Stephanie Rowe (aka Stephie Davis)

Must Love Dragons video

2006-09-29T09:27:00.000-07:00


Here's the trailer for new book MUST LOVE DRAGONS, which will be on the shelves 10/31/06. What do you think?

my new YA cover!

2006-07-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

I just got the cover to my new YA that's coming out in February from HarperCollins. What do you think?
Nothing compares to a first kiss...

Naturally, I don’t want to attend the semiformal with a pity date, which is why I told my friends I have a boyfriend: this really cute drummer, Rafe. (I wish!) What’s the big deal? Well, Rafe already has a girlfriend, plus now he thinks I have a boyfriend. So I have TWO imaginary boyfriends, and still NO date for the dance. What was I even thinking?

Would a guy like Rafe EVER date a nobody like me?

Nightmare 101: The Blank Page

2006-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm back. I finished my book, and I think it turned out okay (will wonders never cease?). And then my brain completely fell into a puddle of mush and I lost the inability to think, function or even look at the computer for ten days.

But now I am crawling my way back into the breathing, living and somewhat functioning world...which means it's time to start working on my next project.

I was planning to take a month off. Took a week instead. Ah, the life of an addict. I just can't stay away.

So, my proposal for book #4 in my Warner paranormal series (boy, does this series need a name! Any suggestions?) isn't due until 8/15, so I'm going to try to come up with a proposal for a different series in the interim.

Which means a blank page. Not just a blank page, but a blank folder on my computer. Not a single document exists on this new project. Not a name. Not a whisper of a character. Not a location. Not a plot (hah!). All I know is the genre.

Wow. That is so daunting. Moments like this, I wonder how in the world I'm ever going to get from the state of all-consuming blankness to a full story. But somehow, it happens every time, so I can only assume it'll happen this time. (ahem. fingers crossed).

But man, where do I start? I never start in the some place. Some authors have a set procedure they go thru when they start a new book, but I'm always different. Sometimes I start with a location, or a career, or a character, or a conflict... I just have to take random stabs at all of them until something finally takes root. I wish it was easy... well, I guess I don't. If it were easy, I'd be bored and have moved onto a new career by now. There's just something so satisfying about battling my way through impentrable underbrush and emerging into the light, though I have to admit, I'm still trying to teach myself to enjoy the struggle itself.

So here I go. Off to battle. Wish me luck.

Graduation Congrats!

2006-06-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a huge shout out and congratulations to my one of my loyal readers, Alyssa Olson from Oregon who is graduating from high school this weekend. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

There is no fast lane

2006-06-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm now up to about page 300 of my WIP and I'm stalled out again. But this time, I'm not panicking. I think the problem is that I'm fully involved with my characters. They are driving the story. The story is driving and they are along for the ride, which means they aren't paying as much attention to their personal goals and issues as they really would be. So... you guessed it. I think I have to go back to the start and rework it. Ugh. I can't bear it. I need to be through this first draft!

Reinforced Nylons (aka Why Support is so great)

2006-06-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today's my day to post on the Warner Women blog. I posted on Reinforced Nylons (aka Why Support is so Great), so zip on over there and check it out.

Plus, I am happy to report that, although I am now up to my twelfth version of HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME HOT, things now seem to be moving along and I'm almost to page 300, so I'm about to round the corner to the homestretch. I have a feeling there will be lots of editing after this first draft, but I now feel like the foundation is relatively stable and won't crumble at the first stiff breeze.

But man, this has been a tough book. Thanks for everyone's support!

I'm going to cry

2006-05-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

I've never ever struggled with a book the way I've struggled with this one. I can't get it right. I just can't. Everything is wrong with it and I cannot figure out what to do to fix it. I'm at such a loss, and it's due in five weeks, so I look at the calender and start to freak out, which of course doesn't help with the "clear mind, clear thoughts" problemsolving mindset I need.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work one's way out of this kind of situation???

Warm Fuzzies are the best!

2006-05-23T09:08:00.001-07:00

As you all know, I'm struggling through my WIP, trying to get a handle on the story. It's hard. Times like this make you question your competence and I have to fight against the frustration. And then I get an email like the one below that just came in this morning, and suddenly, everything feels all right again, becuase I realize that I CAN do it, even if it feels so hopelessly difficult right now. Thank you to all the readers who take the time to let me know how much they enjoyed my books. You have no idea how much I treasure each and every one of those emails!

And here is today's inspirational email:

"I'm SO excited for the second book in the series! I absolutely LOVED Date me Baby, I bought it after reading the back cover only a day agoand read it non-stop in less then a day. It was PERFECT, exactly whatI've been looking for in a book, funny, smart, interesting, SEXY, and of course magical. Satan's character was hilarious, and everything was just... priceless. Thanks so much for making a book that good. -Brittany"

I'm printing this email out and taping it to my monitor to remind me that I CAN do this.

Warm Fuzzies are the best!

2006-05-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

Why I'm a good mom

2006-05-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

This is why I'm a good mom. Because I am working hard to brainwash my daughter before she is old enough to realize the wisdom of not listening to me. I hereby introduce a future Red Sox fan who will have her heart broken by the hometown boys many, many times over her lifetime. See how she's smiling? She's already buying into it. Go Red Sox!

How many more times do I need to learn this lesson?

2006-05-21T10:51:00.000-07:00

OKay, I'm struggling with my WIP. Feeling low. Feeling like I shall never create anything readable again.

So, to procrastinate, I search the web and start reading blogs and websites of authors who are more successful than I am. Um, hello? That is not what my ego needs right now! I don't need to sit there and realize how much better all these other author at my job! I mean, yeah, sometimes that's a good reminder because it keeps me working hard to get better and improve, but right now I need an injection of confidence, not a clock upside the head with a frying pan!

Silly, silly, girl. When will I ever learn?

Anita Blake: Porn or Hot, Sexy Urban Fantasy that Rocks?

2006-05-19T21:01:00.000-07:00

Go check out my blog entry over on The Midnight Hour and let me know what you think!

need some vibes...

2006-05-19T11:54:00.000-07:00

There's something simmering the Rowe kitchen-o-writing... needing some vibes from ya'll... ohm... ohm... ohm...

keep 'em coming. I'll let you know when I find out if they worked.

ohm... ohm... ohm...

bad hair

2006-05-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so if you have flat, thin, straight hair that makes you look bald except when you're hanging upside down by your knees, raise your hand!

Stephanie raises her hand.

Okay, those of you with your hands up, keep 'em raised if your hair sucks.

Stephanie raises both hands and puts her left foot in the air too.

See, the only people who look good with straight, flat hair are supermodels, and, let's be frank, how many of us are supermodels? I am on my third haircut place (oh, sorry, stylist) in three months and every day I get up, wash my hair, attack the blow dryer with renewed vigor, determined that TODAY my hair will look good.

And every day, by the end, I wonder if maybe, just maybe, I'm being punished for something. Or maybe my spirit guides are simply trying to tell me to shave it all off already.

But if only supermodels look good with straight, flat hair, then the list is even shorter as to women who look good with their hair shaved off.

I am doomed either way. Sigh.

Ow.

2006-05-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes writing a book is like the best orgasm in the world. Just one long high and when it's over, you sit back and let your body quiver with happy exhaustion.

Other times, writing a book is like taking a cement block and slamming it into your head. Repeatedly. All day. All night. While being forced to watch your worst enemy steal the guy of your dreams right before he's about to announce his undying love for you. While your house burns down the day after you realize you forgot to pay your insurance bill. And, on top of it all, it's the day for new ID pictures to be taken at work, and you're having a bad hair day from hell. Literally. And then it starts all over again.

Guess which kind of book I'm writing right now?

That's right. It's a bad-hair-cement-block kind of book.

To give you an idea of how it's going, I'm on my ninth iteration in three weeks. By "iteration" I mean, "Write fifty pages, then delete all of them, spend two days trying to figure out what's wrong, decide I got it, write sixty new pages, then delete all of them, spend two days brainstorming... etc." By the time this 400 page book is done, it's going to actually be about 1000 pages. JK Rowlings has nothing on me. Yeah. Go, Stephanie. Rah. Rah.

But I think it I finally got it right. I'm on page 5. I'll let you know. Oh, and it's due in six weeks. That makes it even more fun.

S. Rowe on hiatus

2006-03-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, you've probably been wondering what the heck is going on with my "no entries" blog. Well, see below for what has happened! Our little darling came home with us on February 19th, and life has been a blissful, crazy blur ever since. I have to start purging my life right now, so I'm going to officially put my blog on inactive status. BUT don't fret! You don't have to be without your weekly dose of Stephanie, because I have joined up with four other paranormal authors to launch a new paranormal blog called The Midnight Hour. So hop on over there for the latest Stephanisms and all the scoop on things that go bump in the night.

Rule Breaking for Wimps

2006-03-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, you have GOT to zip on over to www.themidnighthour.net today. It was my day to post and I am dying to hear everyone's responses to it. Go, go, go!

The Midnight Hour

2006-03-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

I am SOOO excited to announce the official launch of www.themidnighthour.net. It's a blog for five superstar paranormal romance authors about all things paranormal: Michelle Rowe, Lori Handeland, Kathy Love, Linda Winstead Jones and me. We're going to talk creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night, have lots of paranormal experts as guest bloggers, as well, as more paranormal authors besides us. There will be no talk about the latest fashion trends, or the rumor of Katie & Tom breaking up (unless it's to debate whether Tom has actually been possessed by aliens who are eating his brain). We're so pumped about it, so zip on over, comment like crazy to let us know who you want to see and what you want hear about, and be prepared to sleep with your lights on at night as we dive deep into the world of the unknown and bizarre.

S.Rowe on vacation

2006-02-26T10:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been MIA this week, but I will be back on Wednesday for sure!

Books on the Run

2006-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a little blurb on a book I've been hearing about lately. I haven't read it yet, but if anyone has, I'd love to hear about it! Let me know what you think!

Dream of the Blue Room
Mac/Adam Cage
Paperback release, May 2005

About the author:
Michelle Richmond grew up in Alabama and currently lives in San Francisco, where she publishes the online literary journal Fiction Attic. Her story collection, The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress, won the 2000 Associated Writing Programs Award for Short Fiction, and her novel, Dream of the Blue Room, was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award. She is the recipient of the 2006 Mississippi Review Fiction Prize. Her stories have appeared in Playboy, Glimmer Train, Other Voices, and many other magazines and anthologies. Her new novel, Ocean Beach, will be published next year by Bantam.

About the novel:
On a warm night in July, 32-year-old Jenny finds herself sitting on the deck of a Chinese cruise ship next to a charming but secretive stranger. In Jenny's lap is a tin containing the ashes of her best friend, Amanda Ruth, mysteriously murdered fourteen years earlier in a small Alabama town.
In this foreign landscape, filled with ancient cities that will soon be inundated by the rising waters of the Yangtze River, Jenny must confront her haunted past and decide the direction of her future. As the ship moves slowly upriver, from one abandoned village to another, Jenny journeys deeper into her own guilt and eroticism.
Dream of the Blue Room explores the nature of friendship and the intimacy that exists between young girls as they struggle toward adulthood. Set alternately against the impressive landscape of the Yangtze and in a small river town in Alabama, this stunning novel reflects on the human desire to control and tame what is ultimately untamable.
Praise for Dream of the Blue Room:
"A dreamy, haunting work with a deeply personal feel. Any time a work of fiction raises our sights to higher truths, as this one does, the writer has done her job." Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Some childhood relationships are so fulfilling they shape our lives and leave us wondering why they didn't last longer. Richmond captures, explores, and intertwines these bonds so elegantly, you might even think the relationships are your own." USA Today
"With the slow build-up of a mystery, the exquisite pain of a coming-of-age novel, the masterful images of a travel writer, and a darkness that is true to the Southern Gothic, Dream of a Blue Room is a work of wonderfully chimeric form. " Joanna Pearson, Small Spiral Notebook
"Intelligent, original, complex." The San Francisco Chronicle
"A complex and nimbly fashioned first novel." Kirkus Reviews
"The book is finely crafted and compelling, and its emotions resonate true and clear ." Booklist

Read an excerpt from Dream of the Blue Room in USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2003-04-02-blue-room_x.htm

Read the story behind the novel at backstory:
http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/backstory/2006/01/michelle_richmo.html

Author Q&A: Julie Kenner

2006-02-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

1 ) Can you give us a blurb about your current release, THE MANOLO MATRIX?

Surely! Aspiring actress Jennifer Crane knows all about games-the games girls play to get a guy; the games actresses play to land a part; and the good old game of credit-card roulette. But she never expected to be playing a game with life-or-death consequences. Now she must set out upon a scavenger hunt across Manhattan in search of the ultimate prize: survival. Before this, Jen's definition of fighting dirty has been elbowing her way to the front of the line at a Manolo sample sale. Now, if she wants to stay alive, she's going to have to learn a few new uses for her stilettos . . . and they ain't pretty.

Click here to read an excerpt

2) Your books have the attitude of chick lit, name brands popping in for cameos, the fun of a good romance, but it’s also chock full of suspense, adventure and the constant threat of dead bodies. How do you balance all these areas? Is there one aspect you focus on, or did it all just come together on its own?

Oh dear! If I analyze it I’m not sure I can do it, LOL! Somehow, it all just comes together. Voice and plot (and action) first. The fashion stuff I tend to layer in. Lots of XX’s that get filled in later after I surf Bluefly.com for designer names :)

3) THE MANALO MATRIX is a sequel to THE GIVENCHY CODE. How are they related? Does a new reader to the series need to read them in order to keep track of what’s going on?

It is a sequel, but it was written to stand alone. They’re related in that a couple of the characters cross-appear in the books, and the device that sets the suspense in motion — a deadly game called Play.Survive.Win — is the centerpiece of both books. The final book (THE PRADA PARADOX) will also stand alone. But it will also answer certain questions raised in GIVENCHY and MANOLO (such as who’s behind the whole thing). So while a reader can enjoy each on it’s own, there’s sort of an “added value” by reading the preceding book(s) first, if that makes sense.

4) So, have you ever had to play bodyguard in a matter of life and death, like the heroine in your book? Was it fun? What words of advice do you have for someone who might find themselves in that position unexpectedly?

Oh, absolutely. It seems to happen to me all the time! Gorgeous men that I’m forced to protect in innovative and daring ways. Honestly, it can be such a burden at times! As for advice ... Um, stilettos might be great for shaping your legs, but you’ll move faster in Nikes!

5) How did you research assassins for this book? I can imagine it might be difficult to come up with willing interviewees willing to discuss their careers…

Most of it is my own twisted imagination! I’ve read a few books about assassins from a psychological perspective, and several true crime books. But nothing that I can specifically point to in crafting the characters of Lynx (Givenchy) or Birdie (Manolo).

6) In addition to this series, you have a demon series with lots of paranormal beasties running around. How do these books differ from the MANOLO MATRIX series? Same attitude? Same risk of winding up in a body bag, differing only in the method of demise?

That’s actually an interesting question. My voice and humor is evident in both series, but other than that they’re quite different. The Demon series is very much a mystery series (well, a paranormal mommy-lit mystery series ), whereas the Game series is a suspense/thriller series. And while the voice is similar, the tone is different. The Game series is much more chicklit in that the heroines are more internally focused. In the Demon series, the heroine is very family-centered. It’s much more suburbia. The overarching theme of the demon series is family and the huge job that goes with being a mom, especially a mom who’s returning to the workforce. Mom stuff would seem very out of place in the game series!

