Try some, it's good.

Happy early christmas!

2007-12-08T01:02:00.000-06:00

To Cherie J!
Email me to collect your presents.

My dear readers, that's it for the blog this year. I have plans to make, books to edit, and a vacation in Cancun coming up. If you stop by while I'm gone, make yourself at home. Tell me your holiday plans, what you want for Christmas, and where you're located. Will you have snow?

Don't forget to lock up and turn the lights out when you go. Now I'll just say...

And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then happy holidays to one and all. See you in '08!

Early Christmas - the finale- Caressed by Ice

2007-12-07T07:40:00.001-06:00

A special speed blog from Nalini Singh:

It's difficult to pin down one moment or instant that was the definitive inspiration for the Psy/Changeling series. I sat down one day with these two vivid characters in my head and three weeks later, I had a first draft.

But there was an important story question that continues to fascinate me: What if the flip side of great mental ability was insanity of the worst kind, the kind that led to murder? What would you do to survive?

It's a complex question full of possibility and every time I think of it, I see new avenues to explore.

Holy crap, three weeks? Now that's inspirational. People tell me, I don't know how you can write so fast, but Nalini blows me out of the water! That's incredibly quick, which says she must've really been driven.

I've read all three of her Psy / Changeling novels, and I could easily talk about all of them, but I'm going to focus on the third one, Caressed by Ice. First let me do a little setup:

In previous books, a Psy female hooks up with a Changeling male. The Psy have gone all Vulcan, eliminating destructive emotions from their daily lives. They did this because the Psy had a bad track record for going insane and doing hideous things to people, becoming the most brutal butchers the world has ever known. So they instituted the Silence, that dearth of emotion I referenced before. But the heroines in the first two books were different; they had wants, needs and desires. They fell in love. With me so far? Good.

In Caressed by Ice, we have a juxtaposition. Instead of another Psy heroine, we get a Psy hero -- Judd, who has bonded with Brenna, a Changeling woman who was taken by a crazy Psy butcher who was a bad guy in previous books. Judd was the only one who understood what Brenna needed; her family was inclined to coddle and protect her, after what she suffered, and that just made her weak and angry about it.

My take? This worked for me soooo well. Other people have said they prefer the Psy woman / Changeling male dynamic because they like all the growling and posturing, and "you're my bonded mate, woman!" type stuff. But I loved Judd. I loved how beneath the training of the Silence, which is supposed to prevent him from feeling anything, he had this desperate attraction to Brenna. He wanted her so bad, and didn't think he would ever have her. Better yet, that he would ever deserve her. Talk about dark, gritty angst. If you like a tough but controlled hero, who secretly overflows with passion and need, you're going to love Judd. There's just something about thawing the iceman, you know?

Brenna was a powerful heroine as well. She had been wounded, but she wasn't crippled by it. She was looking for a way to heal and resume her normal life, not spend it neurotic and cowering. She had her own issues to deal with, apart from the relationship Judd refused to consider. I liked how she never lost sight of what she wanted, though. It gave a super interesting twist to the whole "you are my bonded mate" thing. Brenna never budged about wanting Judd; she was completely single-minded, no matter what her pack or what Judd himself said, for that matter. It was just cool as hell to see a woman staking a claim in that particular alpha way.

But that's not to say Judd was weak. In no means. I think he may have been the strongest hero of the lot, but that could be bias talking, because this was my favorite book of the lot. The other two were fantastic, though. And I didn't even like shifter / were books before I started reading Nalini.

My one complaint -- and it's minor -- was that I wanted to see what happened between Brenna and Judd before the book began. There was a bond in place, already formed, from when she was kidnapped and attacked. We're told that he stayed with her, after she was rescued, and that she wouldn't let anyone else touch her. Well, I would've liked to have seen that, perhaps in a prologue, so I could actually see the bond forming. But even so, the book was an A+.

Have you read it? What did you think? If not, go get it!

And our random prize winner from yesterday should email me. Happy Early Christmas! Angie Fox, I need to hear from you!

PS -- I'll post the grand prize winner after midnight, the one who walks away with all five of these books. People who comment frequently will definitely have an advantage in this drawing.

Early Christmas - day four- Perfidia

2007-12-06T07:58:00.001-06:00

A special speed blog from Elspeth McKendrick:

I'm fascinated by the '20s, '30s, and WWII era. My husand is of German descent and his grandmother received Nazi government read letters from her relatives prior to the war. BLOOD MOON OVER BRITAIN highlighted the Allied side of this war but what about the other side? What was it like in Germany? Thus PERFIDIA was born.

I don't read a lot of historicals these days. I'm not interested in wallpaper books where the history is more for atmosphere than included for its accuracy. So it takes a lot more to motivate me to buy a historical than it would a paranormal, urban fantasy, speculative romance, or heck, even a plain old vanilla contemporary.

But as a kid, I had a terrible fascination with the Third Reich. It started with reading The Diary of Anne Frank, which was part of my school curriculum. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Who was she, this girl who wrote of things I could scarcely imagine? And yet she also seemed like a normal girl, like me. It was the my first brush with the idea of my own mortality -- if terrible things could come to Anne, who gazed out her window longing for freedom, what might befall me?

I studied the Holocaust for almost a year, trying to understand how such a hideous thing could've happened. How people let it happen. At 12, I gazed at pictures from Dachau, Auschwitz, and Belzec. I read about the pens and the ovens and the experiments.

I don't think anything had ever impacted me as seriously in my whole life, prior to that. I went to the American Legion to talk with WWII veterans about what they saw. I watched old movies. And I wept over people whose names history had forgotten.

So given my particular history, when I heard someone had written a historical, set against the backdrop of Nazi Germany, I was skeptical. How could this possibly work? But other reviews made me curious. So I added Perfidia to my list of must-read books.

And this book is remarkable. Though it fulfills the requirements of a romance, it offers so much more. I was left awash in admiration for the way the author handled the raw truth of the era. She offered no white-wash, and this book was brutal in many ways. No illusions, no romance, which is odd in a romance novel, but there you have it. She drove home the vicious immediacy of life in wartime with her writing.

Reading Perfidia, I felt as though I were watching one of those glorious black and white films, complete with dialog that sounds dated and quaint by our standards, but completely true to the time. She peppered the book with genuine slang. I could see everything very clearly; the book had a truly cinematic feel. Cary Grant or Bogie might've starred in it. All the women would dress in smart suits and hats, wear that greasy lipstick, and everyone smoked and drank more than was good for them. There was a sense of rebellious excess -- if we might die at any moment, why not live to the fullest?

A cautionary note: this book offers no sugar-coating, and its brutality might not please everyone. But if you're looking for something different, this one's for you.

Anyone else read this? What did you think?

And our random prize winner from yesterday should email me. Happy Early Christmas! Kim W, I need to hear from you!

Early Christmas - day three - Voice of Crow

2007-12-05T07:44:00.000-06:00

A special speed blog from Jeri Smith-Ready:

I’ve always felt a spiritual and creative connection to crows and ravens, so when I became a writer, I wanted to honor them with a book that would show them in a positive light. I just had to find the right story.

Then one day I thought, hey, wouldn’t it be cool/horrifying to know when people would die? Tie these two ideas together with the shamanistic concept of the Power Animal, and voila! Aspect of Crow.

