Writing Life

January 18, 2007 Uncategorized

So I’ve been plugging away polishing the recently finished story. Polishing is a love – hate process for me.

I love having it done. I love the results. I love getting perfect scores on grammar. I love making the story stronger, cleaner, better.

I hate feeling like I’m sliding down that slippery slope of ‘not good enough’ that leads to endless editing and never submitting.

This is not a groundless fear. I have four complete manuscripts that have never been submitted anywhere. Are they truly crap or are they salvageable? I haven’t even looked at them in ages – it’s a hard call. They star characters I love, and stories that sing to me. I know I could do a better job today on any one of them, but deep revision isn’t any faster than writing fresh. So which is smarter?

The reason behind all this thinking? It’s almost time to start another project. I’m a believer in never mind the book of your heart, write the book of your voice. But there’s a teensy little catch to that piece of advice. It is easy to figure out what you love. It is hard to figure out what you’re good at.

I love reading both Presents and Blaze. I love the Alpha male heroes in Presents, but they’re okay in Blaze too. Maybe not quite as cruel, more likely North American than Italian or Greek, or Spanish but one of my favorite Blazes had a Spaniard for the hero so . . . Sassy Dialogue is one of my strengths, Blaze is a better fit for banter. I like writing hot, but high degree of sensuality is essentual in both lines. The heroines are different, not in strength, but in experience, assertiveness and style.

None of this helps me. It’s like asking which is better – chocolate bomb or hot fudge sundae?

Feel free to comment, how did you decide what genres or sub-genres to target?

Writing Craft

January 17, 2007 Uncategorized

One of my favorite fantasies is not only being published but writing for more than one line. Hey, dreams are free. :) Since the passion lines are my favorite I’d love to write for Presents and Blaze! All writing is hard work and category is, IMHO especially challenging. Absolutely essential to writing for a line is loving it. And even more, understanding the unique requirements of the line you’re targeting.

Blaze has such a wide variety of different kinds of stories, paranormal, chick-lit, action adventure, romantic suspense, romantic comedy – seemingly anything goes. So I asked the women who are nailing the tone.

Amazingly, they answered. Wonderful, thoughtful, informative responses. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a Blaze a Blaze here’s some insight on the question. Enjoy!

Now I have a new question for all you talented Blaze babes. Jo Leigh mentioned enjoying writing her romantic suspense titles (which I love reading) and planning another series (yes!) BUT BLAZE ALL THE WAY. That little phrase got me thinking.

What makes a Blaze a Blaze? Yes I’ve read the writing guidelines. Heck, I’ve even written a couple. But I still don’t feel like I have the tone of the line nailed. There’s a huge variety of editorial within the line. That variety is the very thing that I think makes writing for Blaze so challenging.

Is-it-truly-as-anything-goes as it looks from here? (Evanne Lorraine)

Evanne, I’m sure you’ll get a lot of different answers, but having made a stab at Superromance, I think that’s exactly the thing that makes the two lines so comparable — Blaze, like Supers, has an enormous range of tones, plots, stories, etc and you can’t nail it down to any one thing. I kind of had the opposite thing happen with Supers (which I still haven’t given up on), that I had the tone down, but needed to revise the story, which I’m going to try to get to one of these days…

In Blaze, you know you have to have it hot, have it sexy, but even in my own experience, from books like ABOUT LAST NIGHT or my upcoming PICK ME UP, which have love scenes just about every other chapter (or so it seems, LOL), to books like UNTOUCHED, which don’t have a love scene until halfway through the book, there’s huge variety even for individual authors. Some dark, some light, some funny, some paranormal, some adventure… lots of possibilities.

