Are Women Men Enough to Change Our Points of View?

Point of view is among the most important elements in a story of any length. It may be the most important because the reader experiences the story though the eyes of the key character to see and feel the action and emotion.

Novelists have the option of writing from the third person omniscient POV, a good way to tell a story. Most of us write from the POV of our own gender. That’s why I’m in a bit of a quandary about writing my current WIP.

My critique group went mad after I read the first chapter that starts when my hero is seven.

"Is this a Y/A?"

That’s something I’d never write. They know me better than that. I must have done something really wrong. I rewrote the first chapter to do justice to the man who saved my life. I was lucky enough to know nothing about him—almost. That freed me to make up his life as long as I followed psychologically believable plot lines. I’m now adding familiar scenery, business and internal dialogue.

But, was my story manly? Originally it was to be called "Man Enough to be a Nurse," The question was would my voice and POV be up to making a man out of a mountain, because he was a very special mountain in my life.

In real life, -- some of you fictionist may still remember real life -- he and I had crossed paths twenty years earlier when he worked as a hospice nurse and I as a volunteer. He left because he didn’t like the Medicare influence; it cramped his view of hospice. He showed up in the nursing home rehab where I was recuperating from my broken arm and femur. When I went into anaphylactic shock after a codeine error, he recognized the symptoms long before I lost conscientness and called 911.

Before and during this time, I’d been observing him. The night before my possible demise, he told me he had just sold his temp agency and would be retiring at age 49. Presently he was working only two nights a week. I know a lot of PhDs who’d take that job.

So how did he get from childhood to hero in 49 years? That is my job: to portray him as he might have been from age seven until the present day, and sound manly.

You'll know if I’m not around as often I must be "with" my hero, the man who was man enough to be a nurse.

Julie Eberhart Painter is the Champagne Books author of Mortal Coil, in which she practices both medicine and law without licenses, and Tangled Web, a story close to her heart. See Julie’s Web site: www.books-jepainter.com The World, the Flesh and the Devil, American Castles and Tahitian Destiny are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble Her nonfiction e-book, From the Inside Out, a volunteer looks at staying motivated, is considered a best seller on the Net.

Should I confess...this is my first time?

No, I'm sure it will become obvious soon enough that this is my first blog. So here are the facts: I was born in a small Arkansas town during the previous century. (You didn't expect me to tell you the year, did you?) My southern roots weren't deep enough to hold me though and I soon found myself moving around the country, until I finally landed in the high desert of western Nevada, where I have a terrific view of the Sierra Nevada and a short drive to fantabulous Lake Tahoe.

It wasn't until I discovered the forever vistas of the Southwest that I found the inspiration to chase my lifelong dream--to write. So here I am now, on the verge of becoming a published author in my own right. (More about life as half of a writing team in a later blog)

At the tender age of ten, I was astonished to learn that a letter I'd written to a Memphis newspaper about a pitifully ugly comic strip character had been published in Letters to the Editor. And so the seeds were sown. From that day on, I was certain that I was fated to be a writer.

Have I impressed anyone yet? Probably not. And certainly not a certain teacher in the one-room schoolhouse in Datil, New Mexico (a mere wide spot in the road), where I spent most of one school year as teacher's helper because I was the only student in the 8th grade.

Still, the dream lived on. And as an adult, I spent too much time producing personal opinion columns and restaurant reviews--all without earning a cent. Heck, I even had to buy my own meals at those eating joints. (One of which was truly terrible.)

Yet I finally achieved my goal of getting paid for my writing with a very short poem that appeared in True Love magazine.
Hooray, I was on my way! NOT!

I became a stringer for a weekly newspaper, had a short story published in a small-format magazine, and sold a travel article which covered the front page of the Dallas Morning News’ Sunday travel section. Wheee!

With the publication of that short story in Sunshine magazine, I felt as though writing fiction was a decadent dessert after years of a “no-sugar, no-salt, no-fat” diet.

So, can you imagine how excited I am to learn that Champagne Books will release my action packed, romantic adventure novella, Border Heat, in June, 2011?
Pinch me, please, I’m still dreaming!
Thanks for stopping by. Please come back again next month when I talk about what inspired Border Heat.

Ramona Butler

Bitter Grapes--Dealing with Tragedy

While the sour grapes deals with the taste of the fruit, and often is more about a character's perception and reaction, bitter grapes deal with greater issues of rot and blight, disaster and tragedy. These are issues more often of setting and plot rather than character. The characters must navigate these predicaments and crisis. The characters in these stories walk in the shadow of adversity, and when dealing with bitter grapes, there may be no happy ending.

As in real life, some situations cannot be change no matter how hard people try. Some societies hold such perverse attitudes and social structures that they destroy generations, and it may take more generations to heal. Issues of slavery, racism, intolerance, war, class divides, poverty, incurable disease and apocalypse can lead characters to unfathomable loss, desires for vengeance, and ultimate calamity. Bitter grapes are where the vine is diseased and mental rot has set in. This is what a story of bitter grapes explores, and the specter of death always hovers. Suspense is king because there is always an imperative question placing the characters at risk. Can the situation be overcome? Can anyone survive? Here antiheroes can dwell as easily as heroes.

In such narratives the author must tread as warily as the characters, for the reader's involvement is essential. Preachy and superior tone won't convince readers. Telling won't work for the reader must draw their own conclusion, and even in the wake of ultimate tragedy, a glimmer of hope must prevail. The author's words establish the question, detail the situation, and guide the reader to what must be known, what must be learned. Can there be a miraculous cure? The web of destruction torn asunder, or a war won at great courage and cost? Yes, but just as often the characters only discover tragedy.

Ultimately the journey encourages the reader to soul-search, to reach a new plateau of understanding. With sour grapes, character drives the story. In a tale of bitter grapes, the question prevails.

Stone House Farm available from Champagne Books

Beginning and end

Michael W. Davis

Davisstories.com

Before I begin actually clicking on the keyboard, I have given tons of thought to a story: its theme, its characters, the intrigue element, the suspense tree, and especially the beginning and end. Before my cancer, except when I was collaborating with another author who would need to see the map of everything, I most often keep it all in my head, including the words and phases for the first and last chapter.