P.S.: As I write this, a dozen crows are surfing the 40-mph winds outside, just for the hell of it. What other wild animal takes time from its busy survival schedule to goof off? No wonder biologists think crows are so smart.

That's an excellent question, and one I don't know the answer to, I'm afraid. Before I get into the squeeing, I'll tell y'all how I know Jeri. I first became aware of her work on Smart Bitches, where someone recommended her book Requiem for the Devil. A novel written from Lucifer's POV, first-person? I was dubious. How could that possibly work? But daaaaaaaaamn. Once I got it, I read it in one sitting and then I became a fan, just like the person who said the book was amazing.

From that point on, I stayed on the alert for any of her books. After I sold Grimspace, I asked if she would consider blurbing me. That worked out great, and we became friendly via emails. Then Eyes of Crow was out, but I wanted a signed copy, and I got hooked up at RWA National in Dallas, and I bought it at the literacy signing. I hoarded my signed copy until I got home and then I read it in one sitting. It totally blew me away -- my review can be found here.

So as you can well imagine, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Voice of Crow. In fact, I was ballsy enough to offer Jeri an e-ARC of Wanderlust (Jax, book 2) on the chance she would swap me an e-ARC of VoC. Well, mwahaha, it worked! So I read that just before the book came out, and then I waited three weeks longer for my actual physical copy, to which I added a signed bookplate. Now I have all her books signed. Yay!

These days, I consider her a friend, but don't worry -- early Christmas isn't about my pimping my friends' books, regardless of how good they are. There are people I like a lot, but whose books leave me cold. You won't find me pimping books I don't genuinely love.

And now you're up to speed.

VoC is a book that offers a perfect marriage of romance and fantasy. There's a gritty magical realism inherent in the world Jeri has built, full of symbolism and raw emotion. The world-building is fantastic and intriguing, full of spiritual symbols and hints of Native American lore. The prose is flowery, but elegant. Her characters are fantastic as well. Simply put, VoC is a joy to read, but you'll want to make sure you've read book one first. For anyone who loves romance or fantasy, you'll find this a perfect symbiosis of the two genres.

Rhia possesses the aspect of Crow, which means she can sense when someone's death is approaching. You'd think that would make her really depressing, but it doesn't. Conversely, she understands that it's important to truly live. The world is in turmoil, after the battle. (Trying not to spoil!)

Her relationship with Marek is tested, but it's very well done. VoC is a fine addition to the Crow series, and it left me eager to read the book she's been slaving over, The Reawakened, which is the conclusion to the Aspect of Crow series. No, I haven't had a sneak peek, and I don't know whether I'll get one. But I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Who else has read this? What did you think?

And our random prize winner from yesterday should email me. Happy Early Christmas! Tetewa, I need to hear from you!

Early Christmas - day two - Tempting Danger

2007-12-04T07:28:00.000-06:00

Special speed blog from Eileen Wilks:

The question writers hear most often is, “Where do you get your ideas?”
With Tempting Danger, the answer seems obvious. A little over a year ago I wrote a novella called “Only Human” that drove me distracted . It did not want to be a novella—the characters and their world begged to be made into a longer, richer book. I was blessed with an editor who agreed and asked that I expand it into a series. Look for more about Lily and Rule in Mortal Danger, available [insert pub date.]
And yet, as those of you who’ve read both novel and novella have seen, the story told in Tempting Danger is very different from that in “Only Human.” Though they explore some of the same ideas, they share only a single scene—the opening—and even that isn’t identical.

What happened? Do I just like to make things hard on myself?
Well, yes, that’s probably part of it. There’s also the old adage about never stepping in the same stream twice. When I returned to the stream I’d forded in “Only Human,” the water had moved on. I was in a different stream. The current was stronger and carried me farther, through different—and wilder--territory.

Then there’s Dark Matter.

Scientists say that around 98% of our universe is composed of a mysterious substance they cannot see, measure, or identify. They’ve dubbed it Dark Matter, or Dark Energy--and that’s where my ideas really come from. Like the mystery mass that makes up so much of reality, creativity can’t be seen, measured, or identified. It’s everywhere . . . and it’s moving.
Happy traveling.

Yesterday I mentioned how I enjoy paranormals that lean toward urban fantasy.

Well, I couldn't have picked a better book for that. TEMPTING DANGER is easily among the best I've read this year. I'll be honest; through no special attraction of my own, I wound up planning an RWA workshop panel on writing and selling cross-genre fiction with Eileen. By the time we were done, we'd chatted on the phone, and I concluded that Eileen is a lovely person. And people had been telling me, you have to read her books. They're amazing.

Lauren Dane was one of those people, and since I trust her judgment, I added all Eileen's Lupi books to my massive Amazon order. After reading all the reviews and sample chapters, I was really excited to get my grubby little hands on them. Admittedly, I was a little nervous too because I consider Eileen a friend at this point (or at least a friendly acquaintance). But I figured I could always just not comment at all. You're never sorry about keeping your mouth shut.

Then the books arrived, and I read the first one right away. It was a Sunday morning. By Sunday evening, I had devoured the other two, and was wishing I could get my mitts on Night Season, which comes out in January. Sheer brilliance.

TEMPTING DANGER has everything: world-building, characterization, and lovely, lyrical writing. I was talking to Lauren afterward, and we both agree that Eileen has an amazingly fresh voice. Really, I'm talking about all three of her Lupi stories when I say such things, but we'll focus on the first one for ease of reference.

Lily Yu is a cop with a special gift -- you could call it the Sight, and you wouldn't be wrong. She knows when magic has been used in a crime, and what's more, she can ID the types of magic by the way they feel to her. For example, death magic stinks of putrefaction. Eileen does a wonderful job with world-building. There are no inconsistencies, and everything ties together beautifully.

At the start of the book, there's been a brutal murder, which Lily knows has been committed by a lupus (or werewolf, but that's not the PC term anymore). I love the little touches like that, and the bits of history Eileen slips in along the way without a trace of info dump. Her use of exposition feels utterly integral to the narrative, which can be difficult to achieve.

Enter Rule Turner, the heir to the Nokolai clan. Someone is trying to frame him, and it's up to Lily to clear his name. Whether she wants to or not. Add an explosive sexual attraction to a dangerously fraught political clime, and you have the beginning of TEMPTING DANGER.

I think I've given you a pretty good idea of how the book starts with a bang. Now for my reactions to it.

OMG!! I can't believe I hadn't read these books before. I wish I could say it was because I was living under a rock because these are some of the best paranormals I've ever read. Sadly, I was just missing out. As I said earlier, they do edge toward urban fantasy in their scope, because there's certainly more plot than Wolfman finds mate, Wolfman rogers mate, mate cannot resist Wolfman, the end.

Lauren and I talked about these books at length. Really, I just popped up on IM to squee and she was nice enough not to say, "Duh, everyone else was squeeing about these years ago!" So I'm behind -- at least I found my way at some point. We both agree that Eileen has a captivating style and her characters are just brilliant. You know how you feel when you run across a perfect pairing? Not that there aren't fights, tension, and all the other yummy stuff. But ideal chemistry that makes you sigh and clutch the book once you've finished it?