So, I think you have to read, absorb, and trust your gut — the variety makes it very difficult, true, but it also means if your story is right, there’s a lot of room for new and different in the line (especially at the current moment, when there are so many new things happening….). (Samantha Hunter)

I think that’s one of the toughest questions out there –what makes a Blaze a Blaze. Believe me, it wasn’t something I knew when we first started the line, and the line has changed since then, too. For me, no matter what the story, and yes, it can be everything from comedy to adventure to suspense, has a couple at the core, and that couple has to explore their budding relationship in a very physical way. That love occurs both physically, emotionally and sometimes spiritually. Some have the physical thing first, but not all. For me, and from comments I’ve gotten especially on the RS books – each Blaze is essentially about the love story, and everything that happens in the external plot has an impact on that love story. At least, that’s the way I explain it to myself when I’m plotting. (Jo Leigh)

I like to think that Blaze takes a reader to a place where she is beautiful and strong, wearing her most expensive lingerie to seduce the man of her dreams.
Because that’s what our heroines do, right? Regardless of any other element in the story, the seduction (a mutual seduction, at that–not just a man showing a woman the ropes) is at the forefront. I’m not sure any other line has that kind of sultry tone. And what makes it even cooler is that in the midst of all the sex and heat, the characters are in love and committed to each other (even if they don’t know it yet). It’s an awesome thing to have both the sweet romance and the hot passion in one relationship. (Melissa James)

And hmm, how to define a Blaze? I always think of it as a romance novel in which the *sensual/sexual* relationship of the hero/heroine drive the emotional relationship toward its inevitable hea resolution. Does that make any sense? Otherwise, there really is no other definition! Anything goes in Blaze, which is so totally cool! (Leslie Kelly)

I think Blaze heroines make the line. There is something signature and strong about a Blaze babe. The heroes can run the gamut from alpha to beta, but the heroines have something solid about them. (Jenna Bayley- Burke)

Evanne, When I first started writing, I had no clue of the differences in the lines, and just wrote what I wrote. I couldn’t feel anything different between Temptation and Desire, for example. I got a lot of the same things in both lines. Same with Supers and Specials. I was reading as a reader, finding similarities, loving the books, but as an author? Clueless as to the nuances.

And honestly? Even after I sold I was clueless. I had several proposals rejected by Temptation AFTER I’d sold 3 there for not being the right tone. ::shrug:: Went right over my head. And I still didn’t sense the differences until the lines seemed to me to get even more sharply defined – and that’s been within the last few years. Again, this is all me, but now I can see some unique trademarks to various lines, while some books I still think could cross.

But for Blaze, and for me, it’s all about tone and the attitude of the characters. The characters, no matter their sexual experience, MUST be adventurous and willing and accepting of their sexual natures. They can be put into all sorts of plots, but they are not shy about sex. For me, that’s the biggest thing to keep in mind. (Alison Kent)

Leslie, that’s a great way of putting it. And Jenna, I think you’re right about Blaze heroines. That was the primary reason my partial on the continuity got tossed back for re-do. I hadn’t painted the heroine right, and Kathryn mentioned, “Blaze heroine” a number of times in the conversation. In my case, I’d had to take her from grumpy and kind of a bummer to more confident and determined. I tend to think while you can do a zillion things with the story line, if you can get the characterization on the heroine right, that’s a big foot in the door. (Lori Borrill)

As far as what makes a Blaze, I think I’d take from a couple of things I’ve heard here already–first, is that sexual tone/awareness that the characters have built into them (whether they’re virgins or seductresses; players or abstainers)–the hero/ine need to be characters who embrace their sexual selves and are willing to explore/discover/have adventures/redefine/expand that sexual side. And secondly, the strong heroines. Of course, that means the heroes have to be strong, too, to match and not be overshadowed by them. But no matter her level of sexual experience/expertise, the heroine has some backbone that makes her strong and self-sufficient. I think Blaze heroines need that inner (and/or outward) strength to make it believable that they are adventurous sexual creatures and aren’t being taken advantage of by the hero or by the conflicts in Blaze stories. Even if they aren’t aware of that strength (a great story arc is for the heroine to discover her own chutzpah), or they have a softer outward personality–even shyness–that strength is there. (Julie Miller)

Contemporary, independent heroines, who are not afraid to be sexy or go after what they want? They’re not your mother’s Harlequins, for sure. (Sheila Baker)

Hi there Blaze Babes,

I’m popping back in with a sincere thanks for all the great answers to my question: What makes a Blaze a Blaze?