7) So, your heroines in this series are all in the know about all the oo-la-la brands. Did you have to buy lots of expensive shoes to do research for these books, or are you one of those folks who has always followed brands? Is this an extension of your own passions, or are your heroines like foreign beings to you?

While I do have a few designer pieces (like some wonderful vintage Givenchy things!), I had to do real research for the labels (and rely on my NYC-saavy editor!). I do loooooooove clothes, but I tend to be bargain-shopper girl. That’s not to say I don’t splurge. My favorite purse is a Prada bag I totally splurged on (well, eBay splurge; not retail price splurge). So, while they’re not really foreign, they’re also not living the life I live.

8) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next book?

Oh, sure! My June release is the sequel to CARPE DEMON, and is called CALIFORNIA DEMON: THE SECRET LIFE OF A DEMON-HUNTING SOCCER MOM. I absolutely love Kate (the heroine) and we learn much more about her, her past, and get much more into her relationship with her husband, Stuart, and Allie, her teenage daughter. And, of course, there’s an overarching mystery stemming from another pesky demon nosing its way into San Diablo. Between domesticity and demons, Kate’s got her hands full once again!

Visit Julie on the web
THE MANOLO MATRIX, Available Now! read an excerpt
CALIFORNIA DEMON, 6/06

Author Q&A: Marliss Melton

2006-02-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Marliss writes Navy Seal romantic suspense, and her books are a wild ride of romance and thrill! Here's the cover blurb for her current book:

ONE CHANCE
Sara Garret thought the military lawyer she married would be the perfect husband and father. But he has become her worst nightmare. Now one vicious act has driven Sara to take her ten-year-old son and flee. Yet the only thing more frightening than running away...is trusting a stranger to help her.

ONE SHOT
Chase McCaffrey is a damn good sniper, and an even better SEAL—but he’s no knight in shining armor. His impulse to help Sara is as puzzling as the subtle way she steals into his heart, resurrecting emotions he thought he didn't have. Concealing mother and son at his remote, Oklahoma ranch, Chase dares to hope the past will never find them. Yet there are sinister forces afoot, threatening to expose them. And a calculating husband tracks them down, if only to prove that Sara is his, forever--even in death.

TIME TO RUN
Danger is right behind you.

Click here to read an excerpt

Instead of doing a Q&A where I hound Marliss with my random questions, she wanted to post a response to a question she constantly gets, so here it is!

Question: My life is so busy, how can I make more time to get my writing done?

Answer: Take it from me, I know exactly what it means to be busy. As a mother of five children (four teens and a toddler), I have learned to make the most of my time so that I can write effectively 3-5 hours a day. Here’s what I do. Take what works for you and run with it!

1) Wear earplugs when you sleep. This ensures a good night’s rest and you won’t be exhausted in the morning.
2) Close your e-mail program when you’re writing. If you’re like me, you’ll be distracted by e-mail. Instead of writing on your manuscript, you’ll be making your friends happy, but you won’t be happy with yourself.
3) Shop on weekends. This way the husband or children can help out and you won’t use up all of your writing time.
4) Push naps. Quiet time for everyone. Mother is writing.
5) Do laundry in the evening in the presence of your children. Make them help. Better yet, when they become teenagers, make them do their own laundry (supervised, at first). You will find this tremendously liberating and you won’t get blamed for losing their socks!
6) Hire a housekeeper. If you can’t afford one, break housecleaning chores into chunks, twenty minutes per day. Or…
7) Join http://flylady.com on the internet. This website will help you get organized and stay that way. It’ll create a shopping list for you, so that your weekly meals are planned and you have all the ingredients you need to cook that week.
8) Lastly, try writing in your sleep. Okay, I’m kidding—sort of. The conscious mind is most closely attuned to the subconscious mind (where your stories are manufactured) right before you fall asleep. Use this “merging of the minds” to your advantage. When you tuck in for the night, close your eyes and envision the scene that you have just written in your work-in-progress. While doing this, you may realize that you overlooked a dialogue or forgotten a nugget of information that you need to go back and fill in. While still in this semi-conscious state, pan forward and envision what will happen next in your story. If your characterization is on track, your mind will supply the next scene. Often, you will be able to envision this scene in perfect detail, complete with the dialogue and setting. Hold that scene in your mind. Tomorrow it will flow off your fingertips and you’ll marvel at how much you accomplished. If the scene refuses to come, however, there’s a reason, and it must be addressed before you can move on. You may need to work on characterization. If you don’t know your characters and their motivations well enough, it’s hard for your subconscious mind to supply the next scene. You may need to devote more time to your characters.

So, there you have it. These are my secrets to becoming a prolific author, even life is in total chaos. I’m sure you’ve heard of “keeping the night oils burning”? Forget that. An author writes best following a good night’s sleep. Rest easy!

Visit Marliss on the web

the best part of the winter olympics

2006-02-16T23:29:00.000-08:00

As a dedicated romance writer deeply committed to improving my craft by engaging in research whenever possible, I am happy to report that the best part of the winter olympics are the butts of the male figure skaters.

Um, wow.

And all the time I spend carefully inspecting at their tight little bums is all in the name of research, done only to help me adequately visualize the rear end of the hero in my next book.

I. Love. My. Job.

An Agent's View: Contests

2006-02-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Ageny weighs in on contests.

To enter, or not to enter: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of contest advice,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And just not enter at all?

Contests. One of the most frequent questions I am asked is: is it worth it to enter?

The short answer - yes.
The more accurate answer - if it fits into your long-term career goals.

Contests can prove to be many things for many people. Some authors use them as a way to have their work critiqued. Others find them a great way to be put in front of an editor or an agent's eye. And published authors can use them as a way to garner respect in the industry.

My best advice to is look at yourself, and evaluate where you are in your career.

Are you just starting out without the help of a critique group? Then by all mean, enter contests that offer great feedback and peer-to-peer reads. These contests will help you identify areas in your manuscript that might need some polishing - characterization, logistics, plotting. When your proposal is being read by strangers, you will no doubt receive some wonderful advice.

Have you been writing for a few years and are looking to market your materials? Then contests are a great way to get noticed by publishing professionals - and quickly, too! I've read some really wonderful proposals in the contest circuit. In fact, I have one client who told me she "stalked" me through contests. When you final consistently in the various contests, it's a wonderful way to get read.

Are you published and hoping to garner some great PR? Contests are a helpful tool. If you win a contest, often you can contact your local media with a press release. You can gain some serious PR pushes with that type of exposure.

So, yes, overall contests are a fantastic source to help you propel your career. However, pay close attention to your goals and enter the ones that will help you move forward. Because remember, it's not the number of contests you win or final in that matters - it's what the contests can do to help you excel.

As an agent, there is no prouder moment than to see a client accept an award that acknowledges her accomplishments. So, shoot for the stars. It's worth the entry fee.

Until next week, happy writing!
Michelle

stephie travels the world!!

2006-02-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

I just got notified by my publisher that they just sold the German rights to my first to YA's, PUTTING BOYS ON THE LEDGE and STUDYING BOYS. How cool is that?? It's even cooler because both these books are pretty much unavailable in the US at this point, so I thought their life span had come to an end... or not!

What a fun surprise!!

And now... it's back to work. Revise, revise, revise!

rock on!

2006-02-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

I just finished the first draft of my YA that's due on 3/1. Yay!

For some reason, I found this book particularly draining to write, even though it went pretty smoothly. I'm so exhausted right now, I can barely even hold myself vertical, let alone think!

But I don't have to!

At least not for tonight.

Tonight, I'm shutting down my brain. Watch some Olympics, put my feet up, and turn off all mental synapses.

And the axe falls...

2006-02-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

I was reading a romance this morning, and in the 50 page "prologue," the heroine's fiance and true love is killed, setting up the rest of the book, which takes place two years later. That's all well and good to have some solid motivation established for the heroine, but in this "prologue" where her sweet, darling, devoted true love is killed, the author wrote this guy's death from his POV. We're in his head as he's being killed, and it SUCKS (obviously, I guess).

I read romance for the happily ever after. I want to feel restored and rejuvenated. I want to feel like there is goodness out there. I do NOT read Oprah's book clubs because I do NOT want my soul to be ripped to shreds while I'm reading. Life is tough enough as it is, I don't need to read about it too.

And usually romance fits the bill.

But then I was in this wonderful guy's head while he was being killed. Murdered. It was HORRIBLE. So I shut the book and walked away. I don't need that. I don't want that. There's plenty of room for that in other genres. If you read mainstream suspense, you know you might get that, and that's fine. I read Lisa Gardner. I'm prepared for grit when I open her books, but I have to be in the mood to read hers, because often, I don't want to be faced with that side of life. So when I read a book with romance on the spine, I don't want to have to steel myself from these kinds of moments.

I've heard before that one of those "rules" of romance is to never be in the POV of someone who is being killed, and now I know why.

Maybe I'll pick that book up again.
Or maybe I won't. Right now, I don't entirely trust the author anymore.

What do you guys think?

Author Q&A: Shirley Karr

2006-02-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

1) Can you give us a blurb about your current release, KISS FROM A ROGUE?

Here's the short version: In my debut novel last year, WHAT AN EARL WANTS, readers fell in love with Benjamin, Earl of Sinclair. Now in KISS FROM A ROGUE, readers get to meet Ben's younger brother, Tony. Posing as the husband of a lovely lady smuggler leads Tony into far more adventure and danger than this endearing rogue bargained for…

click here to read an excerpt

2) Smugglers are so yummy! How did you get the idea for smugglers? What kind of research did you do on smugglers? Did you rob a few liquor stores at gunpoint and throw the kegs in the back of your pickup truck during a rainstorm?

I've traced the idea back to brainstorming notes that were titled "Jane Austen does Pirates of the Caribbean." I'm a huge fan of both, and it seems to have evolved from there. I borrowed a friend's book titled Smugglers' Britain, which was filled with fascinating anecdotal history as well as detailed maps. Alas, it's out of print, and she had the audacity to ask for it back, for her own novel featuring smugglers. But I got lucky and found the author's web site, and ordered the book directly from him. Ironically, the book he shipped from England arrived faster than another book on smuggling that was mailed from Kentucky. It was much easier to find info on pirates, at least at first, so I followed those trails to get a feel for nautical terms and life at sea, and gradually found the other stuff I needed.

3) In the current market, everyone is saying that to sell books, you have to write paranormal or very sexy, and preferably both. Yet you have totally bucked the trend, writing wonderful historical romances that are adventurous and passionate, but aren't over-loaded with sex and definitely don't have any blood-sucking immortals running around. You've had great success already. What's your secret?

Aww, thank you. Hmm. I think I've simply written the kind of books I like to read. There are many great historical authors out there, but so many of them write gut-wrenching angst. It's beautifully done, but it takes a lot of emotional energy to go through that much trial and tribulation with their characters, energy that I don't always have to give. Many of my favorite authors who used to write light, fun reads -- Regency romps, if you will -- have experienced tragedy in their life and now write much darker, more angst-filled stories. I love Jennifer Crusie's light, fun contemporaries, but she doesn't write historicals. So I have to.

As for the sexy part, or lack thereof… I started out intending to write traditional Regencies, which have lots of sexual tension but no consummation scenes -- mostly because that's what I read most of the time, and because I'm more comfortable writing that level of sensuality. Once I learned how little money authors were paid for them, however, I aimed for longer, single title historicals, at a publisher with great distribution and sales teams. The version of WAEW that my editor bought had no consummation scene at all. That morning in the shepherd's hut, Quincy woke up first and slid out of the bed, and all Sinclair got was hot and bothered watching her pull on her stockings.

During revisions, I made compromises to increase the sexiness, per my editor's request, but did so in a way that stayed true to the morals of the day as well as to my own. An unmarried young woman in Quincy's society did not give up her virginity lightly. When (and if) my hero and heroine become intimate, they are committed to each other and no one else, even if they haven't yet acknowledged that commitment, even to themselves. With ROGUE, my heroine is a widow, and society's rules were different for widows, so I wrote accordingly. I figured there'd be readers out there like me, who don't need to see a lot of bedroom action in order to enjoy a story. Yup, basically it comes down to writing the kind of stories I like to read. Fortunately, other readers like them, too.

4) So…you're a smuggler fan, eh? Got any thoughts on our man Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean?

Oh, sweetie, I could write an entire book. Oh, wait -- I did! I had only five months to write ROGUE, and needed every bit of help to get it done. Thinking of my synopsis as a movie script, I cast Johnny Depp in the lead as Tony. Knowing exactly how he looked, how he moved, what he sounded like (and how the heroine would respond to him) made it easier to bring Tony to life on the page. Johnny is an amazingly talented actor -- a character actor in a leading man's body, as Tim Burton says -- and transforms himself for every role. Even though I originally intended Tony to be a lot like Captain Jack Sparrow, Tony quickly became another guy entirely, uniquely his own. Sylvia, Tony's heroine, ended up having more in common with Jack -- she steals a ship, after all. Captain Jack is an incredible character, simple yet complex, and Johnny brought him to life on screen complete with all those layers. Jack is morally ambiguous at best and not very heroic if you get right down to it, but we still root for him all the way. As the writers said on the PotC DVD, Johnny's Captain Jack is exactly what they wrote in the script, but nothing like what they expected.

5) Writing a historical is so daunting because there is so much research that must be done in order to get the details right. Have you ever had any readers tell you that you got something wrong? Do you worry about that? How accurate do historical novels have to be? When do you have to stay true to history and when are you free to innovate, without losing readers?

So far, all of the readers who've taken the time to contact me have been very positive. No one has tried to burst my bubble yet. A coworker pointed out a tiny error I made regarding horses in my first book, but it was an omission, not an actual mistake. So there. Ahem. I wouldn't have attempted writing historicals if I hadn't first been an avid reader of them. You can't take other authors' research for granted -- you have no idea how accurate they really are, or if they've taken literary license or a creative interpretation of events -- but information in their books gives me the starting points for my own research. Accuracy is a hotly debated topic, and I think you need to be as accurate as possible. You don't want to throw a knowledgeable reader out of the world you've created by addressing an earl as "your grace." Stay true to history as far is it has been proven correct.

If a subject is still debated -- it might have happened this way, it might have been that way -- then you can go with what works best for the story. You also have to honor reader expectations. For example, many readers expect pirates to have parrots, bury their treasure, and make victims walk the plank -- but those expectations are incorrect. Few pirates actually had parrots, walking the plank is a Hollywood invention, and there was no treasure to bury because they tended to spend their loot on wine, women and other amusements as soon as they got to port. Disney's screenwriters on PotC knew the truth, but they catered to viewer expectations. When I'm going to deviate from reader expectations because research has proven a commonly held belief to be wrong, I'll do so in a way that subtly explains to the reader what really happened.

6) Why do the men on the covers of both your books look the same?

Because the characters are brothers. Because Johnny was busy in the Bahamas, filming the two sequels to Pirates, and was unavailable for the cover shoot of ROGUE. Oh, and because Avon used the same model, Jack Hartnett, for both covers. (If you want to see him in action, watch the Will Smith movie "Hitch." At the very end, when Hitch thinks he's losing the girl to another guy, Jack plays the other guy.)

7) Do you ever play dress-up in regency gowns? Do you have any pictures?

As a matter of fact, I do have a pic of me in Regency attire on my web site -- it's from the Beau Monde soiree at a writers' conference in Dallas two years ago, where many of us dress in costume to help get a better feel for the time period, and learn the dances and card games our characters would know. With a book about smugglers coming out, last fall I put together a smuggler costume for Halloween, and wore it dancing. Photographic evidence (of the costume, not the dancing) is on my web site, www.ShirleyKarr.com. I even found the company that made the boots for the entire cast of Pirates, and ordered the style worn by Johnny Depp as Captain Jack. Mine aren't as well broken-in yet, but I'm working on them.