TEMPTING DANGER has that in spades. I would go so far as to say Rule and Lily are the Eve and Roarke of paranormal romances. They have the same delicious complementary relationship. Sometimes when I finish a book, I don't really understand why the hero and heroine are together, other than the fact that the author wanted them to be. Sometimes I could actually see them matched with a secondary character instead.

Not so with TEMPTING DANGER. When I finished this book, I could not imagine Rule or Lily with anyone else. They were a matched set, complete with realistic tension and conflict. I loved this book. Don't let the cover fool you. It absolutely isn't just another romantic suspense.

Who else has read it? What did you think?

And our random prize winner from yesterday should email me. Happy Early Christmas! Kat O+, I need to hear from you!

Early Christmas - day one - Driven

2007-12-03T07:36:00.000-06:00

First, here's a special speed blog by Eve Kenin:

DRIVEN was inspired by a confluence of ideas. Joss Whedon’s amazing series, Firefly, with its vicious Reavers, do-what-needs-to-be-done captain, and cast of quirky and fascinating characters was part of my inspiration. Also, at the time, I was just getting into Manga and Anime (Trigun, Full Metal Panic, Hellsing, GTO, Ruruni Kenshin... to name a few). These stories drove home the point that a little bit of humor can go a long way in a dark tale. The element of the frigid environment came from my own personal dislike of the cold. I’m certain there are other ingredients that tipped into the brew boiling in the cauldron of my imagination, but I can’t think of them off-hand. I will say that DRIVEN was a blast to write.

Wow, so she got her inspiration at least partially from Firefly? Is there anything Joss Whedon can't do? I wish the man would get a TV series back on the air, because I so need something else to watch religiously. For me, the Manga / Anime influence was less readily discernible, despite the cover, but that might be because I'm not as familiar with them. Anyhow, let's talk a bit more about DRIVEN.

You want my take on it?

Holy crap, this was good. You know how JR Ward has the knack for writing a strong, charismatic male with just enough emotional trauma to make him intense and interesting? Eve Kenin has that gift too. But what's more (and better!) -- she has the knack for writing strong heroines as well, one who is her own person: smart, tough and capable. You know how sometimes, you half don't understand why the uber-awesome hero is interested in that damp dishrag of a woman? Not so in DRIVEN.

This book was addictive. I literally couldn't put it down. I carried it around the house with me, read it while I cooked dinner, while I was supposed to be watching TV with the family, and then took it upstairs to bed, where I read it nonstop until I finished it. DRIVEN gets an A++ from me. It has everything -- a heart-wrenching love story, great characterization, lovely writing, and an utterly kickass action-driven plot.

I can't guarantee Eve will stop by because she's utterly slammed with deadlines, but if you have questions about the book or her work, feel free to post them here. Someone mentioned on my Friday post that she wants to know what happened to Wizard's sister. I'm wondering about both his sisters, myself. I'd love for her to revisit this world, that's for sure.

Wizard was a perfect hero, as far as I was concerned, and I thought she did a brilliant job of conveying his nature without hitting people over the head with it. As for Raina, I was so happy to find a heroine who could seriously kick ass and take names. And talk about an action driven plot...

Have you guys read this? What did you think?

As I said on Friday, we'll be talking about books all week. Participation will be rewarded.

looking ahead

2007-11-30T00:27:00.000-06:00

As most of you have gathered from the minor tweak of my blog design and my lack of a T13 yesterday, I'm retiring that meme. I had a good run, but deep down, I'm always looking for the next shiny.

Next week, I have something cool planned. I'm calling it Early Christmas, and I'll be featuring five amazing authors, who have been kind enough to participate in what I call Speed Blogging. I ask them for their inspiration for a particular book in 100 words or less, so I'll have that along with some very fangirl squeeing. So if you've ever wondered what jumpstarted Eve Kenin's creative engines for Driven, or why Eileen Wilks wrote the Lupi books, or how Jeri Smith-Ready conceived the idea behind the Aspect of Crow series, you won't want to miss Early Christmas.

I'll have a speed blog from Eve on Monday, something from Eileen on Tuesday, and Jeri on Wednesday. But I'm not gonna tell you what's in store for Thursday and Friday.

Why am I calling it Early Christmas? Well, because I'm putting together a prize package of books that have rocked my world this year. And you'll get a contest entry for your first comment, and then an extra one for every twelve comments (yes, for the twelve days of Christmas, aren't you clever?!) you make on my blog that whole week. The big winner will walk away with five free books from Amazon (which includes three from the authors mentioned above, and two special mystery titles to be announced later). There will be random, surprise gifts awarded at any time as well.

It's gonna be a party up in here next week, and I hope you're as excited as I am. After Early Christmas week ends, however, you won't be seeing me until well into the New Year. So I wanna make this a bash to remember. Won't you join me?

Author classifications

2007-11-28T08:11:00.000-06:00

During my time on the internet, I've observed some patterns that I felt the need to record for posterity. Based on behavior, an author's classification may shift. In some cases, people go along the scale, passing these phases in the development of their writing paths. Other times, writers jump around a bit, before getting stuck in one category or another. And sometimes they skip a stage. These are not a hard and fast rules, of course, but just a simple guide that may prove helpful.**

**This post is for entertainment purposes only. No authors were harmed in the making of this post. Random facts have been invented, and any use of scientific terminology has been cobbled together from cereal boxes, an old Latin grammar book, and the Internet. God help us all. Any resemblance to real persons is strictly coincidental. Do not taunt happy fun ball... erm, right, on with the show!

Stage 1:
The Aspirant
This is where an otherwise normal person has somehow become infected with the need to write. I theorize that it may involve being bitten by a rare insect, diptera novelis, but have no proof at this time to substantiate my findings. Unfortunately, there is no cure.

An Aspirant generally comes in two age-ranges. The first is a SAHM (stay at home mom). She has held a number of day jobs, but after popping out a few kids, it was decided (probably in some Shirley Jackson-style lottery) that it would be better if she stayed home to nurture the family's young. This may have sounded like a good idea to her as well, but bear in mind, she was probably dangerously sleep-deprived when she made the decision. Now her little rugrats and curtain climbers are about to drive her insane. To keep from winding up on the evening news for doing horrible things to them, she decides to write a book. (Because yeah, that will reduce her stress.) But bear in mind, she doesn't know what's coming down the pike, or she'd probably take up macramé instead. Or maybe get a nice part time job at the video store in the evenings. They give you free rentals, you know.

The other class of Aspirant is an empty-nester. Maybe she always had the desire to write, but she got very involved in the lives of her offspring, or maybe she's just tired of working for Mr. Gilderstein down at the insurance office. In any case, now she has a lot more time on her hands since the kids went to college. Well, she has loved romance novels for years, so now she'll write one, by golly! How hard could it be? (I know, right?)

By either avenue, the Aspirant arrives on the Internet, bright-eyed and full of hope and wonder. (Don't worry, the denizens of the 'net will soon crush her hopes and dreams, then stomp all over her tender soul.) The Aspirant lurks on editor and agent blogs, hoping to pick up some crucial piece of information, and is disappointed to discover the existence of "form rejection letters" and the "slush pile." She may post a question or two that everyone else already knows the answer to, but she does it anonymously, and doesn't realize that agents / editors never answer questions on their blogs. The aspirant may or may not have completed a manuscript by the time she arrives on the Internet.