Sam mentioned the wide variety in the line’s editorial, makes it hard to pin down. I agree completely. Blaze has been a forest and trees problem for me I keep finding a different style Blaze when I thought I’d figured it out.

Jolie pointed out it’s even more complicated because the line keeps evolving. but reminded me (always a good thing) that Blaze is always love story.

Melissa explained the key is a certain kind of heroine; one in charge of her sexuality, meeting her hero as an equal. Blaze being a combination of passionate and tender romance.

Leslie added that the physical relationship drives the emotional journey. So pithy, so true.

Jenna seconded the essential strong heroine. Gamma babes?

Alison charmed me with an explanation of adventurous characters with a certain attitude as being the defining Blaze aspect.

Julie dropped by to enlighten me further with the clue that the heroine can grow into the emotionally confident ideal rather than having to start there.

Sheila summed it all up – sexy independent women

Thank you all bunches – there’s so much collective wisdom here it may take me awhile to process. Please accept my apology if I’ve mangled your answer by paraphrasing.

Blaze babes are the best.

Reading Report

January 16, 2007 Uncategorized

Last week I had a little Blaze fest starting off with It’s a Wonderfully Sexy Life by Hope Tarr

This is Ms. Tarr’s debut Blaze, an extreme presumably for the paranormal element. Despite the title, the plot is closer to one Magic Christmas. It is a do-over fantasy.

My favorite part of the book was the heroine. And this from a hero driven reader. Not that there was anything wrong with the hero. He was suitably hunky and heroic. In fact all the characters were well drawn and believable. But the heroine was oh so human and fresh. The kind of woman you want to cheer for.

Next I gobbled up Untouched by Samantha Hunter another extreme Blaze. And again I connected with the slightly paranoid, slightly twisted heroine. And a bonus creepy villain. Is this heroine connection a new trend for me or for the line? Dunno.

Last but best of all was another debut Blaze. Private Confessions by Lori Borrill. This is what I expect in a Blaze. It’s young, hip, urban, romantic and blazing hot with a great emotional connection between the couple. I loved the human, but of course, hunky hero a nice guy who is justifiably wary of the heroine. Again all the characters were well drawn and credible. I’m just partial to hunky heroes. The heroine’s supportive family was another nice touch.

Writing Life

January 15, 2007 Uncategorized

I’m thinking one of the prerequisites for a writing career should be patience. Seriously. No one talks about the patience needed to go over each page again and again like some manic cleaner tending to the grout with an old toothbrush. Not that I would know anything about such sick tendencies. ;)

No one talks about the long, long, long period between submission and response. Well, to be fair I’ve read a couple of published authors who were frank about how long the road was, but I’ve paid more attention to the chipper call stories that run along the lines of:

“So I express mailed the requested full on Friday and the following Friday the lovely editor called to tell me they loved it.”

Was it one of those brightly polished manuscripts that had been revised fifty times over a period of years? Maybe. Maybe it was dashed off over a few weeks. Does it matter?

I think one of the best things I can do for my writing is to recognize my strengths and weaknesses.

I may never dash off perfect copy. Actually, I’m pretty certain I won’t. This doesn’t mean I can’t do a good job of polishing a manuscript. It does mean I need to accept how much time that process takes. Speed is not the objective, quality is.

Writing Life

January 13, 2007 Uncategorized

This afternoon I printed out the first draft of Blackmailed By The Billionaire. The story instantly became more real to me. It’s a real manuscript that fills me with a sense of accomplishment.

I tried something new with this story I wrote it in order. If I got stuck I took the dog for a walk or did chores. I did not skip ahead to write a more entertaining section. After the first couple of weeks of discipline, it became habit. The payoff for me was simple, the writing never slowed down I didn’t wind up staring at the screen or deleting whole sections and having to re-do those pages. This doesn’t mean the story doesn’t require lots of polishing – but it’s closer to a complete story than any other first draft I’ve ever produced.

Next I read and edit and hope the lovely editor is intrigued by my lovers.