8) Can you give a sneak peek on your next book?

CONFESSIONS OF A VISCOUNT will be out in December 2006, and features one of Tony's friends from ROGUE -- Alistair the astronomer, who's become embroiled with a female spy. I had great fun researching astronomy, and even camped out at the Oregon Star Party. There's something quite romantic about two people alone in the dark, beneath the starry skies…

www.shirleykarr.com
KISS FROM A ROGUE, Available now! read an excerpt
WHAT AN EARL WANTS, still available! read an excerpt

the ups and downs of the work-in-progress

2006-02-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

Check out this video. This was me on Tuesday after wrestling with my WIP. Fortunately, just watching this video makes me feel better...

http://www.stfunoob.com/movies/Badday.mpeg

Author Q&A: Lori Handeland

2006-02-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: I have been waiting for MONTHS for this book to come out! If you haven't read Lori's werewolf series, RUN don't walk to your nearest bookstore and buy all the books in the series, lock your doors, turn off your phone, stock up the fridge and call in sick to work for the next three days, because once you start, you won't be able to stop. They are THAT good!

1) Can you tell us about your current release, CRESCENT MOON?

Crescent Moon is the first book in a trilogy set in New Orleans. It takes place in the same world as my previous werewolf books, Blue Moon, Hunter's Moon and Dark Moon. I think the back cover blurb probably tells it best:

An ancient evil hunts by the crescent moon-New Orleans is known for sinful pleasures and strange magic, but for cryptozoologist Diana Malone it offers one irresistible attraction. For over a hundred years there have been whispers of wolves around the Crescent City, and the recent discovery of bodies in the nearby swamps hints at a creature even more dangerous…one that could make Diana's career and fortune, if she lives to capture it.

And desire may be a fatal mistake…Adam Ruelle is a reclusive former Special Forces officer, the last of a mysterious Cajun family rumored to be cursed, and the only person skilled enough to guide Diana in her search. Rugged and captivating, he fills her nights with desire…but by day, Diana is plagued with doubts. Adam clearly knows more than he's telling, but is his aim to protect her or distract her? Something is stalking its prey in the Louisiana bayous, and every step towards the horrifying truth brings Diana closer to a centuries-old enemy that lives for the smell of fear and the thrill of killing, again and again…

click here to read an excerpt

2) Your werewolf series has a different take on werewolves, especially with all the real life mythical lore (Native American lore, witches, animal totems, voo doo, etc). What is your background in this area? How did you create this take on werewolves? What kind of research do you do?

I have no background in Native American mythology or voodoo, just an interest. I did extensive research through books and on the Internet, then combined what I'd learned with my imagination for some great fun.

3) This is the fourth book in your werewolf series. How do the books relate to each other?

All of the books take place in the world inhabited by the Jager-Suchers. Sooner or later, in every book, Edward (the leader) always show up.

4) Many werewolf and vampire romance authors like to make the “monsters” the good guys, but you aren’t afraid to show the really dark side of being a werewolf. Why did you choose to take this approach and buck the modern trend?

To be different. There are times in my books when the monsters aren't monsterous all the time. But I enjoy pitting dark against light, good against evil, and someone's gotta be the bad guy.

5) Do you ever freak yourself out with your books? Like, do you lock yourself in a windowless room on full moon nights and carry a gun with silver bullets?

Not that bad! Although I have gotten spooked out at times, usually when I'm reading through the book getting ready to do revisions. I'll get to a particularly scary part and think, "Wow, that worked out. I've got the shivers myself!" LOL!

6) Have you ever had a real life paranormal experience? If so, tell us about it!

The night my father passed away, I dreamed of him. It was a very comforting dream and when I woke up I felt better. I do believe he came to say goodbye. That's as close to paranormal as I've gotten.

7) The heroines in your books are total kick-ass chicks, but they are also very vulnerable inside. Is it difficult to achieve this balance? How do you do it?

I'm not sure how I do it, except to me my heroines are very real. By the time a book is done, I really feel that I know them, and when they appear in other books I can always decide easily what they'll say and do because their characters are very solid in my mind. I try to make them as real as I can. I always think when I'm writing these books that my characters are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary situations. They would react the way any of us would. But they also need that little something extra--being Kick ass chicks--to survive.

8) Your werewolf books are very sexy. What kind of things do you keep in mind while writing to keep all the sexiness fresh?

This also relates to character. My heroes are hot, my heroines are into that. I've also come to believe that when you live on the edge of danger, everything is more intense. If you never know if this meal, this man, this day is your last, you have to make the most of every minute.

9) Your werewolf books are so action-packed, so tightly plotted with constant action and compelling characters and flaming emotions. You make it look so easy! Is it, or did it take you a while to achieve this level of story telling? I mean, were you mortal at one time, way back when?

The werewolf books have always come out action packed. I never really set out to make them that way, although that's a good thing! I think the first person narrative makes them more immediate. I did make a conscious decision to have shorter chapters, which in turn leads to more cliff hangers. Also, in every book there's a mystery, a paranormal element and romance which all need to be resolved before the end. That's a lot of stuff! No space for lallygagging.

10) With your werewolf books, you have broken out: RITA winner, RT nominations, USA Today best sellers. First of all, HUGE congratulations! You deserve it! Second, what does this level of success mean to you as an author?

I can continue to write what I love. It's what I've always wanted to do.

11) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next book?

Midnight Moon will be released August 1, 2006. This is Cassandra's story, whom you'll meet in Crescent Moon. Here's a preview:

Under the midnight moon, dark secrets are revealed-Cassandra thought she had the perfect life until she suffered a devastating tragedy. Now she has a new identity as Priestess Cassandra, owner of a New Orleans voodoo shop, and a new purpose. A research trip for a paranormal secret society leads Cassandra to Haiti, where rumors fly of a sinister voodoo master, Jacques Mezareau, who can resurrect the dead.

Fortune hunter Devon Murphy agrees to guide Cassandra there safely, but his sensual appeal promises danger of a different kind…and desperate hungers must be satisfied…As Cassandra and Devon make their way to the eerie jungle village, their attraction explodes into an intoxicating desire, and Cassandra begins to question her resolve to never let another man into her life. Her attempts to resist Devon become more and more impossible. But when she succeeds in learning Jacque's macabre ritual, her new powers may have come with a terrifying price. Now, haunted by violent dreams that grow more vivid as the midnight moon approaches, Cassandra must uncover the shocking truth about an ancient curse before it leads her to destroy herself-and everyone she loves…

Visit Lori on the web
CRESCENT MOON, Available now! read an excerpt

Complete list of books in the series, in order from first to last:
BLUE MOON, still available! read an excerpt
HUNTER'S MOON, still available! read an excerpt
DARK MOON, still available! read an excerpt
CRESCENT MOON, available now! read an excerpt
MIDNIGHT MOON, August 2006

What's a release date all about, anyway?

2006-02-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

You've been waiting months for the next release by your favorite author.
You know the official release date is February 7th.
You start stalking the stores the week before, knowing that some places set it out early.
Finally, on Saturday afternoon, February 4th, you see it on the shelves.
Elated, you pounce on it, rip it off the shelves, sprint to check out, run to your car and sit in the parking lot for the next three hours until you've finished it. It's every bit as wonderful as you thought it would be, and life is perfect.

Unless you're the author and you're hoping to make a best seller list.

See, here's the way the best seller lists work. They are about velocity of sales, not total sales. Translation: how many sales does the book have in that week. Not in a two week period. In one week. So if you and a few other people buy copies the week before it's supposed to be out, those sales will be counted in a different week than the big upsurge.

Now, the way sales generally work is when a book hits the shelves, there is a swell of sales right at the beginning, when people who have been waiting for the book rush out and buy it. And then it settles down. A well-known author may continue to have sales for a while, but the big swell is over after a week, or two or three.

So, there is a small window of opportunity for those books to make the best seller lists, which are critical for future shelf placement, orders and contract negotiations.

Here's where the release date comes into play. If the release date is Tuesday, February 7th, but some stores start putting it out the week before, others put it out on the 7th, and still others are behind and don't get the boxes unpacked until the following Monday, then you have fragmented sales. The author might sell enough books to hit a best seller list, but she won't actually hit any lists because the sales are fragmented over three weeks, instead of a big swell all in the same week.

So, to support your favorite authors, don't go out and buy their new book if you see it on the shelves before release date. Wait until it's supposed to be out, and then buy it that week. Help those sales get the velocity they need that first week to make it onto the lists.

I cannot WAIT for Lori Handeland's new werewolf book, CRESCENT MOON and Laurell K. Hamilton's new book, MICAH to come out this month, but their release date is tomorrow, so I'm going to sit on my fanny and not buy them until then. Not that Laurell K. Hamilton needs any help in making all the lists, but it's on principle. It's tough enough for author's to make a living, so I'm going to my little part to help.

Will someone love me?

2006-02-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Today is my day to post on the Warner Women blog. Zip over there to read my post on "will someone love me?"

Sisterhood

2006-02-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today I was fortunate to be asked to be a speaker at a Founder's Day celebration for the Delta Kappa Gamma group, which is an organization of educators. Mostly teachers, but also others who educate in some way. It was all women, and it was a wonderful meeting. There was so much support in the room and so much respect for the women who had originally founded this organization 77 years ago. It was so cool to be in the presence of so much support and bonding. It made me realize how lucky I am to be part of the romance writing industry. Romance writers are supportive like this group of educators are. They support newcomers, they are all so sharing of their experiences and their ideas and their tricks of the trade. It's an amazing gift to be around people who care about you and those around you. I think sometimes we spend so much time rushing around and working on whatever project we've got going on that we forget to notice that there is some very cool stuff going on around us. I would not be where I am today were it not for all those authors, published and unpublished, who reached out to me and shared some of who they are, including their friendship and their encouragement. So, here's a thanks to all of you! The list is so long I couldn't begin to start listing names, but I can only hope that I give back a fraction of what I have gained from this amazing industry I'm so lucky to be a part of.

Author Q&A: Melissa Senate

2006-02-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

1) Can you give us a blurb on your current release, THE BREAKUP CLUB?

Meet the members of The Breakup Club, four co-workers at a New York City publishing house who revolt when they're assigned to work on a high profile celebrity biography about perfect love. Okay, they don't revolt so much as talk about their personal lives more than their puke-worthy project... :

Lucy Miller-Masterson... She's a superstar editor of bestselling books, the wife of a hot-shot doctor, and the mom of a precocious pre-teen. Everything changes when she finds a list of her husband's New Year's resolutions--make that resolution: to leave her.

Miranda Miller... She hates her job as an editorial assistant at the publishing house where her older sister, Lucy, is a big cheese. She hates that her ex-boyfriend, the guy of her dreams, doesn't seem to be coming back with an engagement ring and an apology. So she gets proactive--and actually manages to make her ex propose to another woman. Now what's she gonna do?

Christopher Levy... The newly-separated thirtysomething dad has weekend custody of his one-year old baby and not a clue how to handle fatherhood as a single guy. Unluckily for him, the sanctimommies at the playground are full of advice. Luckily for him, he's got the breakup club.

Roxy Marone: Hmmm... marry the guy who's been her boyfriend since first grade (her wedding's only hours away!) or, say, run out the backdoor, race for the subway (in her veil and makeup and chignon) to go on a potentially life-changing job interview? Twenty-five-year-old Roxy risks the wrath of her super-traditional family and fiance to fulfill her own dreams . . .

Click here to read an excerpt

2) What’s your worst break-up story?

A serious boyfriend actually said to me: "My mother is uncomfortable with our relationship because your brother is married to a Chinese woman." I dumped him on his head less than a minute later. (Saved from both a Momma's boy and the mother-in-the-law from hell (racist hell, at that!) I've had lots of break-up doozies, but nothing tops that one.

3) Who is your celebrity boyfriend and why?

My celebrity boyfriend is and always be the delicious Hugh Laurie. I loved him as Stuart Little's nerdy dad. I love him as the tortured Greg House. I love his face. Love his accent. I even love his cane.

4) What bad habit do you have that you’ve tried to break but you just can’t?

Playing online instead of writing! I'm addicted to the "Toddler Parents" message board on UrbanBaby.com, which is totally anonymous, so you can imagine the posts there!

5) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next book?

I'm so excited about my very first YA, THEODORA TWIST, which will be pubbed by Random House in May. It's about the unexpected friendship that deveops between an out-of-control superstar teen actress and an "invisible" high school junior when they share a life for one month....

www.melissasenate.com
THE BREAKUP CLUB, Available now!, read an excerpt
THEODORA TWIST, (young adult), available May 06

The Curse of the Blank Page

2006-02-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

Before I sold, I wrote 18 complete manuscripts and 8 partials.
Since I've sold, I've written 13 complete manuscripts and numerous partials.

So, that's 31 complete manuscripts I've written.

That's a lot, right?

So, then WHY is the blank page of a new manuscript SO daunting!?!?! Why doesn't it get easier to write that first word and get going? I have my brainstorming all done. I know my characters. I know my story. I know the story will work. And yet, as I sit there staring at the blinking cursor, I feel completely out of my depth. How do I start? Where do I begin? I'm sooo lost. I'm soooo overwhelmed.

What if I start in the wrong place? Well... I'll just delete the scene and write a new one.

What if my first scene is boring? Well... I'll just edit it.

What if I discover I've missed a critical element in my brainstorming? Well...I'll adjust my story as I go.

What if this books sucks? Well... I'll fix it.

See? There is no big deal. There is no reason to panic. Anything is fixable. So WHY do I go through this every time before I start writing?

I have no idea, but it's torture. I feel like running away from the computer and never coming back. Run away! Run away! Run away! (Monty Python reference, fyi. Hilarious scene. But I digress. I'm in the middle of a crisis. No time for amusing myself!)

But running away isn't an option.

I must stand and fight.

I must prevail over the blank page.

But... ARGH! This is soooo difficult!!! If anyone has any suggestions to avoid this recurring crisis, I'm all ears.

And now, I am not going to procrastinate anymore. I'm going to go write. Something. Anything. A sentence. A paragraph. Anything. Just to get the ball rolling down that hill.

I. Can. Do. This.

An Agent's View: RWA National Conference & the Secret Agent Cartel

2006-02-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency talks about the RWA National Conference & the Secret Agent Cartel

Yay! It's that time of the year again - it's time to prep for Nationals. There's nothing cooler than to see 2000 romance writers running around a convention center talking, sharing ideas, connecting for the first time...

The excitement in the air is contagious, and I always leave feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my in-box. AFTER a good day of rest, that is!

You see, an agent's life at Nationals is pretty nutty. I normally have about 25 clients there, and I like to meet with each one individually. Then, I also like to meet with my clients and their editors to connect and to career plan. Finally, I try to hang out with the other agents and editors who attend. Add to that RWA sponsored appointments, workshops that I give and all the excellent parties to partake in, and I'm pretty wiped after the five days!
Not that I'm complaining in the least. I wouldn't trade my schedule for anything!! I have an amazing group of clients, and I love spending time with each and every one of them.

This year, I'm really excited to be a part of two workshops. The first with our own Stephanie Rowe!

The other? I'm coming OUT!

I've been a part of a "secret" agent cartel - a group of amazing romance agents - for the past few years. Every year at Nationals we have a reunion of sorts, and we spend the rest of the year connecting online. This year, our group is coming out. We will no longer be "secret!" Instead, we will be giving a two-hour panel discussion on the agent/author relationship. Everything from getting an agent to firing an agent will be touched on. I feel blessed to be a part of the group - the knowledge base is amazing - and am so happy that we are going to share our insights with the members of RWA.

