calendar and began counting and discovered that 16 weeks is December 22nd. Then I was like AAA WOW! Christmas is 16 WEEKS away?

Does that just ruin your day or what? LOL I mentioned it to my mother and she liked to slap me down...LOL To help the mood, how about I share the video for my November release, a holiday novella, Noella's Gift? ENJOY!



I hate to end this so quickly but I'm ready to lay down for a while. Hope y'all have a great week, keep healthy and I'll see you again soon!

HUGZ!
Donica

Open Mic Sunday and I have some happy news!

I was thrilled Friday morning to open my email to a four diva review for Michael's Flight, Book 2 of the Descendants of Earth series! Aside from a great comment about my secondary characters who always seem to end up with their own stories, Diva Melissa had this to say:

<<<
Regan Taylor did a marvelous job of creating not one planet, complete with vivid descriptions and history of the inhabitants, but two planets, plus one or two more that were not described, but I did get to learn a little bit about. The history of each planet and what came about to bring people to them was very cool, indeed. I could have read even more about the planets, people and history and not tired of it.
>>

You can read the entire review (and comment) at
http://ddrreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/michaels-flight-by-regan-taylor.htm

Interstingly, the comment on my secondary characters led me to blog about them today on the Vivacious Vixens blog at http://vivaciousvixensofromance.blogspot.com/ Come by anytime and share your thoughts about secondary characters!

Keeping that important 'idea' booklet

I'm sure that there are other authors out there who have multiple projects on the go. Probably one or two books that they work on while they're waiting to hear from a publisher or agent. Its a sad truth that I'm one of those to the extreme. Currently I have three WIP on the go and am researching and plotting another two.

I like that I've got multiple projects on the go. When one quits talking to me I can move onto the next until I'm in a position to finish any or all of them. Still I've found that help is necessary. To keep everything straight I'm a firm believer in the "idea" book. In it I write down ideas for upcoming books, length, genre, heat level, and short blurb.

Keeping them straight isn't always easy, sometimes I get the characters mixed up, or the plot line straight, or put the characters in a scene, setting that is totally beyond what the story is about. So the idea book is a wonderful tool. I can keep everything and everyone straight and organinzed, keep my mind from darting about in a dozen different directions - more so than usual anyway.

So I'm curious to know if anyone else uses an idea book or something similiar. Pantser or Plotter alike, how do you keep your book ideas, characters and plots straight and organized so you don't have faux paux all over the place?

Weaving Fiction with Fact...

Tons of writers have done this with tremendous success...James Cameron's mammoth blockbuster 'Titanic' is just one of many. Cameron kept most of the facts clean, just embellished the infamous tragedy with a heartbreaking romance that keeps us all reaching for the box of Kleenex each time it's viewed.

Instead of concentrating on one story, I've fallen into the habit of working on SEVERAL stories simultaneously. Believe it or not, it helps when I hit a roadblock as sometimes if I'm working on one story & not sure where I want to go next, I'll jump to another WIP and come up with new ideas/twists for the 'other' W(s)IP that had me flustered--and often come up with a totally new idea for my next WIP!

Which, brings me to my topic...*G*

How far can you go in writing 'real people' into your stories...?

I wrote a time-travel story involving the Salem Witch Trials, but changed the names of all the players a while back as I was informed that if I used actual names, I had to seek out permission from living descendants.

When I wrote Corsair Cove, King Louis was a major player. Now, I'm working on a tale involving Jack the Ripper. As this refers to the murderer and not the man and don't expect I'll be sued for defamation of character, I'm keeping some of the facts/'Ripper' name the same. Still undecided about his tragic victims names...would like to be able to keep them factual.

The following is from the First Amendment Center and you can read more here:

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/speech/arts/topic.aspx?topic=libel_fiction

Judge Robert D. Sack of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, author of the defamation treatise, Sack on Defamation: Libel, Slander and Related Problems, describes when a libel suit might result from a work of fiction:
"Where the defendant invents defamatory dialogue or other defamatory details in what purports to be nonfiction, uses actual people as fictional characters, or bases fictional characters on living persons but fails sufficiently to disguise the characters, so that the fictional characters are understood to be 'of and concerning' their living models, liability for libel may result."
Even if the work contains a disclaimer stating that it's fictional, a libel claim can still arise. However, plaintiffs must clear certain hurdles. In order to state an actionable claim for defamation, a plaintiff must show: publication, defamatory meaning, false statement, identification and damages. In libel suits arising out of fiction, arguably the toughest hurdle for plaintiffs to clear is the identification, or "it's me" requirement. The plaintiff must establish that it is the plaintiff being defamed. In libel-law lingo, this is called the "of and concerning" requirement. Harvard law professor Frederick Schauer has called the "of and concerning" requirement "the centerpiece of litigation involving fiction."

I'd love to read your thoughts on the matter!

Until next time, happy reading/writing,

Angie

http://www.angelaashtonbooks.com/

Amulet of Fate

Once A Rebel

Corsair Cove

available now via http://www.champagnebooks.com/