Writing Craft

January 10, 2007 Uncategorized

Romance novels are all about the characters. After all it is a love story, which means it is the lovers’ journey from that first meeting to a mutual lasting commitment. For this age old story to make engaging entertainment, we readers have to care about the couple.

Many readers are hooked by the hero.This makes sense to me. He’s human, attractive, honorable, sexy as all get out, wild for the heroine and a one-woman man. :) What could be more magnetic to a reader?

Precisely because the hero is such a paragon, the heroine needs to be worthy of this drool-worthy hunk. She must be equally human, intelligent, kind, attractive, modest and all things noble. She may not see herself as sex goddess, but the hero does and that’s what counts.

Just how does one go about building these entertaining charcters? The longer I study this problem, the more I’m convinced one needs to do everything well.

Dialogue, action, description and introspection all serve to expose character. Character is revealed in everything your hero and heroine do. Every choice they make, every move, every word, every thought reveals them.

As in real life, when we meet a new person we aren’t ready to hear their life story or deepest secrets. So it is with story people. They attract the reader first, by word or deed. Or even by thought.

The ability to share a character’s thoughts is unique to the world of literature. For a romance writer this is one of the most powerful tools with which to show the reader what ones characters are truly made of – by sharing their inner fears, hopes and dreams.

Conflict is another key to deepening character. Character is forged under pressure. The stronger the opposition, the stronger and more the hero and heroine grow.

Reading Report

January 9, 2007 Uncategorized

Building Believable Characters – A Writer’s Digest Sourcebook

This was my first stop on the quest to deeper characterization. For a fairly fat book the advice section is rather skimpy. What it does have is a character thesaurus. There are hefty sections on face and body, personality, expressions, body language, voice,dress, dialects, names and homes.

Sort of like buying a cookbook and finding instead lists of ingredients. Less roll and click, and more thoughtful reading about the book, on part. Yet, I’m not sure I’m disappointed. I think it might well serve the way a regular thesaurus does as a memory aid or brain nudge.

The Good Son by Craig Nova

Mr. Nova is one of the most brilliant unknown authors around. Worthy of reading strictly for craft. His sentences are dense with precise meaning, each requiring careful savoring in the mind to absorb the full flavor. In addition, he has a distinctive author voice.

All that said he has a small reading audience, the uniformly admiring critics, a few discriminating readers and, occassionally, me. Why? Frankly, I think he was born too late – if F. Scott Fitzgeral were writing today – would he be a best seller ?

Isabella by Loretta Chase

Having discovered Ms. Chase last year – she’s now a favorite reward read. So far each title has been thoroughly delightful. This one, sadly, is currently out of print – but available from selected re-sellers.

Writing Life

January 8, 2007 Uncategorized

By virtue of excessive internet surfing and the always popular (with me) procrastination pattern – I’ve met several generous and talented women willing to share their time. As a by product I’ve learned the shining goal of publication is not the end to all doubts, troubles or even (horrors) rejections.

Yeah, they happen to published authors too. :( In fact, once published the pressure and expectations increase. Still the dream lives on after publication too. A better story, bigger sales, and retiring from the day job dangle seductively in front of the recently published.

Amazing, to me down here on the struggling rung, is even NY Times best selling household names still have writing related fears, hopes and dreams. More evidence to support my theory that a writer needs to embrace the journey; it never ends.

Sample Saturday – Hiatus

January 7, 2007 Uncategorized

Fact is (and I bet all you other writers have already figured this out) it takes a lot longer to write something than it does to read it. :) A book I can read in a few hours takes months to write. At least in my case. Why is that? Dunno – even I can type way faster than I can create a story.

Slow thinking, is part of it, and then even as slow as I go I still type three words for every one that makes it on to the page. If you’ve been reading here a while you’ve seen the changes a chapter goes through from first draft to submission.

All these words to get to my point.:) No samples for awhile – I’m getting close to finishing the current manuscript and there’s a backlog of projects behind it.:(

More writing life

January 5, 2007 Uncategorized

It’s a good thing I opted for indulgences rather than resolutions. If I had made resolutions one would have been to cut down on book buying. I’ve already purchased five books and it’s only the fourth. :( No will power.