And, of course, I'm going to be biting my nails over the next month in anticipation of the Golden Heart and RITA announcements! I love the awards ceremony and can't wait to see who the finalists will be.

All the months of prepping, scheduling and organizing for the five day event is completely worth it. I'm already counting the days until July!!

See you all soon!!
Michelle

The Blushing Virgin

2006-01-31T18:10:00.000-08:00

It seems to me that I've read a rash of contemporary romances lately in which the heroine was a virgin, and I realized that it was starting to bug me. I wasn't bothered by their virginity per se, but by the fact their virginity felt so contrived. In this day and age, there simply aren't a huge number of attractive, outgoing, personable women in their twenties who are virgins. The ones that are usually have a good reason for abstaining: religion, some illness that kept them out of circulation, some paranormal power that kills off any man who touches her breasts, whatever. Good reasons. I'm totally on board with that.

But, it just seems to be a plot contrivance for a modern day heroine to be a virgin for no good reason other than, it simply hadn't happened for her yet. And I've read SO many of these books lately. What's wrong with a heroine having a sexual history? I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I think it makes her real, it gives her a past that makes her interesting and dynamic, and will affect her relationship with the hero. Does it make it a better love story to have her be blushing with shock at her first penis sighting at age twenty-seven? IMHO, unless there's a good reason for her to be so pure, I find that it yanks me out of the story. It makes me think, "Hmm... the author wanted this character to be a virgin so she could do the ol' big-virile-man-is-gentle-lover-introducing-innocent-flower-to-true-passion thing." Then boom, I'm out of the story and I'm annoyed.

Historicals? No problem. I'm with you there.

Really good catholic girls? Yep. I'm on board.

Exploding breasts? She has my deepest sympathy and I'm oh-so-interested to see how the hero's going to get around that problem.

Just never got around to having sex? Sorry, not working for me anymore. It's simply not believable and it's annoying. I feel like if the author felt it was that important to make her heroine a virgin, then the author should have spent some serious time working on backstory to give the heroine a really good reason for being so pure. A really good reason will then make it so much more interesting when the hero shows up with his hot kisses and talented hands. Then, it won't simply be a matter of, "oh, I've never done this before, please show me how it's done, you burning hunk of masculinity." It becomes a matter of "oh, I've never done this before and I really want to, but holy cr*p! How are we going to get around this major impediment and get us both naked?" That's when I'll be sucked in.

What are your thoughts? Anyone?

Author Q&A: Laurie Stolarz (young adult suspense author)

2006-01-29T17:43:00.000-08:00

1) Can you give us a blurb about your current book, RED IS FOR REMEMBRANCE?

"I Know You're Alone . . ."
Nothing has been the same for eighteen-year-old Stacey since her boyfriend Jacob died. For months she stayed at the beach cottage they shared before Jacob's tragic accident, refusing to give up hope that somehow, somewhere, Jacob was still alive. But Stacey knows she can't put off rejoining the world forever. Lucky to have a full scholarship to prestigious Beacon University, Stacey hopes she can finally put her past behind her. Trying to get through her first week of college as just another normal student, Stacey is devastated when she starts having more disturbing dreams. And keeping them secret is not an option when the college president calls her in for a private meeting – and reveals that his daughter Porsha is having nightmares too. But while Stacey dreams of a ghost, Porsha is dreaming of a murder she's convinced hasn't happened yet. Porsha's fragmented nightmares foretell a brutal murder, and may also shed light on a shocking revelation that could change Stacey's life forever. Together the two must decode their dark dreams to save a life – a risk that may cost them their own.

2) Your series follows Stacey through high school and the beginning of college. Can you talk a little bit about how Stacey had grown over the course of these books? How do you keep each book fresh?

She's learned how to trust her instincts and intuition. She's much more accepting of herself as each novel progresses. She always has a lot on her plate, saving people from stalkers and all, and she makes mistakes along the way. But she also learns from her mistakes. She's learned to forgive herself. She's a much stronger, more confident person now.

3) Your books are about nightmares, stalkers and killers. How do you balance the thriller aspect with the age of your audience? Do you hold back at all or do you push it as far as you want?

I think teens are aware of these things - perhaps not personally - but they know they exist. I try to honestly show how one character deals with these things. The emphasis is not on the danger per se. The emphasis is on how my main character deals with that danger. She needs to face her fears and learn through her mistakes. In addition to the danger, my character is also a high school student who must deal with things like passing class, not getting along with her mom, falling in love with her best friend's boyfriend.

4) What kind of research have you done on nightmares and premonitions? How did you get interested in this subject?

I did a ton of research on dreams - how we can use dreams to tell us what we want/need to know. I also did a ton of research on Wicca, Witchcraft, and folk magic. When I first started writing Blue is for Nightmares, I had no idea I would delve into these topics. I only knew I wanted to write a suspense. Stacey became a practicing Wiccan quite by accident during a freewriting class in grad school. It totally caught me by surprise as well. But, it definitely worked. I knew that my grandmother had some experience with the sixth sense. I started asking lots of questions, researching passed down home remedies within my family; this brought me closer to my grandmother even though she had already passed away.

5) What was your path to becoming an award winning published author? Was it a tough road to get published? What was your background? When you were in highschool, did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I wrote my first book when I was seven and I still have it. But because we didn't have a lot of money growing up, studying English or writing in college was considered a luxury. I ended up studying business with the intent of making lots of money in something practical. Once I was done with my undergrad, I was determined to finally pursue my dream of writing. I took out some school loans and ended up in a graduate creative writing program, which, to me, was unreal - being in class with people who are just like you in that respect. We all shared the same dream. Once my first novel was complete, finding a publisher was challenging because I didn't have any contacts. I was looking for agents and editors at the same time, doing research on who was publishing/accepting what. It took me a little over a year to find an editor who was really excited about my project. I sent my manuscript to Llewellyn because I knew they published new age young adult fiction. The rest is history.

6) Stacey and her friends go through some tough times in high school. What's your worst memory from high school?

Getting peed on in the middle of a cheerleading competition. I was one of the base people, supporting another girl's knees during a shoulder stand. She lost control right on my head in front of a thousand spectators.

7) So, when you were in high school, were you cool?

No, I wasn't considered one of the cool kids. I think I was just considered average in terms of popularity. I had my groups of friends. I hung out with some of my cheerleading friends as well as some of the smart kids. I wasn't particularly fond of high school. I had much more fun at my part-time job. My friends there were less serious and intense, more fun.

8) What's the coolest/worst reader email you've ever received?

I am very fortunate to receive many fabulous reader e-mails. I'm always so flattered when readers tell me how they've learned so much from Stacey, how strongly they identify with her. One girl even told me that the books have changed her life.

9) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next book, BLEED?

BLEED explores chance and coincidence and the way our decisions influence each other's lives - sometimes unintentionally. It starts out with one girl's decision whether or not to betray her best friend by pursuing her best friend's boyfriend while she is away. We see how that decision has a domino effect, affecting other people in the collection.

Visit Laurie on the web

my weekend is MADE!

2006-01-27T17:52:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I was exercising my dogs at the school behind my house. There are about six fields and a chain link fence goes around all of the fields. At the bottom of these fields are all these thick woods and blackberry bushes (nature preserve).

So, anyway, I'm strolling along with my pooches on Monday afternoon around 3:30 and this man is on the other side of the fence at the top of the fields. He's in his seventies and calls me over. So I go over (not too close in case he wants to abduct and kill me), but once I get close, he asks me if I'd seen a white dog. I said I hadn't, and he proceeds to tell me that his dog Angel has been missing for five days.

He'd taken her to the vet down the street and she'd bolted as soon as he opened the door (she's afraid of the vet) and had been gone ever since. The seventy-three year old guy had been looking for her for TEN hours a day for five days. They'd gotten three sightings (including one at the school) but she hadn't been around anymore when he'd arrived. So he's all worried and upset and telling me how he's sure she must be so hungry and how he has put up flyers at all the vets. So he gives me a flyer and there's a photo of "Angel" and she's on what is clearly his bed, so this dog is LOVED. So I take the flyer and shove it in my pocket and continue on my way, wishing and wishing that I could find this poor hungry dog for this seventy-year old man spending ten hours a day searching her.

So, the week goes by and I'm thinking (hoping and hoping) they must have found this dog by now, but I kept looking whenever I was at the fields.

So, today, I had a business lunch, and then played tennis and then worked out, and by the time I got in the car to come home it was so late that I decide the dogs weren't getting their romp in the field this afternoon. I simply had to get work done.

But by the time I got near my house, I decided I'd exercise them. Just ten minutes.

So I drove straight to the school and hit tennis balls for them just at the top of the field. So after about twenty minutes, I decided it was time to go, so I turned and was heading back to my car. I took one last scan around the field and suddenly saw this white blur waaaaay far away at the bottom of the field (remember, this is like three fields away). So I stare at it, trying to see what it was. Finally, I decide that it's definitely got four legs. But lots of owners walk their dogs here, so I'm looking to see if I can see a person.

I can't.

So I sprint to my car for a leash and then turn and run all the way down the fields (I'm not a runner so I was near to passing out by the time I got down there). By the time I got down there, she was gone, and I was pretty sure she'd actually been on a hill behind the school fields that went into the woods.

But as I was running down the field, I saw a man heading up that field where I'd seen the dog (he was strolling along slowly, so I knew he wasn't the owner of the missing dog b/c he was too relaxed), so I wondered if maybe the guy owned this white dog and they were heading off for a stroll in the woods.

Either way, I wasn't going to go off in the woods where some strange guy was, so I decided to just walk along the bottom of the field, where a chain link fence separates the field from the woods. So I'm walking along and then all of a sudden, I SEE THE DOG! She's right on the other side of the fence and I know it's her!!!! So I call her name and she stops and stares at me.

So I call her again, and she looks at me.

Then she turns around and RUNS AWAY!

ARGH!

I can't go after her because the fence is in the way, so I sprint along the fence to where it ends and run across this bridge and then down the boardwalk that goes through the wooded area. So I'm calling her and calling her and she's not coming. But I KNOW she's in there.

So I turn around and run/walk all the way back to my car (I'm sweating buckets by this point and my chest about to explode because I am NOT a runner). So I throw the dogs in and drive back to my house, rush inside, throw my coat on the floor as I vault up the steps to my bedroom where I'd left the flyer with the phone numbers on it. I have to call them and get them to the field before the dog leaves. So I get to my dresser, and THE FLYER'S NOT THERE!

I search the trash can in case my dh tossed it, I look under the dresser, I look everywhere and it's GONE! I can't believe I was so close to the dog and can't do ANYTHING!

Then I remember that he said he'd posted it at the local vets, so I call my vet. I'm frantically telling them that I saw this lost dog and I couldn't get her and I think the flyer might be there. So the receptionist runs out to the reception area, finds the flyer and reads me the phone numbers.

So, I call the first number and NO ONE IS THERE! So I leave a detailed message and my phone number.

Then I call the second number and NO ONE IS THERE! So I leave another detailed message and my phone number.

Then I sit down at my computer, thinking of this poor dog that has been lost for NINE days and this poor seventy-three year old man out there searching for her ten hours a day and my heart is breaking because I had come SO close and I'd failed. I felt horrible!

Then ten minutes ago, the phone rings.

It's the owner.

He told me he'd gotten my message, raced over there and went down the boardwalk calling her name. Then suddenly he heard her barking!!!! But she was stuck in the thick woods and blackberry bushes and couldn’t get to him! So, she’s barking like crazy, desperate for him to come get her, but he couldn’t reach her, so he had to LEAVE her there and go back down the boardwalk and over the bridge and along the fence that I'd been walking beside when I saw her.

And he called her and she came racing over to the fence, barking like crazy for him! She was right there, on the other side of the fence. But he couldn't get over the fence!

So he went along the fence, searching for a way over, and then he found this tree that had fallen over the fence, so this 73 year old man crawled along this tree trunk to get over the fence. He did it, and got to his dog! Then they had to find their way out of the woods, but they did and now they are both home! He said he was so shaken up by finding her that he could barely think!
He said today he'd finally started thinking that it was time to give up. She'd been loose in a high-traffic area for NINE days. He said if it wasn't for my call, they wouldn't have gone back. They would have given up. But instead, she's home and he's happy and everything is perfect.

I'm SO HAPPY!

So, this is my feel-good story for the week!

anyone know anyone who knows someone?

2006-01-26T19:50:00.000-08:00

Have you checked out the AWESOME book trailer on Allison Brennan's website? Christine Feehan has a bunch of these as well for all her books, which you can see on www.cosproductions.com. Christine swears by them as awesome marketing tools, and we all know that Christine is brilliant. I've done a some research on them, and I'm thinking that she and Allison are onto something. So, I've decided to bite the bank account bullet and ante up the dough for one for my May paranormal in my first big foray into the world of self-promo. According to my research, it seems you can get a pretty professional job for $500 to $2000 dollars. An investment, certainly, but I think it might be worth it. It's a great Internet tool and nothing spreads faster than on the Internet. I've put out a couple feelers to companies that do this, but I'm not getting responses (what? do I have a rat on my head?), so I was wondering if anyone knows anyone who knows anyone who does this sort of thing. Anyone?

An Agent's View: Category Romance & Contracts

2006-01-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency weighs in on category romance vs single title and contracts. She loves answering questions, so please feel free to post any questions for next week!

Last week I was faced with an icky case of writers block. This week, I am sooooo thankful for Wendy who has totally eliminated my need to stare at a black, blinking line. Fortunately, I can get right down to business!! So, thanks, Wendy, for helping me to put my thoughts in order!

1.)In today's category market (proliferating lines, shrinking sales), do you think category can aid and abet a single title career? If so, how?

It's been really interesting to see the changes in the category market over the past few years. Harlequin is an extremely innovative publisher, and has always tried to be on the cusp of the latest trends. Luna is a prime example. When Harlequin first launched the line, other houses quickly followed suit.

And while the series lines may be shifting, they truly are Harlequin's bread and butter. NEXT has been a tremendous feather in Harlequin's hat, and the books seem to be doing well in the marketplace. There is still a demand for traditional contemporary romances and romantic suspense and Harlequin will soon be launching a new paranormal imprint to capture that segment of the marketplace as well. So, growth is still a big part of Harlequin's business model.

My best advice to series authors, and to writers who are aspiring to be, is to learn to adapt. Across the board, Harlequin is trying to modernize their lines. They are eliminating romantic cliches and want readers to easily identify the characters and the plotlines in the stories they publish. Many of the books are starting to have a more single title feel, which is good news, especially if you want to move in that direction.

I've seen many authors who have had successful category and single title careers. But, I've also seen category authors who have tried to break into the single title market unsuccessfully. The key is to study and to understand the differences in tones between category and single title. A single title book is not just a longer book. Today's single title romances are extremely multi-layered. While the romance is still the key component, other important elements such as plot and characterizations need to be threaded through. As a category author, you sometimes have to work extra hard to prove to a single title editor that you can pull it off. But, it definitely can be done!

2.)What is the value of accepting single title contracts with low (ie, four- or five-figure) advances?

I think everyone dreams of hitting it out of the ballpark at least once in their writing career. And your family and friends may think that since you are a writer, you are rolling in the dough. However, very few authors are able to quit their day jobs with their first sales.