After an indeterminate period of time, she may evolve into...

Stage 2:
The Blogwriter

Blogs are great for getting your name out there, right? Therefore it makes good marketing sense to start a blog. They're easy, cheap (sometimes free!) and they offer an instant forum for whatever one wants to blather about.

For the Blogwriter, topics center around her writing goals, submissions she's made (and possibly rejections received), snippets of her incomplete manuscript, and near brushes with greatness (expect namedropping in this case). There will also be posts about the Blogwriter's pets and/or offspring. She may use the word "pre-published." In some instances, the Blogwriter may even post interviews with her own characters, or write the blog solely from their perspective. I will not comment on this practice.

The Blogwriter may carry on in such fashion indefinitely, ever so pleased that she's getting her name out there. Until it occurs to her that she hasn't had a comment in the (three, six?) months she's been blogging away. Well, crap. What's the fun of blogging if nobody reads it?! Sadly, the adage if "if you build it, they will come" does not apply to blogging. I'm not sure that applies to baseball fields in the middle of nowhere either, but I digress.

Sadly, Blogwriter blogs have a low chance of becoming popular. Why? Well, a variety of reasons. Readers frequent blogs for two reasons: they love your writing (and being famous already doesn't hurt) or they heard you're giving out prizes. Many bloggers view the Blogwriter as an upstart. Why, I've been blogging since Bravenet was the only place you could get a free blog! Young whippersnapper, they mutter. The only thing that can save a Blogwriter from obscurity is really fresh content (that means breaking from the formula described above) or evolving as an author to a new level (and taking the blog with them).

The Blogwriter may tire of talking to herself, and thus she enters...

Stage 3:
The Eager Beaver

The Eager Beaver has a blog nobody reads. So she stops lurking and goes on a posting spree. She comments on every post anyone else makes about anything. She may ask people to visit her blog in return. She might post a silly signature like "Hugs and Kisses", along with her name, and a link to her site. She may talk about her work where it doesn't relate.

It will not be unusual to find ten to twenty comments from her in a discussion. She wants people to know her name, dammit. She will email a lot of people who have no idea who she is and ask for reciprocal links. This is because she hopes it will increase her blog traffic, but what she doesn't realize is that almost nobody looks at anyone else's links. 'Net denizens are like water buffalo; long ago, we wore a virtual rut with our surfing, and we're wary of alternate routes. We almost never deviate, and when we do, we feel cranky about it, like we're daring this new blog to be any good. Mostly we click on unknown links when we're promised something mean, something shocking, or the next shitfest. But Eager Beaver doesn't know that.

Eager Beaver may continue her comment spree, earnest and bright-eyed, desperate for attention and acceptance, until she runs afoul of the old school bloggers, who will make such comments as "Who the hell is this...?", "She's everywhere!" and possibly, "This has to be someone running a sock puppet on my blog! I'm checking the ISP." If Eager Beaver continues, she may be confronted with, "You post so much, I don't know how you find time to write."

Ouch. This shot may jolt her into one of the other stages, or alternately, she makes A Sale. In which case, she might proceed directly to...

Stage 4:
Diva

The Diva has made a sale. It may be to a NY publisher, or it may be to an epub. Success level does not necessarily predict the Diva's behavior. She will tell everyone about the sale on her own blog, of course, but that's not enough. It will be mentioned in any conversation with the Diva, and any comment she makes will reference her sale in some way.

For instance, if a normal blogger posts about Laura Kinsale, the Diva will reply with something like this:

"Oh, I just love her! She's such an amazing author, so gifted. I used to write historicals, but I just didn't have the touch for it. Now I write contemporaries, and I have one coming from Diva Moon Press in September! Don't miss Sugar Lips Brown by yours truly. If you like hot, sexy romances, you're going to love this one. It's a contemporary Kinsale!"

The Diva is tireless in pursuit of her own aggrandizement. It's impossible to have a normal conversation with her at this stage in her development. She will perceive any attempt by colleagues to discuss their own work as a threat and she will respond accordingly. The Diva still has illusions about the glamorous life of a romance writer; she imagines chocolate bon bons, feather boas, pool boys named Raoul, and constant media attention. Her attempts at self-promotion will frighten small children and animals. She will likely not meet her deadlines.

The Diva does not yet realize she will be inundated with work, and that a sale to a publisher does not guarantee reader accolades / high sales revenue. She may post rants about her editor, whine to her associates about her agent not understanding her vision, and/or complain that her publisher isn't running a special publicity campaign for her extra special debut. Her first review may startle her into another phase, such as...

Stage 5:
Laughing All the Way to the Bank

LAtWttB has anywhere between two and twenty sales beneath her belt. But she does not respond well to criticism. Any implication that her work is anything less than divine and handed down by the Almighty pisses her off. She will respond in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:

"I'm laughing all the way to the bank."
"All the other reviewers loved this."
"Obviously, you just weren't smart enough to get my work."
"Stop reading my books. I have tons of loyal readers, and I don't need nitpickers."
"This book has sold better than all my others combined."
"You're mean!"
"This is slander* and I'm contacting my attorney. Please don't post about me or my work on the Internet anymore."

Deep down, however, LAtWttB does care deeply what people think and will be found on reader blogs and forums, wading in with her shitkickers on. She lives to argue with readers and is hopeful that one day she will get the collective Internet to issue an apology, and admit that her work is, in fact, the best thing since sliced bread. An author can linger in this stage for years, like a wasting sickness. And some authors remain locked here for the duration of their careers.

Others move on to...

Stage 6:
Workhorse

Authors who fall into this category have seen (or been) all of the above, and still care about writing. They've learned that the job is all the matters. They've learned to be respectful of readers in public, no matter what they think in private. They post on the Internet rarely, and only when they have something valuable or witty to contribute.

Mostly, they stay busy writing books. They meet their deadlines. They want to write the best books they can, and they want to make their readers happy. They apologize when they get stuff wrong, and they move on. Drama does not interest them in more than a passing fashion because... duh. They have work to do.

So... did I miss anything?

*I realize this should be libel but LAtWttB does not.

hot emo boys, you say?

2007-11-27T00:33:00.000-06:00

Apparently, people come here looking for different things. Here's the top ten searches this month:

#1 LOLCats (check)

#2 BJ jokes (there was the one about the penguin and the seal...)

#3 Laura Bradford + agent (Just email me. I'll be happy to answer questions, so you don't have to lurk, hoping for tidbits of info)

#4 lite bondage (Hmm. No. Unless you mean in My Valentine, and in which case... yes.)

#5 wwnd, nora (Archives, april or may, I think)

#6 ann aguirre (that's me!!! you came to the right place!)

#7 dangling dick pix (Come on, really? I thought I had made it crystal clear how I feel about candids of the dangly bits.)

#8 girlie sci-fi (check)

#9 gaudy purses (oh, double check!)

And #10... you ready?

emo olympics.

I must've used that phrase or something, but I'm pretty sure there is no such thing. Sorry, it's just a figure of speech. But what events would that involve? Sighing, painting your nails black, leaning on stuff, letting your hair fall in your eyes, and piercing random body parts? Anyhow, it's been too long since I posted a hot emo boy for your pleasure.