Truth is, once I have a viable theme, before I write anything else, I focus on completing two chapters: number 1 and number N (the last). Why? Because they are so critical to the entire story, but especially to the reader, and don’t forget, to me the writer. The first chapter sets the stage and your anchor point (time, context, etc). The last chapter is the convergence of all your work: where the bad guys gets axed, when the lovers are saved, the “holy crap” moment of the escalating mountain of intrigue, and a “lesson of life” I try to toss in every novel to make special contact with the reader (I’ll discuss that in a future post).

Now here’s the kicker. After stating how important these end points are, would you believe that once the draft is complete, what do ya think happens? In every one of the seven novels I’ve completed, I always add one or two more beginning and ending chapters. Best I can figure is that once I’ve actually extracted the fictional world from my mind to paper, I realize something is missing in the front and back. Usually, at the beginning I realize I didn’t take the reader far enough rearward in time. At the end, I typically discover some additional twist that will add just a little more intrigue.

I’m curious if other authors experience that same process, namely: once they have a rough draft do they decide to move earlier and later in their timeline.

Till next time.

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.”

Building A Writing Career

I went to a writing seminar recently held by two primarily print published romance authors (they were published through large New York publishers). It was a brutally honest discussion of what they felt was needed to build a writing career.

The minimum number of full length releases, they both felt, to build a career with a New York publisher was two. The minimum number of full length releases to make a living wage was four. That is four full length novels, four 100,000 word novels. To get that word count, a writer needs to write 1,100 words a day, every day, for basically forever. That doesn't include rewrites, edits or promo time.

That dedication is what separates career writers from casual writers.

When I first started writing, I felt fortunate to write 500 fresh words a day. Every sentence was a struggle because everything I wrote was new. I hadn't the toolkit to write quickly, to put my thoughts into words.

Today, I write 1,500 words a day. That is an average for a year. Some days, I write nothing. Some days, I write 5,000 words. When the words flow, they gush.

So if you wish to be a career writer, don't get discouraged if, at first, your word count, and your number of completed manuscripts are low. You are working on the craft of writing, and it WILL speed up, I promise.


Kimber Chin writes sexy contemporary romances. To read about her stories, including some short freebies, head over to http://businessromance.com/

Night Tales

Two nighths ago, I swallowed a pill that didn't go all the way down, so I got up to take a bite of banana--nothing better than banana to push a pill all the way down. While in the kitchen, I noticed the full moon shining in the window--so beautiful I thought if I were a wolf I'd surely howl to show my appreciation.
Back in bed I dreamed I was a she-wolf in the woods singing to the moon. But then the wolf I was thought she shouldn't be alone--where was her pack? And this woke me up. Is there a book in this somewhere? I wondered. Finally decided there was not, and fell back to sleep.
No suprise there wasn't. I've found there seldom is in brief dreams or stories I tell myself to help me go to sleep. I never put myself into a story, though, of course, I'm always in the brief dreams. So sometimes these story characters remain vivid and real to me for some time, but almost never does a book evolve featuring them. Only once in awhile do these night visions produce a viable story.
The second book in my Ghosts of Dagon House Trilogy, Where There's Smoke, did come from one of these night tales. I've never been stalked, an action I believe every woman worries about at one time or another in her life , however briefly. It occured to me one night as I was telling myself a stalker story, that he could get the stalkee's attention or terrorize her by setting fires nearby or where she lived. The idea remained tucked away in my mind for years until it bobbed up as I was planning the above trilogy. I had an Aha! moment, telling me that scenario was perfect for the second story in that trilogy.
I haven't finished writing it yet, but the idea is working well. At the moment I'm waiting for Champagne to edit the first book, Taken In.
One other time, I fell asleep in the middle of my story and had a nightmare that I did eventually turn into a short story. Writing it helped me get rid of the dregs a nightmare sometimes leaves in one's mind.
I've never discussed these nightime story visions with anyone before and I've been wondering if other authors experience anything similar. I know some authors do keep paper and pen beside the bed in case a story idea strikes while they sleep and they wake up enough to scribble it down. Maybe that's similar. But I wonder how many of those scribbled night-time ideas do work out.
I realize mine are a bit different, because I'm not aleep while I'm telling myself a story. But I do know viable stories rarely arise from what I do. Though they sure are good for putting me to sleep. This definitely beats going over what you have to do tomorrow or what you should have done that day and didn't, or other past sins.
So, authors and readers, do any of you make up tales to tell yourself to help you fall asleep?
Please tell me I'm not a weirdo.

It's all Subjective

I deserve a beating with a wet noodle...Today was my day to blog here on TWV and I'm a little LATE...Usually I write my post and store it to auto post just after midnight.

I've been a little distracted here. I have so many GREAT excuses--My hubby lives out of town and came home for my BIRHDAY weekend...my Sister in law brough my nephews to town to spend my birthday with me...I'm working on edits for my next release...I have been working on my next book...the house needs work...all very VALID excuses, but excuses all the same.

My real issue is topic. I have NO idea what to blog about. Usually when this happens I just write until somethign pops into my head. This results in an unending speel of words that are mundane...boring...

Over the weekend I was terribly spoiled. Especially by my daughter who not only gave me an addition to my M&Ms dispenser collection:



AWESOME, right?

Anyway, she also gave me a DVD of the first season of the Big Bang Theory and one of my favorite Disney movies--the original Alice in Wonderland. Then on the night of my bday we were vegetating in front of the tv when she brought in the next movie in the WILDLY popular series based on a best selling series of books.

I have read all the books and made it a point to see all the movies. I do love some of the characters and am fond of the author.

However...there is one character I DESPISE! I HATE this character. I have from the VERY beginning. This character is whiny, whimpy, waffling, and, to me, unlovable. Yet the character is dearly loved by so many out there, it amazes me the fan base this character has. I have studied this character in the books, and in the movies. I've TRIED to like this character but I just...hate this character. I find myself rooting the villian would just kill this person and be done with it.