It may be hard to accept a lower advance than you would like. But, unfortunately, oftentimes until an author has developed a name and strong numbers, publishers like to offer low advances. They do so with the excuse that they do not have any numbers on the particular author. And unless the agent has any numbers in her hip pocket, we can only fight with the promise that our author will deliver a manuscript stronger than they ever thought possible, and that our author will do whatever she can to make this project a huge success.

Some things to ask yourself as you evaluate an offer:

1) Will this contract help my career in 5 years?
2) Can I legally sell my project to another house (some contracts have confidentiality notices)?
3) What sort of numbers can I use to help me negotiate a great deal?
4) Where will I be placed on the list?
5) What type of marketing will the publisher do for me?
6) How many author copies am I receiving? (if you negotiate from 25 copies to 50, you are getting bird in the hand.)
7) What is the non-compete clause?
8) What rights can I keep?
9) How dedicated is the publisher to me and to my career aspirations?

Sometimes publicity and promotion can trump a lowball offer. For example, if the publisher has fantastic plans in mind for promoting your book, chances , are you will more than make up your advance on the flipside.

Good luck!!! Please feel free to email me again if you have more questions!

Until then,
See you next week!
Michelle

EZ Button

2006-01-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

Have you seen that new ad campaign for Staples? With the EZ Button? If you're running into problems at work, hit that EZ Button and everything gets done for you. How lovely!

Well, there ain't no EZ Button in the real world.

Writing is like losing weight: There's no easy solution. You want to drop a few pounds? You have to take in fewer calories and expend more. No EZ Button. No short cuts. No magic wand.

Same thing with writing, whether it's the actual writing process or finding the motivation to tackle a tough scene. If it's hard, guess what? No EZ Button, sweetie pants. I have found that when I'm lacking in motivation, it's usually because I'm struggling with something tough. Every once in a while I'm actually fried, but usually, if I'm honest with myself, it's because I'm struggling with a scene or book that's difficult to write. My defenses spring up and I feel unmotivated, but really it's because what I'm trying to do is just so damn hard that it's way easier to give it up.

Like when I used to be a lawyer. I'd be sitting in that law library reading case law and bored out of my mind, and within ten minutes, I'd be sound asleep and drooling all over the Code books. Was I actually tired? No. It was because what I was doing was tough (or boring) and my body was pretending to be tired when really, my mind simply didn't want to work. (and you wonder why I'm not a lawyer anymore...)

I don't fall asleep at the computer, but sometimes I'm equally as unproductive. Like on Monday when I posted about my missing motivation. Well, as soon as I posted that, I sat back and thought about what I'd written, and realized I was lying to myself. The real problem was that I'd been wrestling with my proposal and I simply couldn't get a handle on it. It was just too damn difficult, and my brain shut down.

Taking a day off wouldn't help. I'd come back to the computer, and the same problem would be staring at me, but it would be even bigger because I'd be rusty and I'd have to go back and review everything to freshen up my mind.

So I shut down my email and my explorer for two days and busted it out. And you know what? It worked! I worked through my issues and ended up with a proposal that I'm really happy with.

Now, sometimes it's good to step away. If you're so frustrated that you're blocking your mind's ability to really assess the problem, then yes, walk away. But other than that, the only solution is to sit down and do it.

Just.
Do.
It.

Lost...and not yet found

2006-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

Missing: Motivation. Last seen on Friday, January 21st. Disappeared suddenly and without warning at approximately 11am after wrestling with a particularly stubborn proposal. Abdication of motivation is possibly due to an overextension for the last two months, during which it had to propel two manuscripts and page proofs into completion stage. Or possibly due to a workplace rebellion at not being allowed to take a week off to recoup after ms #2 was finished and sent off. Am willing to offer a week off at the end of February in exchange for immediately reappearance with sufficient juice to propel me through a new proposal this week and a third manuscript to be finished by 2/19. Will bribe with brownies, snuggly puppy kisses and gazing at beautiful sunsets (ahem, okay, the sunsets won't happen until summer). Any tips leading to the reacquisition of said motivation will receive significant reward, the exact terms of which shall be negotiated to the satisfaction of all parties involved. To report hot tips, send email to the woman repeatedly banging keyboard with her forehead.

You will now be returned to your regularly scheduled program.

It's all because of me!

2006-01-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

Guess what? Our auther Q&A guest today, Michelle Rowen, got great news today! She sold two more books to Warner! Hooray! I am SO sure it's because she was on my blog. The Stephanie Rowe vibes did it. Fer sure. I'm so awesome. I mean, really, you think it's a coincidence? Her Q&A goes up. Offer comes in. I mean, hel-loooo, could the connection be any stronger?? PLUS, get THIS! My very first author Q&A guest was Stephanie Feagan of Bombshell fame. Well, she ALSO sold a book today. Hooray for Stef!!! I mean, hel-loooo, how much more obvious do we need to be? Do a Q&A on Stephanie Rowe's blog and amazing things happen for you. Done deal. The kharma is in motion. I have The Vibe. Yes, you can touch me, but only if you promise never to put lipstick on your eyelids and pretend it's eyeshadow. Yeah, you. I've seen you in your bathroom mirror. It's not a good luck. Trust me. I mean, really, trust me.

Galley Alert! Galley Alert!!

2006-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! My editor just emailed me that she's shipping me my box of ARCs! For those of you not steeped in author-speak, an ARC is an advanced reading copy that is sent out to key accounts and reviewers considerably ahead of the release date, to drum up interest in the book. The cool thing about Warner is that they bind the ARCs with the real cover (lots of publishers just put a brown paper cover on). They could still have typos etc b/c it hasn't gone thru the final proofing and they aren't for resale, but they are the completed and bound book, very close to final production form. So, it's almost like getting your actual book!! I'm SOO excited. I'll be giving away a copy or two or three on my blog and on my website, so stay tuned!

Author Q&A with Michelle Rowen

2006-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

1) Can you give a blurb about your current release?

BITTEN & SMITTEN is about a girl named Sarah Dearly who gets turned into a vampire by her blind date from hell. Running away from him and the vampire hunters who show up, she meets Mr. Tall Dark and Intimidating, a master vampire named Thierry de Bennicoeur who is trying to end his life after six hundred years. He agrees to help show her the ropes of the vampire world if she’ll help him end his life.It’s romantic, but I’d describe it more as a vampire chick-lit. It’s all about Sarah’s new life and troubles as she tries to cope with her new other-worldly status which is definitely not like it is in the books she’s read.

Click here to read an excerpt

2) The concept of a suicidial master vampire is hilarious. How did you come up with that?

I was thinking about immortality and how great it would be. Imagine all the things you could accomplish if you had hundreds of years. Plus, looking good the whole time! But on the flip side, I thought that it might get a little boring. Once you've seen it all, done it all... what then? If you don't die from natural causes and there's nothing that interests you in life anymore, really the only way out is to jump off a bridge.

3) So, where does your love of immortal hotties who suck blood come from? Are you a Buffy fan or what? Spike or Angel?

I am the biggest Buffy fan I know. It's sad, really. Even now, almost three years after the show went off the air I'm still an addict. I even have a Buffy tattoo. So, yes, my love of all things vamp comes from that show that turned the vampire legend on its head and did it in a way that combined comedy, drama, action and romance in one tidy package. Joss Whedon is my hero.And the age-old Spike or Angel question, huh? That's kind of like the "Maryanne or Ginger" question for guys, isn't it? Spike and Angel are so different, and yet both so hot it's hard to pick one. But since I go more for snark than sullen, I'd probably end up with Blondie Bear. And if you don't know which one that is, I can't help you.

4) Can you tell us a little about your publishing journey? How did you go from ordinary reader to published author of kick-butt, hilarious, vampire fiction?

I've always wanted to be a writer. But for most of my life I lacked the confidence in my writerly abilities, or the follow-through to actually apply butt to chair and finish anything. When I turned thirty I figured that my dream wasn't going anywhere if I didn't put some effort into it. I signed up for a course through Writer's Digest in which I was mentored through the first chunk of writing a book by a published author. I decided to write what I liked to read and watch on TV: a comedic story with an edge of drama and action; an "everygal" who becomes something extraordinary. I tried to have fun with the course, while still taking it seriously.The author I worked with on my assignments was so complimentary about what I was writing (what was to become the first draft of BITTEN & SMITTEN) that it bolstered my confidence enough to think that... maybe. Maybe this might be more than just a pipe dream. So I focused. I finished the book, knowing that vampires were a hard sell since there are so darn many people who write about them. I researched the market and made my list of agents and was rather shocked when I received an offer of representation from the second agent I queried. He was able to sell the manuscript in record time. My head is still spinning, to tell you the truth.

5) Now that your book is on the shelves, you are getting hit with what every author fears: reviews! You've gotten some amazing ones from Booklist and Publisher's Weekly--congratulations! What does it feel like to be putting your work out there in the world for review?

Oh, I never read reviews.I am so lying.Okay, I read them. And I love the good ones, of course, and I've been blessed with quite a few that stroke my fragile ego. However, the bad reviews, quite honestly, feel like somebody has punched me in the stomach. My road to being published was not paved with a lot of rejection so I am having a hard time building up my "protective shell" when it comes to reading negative opinions about my work. But the more time goes by, the less it affects me. Probably the best thing for me to do is not read any reviews at all. Just focus on the writing, and doing the best I can. And keep a lot of chocolate on hand for when I get weak and google myself.

6) Have you ever met a real vampire? If so, was he hot and what was it like when he bit you?

No, I haven't. Stephanie, honey, vampires are *not* actually real. However, I am currently dating the nicest werewolf.

7) In BITTEN & SMITTEN, your heroine goes on a blind date from hell. Literally. Was this inspired by your own blind date experiences? What is the worst blind date (or regular date) that you've ever been on?

Alright, I have a bad blind date experience to share. I had arranged to meet a guy at a local bar. We'd only spoken on the phone so I told him what I looked like and that I would be carrying a purse with a dog on it (it's cooler than it sounds. I like funky purses). I arrived and wandered around looking for him. He thought it would be funny to watch me search for a few minutes without saying anything. It was a bad few minutes. For me. And then he proceeded to hit on the female bartender for the next half hour.Okay. Now I'm depressed. Moral to the story: Blind dates are bad. Fangs or no fangs.

8) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next release?

My next release is called ANGEL WITH ATTITUDE and it's out in July 2006 with Warner Forever. It's about a fallen angel who travels to the Underworld to search for the stolen Key to Heaven that she plans to use to go back. She's accompanied by a talking rat and a very hot, very tempting demon named Nathaniel.

Michelle Rowen

www.michellerowen.com/blog

www.michellerowen.com

BITTEN & SMITTEN, Available now! Read an excerpt!

ANGEL WITH AN ATTITUDE, July 06

Trainwreck city!

2006-01-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was at dinner with a few folks.

Things were going along nicely, until I happened to glance to my left, along the table. Something "wrong" caught my eye, and my gaze dropped to the lap of one of the guys, without my even really thinking about it. There was some weird thing on his lap and I couldn't figure out what it was. So I'm studying it, trying to figure out what it was, and finally I realize it's his ID badge, sort of at this weird angle.

Excellent. Mystery solved.

Then I realize that his badge is sitting on his fly. And I'm staring at it. And I've been staring at it for about five minutes.

I jerk my gaze off his crotch, completely horrified by what I've been doing.

And then, for the REST of the dinner, it's like a bad train wreck. My gaze keeps wanting to crawl back to that damned ID badge. Every time I glance down to that end of the table, I feel this burning urge to see if that stupid badge is still there. Because I know I can't look. But I have to look, just because I can't.

It was horrible. I'm never going out to dinner again.

An Agent's View: Writer's Block

2006-01-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency talks about Writer's Block.

Writer's Block!

Today has been eye-opening for me. As I stared at the black flashing line on a stark white computer screen, I finally understood the pain and agony of writer's block.

What to write? What do the readers want to know? How can I be witty yet smart, interesting yet informative? What words can I put down that will inspire?

Well, my friends, your guess is as good as mine!!! So, here we go - I'm going to channel.

It's a technique that I've heard many writers do. They write what comes to them. They do not edit. They just put down on the screen whatever pops up in their minds without ever hitting the backspace (unless they get sloppy fingers like me to fix their spelling!)

Or, maybe I should pull out my story board. I can plot out all pearls of wisdom.

Then again, maybe I should pull out a blank sheet of loose leaf paper and jot down anything that comes to my mind and brainstorm, all the time reminding myself there is no such thing as a dumb thought.

On the other hand, I'm feeling kind of gabby - maybe I'll pick up the phone and call a friend to see if we can brainstorm some ideas out loud.

Hmmmm... on second thought, maybe I'll surf the web for a couple of hours and research some other blogs. There have to be some sights out there that I can gain some insight from.

I guess the point is, there are many ways to overcome writer's block. Unearthing what works best for you is the key to success. For me, rambling thoughts seem to work best... go figure!

But, if you all are interested in helping me out with some ideas for next week, I'd be eternally grateful!! So, please ask away - we can e-storm together! :)

Have a great week!
Michelle

and the winner is....

2006-01-18T17:19:00.000-08:00

The title has been selected for my HarperCollins YA. It's going to be called ALL THE RIGHT NOTES!

I'm really excited about the title and I think it hits the tone of the story well. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions!

MLK Jr.

2006-01-16T22:16:00.000-08:00

Today isn't just about having a day off (not that I got one, being self-employed, but that's not my point). Today is about recognizing a great man who stood for things that our country should be built on. Things like equality and opportunity and treating everyone as they deserve to be treated, no matter what they look like on the outside. On some levels, our country has come so far, and on other levels, we're just as awful as we were one hundred years ago. It's frightening how much racism still exists at all levels in this country. It's frightening how people who aren't directly affected by it don't notice it, or don't think about it, or don't think it exists. Look around you. Really see what's going on. And then do what you can to make a difference. Each little thing matters. Do your part to fulfill a dream that is long overdue. We all owe it to each other.

the best feeling!

2006-01-15T23:21:00.000-08:00

Deadline for my HarperCollins YA: 1/15/06
Today's date: 1/15/06
Most satisfying activity undertaken today: emailing the completed ms of my HarperCollins YA to my editor.

HOORAY!

I am SO not a fan of taking things down to the wire, but I couldn't help it with this book since I didn't get the green light on the story until the middle of the December. Normally, I would be very stressed at the prospect of starting to work on a book less than a month before it's due (I prefer to turn my books IN a month before they are due!), but I worked REALLY hard at staying organized and managing my time, and not getting caught up in the big picture or the "what if" game (like, what if I get the flu and I'm down and out for two weeks??? what if i can't get this story worked out to my satisfaction in the amount of time I have? what if i run into problems with the writing? what if my computer crashes and dies...oh, wait, that actually happened...). I kept focussed on my little daily goals, stayed confident that if I kept to my schedule I' d be fine, and fought against any surge of panic.

Amazingly enough, it worked! I was able to really enjoy the writing process, instead of fixating on the moment when I could say "the end" and know I'd beaten my deadline. And I think the book shows it. I loved every minute of writing this book, and I think it's my best effort to date. And I really believe it's because I was in such a positive frame of mind the whole time I was writing it, immersing myself in the joy of writing instead of knocking myself out with the worries and stress of making the deadline. I do this job because I love it, but so often it's easy to get so burdened with the stresses that I lose sight of the joys.

Not this time.
This time I enjoyed every minute of the ride, and it was awesome.
And now that I know what's it's like, I'm going to do everything in my power to have this attitude from now on, no matter how close that deadline is or how much stress is trying to crush down on me.

So there!