His name is Romeo (really? well, that's what his profile says), and he's from El Salvador. He likes long walks on the beach (at night!) and listening to the Cure; and his turnoffs include sunlight, bright clothing, and people who smile a lot. (I just made most of that up.)

Enjoy.

PS - You're allowed to admire him in an aesthetic sense, but don't go thinking impure thoughts. He's only 17. But don't despair -- you can lust after Harry Potter legally now!

Seriously, though... (OMG, I can't believe I baited you in here with a hot emo boy pic and then sprang an issue on you! It's diabolical.) I was reading a story on Reuters called Older White Women Join Kenya's Sex Tourists. The gist is how well-to-do baby boomers in their 50s and 60s head to Kenya, and pick up some hot young 20-something. The ladies play sugar mama for the duration of their vacations, buying presents and providing walking around money for their boytoys while they're around.

"It's not love, obviously. I didn't come here looking for a husband," Bethan said over a pounding beat from the speakers.

"It's a social arrangement. I buy him a nice shirt and we go out for dinner. For as long as he stays with me he doesn't pay for anything, and I get what I want -- a good time. How is that different from a man buying a young girl dinner?"

I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I mean, in one sense, it's clearly not prostitution. They're not exchanging currency directly for sex. It's a bit more muddied than that. Part of me wants to say, "Have fun!" to these adventurous old chicks. I mean, they're widowed or single, looking for a good time? If they can attract a hot stud with their bankrolls, why not?

However, I do think it's creepy when old dudes keep chasing young tail, so why do I think it's ok for a woman to get some this way? That makes me feel like I have a double-standard, which I don't like to admit.

Do these men feel devalued? Or are their lives such that they're just happy to get what they get out of it? What bothers me is inequity or imbalances in power in a relationship, but this is more of a vacation fling, so as long as both parties are legal, single, and nobody gets hurt, what's the harm?

And is it really any different than a rich old dude flashing his bankroll and picking up some young honey? I don't know. Readers, what do you think?

My bookmarks, let me show you them

2007-11-26T13:20:00.000-06:00

More show and tell today.

These are the bookmarks that will be available at various events, starting with RT. I'd only intended to get a few hundred, but since Bettie did such an amazing job on them, I'm definitely getting a bunch. What do you think? Pretty hot, right?

The Bettie of whom I speak is, of course, Bettie Sharpe, who wrote the awesome serial story Ember, which has been running weekly on Bam's blog. She's also got a novella, Like a Thief in the Night, coming out with Samhain in January. "She’s a heartless assassin; he’s an immortal thief. In another life, they would have been lovers. In this one, he’s her target and she’s his prize." What could possibly be better than that? Well, only a full length novel. You're not going to want to miss it.

How did I wind up with Bettie doing design work for me? Well, I fell in love with the cover for Ember, and I surfed over to her website, where I found a gorgeous banner for her novella as well. So I emailed her to ask who does her design work. Imagine my surprise when I found out she's a double-threat, an amazingly gifted author who can design gorgeous stuff like this too. Holy crap. I hired her immediately, and set her to work making beautiful things for me too. Mwahahaha!

I'm thrilled with these bookmarks, as you can well imagine. As Rick said in Casablanca: Bettie, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Happy black friday

2007-11-23T10:50:00.000-06:00

I hope all of you are enjoying your day off. It's business as usual around here. I made a roast chicken, homemade stuffing and corn on the cob last night. We ate off the good china and drank from wine glasses. The kids seemed to get a kick out of it.

But it's hard to celebrate a holiday that isn't a holiday. This has been a tough week. I'm happy to report that the Tuesday night run to the hospital wasn't as bad as we thought, and my daughter's doing fine. But I'm frazzled.

Because I don't feel up to a lengthy blog entry, I'm just gonna post this. The cover flats came in the mail this week (yay!) and I did the best I could with our scanner. Click on the pic for a better look. It's even better in person, soooo glossy and shiny.

Pretty cool, huh?

Have a great weekend, and don't forget my monthly contest on the loop. We're talking about books, as usual, and if you're not a member of my Google group, you're missing out. Join here!

flavor

2007-11-20T08:27:00.000-06:00

That's all for today. I can add nothing to that. Kthxbai.

meme-y monday

2007-11-19T10:13:00.000-06:00

The Name Meme

This one looked fun, so I wanted to play. Plus it's an easy blog topic, and I'm writing today, plus working on proofs.

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet & current car):
Bo Malibu

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Rum Raisin Maple (Hm, not much of a gangster)

3. YOUR "FLY Girl" NAME (first initial, first 3 letters of last name):
A-Agu (sounds like spaghetti sauce or a rare strain of flu)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Cat (Superhero, not detective)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):
Elle Hammond

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first 3 letters of last name, first 2 letters of first):
Agu-An (I'm not convinced)

7. SUPERHERO NAME ("The" + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
Pink Sangria (What are my superpowers? Making everyone a little tipsy?)

8. NASCAR NAME (first names of your grandfathers):
Roy Oral (This sounds like a porn name)

9. STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume, favorite candy):
Nina Godiva (That's a damn good stripper name)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother's & father's middle names):
Earl Elmer (Don't ask)

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (5th grade teacher's last name, a city that starts with the same letter):
Jackson Jakarta (Sounds like a dude)

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL (favorite season/holiday, flower):
Christmas Rose (It could work...)

13. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you're wearing right now + "ie" or "y"):
Grape Pantie (I can't imagine the cartoon where this would work, but I'm guessing it would be on Adult Swim)

14. HIPPY NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):
Bagel Willow (Hippy name? It almost works)

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME ("The" + your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + "Tour"):
The Writing Storm Tour (It would be pretty boring to watch, though. Just me tapping away on the keyboard)

16. Your Porn Name (first pet, name of street you grew up on):
Fluffy Bailey (Hahaha, that totally works)

Look like fun? You try in comments.

what's next, you ask?

2007-11-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

Well, maybe you don't care, but I'm telling you anyway. Here's what we have in store.

I've enjoyed my time off, but with My Valentine in the can, it's time for me to get back to work. On Monday, I'll be starting Doubleblind, book three in the Sirantha Jax series. Just fyi, I'll be doing my usual 3K a day until done, which will mean I won't be blog surfing much. If you want me, look for me here or via email. I'll still be blogging, of course, and I always answer emails. You know where to find me.

More exciting news.

My agent has a new website design, and I'm too thrilled to be on the homepage. Go on, click it! How cool is that? Gorgeous design, and there's Grimspace, looking mighty fine, if I do say so myself.

Oh, my editor's assistant, Cam, emailed me to tell me that I'm getting Grimspace proofs. Since she overnighted them, I should have them by Monday. I'm so excited over that, I can't stand it.

EDIT: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The FedEx man just delivered my proofs. I'm looking at them RIGHT NOW. I have a title page, dedication, acknowledgments...

It's SO beautiful!

Holy crapweasels. My contracts from Laura arrived at 1:42pm.

The goodness hasn't stopped either. The postman just brought me this:

Now I can read the Sonchai books over the weekend! Damn, it's been a good day. I think I need to buy a lottery ticket!

My writing gig has landed on the Autobahn, and I'm so on board.