I mentioned my contempt and my daughter said "you're a writer. How would change this 'person' and make yourself like him/her?" (Yes I'm purposefully being vague.)

I sat back and thought it over.

For the rest of the movie...for the rest of the night...for most of the following day and I could trid to come up with an answer. I couldn't do it. Because if I "rewrote" the character, I would be changing the essence of WHAT makes that character who they are.

So where is all this leading?

Requested rewrites. I had a manuscript I submitted to a publisher and I was told that the story itself was good but there was a character that the editor just couldn't make themselves love (OUCH!). The editor said if I was willing change A,B,C about Character XYZ, then they'd love to offer a contract on the book.

I sat down with manuscript to make suggested changes. I read it, reread it and ten read once again. I couldn't find it in me to make the changes because if I were to make the suggested options, then the character would no longer be the one I fell in love with when they were conceived and born. By pulling one thread, it would unravel the entire fabric of what made XYZ who they were.

I couldn't pull that thread. Consequently I didn't sell the manuscript. It may sound foolish or prideful that I REFUSED to make changes and therefor didnt sell the manuscript. Maybe it is...but just because ONE editor couldn't make themselves love my character doesnt mean there isn't an editor out there SOMEWHERE that WILL LOVE XYZ for who they are and how they are written.

Just like I HATE the aforementioned wildly popular character while it seems the entire WORLD loves them.

(See and you thought I was just spewing words until I came up with a cohesive topic...)

Have a WONDERFUL week and enjoy the rest of February!

Huggles
Donica Covey

The Life of a Writer -- Seasoned or Not

I wish Tolkien or C.S. Lewis was alive or that I could talk with Chris Paolini some day. They all have made their worlds so incredible and believable and magnificent to their readers.

     I often stop what I'm doing and just space out, seeing a landscape from Zirconya unravel before me and I know the place. I know it's location on the map. I know who lives there and around. Then I snap out of it, smile and move on. I wonder if it was/is the same for them. It makes you wonder if we, as humans, are as "wee" and insignificant as we often think ourselves. We're just people, right? I happen to disagree. An entire universe, in it's enormity, finds room in a single person's mind. How crazy is that? For us fantasy authors, a world with magic and different races of man and creatures come alive before your mind's eye and it becomes as real as the loved ones around you.
     I have the greatest respect for artists. People who have found a way, whether through writing or painting or some other means, to share their "world" with those around them. Those who think artists are wasting their time with creativity have no idea what they're missing. Artists...they see beautiful things that the judgmental people would swoon over if they would get just a glimpse.

     That's the bright side of creativity. But there is always the other side, as well.

     "Sometimes the world you create on the page seems more friendly and alive than the world you actually live in." Those were the words of Fenoglio from Inkheart. Brilliant words and so true. Sometimes, when I'm spacing out, as I mentioned above, I find it hard to come back down to Earth. It's not that my life is bad or anything. I'm a happy person and I'm happy with where I am in my life. I love the people who are in it with me. Maybe it's just that sense of "the grass is greener?" Maybe not, though. In my own opinion, it's not that.
     I think, for me, it's just that Zirconya is magical and there are adventures and princes and kings and types of people we just don't have in our own world. Our world is redundant. Sleep, eat, work or school, and round and round we go. Not always boring but, it just repeats itself. When I stop and see Zirconya, or Middle-Earth or Narnia or Alagaesia, my heart thumps just a little bit faster. Sometimes, the people there do seem friendlier...more accepting of us strange folk. And yes, it does feel more alive. My senses are always higher when I'm "in" these worlds. I have to admit, though, that I like the feeling I get when I do come back to the real world and realize I can go back to the other ones whenever I like. I can have adventure just by reading and I can go on my own adventures by writing. That's why I really write. To create the things that I love.

     Well, geez, that sounded like a speech for a fifth grade class. Not a bad thing, when I think about it.

Diana

Procrastination – the Thief of Time

I wonder how many other writers put off until tomorrow what they could do today. I’m an expert at it – seriously. Okay, I get lots of writing done and a lot of it’s been published over the years but that’s mainly shorter work. Even then, I occasionally try to do so many different pieces of writing at once that I sometimes end up leaving it for another day without finishing any of them.

So, a couple of years ago, I had a wake-up call from two other writers and each one struck home. They came within a week of each other from two people in different areas of my life. One is a long-time, older writing friend who was a sort of mentor to me when I first started writing. She was an experienced writer and tutor and we hit it off from the beginning. A kind person, she’s been quick to encourage me on any success. But that day, we were talking on the phone and I was telling her about all the short pieces I’d had published, and mentioned two of the novels I needed to finish (which should have been done long ago). She suddenly said: “I’m going to be blunt for your own good. You need to get those books completed and get them sent out.” She’d never spoken to me like that before, but her words hit a nerve.

A few days later, a busy minister’s wife and well-published children’s author was phoning me about a newsletter I helped to edit. We don’t talk often, and as we caught up on the things we were doing, I mentioned all the activities I was involved in. Then I talked about trying to get on with my writing. Her unexpected reply? “You know, I think you need to decide if you want to have a busy life, or if you want to be a professional writer.” Wow! Another kick up the bahooky. And I needed those kind words of wisdom from two people I respected and admired.

So I knuckled down, got myself on to the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme here in the UK (where they critique a completed novel), and I finished those two books – at last. And in May this year, my very first novel, Dangerous Deceit, will be published by Champagne Books, while the other is being read by an agent. They could have been finished years ago, they could have been sent out years ago, but maybe I wasn’t ready. I still procrastinate – it’s part of my nature. Or am I just lazy? But that’s for another post!

Rosemary

Dangerous Deceit, Champagne Books, May 2011

http://romygemmell.blogspot.com

http://www.rosemarygemmell.com

Everyone Can Dream

I went to my brother's surprise 50th Birthday dinner at a nice, trendy restaurant in Toronto. Frankly, I thought my husband and I were going to be the only diners at the table for ten. A half hour later, one of my brother's old friends finally arrived, then another couple. Okay, this was going to be a party!