The disadvantages of being a wimp

2006-01-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

I'm a wimp.
There. I admitted it.
For a long time, I denied it, pretending I was tough and fearless.
It's all a lie. I don't like risking serious bodily harm, even if the risk is small.

Mountain biking down the side of steep hill? I let my husband do his thing and I sit in the car and read my book. I used to go with him, climbing off my bike and wheeling it over the scary parts. Now, I stay home. A woman has to set boundaries, right?

Waterskiing? The turbo enema I got after falling on my butt convinced me it wasn't my thing. Now, I put on my sunglasses and sunscreen and take pictures. Much more satisfying and it doesn't cause a week-long interruption in bathroom duties.

Calling our credit card company to contest a bill? Not my thing. I know, like the customer service rep is going to jump through the phone lines and wring my throat for causing trouble, but I still hate it. Confrontation sucks. I hand the phone over to my dh and promise that when I become rich and famous, I'll buy him a Porsche. Surprisingly, it works. Men will do anything for their toys.

So, I'm a wimp.

Maybe even the Queen of the Wimps.

Or so I thought...until my dog's episode the night before last. I have been replaced as the leader of the wimps.

It was a dark and stormy night, (really, it was, I'm not making that up) and around eight o'clock, my 90 lb black lab ducked out the doggie door into the backyard.

Then he didn't come back, even though it was raining and cold.

After about 45 minutes, I stuck my head outside only to find him run up to the door, all happy. Um... okay. Guess he wants to get wet. So I go back inside.

An hour later, he's still outside. I try to get him inside, but he simply turns and runs back out the doggie door every time I bring him inside. This is the dog who has slept on my bed every single night since we got him. He's an indoor dog. A softie. So what's up with the sudden X-Games attitude?

My dh comes home and tries to get the dog inside, but he'll still have nothing of it. That's when I notice that the bar of Dove soap is missing from the sink. I figure that my dog ate it, and he's now having lots of fragrant and bubbly soap issues, so that's why he's staying outside. He's not acting sick, but what else could it be?

So, for the ENTIRE night, I get up every hour to go check on him. He won't come inside, even though he's soaking wet and shivering. I bring him inside, towel him off, drag him up to our bedroom, get him on the bed, order him to stay and hold him down. But within 5 or 10 minutes, he's so frantic that I let him go and he bolts off the bed, sprints down the stairs and goes outside.

I'm thinking major digestive issues going on, right?

This goes on for FOURTEEN hours. Every hour I bring him inside, dry him off and try to hunker down with him, but he refuses to stay inside. Finally, at ten in the morning, he's miserable and wet and whining, so I decide to take matters into my own hands. I dragged him inside and shut the doggie door. He spends the next hour pawing at the doggie door trying to go out, but I won't let him out. I told him that if he has to go to the bathroom that badly, he can just go in the house because he needs to dry off and warm up. Strangely enough, he never goes to the bathroom in the house, even after an hour. Maybe he's not sick???

Then I notice that the handset to our phone is beeping because it needs to be charged. So I hang it up.

And my dog stops trying to go outside.

Yep, you got it. He spent 14 hours outside in the rain because he was afraid of the beeping phone.

I concede defeat. My poor dog is the King of the Wimps.

Nuggets

2006-01-12T16:37:00.000-08:00

My Warner editor asked me to send her three "nuggets" about me that she could include in some promo material. I wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, so I sent her an assortment of "nuggets" to choose from. Though y'all might find some of them amusing, so I'm posting them below:

1) Hometown: technically, Beaverton, OR, but I'm a Bostonian at heart and still consider myself from Boston even though I haven't lived there in nine years. Go Patriots!
2) I once got my elbow stuck in a trampoline.
3) In my past life, I was an attorney in a Boston law firm...before I saw the light.
4) I am a TOTAL dog lover and have two black labs who are the best dogs EVER. They have deluxe dogs beds in my office and hang out with me all day.
5) I am a terrible waterskiier.
6) When I was a senior in high school, I gave a speech to my class on "how to get a man." Obviously, my destiny as a romance author was firmly established from the start.
7) When I was in elementary school, I won the blue ribbon at our public library's summer reading club for reading the most books over the summer.
8) I developed an adult onset chocolate allergy which I continue to test on a regular basis to see if it has gone away. It hasn't. Woe is me.
9) When I was in law school, a friend of mine was astonished to learn I don't drink coffee. He said that no one could be as insanely high energy as me and not be a caffeine drinker. I don't think it was a compliment...
10) I met my husband by picking him up in a bar. Eleven years and still going strong...
11) I am an avid tennis player and only rarely hit myself in the head with my own racquet while playing.
12) I wrote 18 books before selling my first book.
13) I won the Romance Writer's of America Golden Heart Award for Short Contemporary in 2003.
14) Wolverine from the X-Men is my movie star boyfriend. Yum, yum. X-Men #3 coming out this summer. How will I withstand the wait???
15) I wrote my first book when I was ten years old, then abandoned the idea when someone wanted to read it. Good thing I overcame that phobia, eh?
16) My favorite book as a youth was THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES. Guess my interest in fantasy started early, eh?

Author Q&A: Sheila Curran

2006-01-12T15:05:00.000-08:00

l

1) Can you give us a blurb about your current release?

"DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN is a terrific pick-me-up. You couldn't find two more disparate landscapes than Oxford, England and Arizona, and that's exactly what one British woman discovers when she crosses the Pond to find herself a fish-out-of-water -- only to realize that for the first time in her life, this means she can stand on her own two feet. Filled with characters who make you laugh out loud even as they break your heart, this is a funny, warm, inventive, original book."
Jodi Picoult, NYT bestselling author of VANISHING ACTS, and MY SISTER’S KEEPER

Click here to read an excerpt of DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN

2) The heroine in DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN is a misplaced Brit departed to Arizona. What kind of research did you do to be able to write about a Brit?

I lived in Oxford for ten months, and then in London for three years as a child. Lots of British friends. I started writing the book when I was around the accent and diction, so it was easier than I thought it would be when I started out.

3) The cover of DIANA LIVELY is hilarious--fun, unpredictable and edgy. What kind of input did you have on the cover?

My editor was very sweet about hoping I liked it, but basically, the publisher did the whoe thing.

4) DIANA LIVELY is your debut book. Congratulations! Was it a tough road to get published?

I can’t tell you how tough. I’ve been writing for twenty plus years now, and trying to get something published since 1983!

5) Can you tell us about your path to getting published?

Serendipty was finally kind to me. I found my agent through my husband. She is British and loved the book. Then she submitted to so many editors and all rejected it until we found Susan Allison at Berkley Penguin, who loved it and pushed for it to be published....what luck!

6) One of your themes in DIANA LIVELY is that everyone gets what's coming to them? Was it fun to let loose on the bad guys and give them what they deserved?

Oh, so much fun but strangely enough, my biggest complaint from readers is how they are so sorry I didn’t persecute the vile husband more. They would have enjoyed torture, poisonous snake bites or something very very painful.

7) Like your heroine in DIANA LIVELY IS FALLING DOWN, you spent much of your life being dropped into new and unfamiliar places to live. How did you draw on your personal experiences to give your heroine a realistic touch?

I knew how much anxiety figured into the picture, and also how you are given perspective when taken out of the familiar environment.

www.sheilacurran.com

Hah!

2006-01-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

So, it's official. Brad Pitt knocked up Angelina. And they've been claiming they're only friends. Hah! How stupid do they think the American public is? They are so busted. Only friends. Indeed. Friends with benefits, apparently.

Why do so many celebrities think it's not a big deal to have babies with lots of different people, half of whom they aren't married to and have no intention of marrying? Whatever! Don't these people read romances? Apparently, they need a slap upside the head of happily ever after to help them get their ducks in a row.

Only friends. Hah! Nice try, Brangelina.

A battle to the finish line

2006-01-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

My book is due Monday.
I'm getting sick.
Sore throat creeping up.
First draft done.
All I can think about is crawling into bed.
Must get revisions done and to my agent before I collapse.
The finish line is approaching.
Can I hold off the enemy? Can I push through to victory?
I will not give up.

Title help needed!

2006-01-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

We're in a title crisis for my YA romance from HarperCollins. We need a fun, hip, extremely happenin' title, and we can't come up with anything! Here's the down-low: the heroine (Lily) is a classical pianist and she's had it with having no life other than piano (which all the other kids think is a total loser thing to be doing), so she drops piano and gets in with this band playing keyboards. Of course, there's a way hot drummer who she starts to bond with. Too bad he has a girlfriend and thinks she has a boyfriend....

My editor would love to have the title that has something do with music, but I haven't come up with anything decent. Any suggestions?

always on the clock

2006-01-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to a wedding. The man sitting next to me was someone who I used to work with back at the day job. He asked me how life had changed for me since I became a writer, whether it changed how I looked at the world. He then also asked the common question of whether all my fiction was based on my life. I said that one of the big differences was that everyone I spoke to, every experience I had, every movie I saw, every news program I saw, all went into the story idea bank. I was always thinking about how I could incorporate the experience into a story, so in a way, yes, everything in my books was based on my life, in that it was something I'd been exposed to, but not lived myself.

Then, later on the in the night, the band came on stage and started to play, I nearly fell over myself. Why? Because the wip that's due in a week is about a teen girl who plays piano and then starts playing keyboard for the band! So I rushed up to the stage and stood behind it, watching the keyboard player play, listening to how the band members talked to each other during the songs, watched the drummer, etc etc. I was up there for probably an hour, absorbing it. When I finally came back to me seat, my dh was like "Where were you?" I explained where I'd been, and he just nodded in understanding.

And after the wedding was over, I stalked the keyboard player, asked him some questions and got his email address for further inquiries.

And to think I used to be shy!

So, there you go. Being a writer turns a wedding into a research project, and turns a formerly shy woman into someone who will march up to strangers, ask personal questions and wrangle an email address.

I love my job!

Q&A with Lara Rios

2006-01-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

1) Can you tell us a little about your current release?

Absolutely! BECOMING LATINA IN 10 EASY STEPS has been classified as chick-lit, but to me it's just a story about learning to be who you really are. I wrote Becoming Latina in response to hearing quite often from reviewers and readers that the books by Latino writers were not "Latino enough". A funny comment, because Latinos are such a varied group of people. What is very Latino for one group, may not be at all for another. So I created acharacter, Marcela, who must face this issue. She is not Latina enough for her family and decides to become so. In showing the way Marcela attempts to become a bunch of clichés and fails miserably, I hope to show in a comical way that we (all women, not just Latinas) are all individuals. Each person has to follow her own dreams and not let society, family, or friends influence or dictate who she should be.

Click here to read an excerpt of BECOMING LATINA

2) BECOMING LATINA IN 10 EASY STEPS is about finding your roots and discovering who you are. Is this a theme you have in other books, or how did you come up with this for this story?

Yes, it's definitely a theme in my stories. Maybe it's because it took me so long to figure out who I was and what I wanted from life. My family (dad) wanted a submissive, family centered daughter, society told me to toughen up. I was confused about whom to please. I found that many 2nd and 3rd generation ethnic-Americans face the confusion of living in two worlds at the same time. So I like to write about following your dreams and not allowing yourself to be pushed to be someone you're uncomfortable being.

3) NYT Bestselling thriller author Tess Gerritsen recently posted on her blog about race and best-sellerdom, offering the opinion that as, a ChineseAmerican, in order to reach the level of success she strived for, she needed to be marketed and defined not as a Chinese American, but simply as a thriller writer, leaving her race out of the equation both as an author and in the race of her main characters. You and your publisher have obviously taken the opposite approach, embracing the Latino heritage of your characters and your stories. What kind of process did you and your publisher go through in determining the platform for your stories? Was it a difficult choice to make? What are your thoughts on this subject?

Wow, well, how do I answer this question? My feeling is that Latinos have been stereotyped quite a bit. Much of what has been published was from the1970's seemed to be political statements about the struggles of Chicanos in America. I wanted to take many of the stereotypes out there and say that we haven't all experienced the same thing. In my book, I attempted to populate it with different "groups". The rich Latinos, the middle class, the gang member, the political activist, the Latino who is simply an American and could care less about her roots. My editor is Chinese and she told me that when she read the manuscript, she could totally relate to theheroine. So, yes, I am embracing my heritage, but more than that, I'm saying, "hey, guys, stop with the stereotypes." Take a real look, we Latinos are just like you. We don't all speak Spanish, can't all dance, don't all cook wonderful meals, and some of us have never stepped foot anywhere outside the United States. So our platform, if we have one, is to bring attention to our heritage, but to make everyone aware that our ethnicity is only one small part of the whole person.

4) What's the best part about being an author?

Freedom. Working anywhere -- home, a coffee shop, or on vacation. Also, I think it gives me the chance to reach many people and perhaps make a difference in someone's life. I was a teacher for lots of years and loved it for the same reason.

5) What's the coolest/weirdest reader letter/email you've ever received?

It was from a little boy who wrote to tell me how much he loved my books and how they touched him. I was stunned. Could a little boy have read my romances, I wondered. I received about three more emails from children, and was baffled. So, I looked up the book they were referring to and found that there is a children's author who is also named Lara Rios. She lives in Central America. Lara and I have since emailed each other and I forward her any mail I mistakenly get for her. Pretty funny.

6) Can you give us a sneak peek at your next book?

Of course. It's called BECOMING AMERICANA, and it basically takes theopposite view from BECOMING LATINA. In BECOMING AMERICANA, the heroine, Lupe, wants to leave her roots behind and become Americanized, but keeps getting pulled back in by her family and her own insecurities. Her challenge is to recognize that she doesn't have to choose one or the other. She can be both American and Latina. Lupe is a secondary character in BECOMING LATINA. After this, I'll probably leave the Latino issue alone : )

Thanks! Nice chatting with you!

Lara Rios
www.lara-rios.com
BECOMING LATINA IN 10 EASY STEPS, Available now!

rebelling against resolutions

2006-01-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

Today is my day to post on the Warner Women's blog. Zip over there to check out my anti-new-years-resolutions post!

An Agent's View: New Years Resolutions

2006-01-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

Literary Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary agency weighs in on New Years Resolutions.

After two weeks of too much food and too much fun, I am armed with a list of New Year's resolutions that this year I vow to honor. And, if making a list for myself wasn't enough - I helped my daughter come up with a few of her own. Namely, cleaning her room. The conversation on Monday went something like this:

ME: Clean your room.
Dear Sweet 7-year-old: In a minute, Mommy. I'm playing with my stuffed animals.

Two hours later:
ME: Clean your room.
DSSYO: In a minute, Mommy. I'm playing Barbie on my computer.

Three hours later:
ME: Clean your room.
DSSYO: In a minute, Mommy. I'm finishing my picture.

Then it was time for bed.

So, we had the talk.
ME: Sweetie, have you made a resolution this year?
DSSYO: What is a resolution?
ME: It's when you make a promise to yourself to do something good for you.
DSSYO: Oh.
ME: I think your resolution should be to keep your room clean.
DSSYO: That's a good idea.

Flash forward to January 5. Is her room clean? No, it's better than before, but not clean to my standards. To her, she can see floor, so all is well in the world.

Moral of the story - as nice as it would be to set goals and resolutions for our friends, you can't change someone who doesn't want to be changed. So, rather than to focus on how much nicer life would be if I didn't have to say, "clean your room" twenty-five times a day, I set my own resolution. To help my DSSYO clean her room every night before bed. Then we can both feel satisfaction on a job well done. Plus is will give us some good girl time together to share our days.

Because writing down your goals make them real, here I go.