And you know what? There's more. But I'm not talking. Yet. Have a great weekend, everyone!

T13

2007-11-15T00:02:00.000-06:00

13 quotes from movies I watch over and over again

1. "I miss Elizabeth. I will always miss her. But I ache for Grace."

2. "That's Ren and Stimpy. They're way existential."

3. "Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated."

4. "They say most of your brain shuts down in cryo-sleep. All but the primitive side, the animal side. No wonder I'm still awake."

5. "You made three mistakes. First, you took the job. Second, you came light. A four man crew for me? Fucking insulting. But the worst mistake you made...empty gun rack."

5. "Hey, you, on the other side - let her go. Because for her I will cross over, and then you'll be sorry!"

6. "Upset? Is that the word? I used to get upset. When I got a flat tire, when a plane was delayed. I used to get *upset* when the Yankees won the series. So if that's what upset means, what am I feeling now? If you know the word, tell me because I don't."

7. "This place is a mausoleum. If I had my will, I would tear it down brick by brick."

8. "There is a war coming. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

9. "I refuse to play your Chinese food mind games!"

10. "So you didn't want to kill a kid. Welcome to the human race."

11. "Okay, here's the deal, meatball: You let me go, I let you live."

12. "You just said you love me, now if I say I love you and just throw caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may and you're lying to me, I'm gonna fuckin' die."

13. "Miss Pascal, I've been odd. I know I've been odd, and I know that there are many forces at work telling me to bring these down here to you, but I brought these for you because... I want you."

How many can you guess?

Add your link below!

hey, you sexy thing

2007-11-14T07:59:00.000-06:00

You know who I'm talking to -- that box Amazon sent me yesterday! I have more coming, of course, because they tend to mail small boxes of 4-5 books, no matter how many I buy. So I'll get three or four more shipments before my order is complete.

Yesterday, I received:

Which pisses me off, as it's the second book in the Sonchai Jitpleecheep series, and I desperately want to read it. And I can't. Why didn't they send it with Bangkok 8?!

I'm reading this now. So far, so good. I'm really enjoying it. It's quite different than her usual books, but I like when an author changes things up. Her writing is actually more lyrical in this book. Good stuff.

I've sooo been anticipating this. I can't wait to read it. It's next after the Kelley Armstrong book, and you may rightfully expect squee-age. I'm gonna have so many possibilities for my November favorites contest! (You must be a loop member to enter.)

and...

Yes, I've already read it. How can that be, you might ask, since I just got the book? Well, I happen to have an e-ARC before the book ever came out. I'm just that cool. I also had a signed book plate ready to go, so VoC has gone into my Jeri Smith-Ready collection. I have every one of her books, signed cos she mailed me Requiem for the Devil. How awesome is that?

I'm still waiting for:

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett
Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett
Sexy/Dangerous by Beverly Jenkins
Witch Fire by Anya Bast
Forbidden by Suzanne Brockmann
Tempting Danger (The World of the Lupi, Book 1) by Eileen Wilks
Mortal Danger (The World of the Lupi, Book 2) by Eileen Wilks
Blood Lines (The World of the Lupi, Book 3) by Eileen Wilks
Perfidia by Elspeth McKendrick
An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Driven by Eve Kenin
Shadows at Sunset by Anne Stuart
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Don of the Dead by Casey Daniels (these are Pepper Martin mysteries)
The Chick and the Dead by Casey Daniels
Tombs of Endearment by Casey Daniels
Virgin River (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 1) by Robyn Carr
Shelter Mountain (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 2) by Robyn Carr
Whispering Rock (Virgin River Trilogy, Book 3) by Robyn Carr

This is way exciting for me because I limit myself to one or two big Amazon orders a year. For someone who used to make a trip to the bookstore bi-weekly, this is a painful reduction. Hopefully, I'll be in the States more in 2008, and I can indulge my habit. Best of all, I'm between projects so I can read a few books without feeling guilty!

What're you reading?

I want a new drug

2007-11-13T08:26:00.000-06:00

First I want to lodge a complaint with the title gods.

Connie Brockway is one of my favorite authors. The woman is insanely gifted; she's totally from the Kinsale school of yummy, irresistible angst, and All Through the Night, published in 1997, is my favorite historical romance of all time. In fact, I want to re-read it but I haven't gotten around to replacing it since the flood a few years back. I was thrilled to death when she friended me on MySpace. Apparently, she's just signed up, and I was the fourth person she invited. I was Connie Brockway's fourth friend on MySpace!! And she invited me.

*Cue fangirl squee* That's bragging rights, there. I don't know if she knows me (sort of, from my web presence) or she just did a search for people who listed her as a favorite author? I'm gonna pretend she has some vague clue who I am. It's my delusion and I'm sticking to it! So there you have it -- my big thrill for Monday.

Anyhow, back to my complaint. People have been talking all over the Internet about All Through the Night by Suzanne Brockmann, and I secretly thought they were mixed up. It's an understandable mistake; both names start with "Brock" and what-not. Imagine my chagrin to discover that there's a new book with that title! One of her Navy Seal books, I think. How confusing is that?!

Two Brock-authors, two All Through the Nights. My brain hurts. Therefore, I protest to the title gods. It's just wrong. Now I don't know whether people actually know what book I'm talking about!

Anyhow, bitching aside, I love romance novels. They're the chocolate of the book world. When you need a comfort read, something to take you away from your puking kid and the fact that the damn dog has chewed up your last pair of decent shoes through some dog ninjary you cannot fathom, given that you keep your bedroom closed at all times, then you get a romance.

The heroes are hot, the heroines are feisty, and the endings are happy. Always. That's non-negotiable, or it's not a romance. It may have "romantic elements" or "romance subplot" but a romance will have a happy ending.

However. I'm a little tired of the endless lust. Like, hero-man takes one look at the heroine, whether she's classically gorgeous or not, and has an instant erection. Or if he's a were, maybe he takes one sniff. Whatever, the point is I'm tired of this lust-at-first-glance thing.

I want something different. I was delighted with Susan Mallery's series for this reason. The Buchanans? I devoured all four books in two days. I don't remember being put off by that instant-boner scene that I've come across with more regularity than I really like.

So here's what I want from you, my dear readers. Help me out with some book suggestions that feature the following plot devices: long-time crush, friends to lovers, and mistaken identity. Here's the caveat. I want a different flow to the relationship, no instant-boner or instant-weeping-vagina moment. I want a slow, simmering build where the characters may not even realize their latent attraction until it bursts into glorious irresistible life. I don't want books with passages extolling the other's good looks. I want something else, something fresh, with the characters enjoying each other's company first. A good example of this is a book by Dee Tenorio, Betting Hearts. I also want banter and clever dialog; Elizabeth Hoyt is a prime example of that.

And if that's not all, I also want lovely writing, hot sex, and a full, satisfying plot. (I'm not asking for much, am I?) Go forth, ye readers, and compile me a reading list that meets these qualifications, for I shall be in the States next month, and I'm buying books! But feel free to nominate ebooks if they fit the qualifications too because I can buy those now. Mwahahaha!