When my brother showed up, he was genuinely surprised. He reached across the table to embrace my husband, who promptly knocked over the drink I'd just received. Being a mom, I instinctively grabbed for it, but it shattered in my hand. Luckily, it didn't pierce the skin.

After we cleaned up and ordered dinner, I sat back to listen to my brother and his friends reminisce about the old music scene in Toronto. They talked about who had the best sound mixing boards, who was with what band these days, and the clubs they played in. That night, I found out my brother actually performed at El Mocambo, an iconic tavern on Spadina.

He worked as a janitor for the building. Once, late at night, he stood in the middle of the empty stage where the Rolling Stones and Elvis Costello performed, and he visualized himself playing guitar there. A few years later, he did.

At 50, he plays a mean guitar, keyboards, bass and mandolin with the best of them. He teaches music for a living, but I believe someday he'll realize his dream of making a living playing music.

I feel the same way about writing. With every rejection, with every turn of phrase, with every nice email from a happy reader, I know I'm going to make it. Well, most of the time. Well... sometimes.

I hope my children will realize their dreams at an earlier age, but if they don't, it's no big deal. Sometimes the journey is as exciting as the destination.

I can still dream, can't I?

Here's the gift I made for little Bro, suitable for a Toronto boy living in Buffalo

Posted by Sandra Cormier, author of Bad Ice, a hockey suspense.

What is sexy?

What is sexy?

That seems to be different for every person. Eyes seem to be a favorite. A man's smile always gets my attention or a strong voice. True sex appeal goes beyond physical attributes though. Confidence is a must, along with a sense of humor. The way a man treats his family can be very sexy. I'm old fashioned so I like it when a man pays attention to the little details. I like having a door opened for me or that call in the middle of the day just to say hello. For me, the sexiest thing in the world is to see my husband being good to his children.

Of course showing a man is sexy in a novel is a difficult thing. Much of the descriptions fall short and so it is the heroine's reactions that dictate if a man is truly attractive.
Confidence can turn to arrogance or the call in the middle of the day can be creepy depending on how the heroin feels about it.

So how about you out there. What do you find sexy?

Nathan's Return is out now!

Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day. February. Filled with the promise of winter’s end, of new or rekindled love, and the mark of my next paranormal release Nathan’s Return! Yes, folks, I’m proud to say my book is now available! What better time than now to blatantly shout out an excerpt?

There are probably worse things than falling in love with a dead man. With an ex-husband trying to financially destroy her, and a family turning her new business into a circus, Sarah Price is determined not to take it anymore. Just when she decides to take charge of her life, death comes knocking.

Nathan McGraw died centuries ago. Death is nothing compared to landing back on Earth, angering a demon, and being attracted to the most infuriatingly stubborn woman he’s ever met.

What happens when ghost and mortal fall in love? Nothing short of upsetting the balance between heaven and hell.



Excerpt:

Sarah felt someone tapping the side of her face. She opened her eyes and saw the stranger.

For a moment, as she drifted between consciousness and reality, she studied his eyes. The irises had no color whatsoever. They were clean, perfectly clear, and yet she detected something…movement within them, circling the cornea.

Recalling who—or what—he was, she bolted upright and screamed.

He clamped a hand on her mouth. His hand was cold. So cold.

“Don’t scream again. Please.”
She nodded. Anything to stop him from touching her.
He released his hand from her mouth and leaned back. Sarah sat up. She bolted toward the back wall. “Who are you? W-what re you? What do you want?”

“I am Nathan McGraw.” He held up his hands as if he were surrendering.

“You—“ She couldn’t stop her voice from quivering. She was going crazy. No doubt about it. “You’re not real.”

“I’m the same as you.”

“I can’t walk through walls! You aren’t real, that’s all. You’re just—I’ve been under a lot of stress. You’re a product of that.”

He moved in front of her.

“Don’t talk to me.”

“You can see me when no one else can.”

“Because I’m crazy.” She ran her hand through her hair.

“What year is this?”

“Get out.”

“Tell me the year.”

She threw a stack of books at him. She expected to hurt him. She didn’t—

They sailed right through him.

Buy Nathan’s Return Here:
http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=421

Thanks for reading,
Nancy
http://www.nancyhenderson.com

While I Write The Vines Will Grow

My very first book was published and released April last year.  And as many fellow writers will confess, it’s the after publication that stresses you out more than the enjoyable task of writing your book.

Every day since then, it’s been a non-stop fascination with the internet, sending emails, updating your blog, holding interviews and creating fascinating features on fellow writer’s blogs.  It’s like a borderline addiction you have with your computer monitor, and with each new click, a whole new world is revealed to you.  You learn something new every day.  And there’s still more to learn!

Then you have to come up with exciting new ways to promote your book and hope you get some sales.  You begin to feel like a cyber slut.  I know, crude choice of words.  On more than a few occasions, my hubby has belched out that I need to “get off that bleeping computer” or “stop tweeting we have guests for dinner!”  You get the picture.  The alluring pheromones of the cyberworld just keep on tickling your senses.

With marketing and promoting and splitting time writing and editing, there’s simply not enough time to do it all in one day.  Let alone leave the house and run a few errands.  In my previous post, I touched on my juggling act in order to maintain a normal life and, well, style.  I may have neglected to mention that sometimes I need to leave the house and deal with real life…unfortunately.

In the late summer months, I discovered just what neglecting a normal life means.  Vines.  Yes vines!  They manifested themselves in my garage and propagated with a vengeance and boldly pointed their lime green tendrils at me saying: “Yes, you looked the other way far too long!  Here we grow, under your car even!”

Might I add, it was fairly embarrassing since at that particular moment, I was in the process of lending my car to a friend.  She could barely form words from her hilarity at seeing actual living vines shooting out from under my car.

Note to self: Find time to venture out into the world more often.  Smell the roses and kill those vines!  Stay off the Internet—not everything is a tweet-worthy event.  And work harder at my juggling skills.

Cheers!

T.K.

http://www.thelancasterrule.blogspot.com

Werewolves, Vampires, Shape Shifters, Oh My!