1) I resolve to exercise every day. There always seems to be an excuse why not to. "My emails are backed up." "I have tooo much to do." You name them, I've come up with them already. So, I found a really cool program on Fit TV which I am becoming addicted to. ALL STAR WORKOUTS is a really cool show what changes up workouts every day - yesterday I was doing pilates, today kickboxing. Later in the week, we move into Belly Dancing. For me, the change of pace is just what I need to keep me interested.

2) I resolve to not sweat the small stuff. (I'm going to leave the sweating to my workouts!) Running my own business has turned me into a type A personality. I am not happy until everyone around me is. So, I've worked my booty off to make sure that everything is perfect. That my house is clean, that everything around me is just as it should be. While I am still going to strive for perfection, if my house is a little out of place before I'm going to go to bed, I'm going to let it go. And, if my 2005 Christmas cards have suddenly become Happy 2006 New Year's cards this year, well...

3) I hereby resolve to catch-up on emails. This will probably be my trickiest yet - I receive literally over 100 emails a day. So, keeping up with them can be a challenge. But, I resolve to block out time each day to answer them. Feeling caught up will be a huge stress relief!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and that 2006 brings you all that you wish for. Good luck with your resolutions! I would love to hear what they are, so, please post away!!

Me, I'm off to write some emails!

Until next week,
Michelle

The Big Apple

2006-01-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I spent the day in NYC meeting with my Warner editor and my HarperCollins editor, neither of whom I'd met before. What an unbelievably worthwhile trip. There is simply nothing that can compare to face-to-face contact with the folks in charge of championing your career and editing your work. I was able to ask questions that I probably wouldn't have had the courage to ask over the phone or email, and we engaged in some frank discussions about my career and opportunities at both houses for me. It was so inspiring and really charged me up to get home and get to work. Both editors are approachable and warm, but I was especially impressed with how smart and savvy they both are. I know I'm in good hands with them, and I feel very fortunate to have two such amazing people as my editors, and I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to write for two such incredible publishers. I always hear authors who say how important it is to get to NY at least once a year to meet and greet, and now I'm on that band wagon myself. I don't care if you have to get yourself in a car and drive for three days and sleep in the backseat, but if you're published, find a way to meet your editor(s). It's invalubable. Do it!

uh, oh, spaghettios

2006-01-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

I just got an email from my BIL. Things aren't looking good for the ol' computer. Apparently, it's not the OS. The hard drive is toast (after only 1.5 years!) He tried to make a copy of it and got an error message after only 7%. He's going to try something else, but he said it's not looking good. You know, just last week I was thinking that I should print out all my contacts and my favorites JUST IN CASE, but did I do that? Nuh uh. Who's laughing now? Not me, so much. I have all my word and excel documents, but those dang outlook files. I did try to back them up about three weeks ago, so I guess I will try to restore from that point when I get my computer back (he'll put in a new hard drive), otherwise, if you've been waiting for an email response from me about something, you'll have to keep on waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting..... or email me again!

So, here's the question of the day: about a month ago, I ran a hardware check on HP's website, and it said my hard disk failed and I should back up all my work and take my computer in for repair immediaetely. I put that on my list of "things to do after my book is turned in." Was that a wise decision? Hmm... not so much...

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

drive safe. watch out for other guy. be cooler than me, who is posting on my blog at 11pm instead of running around causing trouble.

funny story of the week: i went to Macaroni Grill for dinner, and after dinner, i went to the rest room. I'm the only one in there, so I'm having a litle party and singalong while I'm washing my hands, and then suddenly I realize it says "men" on the back of the door. Now, I had a little incident not too long ago where I went into the men's room by mistake and seriously paid for it, so the instant I saw "men" on the back of the door, I totally freaked and was like "OMG! I did it again! What IS my problem?" So i lunge for the door and yank it open, hoping to bail before I get bagged (fyi, the trauma from my previous incident still lingers) and I yank the door open, then I realize it says "women" on the outside of the door. So I jerk my back back ino the restroom and read the back of the door again, wondering if i was losing my mind. Nope, it really does say "Men." So I look on the outside of the door again and it says "Women." So I go thru this exercise a couple more times before I realize that the restaurant was intentionally trying to mess with me! Bastards! My opposite-sex-bathroom-psyche is way too fragile for that!!!!!! Thoroughly traumatized, I stagger back to the table and relay my horror story to my dinner companions. My dh then tells me that "Women" is written on the backside of the "Men's" door. Um, hello!?!? A litle heads up would have been nice!

Ask an Author Friday

2005-12-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is yet another Friday without my weekly author Q&A. It's totally my fault. Between my book deadlines and the holidays, I haven't been sending out the questionnaires to the authors. I promise to get my act in gear starting next week! But to fill in this week, I'll interview myself.

1) What is the worst date you've ever been on?

The one where I told my date I was a Martian and I had green bumps popping out of my face becuase once a month my skin turned greet and lumpy. This was said while I was hunched over with my feet on the dashboard of his car and my hands over my face, blocking this dude from making the move on me. Why didn't I just tell him to back off? I don't like confrontation. Why I thought claiming I was from Mars was easier than confrontation, I don't know. To this day, I still can't believe my mom kept a straight face when I got home from the date and told her what happened. The best part? My high school friends brought it up at my wedding. Nice, huh?

...oops! It's time to go out for our 11th anniversary dinner. I'll finish this up later!

got no love

2005-12-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Last night, my computer froze up. I powered down and then when I tried to turn it back on, I got no love. I couldn't even get into Windows. So I called HP support and they said that my Operating System was shot and I needed to repair or reinstall it, and at the least it would wipe out all my documents (repair option) and at worst, it would wipe out everything (reinstall option). I asked if there were any other options, and he said no. I said I really didn't want to lose all my data, and he said there were no other options.

So, I called my BIL, computer wizard and asked him if HP was telling the truth, and he said yes and no. Yes, because my OS was probably shot, but No, because he could copy my hardrive, fix my OS and then put everything back on it. Or, if it was a hard drive problem, he could still put copy my existing hard drive onto a new hard drive and all would be well. So, nothing lost, except possibly my emails and contacts, but he's optimistic about that.

Um, hello? We paid good money for a 3 year extended warranty from HP and they can't offer that service? Data recovery would be nice, don't you think? Apparently, all the extended warranty covers is hardware and telling you how to wipe all your data off your computer, end of story. Lose your data? Not their problem.

So, I am heading off to The UPS store to ship my BIL my computer so he can mess around with it, see what the problem is, make a copy of my hard drive, fix the problem, then put everything back on and send it back. So much for the HP extended warranty, and thank heavens for my BIL.

And, for the moment, I've lost all my emails and all my contacts, so anyone who is waiting for an email from me...please email me again! Or, if you ever want to hear from me, please email me becuase I have no email addresses! I'm doing email off the web at the moment.

There's nothing like having a total sytem failure two and a half weeks before your book is due, eh?

can you hear me screaming??

2005-12-27T18:58:00.000-08:00

I just saw that the cover art is posted on Amazon.com for DATE ME, BABY, ONE MORE TIME, my paranormal romcom about the Goblet of Eternal Youth, sex-obsessed leaders of hell and no-carb pretzel moguls!!! SO COOL!!! My mom is sitting on the couch reading the newspaper, so I turned my monitor around to show her and she was like, um... that's great. I could tell she was totally thinking "Well, of course it's going to be up on Amazon. Duh." Well, yeah, but it's still SO COOL!!!

things that make you do the snoopy dance

2005-12-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Question: what's almost as cool as seeing your first book on the shelves for the first time?

Answer: seeing a good friend's first book on the shelves for the first time.

Today I was in Waldenbooks and I saw Michelle Rowen's BITTEN & SMITTEN on display! Not only was in on sale, but it was in a 4x4 (4 rows of 4 books each) wooden display right in front of the cash register with Janet Evanovich and Carly Phillips. There were only 16 books in the display and one of them was B&S! Talk about AWESOME product placement!!! Seriously, I had to step around this display in order to get to the register. So I bought it and bragged to the register lady that I knew the girl who wrote it and I was so excited to read it and I've heard it was so good, etc. etc.

And, in an equally cool moment, I was in the grocery store three days ago and I saw another good friend's first book on sale as well!!! There weren't many books in the book section, but front and center was Janice Lynn's JANE MILLIONAIRE, face out, of course!!! I was so excited and I dragged my husband over to show him (he was the only one around, sadly) and pointed it out, and then bought it and bragged to the register girl. That cover is HOT and the book is supposed to be just as HOT so I'm so excited to read it!

So, the question is, do I read vampire first or H-O-T first...or do I write the book that's due 1/15 and put off reading until I turn in my book?

Dang it. I couldn't have stopped with the first part of the question, could I? No... I had to ask the second part. Idiot!

Off to lock my new books up so I can't touch them for another three weeks.

excerpt up!

2005-12-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

The excerpt for my January Intrigue just went up on my website. I'm not sure I chose the best scene for an Intrigue. It's one of my favorite moments in the book, but I'm thinking maybe I should have posted a more dramatic and scary moment, since it's a romantic suspense. If you read it, let me know what you think. I might have to change it...

making your reader bleed

2005-12-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

In the last ten days, I have started and restarted and restarted my new YA, until I was seriously wondering whether I actually owned a single brain cell capable of creating a story that anyone would ever read. I brainstormed with my family (which I never do--I'm totally a do-it-yourself kind of girl), reworked the story, then brainstormed some more. I contemplated trashing the entire story and starting over (every single book I write has a moment or two where I become certain that it's unsalvageable and must be tossed. I think it's a rite of passage). Then finally in one brainstorming session, I created a new twist on my story and my main character, and suddenly more spinoff ideas started forming. I wrote several pages of notes, felt like I'd made some progress, then went back to my story and started rewriting. And it's working! What a brilliant feeling!

And I realized, as usual, that the key development that is finally making the story start to fly is that my main character is starting to develop into a really interesting and compelling character. She's got spunk, she's sympathetic, and I love her. She's not boring, she's got some serious issues and some flaws, but she's compelling, and I adore her, reminding me that no matter how good my plot is, the thing that makes any book compelling is the characters, even if it's a mainstream thriller heavy on the plot.

The simple truth is that your reader MUST care what happens to your character. They don't have to like them (though that helps), but they MUST care what happens to them.

Think of it this way: you get a call from a friend who heard that your fifth grade teacher died suddenly in a car accident after crashing into the abominable snowman. You never liked your teacher, you haven't thought of her in the 10 years since you were in the class. So, you're mildly interested in the fact she died, but really, you're much more interested in the fact that the abominable snowman actually exists. But when your dog runs in the room trailing the remains of the presentation you were up all night working on, you forget about your old teacher and the Yeti and chase your dog upstairs, threatening to withhold all ball playing for at least a week if he won't relinquish it.

Now, imagine you get the call from a friend who says that your best friend has just died in a car accident after crashing into the abominable snowman. Reaction? You could care less about the abominable snowman, other than to hate it because it killed your friend. Dumb hairy beast deserves to be extinct. Your dog runs into the room trailing the remains of the presentation you were up all night working on, and you stare at him and realize how little work actually matters in the grand scheme of things, because you're too shaken up by your friend's death to care at all if your boss hates you.

The only difference in these two scenarios is in how much you care about the person who died.

It's the same in a book. Your reader has to bleed with that character, has to feel that character in their heart and soul and worry about them. If you don't have that, nothing else matters.

It took me a long time to really believe that. I was so into plotting and twists, and (surprise, surprise) I couldn't sell a thing. It wasn't until I started really focusing on character that things started to happen. I still have to remind myself how important character is, but I can SO tell the difference when my characters finally become compelling.

That's where I am right now. The protagonist in my teen book just became compelling. Which means, now the fun begins.

Hello, my name is pond scum

2005-12-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

Today I was in Barnes & Nobles doing a little holiday shopping. I checked out the teen section and the romance section and was delighted to see that they had two Stephanie Rowe titles and one Stephie Davis title. Yay! So I gathered them up and skipped to the customer service desk, showed them my pile, identified myself as the author, and asked whether it would be okay to sign them. Two lovely people helped me. I was signing, they were stickering, all was great.

But right next to me, a man was talking to another customer service rep. He needed to buy a book for some female he didn't know at all, and he had no idea what to get her. The customer service was being entirely unhelpful (example: rep: "What does she like?" man: "I don't know. She likes to eat, I guess." rep: "I could recommend a book on eating disorders.")

So I chime in and I ask the man how old the girl is. He says she's in ninth grade. So I beam and hold up the copy of my teen book that I'm currently signing and I say "You should get her a teen romance."

So that customer service rep gives me the poisonous look and snaps, "I have to get away from you before we get in an argument." The venom and disgust in her voice made me feel like the scourge of the earth. Hello? Did I look like the type to kill puppies and small children for amusement? So I try to wipe the shock off my face and say, "Do you have a problem with romance?" And she goes, "I have to get away from you," with the most venomous tone I think I've ever heard in my life, and then she grabs the customer and drags him off.

I was so shocked I honestly didn't know how to respond. Now, I've run into plenty of people who like to knock romance, and I can live with that. But never have I run into anyone who made me feel like the illegitimate daughter of Satan. Seriously, this woman was oozing poison like nothing I've ever experienced.

The two nice reps who were helping me made no comment at all, and I finished signing the books up, totally shaken up. I offered to put the books back so I could make sure they were face out, and as I was carrying them back, the Evil Woman was returning to the front of the store. She walked right past me and wouldn't even make eye contact. Obviously she figured out that I torture and destroy humans merely by making eye contact... ????

Ironically enough, when I got back to the teen section, the man she'd been helping was walking out with the book she'd apparently gotten for him, and it was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which is basically the same type of book I write, except in that series, there is actual sex going on, and mine never do more than kiss. So...do Evil Customer Service Rep and I need to have a little educational session? Or some sensitively training?

I'm kidding. Nothing is going to help her.

So anyway, I was totally wigged out and I didn't know what to do. First of all, as a romance reader, I was so disconcerted by her hostility that I would totally take my business elsewhere. Second of all, as an author, I was so disconcerted by her hostility that I wouldn't want to go back to that store again to sign stock.

She was too vehement for me to bother talking to (I knew there was nothing I could say that would change her mind), but I seriously debated whether I should talk to the manager. In the end, I left without saying anything. Why? Because I have talked to many booksellers who have had an author appear at that store, had the author do something they didn't like, and consequently blackballed the author from their store. I knew I was in the right, but I felt that I could not risk causing a stink, even a really nice, friendly stink. What if the manager chastised this woman, and then this woman went on a rampage about me to all the other staff members? I'm not there to defend myself, story gets distorted, suddenly a very big chain in a very busy location doesn't support me.

I discussed it with family members when I got home, and the general consensus was it wasn't worth the risk to my career to say anything. I still feel like I should have said something, but I'm terrible at confrontation, and I really don't know if I could confront the issue without causing more damage than it was worth.

So instead, I'm sitting here at the computer fretting about it.

What would you guys have done?

A sign it's time to call it a night

2005-12-21T19:28:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here working, then I suddenly noticed that it was totally quiet. I was like, what's up with that? Then I realized my headphone were in my ears, so I was even more confused. Until I realized I'd never turned my Ipod on.

Then, ten minutes later, the quiet started bugging me again, and I realized I still hadn't turned my Ipod on.

Headphones were in, but those really don't do much good without music actually being piped to them.

Time to shut down and move on.

Hurts So Deep

2005-12-21T16:34:00.000-08:00

Johnny Damon signed with the Yankees yesterday.

The Yankees. As in, bitter enemy who deserves no forgiveness for anything, including the mere fact they dare to exist.