*sits back like a pasha and waits for the book titles to start rolling in*

what a long, strange day it has been

2007-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

If you've never tried to coordinate vacation plans with people who live halfway across the world and are in no real hurry to get back to you regarding what they're doing and when, while racing against the ever-increasing fares, then you have no idea what my day has been like. See, the closer we get to Christmas, the more it's going to cost to go anywhere. And we're apparently going to Cancun.

So here I go, researching this and checking that, comparing flight times, fleet of planes, safety record, service, price, and god only knows what else. I killed most of yesterday doing this, and the bulk of today as well. I'm happy to report I booked a super cheap fare on an obscure airline that has an excellent safety and service record. No, I'm not going to tell you the name of it because then you'll overload them with your travel plans, and I won't be able to get the super cheap rates when I want them!

I'm gonna be logging some serious miles between Dec 29 and January 7. You don't want to know. I don't even want to know, and I'm gonna be doing the traveling. The good news is, that between Dec 31 and Jan 6, I'll be kicking back in Cancun. That's a great way to usher in the New Year. With all the legwork I did putting this trip together, I've earned the break.

What are your holiday plans? Have you even thought about it yet?

go away

2007-11-11T00:20:00.000-06:00

No, really. Go. What're you doing here on a Sunday anyway?

You know I'm over here on Sunday. Jeez. You'd forget your own head if it wasn't attached.

Seriously, get out of here! Nothing to see, move along, these are not the droids you're looking for. Scram.

PS - there's a contest over there. Go on, already!

Celebratory shouts

2007-11-09T00:05:00.001-06:00

First, I want to congratulate my girl Lauren, who just made a two-book deal with Berkley Heat. In fact, I'm so excited and proud that I'm gonna bust out the dance monkey on her behalf. This is a first over here on "Try some; it's good." I'm pretty possessive of my monkey, but I think this occasion calls for something special. Don't you?

You want to touch my monkey? You know you do. But no! I will not let you. Well, maybe just this once.

Anyway, make sure you stop by Lauren's blog to show her the adulation she rightly deserves. She's got a kick-ass project called Battlefront that will make a great stocking stuffer around Christmastime next year.

So big love to her for bringing the latest sale to the luminous Laura Bradford. Why, that sounds like a segue, you might say. Indeed it is, my perceptive friends.

Marissa Scott passed on some news, and I just have to brag. See, when it comes to my agent, I don't have a humble bone in my body. And I still can't believe she reps me. She's the tightest, brightest, best-dog-in-the-fight-est-- damn, I gotta move on before I bust out with a cover of Wind Beneath My Wings.

Laura is more than an agent. She's an editor, a friend, and always willing to listen or deal with whatever issue I'm having. I could search for ten years and never find anybody who rocks my literary world like she does. She's a rocket, I'm telling you, and her judgment is money in the bank.

But don't take my word for it. How about the Publishers Weekly Top Deal Makers of 2007? Let's take a look at the top five, shall we?

Roberta Brown
Natasha Kern
Deidre Knight
Laura Bradford
Pam Ahearn

Oh yeah. You read that right. Laura is a rainmaker, a rock star, and the wave of the future. In honor of her rock star status, I've adapted a little ditty for her (with apologies to Kelis and anyone who gets this stuck in their head after reading this).

[Repeat x2]
My agent brings all the authors to the yard,
And they're like
she's better than ours,
Damn right she's better than yours,
She could teach them,
But she'd have to charge

I know you want it,
The thing that makes her,
What the pubs go crazy for.
They lose their minds,
The way we sign,
I think it's time

[Chorus x2]
La la-la la la,
Warm it up.
Lala-lalala,
The pubs are waiting

My agent brings all the authors to the yard,
And they're like
she's better than ours,
Damn right she's better than yours,
she could teach them,
But she'd have to charge

Here's to Laura and Lauren. You two are the best evuh.

T13

2007-11-08T00:42:00.000-06:00

13 comments about my urban fantasy

So I have a new crit partner. Her name is Angie Fox, and she writes for Dorchester. Her fantastic debut, The Accidental Demon Slayer, comes out next summer. The book is described as, "Mary Janice Davidson meets Julie Kenner in this hilarious paranormal romance."

What's more, she has a blurb from Stephanie Rowe: "Angie Fox has penned a hilarious, high-octane, paranormal caper. The Accidental Demon Slayer is a highly original frolic filled with brilliantly created characters, countless magical surprises and marvelous plot twists."

Here's an interview where she talks about this book, which one agent said "does for witches what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies."

To take my mind off the latest mystery making the rounds with agents, I decided to write something completely different, a funny paranormal romance where I could build my own world and make up my own rules. I fell in love with the idea of a preschool teacher who is forced to run off with a gang of geriatric biker witches and THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER was born.

Instead of a 20-page plot outline, I had a 5-page list of ideas, one of which included “but little did they know, all the Shoney’s are run by werewolves.” Instead of following the rules, I broke a few. Instead of painstakingly writing over the course of a year, I giggled my way through the book and had a complete manuscript in five months.

How awesome is that?! And I get to read it before any of you. Mwahahaha!

EDIT: Angie has had an unbelievable day! So I'm adding two more blurbs she's received today.

"A demonically delightful paranormal romp. I didn't want it to end!"
--Michelle Rowen, author of Fanged & Fabulous

"As hilarious as it is thrilling, THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER by Angie Fox is one "h-e-double hockey sticks" of a ride.

Like grandma on her hog, I tore through this book at a break-neck speed and loved every minute of it. Quirky characters and hilarious situations make THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER by Angie Fox a devilishly, wicked-fun ride.

Angie Fox "kills" with the humor and quirky, yet sympathetic characters in THE ACCIDENTAL DEMON SLAYER. It's devilishly good fun!"
--NYT bestselling author Tate Hallaway

Did I mention there were five agents dying to sign this woman? And I was lucky enough to have her look at my upcoming urban fantasy release for '09. Sweet!

Without further ado, here are 13 things she said:

1. "I can see why this book was snatched up in a pre-empt. I loved it! Seriously loved it."

2. "I love Corine’s voice. Her humor is just outstanding and is balanced well with action/mystery/magic. I ate this story up."

3. "Chance is delicious. And Jesse. Oh wait, that’s a problem isn’t it? Well, for Corine anyway."

4. "You have a real gift for creating memorable secondary characters."

5. (Over a certain line) "I spit Diet Coke onto my computer keyboard. Thanks a lot."

6. "There are sparks with both guys... I can see a (love) scene between Chance and Corine as being utterly amazing when it happens. And when it happens, I think your readers will root for him even more."

7. "I think you are going to do very, very well with this series."

8. "You have an outrageously compelling book."

9. "Your locations were wonderful."

10. "This book is truly different from the others I’ve read in the genre and that only means good things for you."

11. "I love Corine."

12. "TNFKaGT rocks!"

13. "You are brilliant and I hope you know it."

To quote Goofy, "Aw, garsh."

She also gave me wonderful feedback identifying stuff I need to work on, so when the book releases in its polished form, you'll need to thank Angie.

Add your link below!

Perverted sci-fi to avoid

2007-11-07T07:47:00.000-06:00

This thread tickles me. You can go read it for yourself by clicking the title of this post, but I'll share the crucial bit.