Werewolves, vampires, shape shifters, oh my! On the rise in popularity, Paranormal Romance comes in as many varieties as shape shifters. What type of hero can make your skin tingle with a glance, a masculine scent, or the danger behind his mysterious secret? Is it an elusive vampire, a werewolf, or a regular, muscular guy in tight jeans confronting an apparition?
What we individually find attractive, sexy, romantic, or sensual is also as varied as the characters in a paranormal romance novel. The romance can build page by page throughout the book almost forcing you to hold your breath until that first magical kiss. Or, perhaps you prefer when the mysterious hero struggles with his dominant instinct to conquer the heroine with a kiss. When he kisses her without permission, and with urgency, the soon-to-be lovers discover they both desire more.
The century, the place, and the circumstances change in the storyline of romance, but to me the most important aspect of the romance is the connection between the characters. Connecting on an emotional level can lead to the physical level in a romantic novel. Perhaps that is why paranormal romance is so popular, it’s the primal desire and the all consuming need to find a soul mate. Are you in need of a romance to read for Valentine’s Day? Please check out www.champagnebooks.com
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Victoria Roder is the author of Action Thriller, Bolt Action. Murder, mystery, revenge, and sexual tension Bolt Action offers it all. Check out the video trailer on Victoria’s website. www.victoriaroder.com

SNOW, TECHNO, AND MEMORIES, OH MY

By
Angelica Hart and Zi

A lot of you don't remember a time before computers, but we're both older than dirt and haven't forgotten that place of pencils, pads and red markers.

A: Teachers are not the pundits of red-lining.
Z: I hated getting my papers came back, bloodied.

We'd start a piece on paper, transfer it, mark it up, retype, red pen it again, retype, again and again. Yeouch! So, we celebrate technology with a full gush of enthusiasm and give ample thanks for it every day.

Z: I am doing the yippy-for-windows wiggle as we write.

Being at the computer has amazing advantages. Though we understand that creating is often a personal thing, if you find someone that you have synergy with, having a partnership has many rewards. You get feedback on the same plane, get to think through storylines and thoughts in a conversational mode that does not include just you, yourself and you. In the end, the product becomes better, the typos are less, the pride more astounding.

Z: No, they're not. Typos are character mice that breed out of control. We both read right over them.
A: Moi? Never. I find every mistake. I am the grammer police.
Z: Hmmmm... (points to the incorrect spelling of grammar)
A: Ummm...well, maybe a few slip by, but you just made my point, what I miss....
Z: I pick up!
A: And sometimes, we both miss it which....

Brings us to the point that technology enables us to perfect our work through spell check, grammar check, read aloud software among many other convenient tools. Case in point, there are many people who have gone to college and remember the process of peer review. One never submitted a paper without giving it to someone to look it over.

Z: We got to select our own reviewer. I picked the very brightest females with the biggest...
A: Enough.
Z: I was going to say smiles.
A: Right...and I'm Elvis' Aunt twice removed from a different mother.

As writing partners who get together each day, the number of recent snow days further brings to mind the tremendous value that technology has to writing. There is email to send drafts back and forth, Skype when we need to be face to face, even conferencing and instant messaging. We are no longer inconvenience by the weather's temperament.

A: Snow, snow go away...we've writing to do today. So why do we ever meet in real life?
Z: For lunch. Hate eating alone.
A: Good point, me too.
Z: Soooo, what are you making?
A: You go out and get me a salad with grilled chicken...kkkk!
We'd love to hear from anyone interested in what we do. Anyone who writes us at angeliahartandzi@yahoo.com 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 ~ SNAKE DANCE ~ CHASING YESTERDAY
Champagne Books can be purchased at http://www.champagnebooks.com

THE FABLE OF SIN-SIN-CINDERELLA SERIES
Books can be purchased at angelicahartandzi.com

Love is in the Air

Oh yeah, I'm not talking romance, I'm talking true love. I'm going to take a moment to get personal with readers, a way of sharing myself with the world. So - Let me tell you a story.

She returned to her table breathless and a bit awed at her partner's skill in dancing despite his deformed arm. They shared a bit of small talk, and he put her at ease with his easy manner. After another beer, he smiled. "Would you like to go to a party with me?"

Her first reaction was "hell no", but after he explained that it was at the lake with a ton of folks, she agreed. Why the hesitation? She'd just started going out after a year of solitude. The divorce had been difficult. Her current dance partner was seven years her junior, and while she liked him well enough, there were no sparks.

"Sure. Sounds like fun." She agreed because in the back of her mind, she recognized the invite as an opportunity to meet more people. Loneliness was a huge motivator.

He picked her up that Saturday early and took her to the lake. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Employees from the cabinet shop where he worked arrived in waves, picnic supplies and beach balls in hand. Beached nearby, a sailboat beckoned, its broad, white sail a flag of welcome. "Come on," he said. "Let's see if my buddy, Bill, will give us a ride."

Obviously, the sailor didn't want to give rides, but as his gaze connected to hers, Bill changed his mind, and she found herself on a boat with two guys and lots of wind. Captive with no where to go, she kept studying the sailor. Something about him caught her interest in a way no other had before, not even her ex-husband. She found herself daydreaming, fascinated with the possibilities. She was smitten. He, too, seemed very interested in her. After a very pleasant sail about the lake, he took them back to the party. As far as the party went, she couldn't wait for it to end. Her attention was elsewhere.

A week later, at the same dance hall where she'd met the man with the gimp arm, she ran into Bill. They danced, they laughed, they made plans to go on a date.

They've been married now for 25 years.

Yep, that's how I met my husband and this Valentines we celebrate 25 years together. So - this blog is for those of you that believe in love at first sight.

Feet Secrets

I've heard through the gossip bin that a friend of a friend of mine has never seen her husband's feet.

I know this has to be true because, well... who would make that up? And it has me wondering, WHY? If he has some odd defect or he just isn't into showing off his toes then, okay, he doesn't expose them to outsiders. But this is his wife we're talking about, his partner, his soul mate, the mother of his child.

I wouldn't be able to handle the secrecy myself. There isn't a mole on my husband's body I don't know about. And personally, I'd feel hurt if he tried to block a thing like that from me. It'd make me question what else he was hiding.

Keeping something so private seems like it'd take a lot of fun out of your life too. I mean, what about showering with your loved one? Or swimming? It'd have to get pretty hot in the summer. I guess sandals are completely out of the question. And what about sleeping? I put on those warm, fuzzy socks in the winter when my feet are cold, but I usually have them kicked off by morning. I cannot sleep with something on my feet.

The whole thing has me thinking about writing and creating an interesting character. This is something that would make a great detail, packed with a load of symbolism. A heroine could really learn her man the moment the socks came off!!

Well, this has been my Andy Rooney moment. But it can still be a good question to ask yourself. How well do you really know the characters in your book? What are they hiding...and why?

USING RESEARCH

One of the things I've learned over the years -- the internet, while invaluable, can also be misleading. In other words -- You can't trust everything you read. A perfect example was what I found when I started researching the origin of Valentines for my latest release, "Roses for my Lady".

The first thing I found was the reason for the day. But even here there was a conflict. The first site gave one reason for celebrating Valentine's day while another gave a completely different reason. So what do you do then. Why, you dig some more, and then some more, because a lot of sites appear to be using the same material over and over. The problem is determining which site has the correct information. In my case I went to a respected historical site and discovered something a little different than that stated in both of the original explanations.

If you want to read about my discovery, you'll need to visit Champagne Book Blog on February 14th for the answer.

In that blog I also explain who is credited with the first Valentine, and why the supposed 'authorities' might have it wrong.

What did I learn in my research? The internet is wonderful but you have to be very careful if you are writing about the past. Not all sites give accurate information. Plan to dig deep before you use the information you garner. Or better yet, find someone who has made a career of the period of history in which you are interested.

Luck me, because I have such a friend.

Allison
"Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch"

Oooops! Almost forgot!

Oh, Lord have mercy, I just about forgot the most important part of my post today! The winner of the drawing for a Champagne Books gift card was Rosemary! Watch your email - it's coming at ya!

What's in a Word?

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

I’ve been thinking about words this week. Ok, yes, I am a writer, so I guess that thinking about words is something of an occupational hazard. And aside from being a writer, I am a lawyer, which means that by definition, I get caught up in the subtle nuances that can be conveyed by word choice.

Yes, boys and girls, I spent two and a half days recently at work writing a memo to explain the distinction between null, void, and voidable. Believe it or not, there is a meaningful difference amongst them, and when you are writing a contract, it can be a difference that is worth several hundred thousand dollars. (If anyone out there cares what the difference is, write me off loop and I will share it with you. I guarantee that your eyes will glaze over ere I’m done.)

But, while my fiction writing may not involve such easily-quantifiable values, I find myself laboring over the meaning, content, and connotations of words just as much there. As Mark Twain, no mean wordsmith himself, once said, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”

I got to thinking about this when I recently went to see The King’s Speech. (Those of you who know me well understand my deeply devoted and somewhat stalkerish relationship with Colin Firth, so bear with me.)

I had read the reviews, knew the story, and even had Mark Logue’s book about his grandfather, George VI’s speech therapist, on my Nook. So I told the middle school daughter that it was terribly inspiring, it was historically significant, and she was going to go see it with me. Besides, I would pay her ten bucks if she would watch and discuss. ‘Better parenting through bribery’ has always been my motto. Then we got to the theatre and DH was shocked to see that The King’s Speech was rated R. Nope, he was not gonna let baby girl see it. I reluctantly agreed with him, and they left me at the theatre to watch Colin by myself.

Ok, it is probably best that I watch Colin Firth movies without children present. The heavy breathing might scare them. But seriously, what was the problem? There was no sex (darn it!), no violence, no “oh-my-God-don’t-bring-the-children” scene in the whole movie. So afterwards, I started poking around online to figure out why the popular culture powers-that-be thought that such an inspiring true story was inappropriate for my teenage daughter.

Today, in discussion with a fellow writer at our RWA meeting, I was informed that the American movie rating board has a firm policy: more than one “F-bomb” means a movie must have an “R” rating. And yes, during a speech therapy session, Colin (as King George VI) lets rip with a series of curse words that demonstrate the King’s ability to speak clearly under certain conditions. There were more than a dozen occurrences of what Ralphie called “the Queen Mother of all dirty words.” But it was all in the context of speech therapy, and carried no sexually graphic connotation at all. Didn’t matter. >1 F-bomb = “R” rating.

Likewise, at our RWA chapter meeting today, we were discussing the various sub-genres of the Romance field. We were advised by a mainstream romantic-suspense writer that she was told by an editor not to use a fairly ugly euphemism for female genitalia, because the mere mention of that word would classify her WIP as “erotica.” But wait! Her use of the word was in the context of a vicious attack by a psychopath, and it was what he called his female victim just before he tried to kill her. No matter. That word = erotica.

I don’t know, guys. I have the ability to differentiate between an erotic hero sweet-talking about the heroine’s privates and a psychotic anti-hero calling his victim a vicious, dehumanizing pejorative. I can tell when George VI was participating in speech therapy, rather than discussing what his brother David liked to do with Wallis Warfield Simpson. Am I the only one who can look at context, connotation, and meaning before deciding that a certain word shouldn’t be used?

I rail against the rules a lot. When it comes to writing, I guess I am an anarchist. If you want to use an adverb or a gerund, I say let the “ly’s” and “ing’s” fly. If the only word that works is “naughty,” well, let’s all put on our big girl knickers and deal with it.

As authors, we deal in words. We use the right word, no matter what the “rules” say. And by God, if the word is right, give me whatever rating you want. I will be true to my characters, my story, and my voice. Even if it means dropping an F-bomb where it is needed.

I Don't Know Nuthin' Bout...

I freely admit to being an ignorant person. I know nothing about the planetary movements but I could swear somebody up there is in retrograde. Maybe it's that newly discovered "Planet Muckitup" that has thrown all the astrologers into a tizzy messing up my calm.