I'm no prude, but I hate reading about sex in SF, especially when it's pornographic or dirty. Am I alone in this, or do others hate it, too? Here is a small list of books which have had me wince, moan with disgust and temporarily throw the book down:
Dawning Shadow - Somtow Sucharitkul
Throne of Madness - Somtow Sucharitkul
Alien Years - Robert Silverberg
The World Inside - Robert Silverberg (THE worst book I've ever read)
Camouflage - Joe Haldeman
Cradle - Arthur C. Clarke & Gentry Lee
Ringworld Engineers - Larry Niven

Of these authors, Gentry Lee and Silverberg are the most perverted. I read reviews that Rama II (written with Gentry Lee)was perverted so I haven't read that one. Anyone else has any more books to add and avoid?

I'm beyond astonished. Good grief, these books made him moan with disgust? *wide-eyed* But the funny bit is the addition of the word 'temporarily'. You think he finished the books as a mercy read?

The first thing that occurs to me, however, is that sci-fi has long been the province of adolescent males. Understandably so, the genre offers tales of adventure without the added weight of mature relationships, which carry with them the danger of sexual contact.

*whispers* Coitus.

I'm madly curious as to what's in these books that got them dubbed "pornographic". It's hard for me to imagine venerable authors like Silverberg and Clarke writing in a sweat-soaked frenzy to come up with something truly filthy, just for the sake of shocking this poor reader. Perhaps Silverberg and Clarke are dirty old men?

Heh. I must rebut!

In any event, it makes me wonder how 'classic' sf readers are going to respond to my work. The protagonist is a female -- and not a man in a woman's body, as some SF heroines seem to be. A real honest-to-God woman, complete with emotions and everything. Do you think people will complain that I'm smearing my girl cooties all over the purity of the genre?

We have our romance novels. Why must we write in other genres too?! SF should be a manly bastion without sex, emotion, or other squishy stuff, right? It should be solely devoted to killing aliens and flying ships and discovering new worlds. The male hero, if he ever had a relationship, should be alone now. Perhaps his wife died. Yeah, that works. That way, he's had the sex, but readers aren't confronted with the horrid reality of recreational coitus. (I said it again!)

Coitus.

So our lone wolf hero can sail away into the stars. Alone. Maybe he can have a robot as his sidekick. But not one who cusses, like Bender from Futurama. That would be dirty and perverted. And his adventures should always glorify violence, and show that the best way to solve a problem is with a ball-peen hammer. Or a laser pistol. Whatever. As long as something dies.

Why are emotional arcs and sexual content dubbed dirty / pornographic? American television is the same way. Insane levels of violence are permitted, but flash a little boob, and people freak out. It's definitely a yin / yang sort of thing, but yin is seen as more deviant than passive these days. So tell me. Why do we celebrate a cult of death and destruction?

Melancholy baby

2007-11-06T07:48:00.000-06:00

Life is change.

That's not an arguable point. No matter whether we want changes or not, our lives are constantly in a state of flux. There's a certain charm to being adaptable, being able to roll with the punches. I'd call that a handy skill.

But sometimes people and events array themselves in what seems to be the perfect way. What if you don't want that to realign into some formation that's less than what you had? Now at this point, I could say a bunch of junk about that being good practice, and you never know what's around the next bend, it could be better still, right?

But the truth is, sometimes I feel like a little kid. And I want to demand, "Why?! Why can't things stay the same? I like my life this way."

I acknowledge the selfishness of that response, however. It would be wrong of me to limit other people's growth just because I like the niche they occupy in my life. So I don't cling anymore. And when I see people drifting away, I just let them go. Sometimes it's hard to do so cheerfully, but it's better than petulance. Though it took me years to figure out, I've come to accept that things just never stay the same, no matter how good they were (or how bad).

There comes a point when I just have to step back because I'm not getting out of something what I put into it. That realization necessitates a quiet withdrawal that never fails to make me sad, but it's better than riding the drama llama into an unwinnable confrontation. You can't get an answer to a question like, "How come you don't care as much as you used to?"

Sometimes I wonder if it's something I do wrong, whether I just don't have the knack for long-term friendships. People latch onto me for a short time, wring out all the support and encouragement they need, and then just wander away. It is, truly, a puzzlement. If I could stop being hurt by this, I could consider myself truly enlightened. It would be enough that I'm helping people when they need it. And really, that's okay too. I live largely inside my own head anyway.

Forgive the gloom, good readers. I examined my heart as to what I had to say today, and this was it. I'll entertain you better on the morrow.

I'm baaaaack

2007-11-05T09:58:00.000-06:00

Did you guys miss me?

This morning, I find myself thinking about relationship arcs. There's a particular magic involved when an author gets it just right, when the reader gets swept into the irresistible chemistry between the two main characters. I've read a few books where it just didn't work for me. I mean, I couldn't see the hero and heroine together, apart from the fact that the author wanted them to be.

So I started thinking: what takes a relationship from mechanical to magic? Well, for me, it's a combination of factors. Do the man and woman complement each other in some fashion? Is banter present? I can't stress enough the importance of snappy dialog between protagonists. For me, it goes a lot further than all the manufactured sexual tension in the world.

Lean close, y'all, I have a confession. I'm tired of all the mental lusting. Like one good look (or whiff in some cases) and the hero is dying of priapism. And the heroine could go through a case of pantyliners because of the river running betwixt her thighs. I'd rather read dirty talk than have the author focus exclusively on their bodily responses. I know what goes where, but dialog? Can be unbelievably hot when it's done well.

Let's see, what else? Well, for me, it can also be as simple as, do they meet each other's needs? If I can't figure out what one of them gets out of the relationship, then I'm not sold on them being together. When you think about it, falling in love is such a glorious, irrational process that it's rather miraculous any author can depict it at all, let alone with such verisimilitude that we catch our breath at the intensity.

What are some books where you feel like the author got it exactly right? You show me yours and I'll show you mine.

Contest-y goodness

2007-11-03T08:24:00.000-06:00

I thought y'all might be interested in the list I sent to Anne a while back. For a week or so, I was big time into thinking up possible names for TNFKaGT (The Novel Formerly Known as Good Touch). I couldn't work on anything else, really, until I came up with the definitive list. There's my single-mindedness again.

So here's what I came up with:

Object Lesson

Vicious Gifted

Dread Naught

Dead Man's Merengue

Zombie Mambo

Throw the Bones

Revenant Wrath

Hot Luck

Burning Dreams

Bred in the Bone

Phantom Fire(s)

Hard Spark

Salt and Bone

Burn Effect

Boneyard Boogie

Bare Twilight

Parlor Trick

Warlocks Wild

Heathen Magic

Eternal Flame

Boneyard Boogie is my favorite. What's yours? I'm thinking of doing this as a contest. Here's the deal. You pick ONE favorite (I know, it's gonna be hard to narrow it down, but you can do it!), and tell me what that is in comments. The person who gets it right (selects the title that marketing decides on as well) will receive an ARC of Grimspace, well before its release date. If more than one person picks the right title, they ALL get ARCs. And if marketing makes up their own title, and doesn't pick one from my list, then I'll draw a random name for the winner. Sound fun? All you have to do is... choose.

There can be only one (favorite).

PS - my special loop-only contest starts today, but you can't play if you're not a member. Isn't it time you signed up?