"I don't know nuthin' bout birthin' no babies," is the classic line from Gone With The Wind. Well, my line would be "I don't know nuthin bout birthin' no new website, or book trailer, or Twitter, or FBML."

Don't get me wrong, I am willing to learn. But my frustration level is rising. I must make a new website that is author-centric as opposed to my current one, Scorched Hawk Press. (Scorched Hawk is named for the hawks that survived a horrible forest fire here that took 85,000 acres. Plus my heroine's Native totem is a red-tailed hawk.) I went to my webhosting site and purchased a new domain name and proceeded to use their Site Studio 5.DUH. Limited choices of templates, true, but I just don't have the time or patience to rewrite HTML code whenever I want to change things. You see, I had a great friend who set up my original website for me, but then she moved to NYC and got very busy with a real career and I had to play with adding information, photos, slide shows, widgets and badges with no real experience. I learned, but it certainly took a long time and tons of mistakes. Even now, I am not happy with how Scorched Hawk looks but I don't know why the code doesn't work the same way in Explorer 8 as opposed to Firefox. And at the moment, I don't want to get into that at all. I want Plug & Play, copy and paste, don't make me pull out The HTML code book. Oh, and Facebook code to spruce up your fan page? Arugh, say what? I'm not even going there.

All right. I have done what Site Studio 5.DUH told me. And while I think it looks better than Scorched Hawk's site, a good friend (engineer) told me it looks cheap. He has graciously volunteered to rewrite/create my new site for me using Dreamweaver. Bless him. But then I'll be in the same spot of having to either constantly bug him  to add pages or a trailer (which I'm still trying to figure out how to make) or other changes, or learn how to make those changes myself and use the FTP software I'd hoped never to access again. I hate to bug the poor guy, but Champagne just picked up Book Two in the Dragon & Hawk series, titled Rage of Firebirds, a leprechaun story I wrote has just been released in an anthology with Gecko Gals Ink and converted to a short play which is being performed as a reading on Feb 20th, Champagne is also publishing a short story I wrote about a selchie in July... well, I have tons of promoting to do. And if I'm going to learn how to make book trailers, I don't really have hours to spend writing code. And oh yeah, I still work full time.

Poor Matthew; he's going to hate seeing emails from me.

I'm whinging, I know; please forgive me. But I see all these wonderful authors on Champagne with incredible trailers and postings on lots of blogs and live chats but I can't even get the stupid little Javascript coffee cup to stop spinning when I try to live chat on Coffeetime Romance.

I will learn, I am determined to. But if anyone knows of a quick EZ course for Daffy Dense Dodos, sign me up, would you?

You can check out my new site-in-progress (still looking cheap at the moment but will change in the next two weeks, I hope) at http://jude-johnson.com.

If you see me in person, try to ignore the dent in my forehead...
~Jude

Jude's first novel, Dragon & Hawk, is scheduled for release in April 2011 by Champagne Books.  Book Two of the series, Rage of Firebirds, has just been scheduled for release in April 2012.

Historical Fact and Fiction

I’m filling in for Linda R today, so thanks for the opportunity to be on The Writers Vineyard again so soon (I think!).

Since my first novel, Dangerous Deceit, is a Regency romance set in 1813 England, I thought I’d talk about using real historical events and people in fiction. Apologies if this has been covered here before I joined, although I’m sure we all have different takes on it.

Another novel, currently with an agent, combines the present with the past, in alternate chapters. So both novels got me thinking about how much we need to incorporate real events in historical fiction, or if we need to at all, and how accurate they have to be.

I love history and studied different periods so it seemed kind of a shame not to refer to some of the things happening in the world at the time. For instance, in Dangerous Deceit, I wanted my hero to be a spy for the government. It’s set during the Napoleonic Wars when England was at war with France so, of course, I wanted to mention this. Since the novel is primarily a romance, however, I didn’t want to turn it into a history lesson. In the event, I merely mentioned a key battle that had taken place that year and filtered the other short references to Napoleon and the war into various chapters.

I also wanted to bring Lord Byron into the novel as I’ve always been fascinated with him. As part of the research I had to make sure he was still in England at the time of the novel. Then I had to fictionalise what I knew about him when he appears in one scene, so that the reader might believe it! For this, some of the best research was reading what his contemporaries said about him at the time. You can read more about Byron in my post on the Champagne Books Blog on 27^th February.

It’s this combination of real facts and fictionalised writing that makes historical fiction fun and difficult at the same time. The other novel I mentioned focuses on Robert Burns and one of his legendary loves in the historical chapters. I’ve read a lot about the man himself and what some of his contemporaries wrote or said about him. But there are fewer facts known about Highland Mary. So I took those bare facts and completely fictionalised her until I got inside her character and (hopefully) spoke with her voice in those chapters. And that's what makes writing fiction so enjoyable. We can use some real events to ground the novel in a particular period and we can make up the rest!

How do other writers tackle historical fiction?

Rosemary

Dangerous Deceit, Champagne Books, May 2011

http://romygemmell.blogspot.com

http://www.rosemarygemmell.com

Lights! Camera! Ipad?

You have to start somewhere, and with trailers it often means staring into the face of oblivion with little clue as to how to even get started. That was me. Why make a trailer? Well, after seeing how great the iPad was at displaying an author’s trailer, I decided that this was an excellent way to advertise my work while at conventions. So, the need was born. I had a fair experience with Photoshop, but that was about all the technical smarts I could bring to the project.

My first step was to familiarize myself with what makes a good trailer. With plenty of examples on You Tube, I found it relatively easy to break trailers down into a reasonable set of “rules”.

First rule – brevity. Few of my favorite trailers ran for much more than a minute. This makes sense. How long do you expect a person to look at your trailer, especially if they are on a convention floor? The trailers I preferred generally consisted of less than a dozen panels. Each panel, in turn, did not try and toss a lot of text on the screen. More important was that panels with a reasonable amount of text also provided the viewer with a reasonable amount of time to read them.

The second rule had to do with images. Go for the message, not necessarily the reality. Sure, you want to show your characters, but unless you plan on paying for an artist, you are stuck with what is out on the internet. No problem. The idea is to convey the idea, much like a book cover would. You don’t have to be accurate right down to the last detail.

So, I had my ground rules. From these basic tenants came other rules – mainly those concerned with copyright. As this would be a commercial venture, I was subject to copyright restrictions and could only use those images on the internet that were in the public domain or otherwise released by their authors. It was either that, or go to the expensive option of buying artwork. The latter choice was not within the range of my budget – which was essentially zero dollars and plenty of my own time.

So what images should I use? My next task was to sketch out a story board, even if only in my mind. I had to use scenes that were integral in selling the book – not necessarily telling the entire story. Essentially this would be the visual equivalent of a back cover blurb. I finally settled on a series of panels that would convey my hook, and began to search the internet for copyright-free images that could be coaxed via Photoshop into becoming what I was after.

Having targeted the iPad as my chosen media, I had to create Photoshop panels that were of a specific size – in this case 640x480. I wanted the video to fill the square screen, so all of my panels had to be of the same resolution. Coaxing images into my chosen format required some degree of transformation, but Photoshop and I were up to the task.

The next step was the most difficult – altering the images to show what I wanted portrayed. This meant cutting and snipping images together and using special effects when needed. Much of this work was beyond my limited knowledge, so I brought in a graphic artist who happened to be my son. In the online world of Second Life he is known as Andrek Lowell – creator of Bentham Forest and other widely popular environmental works. To say that he knows his way around Photoshop and other tools is an understatement. I watched, and most definitely learned a few things as he went to work on the more tricky aspects of bringing my alien world to life. I did not add text at this point as that task would be handled by the next phase of construction – making a video. As this was aimed for my iPad and was meant to be shown at a convention table, I opted out of any background music. Con goers were not going to be able to hear much of anything anyway.

I now had my panels, and it was time to sew them together. My austere budget demanded that I seek out free software, and Microsoft was there to help with Movie Maker. I approached this software with trepidation since I am not in the movie making business. Fortunately, the software proved to be very intuitive and friendly, allowing me to string out my panels and apply the text that would tell my story.

So, I had my trailer…on my desktop. In order to get it to the iPad, I had a real challenge ahead of me. The iPad does not have the ability to loop its videos – a tremendous oversight in my opinion. I hit forums and the iTunes store, and finally discovered a Japanese-made app called “Loop Video”. Purchasing the app was the easy part. The hard part was that it only accepted videos in two formats - MPEG-4 or H:264. The fun didn’t stop there. The file had to be of an exact size and frame speed. I went with MPEG-4 as my video was already set to generate the required 640x480 format required (lucky choice). Now I just had to convert the file from the Microsoft format (AVI) and get it to 30 frames per second in order for “LoopVideo” to digest it. Oh, and it had to be broadcast within a bandwidth of 2.5Mbps or less. Ack.

It was time to search for a video converter program – a free one that didn’t require me to become an overnight expert at video conversion. I settled on a product called “Clone2Go” – a hefty professional strength program with an easily understood interface. In the “demo mode” the software would allow me to convert up to three minutes of video. My file was just over a minute long, so no problem. Drop the file, select your output format, and press the key. Simple. I found the format listed under the iPod category instead of iPad, but wasn’t too particular since the same operating system existed on both devices. I selected my Movie Maker file and pressed the button. Bingo – a fresh MPEG-4 file.

Getting my video loaded into the iPad required iTunes, and more familiarity with the App portion of iTunes than I possessed. After some more hair-pulling, I finally discovered the “shared file” section of the App panel and sure enough, there was my Loop Video app listed as being able to use shared files. I put the MPEG-4 version of my video into the list, then hit “Synch” and prayed after quite a few false starts. Loop Video picked it up, listed it (finally), and wonder of wonders – played my trailer in a flawless loop!

Kerry

www.kmtolan.com

A Little Controversy Goes a Long Way

For the most part, I despise censorship. Hearing about the latest classic that was banned from a library or edited for content makes me insane. I used to maintain that censorship of any kind was abhorrently evil, but as the parent of a seven-year-old, I’ll be the first admit I heaved a sigh of relief when the pedophilia handbook disappeared from Amazon. Mine was a quiet hope, however; I did not sign a petition or demand its removal, or blog and rant about it. The more attention you give to something, the more powerful it becomes.

Sometimes protests don't work, and who knew the handbook even existed before the media got a hold of it? Can you even imagine, if Amazon had refused to remove it, how many copies might have been sold? I shudder to think. The curiosity of the human race is not a force to be reckoned with, and as soon as someone says, Don’t read this. You can’t see it. It’s EVIL, everyone flocks in droves to do just that. Dan Brown probably owes more to the Catholic Church than his writing skills for the success of The Da Vinci Code. And remember Satanic Verses? A death threat is almost a sure guarantee to skyrocket a book to the top of the New York Times list. Many had no interest in reading The Golden Compass until they caught wind of the controversy surrounding atheism.

And don’t even get me started on this Mother Tiger crap. I have no interest in reading about a mother who calls her children garbage, rips up their homemade Christmas cards, and towers over them for five hours at a time while they play the flute. But apparently thousands of people do. After a media frenzy, Amy Chua’s book about the superiority of Chinese mothers, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, shot to number 4 on Amazon’s bestseller list.

As soon as there is any kind of formal protest about a work of art, be it a book, film or painting, I want to smack my forehead. How many times is the Church going to denounce something before realizing they’ve just catapulted it into fame? If you want something to disappear, for goodness sake, don’t give it any attention.

From a writer’s perspective, however, you can’t buy better publicity than a little controversy. One is almost tempted to hope the Pope declares excommunication as, aside from being Oprah’s Chosen, there is no faster way to become the next number one bestseller. Perhaps I ought to get some of those warning labels and slap them on the covers of Shadow Fox. Warning: May Contain Offensive Material.

There. Now aren’t you just a little curious?

Visit me at my website, www.ashleyjbarnard.com, and escape into some dark fantasy.