Johnny Damon has been the spirit of the Red Sox. And now he goes across enemy lines?? I don't understand it. He was offered $10m/year with the Sox, and he took $13m/year with the Yankees. When you're making that much money, does three million really mean that much?

Johnny is going to be so sorry when he shows up for spring training and discovers that baseball is no longer a game and no longer supposed to be fun.

Sadly, I like him so much I can't hate him for donning pinstripes. But man, I saw an awesome red sox santa hat today and I had to look away in pain.

Being Sox fan might actually be more emotional stressful than being an author.

And I'm both. There's no hope for my sanity.

Travel Nuggets

2005-12-20T22:01:00.000-08:00

I spent the day far above Mother Earth today, flying the friendly skies with United. I usually hate flying, but today was smooth sailing (meaning, I didn't have to spend the night in the airport due to cancelled flights. It's always a bonus when I get to skip that part of my trip. Although the last time I slept over at O'Hare International, I did get to see Danny Glover. It made me feel better to realize he was stranded as well. Even the rich and famous can't force magic when it comes to air travel!)

Anyhoodles, at one point in the flight, the pilot got on his speaker and said, "If everyone will look out the left side of the plane, you're probably wondering what that bright light is." It was night, so the bright light stood out. I'm thinking maybe it's some natural wonder. Or a forest fire. Or a bunch of fairies doing a mating dance.

Um, sorry. Try again.

It was Dow Pharmecutical doing its annual 3-day burnoff of industrial waste.

Is that a reassuring thought or what? Breathe deep, ladies and gentlemen, and you might be able to star in your real life version of the X-Men.

For the record, if starring in my own X-Men meant that Hugh Jackman as Wolverine would be showing me the ropes of mutant life, I'd be SO down with inhaling that industrial waste three day burnoff.

While I was contemplating exactly how distrubing the 3 day burnoff was, I took a gander around me. I was sitting in first class, courtest of my well-traveled dh's free upgrades. There were twenty-four seats in first class. Guess how many women?

Four.

Me, up there by virtue of my dh's free upgrades.
A business woman up there on her own firepower.
And a family with a teenage daughter.

Of the twenty-four seats in first class, guess how many went to people of color?

Four.

The business woman who was up there on her own firepower.
A family of three.

The seats of money and power had gone to the white men. Again. As usual.

When I was working the day job, whenever I was in leadership meetings, I would always look around the room and count heads. Usually, the ratio was about 20 men to 2 women. One person of color (usually Asian or African American). That's what it looks like at the top of the corporate food chain, gals. I could have stayed there and fought for my place in those meetings, been that female representative climbing the food chain. I could have done that, but I bailed. I hated that life, I hated the politics and I loved writing. Should women stay in the workplace so they can even out the imbalance for women coming behind them? Or is it okay to be selfish and say my life isn't worth this grief? There's no right answer, but sitting in first class today surrounded by men, a part of me wanted to march back into corporate america and do some damage.

The same issue comes up in the writing world. Tess Gerritsen has recently been talking on her blog about readers reading across differences: men reading books by women, whites reading books by Asians or African Americans. She talked about how she worked hard to transcend a label as a Chinese author and as a female author, and basically said that the only way to be a best-seller is to transcend those labels. Moreso with the race issue, but as a mainstream suspense writer, she had to get male readers and white readers. She even said that before her first book came out, she lobbied her editor and agent hard not to have her photo put in the book so her books wouldn't be labeled by her race. As it turned out, her picture went in and she has become a superstar, but it certainly makes you think.

Did you know that the reason JK Rowlings goes by JK Rowlings is because her editors were concerned that no boys would buy her book if they knew a female wrote it? Of course, now everyone knows who she is, but in order to break out, sometimes you have to hide who you are and what makes you special. It may be the truth, but there's something so fundamentally wrong about it.

Is the world more open today than it used to be? In some ways, yes, but in so many ways, we are all still fighting the same battles and the same prejudices. But you know what? In romance, being female is an advantage. Male romance authors often have to take gender-neutral names to succeed. Romance is a field where the top of the food chain, where first class, where the corner offices are primarily occupied by women.

Most fields that are primarily female-dominated fields have lower pay, but not the romance genre. Romance is the place to be if you want to be an author who makes a living at her job. Romance is female power. Romance is the big bucks, yet it's a niche made and driven and created by women. Women readers, women authors, women editors. In genre fiction, the female dominated industry is the top.

Romance rocks. May the rest of the world catch up to us. Please.

Starting over can be soooo tough sometimes

2005-12-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

I started writing my YA today.

Then I deleted five pages I'd written and started over.

Then I decided that it was still wrong and took a break.

Now I'm back, and I'm going to delete everything and start over again.

It seems that the better I get at writing, the tougher it becomes to write. Why? Because I can see now when things don't work. When I first started writing, everything I wrote was brilliant (in my poor deluded mind, that is) and the books flew off my fingers.

Today, when something is off in my writing, I see it. Usually. Well, more often than I used to. On the one hand, that's great because substantially raises the quality of my writing. On the other hand, it can make for some really slow days, because I have to keep deleting what I've written because it's flawed.

By flawed, I don't mean that I have an awkward sentence or I didn't put in enough description. Those are easy fixes to be addressed during the revision phase. By flawed, I mean, the main character has become a snide, sniveling cretin who should be killed instead of playing the lead role in the story. Or the entire tone of the book is veering off into the wrong direction. Or I detest the characters (the ones I'm supposed to like), which means my reader will detest them too. Or I am suddenly shedding tears of anguish while writing a scene in a book that's supposed to be a comedy. These are the big problems, the kind that make me stop in my tracks and realize I'm going to have to highlight too many pages and press DELETE.

Once I get two thirds of the way through a book, I usually have enough set up that I don't run into this problem anymore. But starting a book is a whole other ball-o-wax. I think I started MUST LOVE DRAGONS six different times. In the end, I loved it. But those were some frustrating times.

And now I'm facing the same problem again. But I'm trying to stay positive. I'm trying to stay confident. I'm trying to remember that every time I start a book, this happens, and it always ends up okay. I'm trying to remember that the reason I'm running into this problem is because I'm experienced enough to realize what's not working (that's a good thing). Frustration will make it more difficult to work though it, and it is unnecessary.

Now, the trick is to make myself remember all that, live by it, and get this book off the ground without banging my head on the keyboard and crying repeatedly for hours on end. Although it might be worth it if it gets my dh to suggest going out to dinner to cheer me up... hmm...

Cover Alert!

2005-12-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

Today I had an awesome surprise waiting for me when I got home from the gym! My cover flats for my May paranormal romance arrived!! I'm SOOOO excited! I love the cover! It looks even better in person. The title is raised, which doesn't show up on the scan. I was so worried that the cover wouldn't scream "I am a paranormal," but I think they did a great job with it. Yay! For your viewing pleasure (okay, fine, for my viewing pleasure), I've scanned in the front, the back and then the whole thing so you can see how it looks together, because I think it looks particularly striking when you see how it all comes together. I'm really digging the contrast of the black, white and pink. And the font kicks butt! To read more about my new cover and getting high on the highs, zip on over to the Wet Noodle Posse blog, because today was my day to post!

The Talented Ms. Stephanie

2005-12-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I did spinning class this morning and hurt my thumbs. Spinning = riding a stationary bike. Thumbs = not involved in the activity. Yet somehow, I managed to hurt both of them. A lot.

Now that takes talent.

Almost as much talent as getting my elbow stuck in a trampoline (I was a kid).

Or getting my index finger stuck in the handle to my desk drawer (two days ago).

Or getting fairly serious burns on my arm from a heat pack (three weeks ago).

Or clocking myself in the head with my tennis racquet while playing (yesterday).

I'm sure you're completely shocked to learn that the list goes on and on and on and on....

Set up Grindstone. Press Nose Against It. Repeatedly.

2005-12-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today, I finally got the editoral direction from Harper Collins on the YA I'm writing for them. I'm really excited with how my editor tweaked my idea, and I think it's going to be a great story. Yay!!! The only problem? It's due January 15.

Yep, January 15.

As in, less than a month away.

As in, I have my two page outline and my editor's two page email and that's it. No other notes or idea on this story. I can't start writing today. Or even tomorrow. Or probably even Sunday. I need to spend those days working on the story and characters before I can even think about writing. Which gives me even fewer days to write.

As in, I'm going to be spending two weeks with relatives over the holidays, relatives who don't think it's too polite for me to be hiding at my computer when I'm supposed to be socializing, relatives who live on the other side of the country who I really want to hang out with because I never see them! I guess I won't have time to help clean up after dinner... ah, the choices we must make as dedicated writers!

Yep, it is SO time to set up that grindstone and get to work.

But, on the plus side, I turned in MUST LOVE DRAGONS to my agent for a read thru, so at least that's out of my hair for the moment. That was a HUGE relief!!!!!!!!! PHEW!

And now, off to brainstorm...

Stress Solutions

2005-12-15T18:04:00.000-08:00

I got some news today that totally stressed me out. Like, major stress.

Solution: bake myself a cake and eat the whole thing by myself in two days.

There is nothing like sugar to make you feel fat and stressed instead of just stressed.

An Agent's View: Brownies, Santa & Plotting

2005-12-15T00:03:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency talks about Brownies, Santa & Plotting

Brownies, Santa and Plotting

When I was a little girl, I swore I was going to be a teacher. The dream lasted through my second year of college when I discovered business. The rest, they say, is history.

Now, I'm living the best of both worlds. I'm raising two fantastic kids and helping them learn new things every day. Plus, I'm getting to run my own agency where I'm surrounded by smart, successful writers.

Late this afternoon, I ran my daughter's Brownie troop meeting. Today, they earned the "Let's Pretend" badge. The girls learned tools to help them perform in front of a crowd. After a rowdy game of charades and some breathing exercises to help them project (ummm, not a smart plan since 6/7 year olds are pretty good at doing that naturally), we broke into three groups where each group was given the task of writing and performing a Christmas play in front of their peers. I gave each group about 15 minutes to come up with an idea, to select roles and to make props.

My other two co-leaders and I didn't know what to expect. Could first graders pull something like this off? Boy, were we pleasantly surprised! The girls not only pulled it off, they excelled! Each group came up with fun, unique stories and plots. They learned to work together as a team to achieve one common goal.

They also learned to brainstorm, and to throw ideas around until they found the right ones. And, when it was time to get up in front of the group to perform, there was no fear. No nervousness. No apprehension. Rather, there was just joy and fun! At the end of the meeting they girls came up and asked me if they could write another play!

So, what did I learn this afternoon watching these amazing girls?

1) No idea is a bad idea. When you are plotting your fiction, let it all out. Don't be afraid to let your mind go. Write down all your thoughts and review them. New ideas might spur from your old ones.

2) Trust your friends. They are there to support you and to help you succeed. Listen to their thoughts, but never settle for anything less than your convictions.

3) Act silly! Life is meant to be enjoyed. Laughter really is the best medicine.

4) Perform like there is no one in the audience. If you quiz adults on their biggest fears, one that always appears toward the top of the list is public speaking. But, my girls today got in front of their peers and their families with no reservations. With no fears. With only excitement and yearning to tell their story.

5) Pay attention to your surroundings. The girls gave their undivided attention each other and sought out details in their environments and utilized them into their skits.

Most of all, they gave each other a warm, loving place to showcase their creativity. I am so proud of these girls. In the short hour that we were together, they showed me the real meaning of friendship and the joy of the season.

Wishing you many wonderful memories this holiday season!
Michelle

Thoughts on Website Contests

2005-12-15T00:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished picking the winner for my contest in which I'm giving away a free pair of running shoes, and I had quite the entertaining time.

First of all, the contest rules state that you can win only if you sign up for my newsletter. Well, I had almost 2000 entries and only 200 new people sign up for my newsletter. Hello? Do they think I'm not going to check? I went through 47 people who answered the question right but hadn't signed up for the newsletter before I found the winner. Total time drain, but I SO wasn't going to succumb!

And then the answers...too funny! Okay, to answer the question, all the entrant had to do was read the excerpt on my website. Not too much, right? Well, the question basically asked what the main character (Paris) thought of her boss (Thad). Answer: she sort of has the hots for him, but he's her boss, plus she's dating someone else, so he's off limits, so she uses him as her fantasy lover. Pretty simple, huh?

Well, here are some answers I got:

Tootsie (What contest was this person entering??)

Eric (got this one twice. Didn't make sense the second time either)

32 (32 what? I have no clue, and neither does this person, apparently)

if the shoe fits (um, hello? that's the title of my book. Good guess, but still wrong!)

don'e like her (first of all, her boss is a guy, not a girl... no brownie points for typos either...)

sleeping with him (um, no. that's the whole point, that she's not)

dallas (dallas?? Whatever.)

dk (again, i'm so confused by this answer I don't even know where to start)

browns (browns...hmm...a football reference???)

toenail (I don't even know how to respond to this one...)

chiquita (Was she hungry when she was entering my contest?)

fattie huge (My, my, someone was feeling hostile, weren't they?)

very hot! (This answer came through on 90% of the entries. This answer was posted on a sweeps website, so although it was in the ballpark of correct, I deemed it wrong unless someone had added enough other info to show they'd actually read the excerpt. That's all I wanted: an little excerpt reading.)

So, this contest was a success because I got 2000 entries. But how many actually read the excerpt or signed up for my newsletter? Once again, we ponder the usefulness of a website contest...

Clinging to the Edge of the Cliff with my Fingernails

2005-12-14T13:09:00.000-08:00

So sorry to have gone MIA the past few days, but after I finished my book, I was completely and totally FRIED. I couldn't think, let alone sit down at the computer. Today I am finally back and trying to work my way through emails and other computer things I need to do, like posting on my blog!

But the most important item of the day is to announce Michelle Rowen as a goddess. A few weeks ago on my blog, I asked for recommendations for paranormal authors, and she suggested Rachel Caine. Well, I just finished ILL WIND last night and it was awesome! I totally enjoyed it, so thank you Michelle!!!! I am already off to find the rest of the books in the series. Michelle, I totally owe you!!

PS Michelle is going to be sitting next to me at the RWA signing in Atlanta (or so we expect, given our last names), so I'm very excited to cause trouble with her...er... I mean, sip our tea in a dignified and professional manner... yeah, that's it. Dignified and professional.

Bad Gifts

2005-12-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

Today on the radio the DJ was taking calls about the worst gift people have ever received. This woman called in and said her ex-husband once gave her a black plastic donkey that pooped cigarettes. Apparently, you shove a cigarette in its ear and then it poops it. And as if that wasn't hilariously awful enough, the poor woman had stopped smoking three months prior!!!! Clearly, we can all understand why he is her EX. Omigosh. I am still laughing.

I tried to think of the worst gift I'd ever received, but nothing even came close to that one. Although I did bring a dead plant to a white elephant gift exchange once. I thought that was pretty hilarious. No one else did. Go figure.

Anyone else have horrendous gift stories?

So Close I Can Taste It

2005-12-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

Book Title: MUST LOVE DRAGONS
Page Goal: 390 pages
Current page count: 409 pages
Chapter count: About to start writing the epilogue.
Current State of Mind: Euphoria laced with disbelieving pride and an empowering sense of accomplishment. If I could make it through this, I can make it through anything!

Did you hear me? I am about to start writing the epilogue. The epilogue comes at the END. After the rest of the book is finished. I am almost at the end!!!

I AM ALMOST FINISHED! I AM SO EXCITED! I had so many subplots that I was afraid it wouldn't come together seamlessly, and I think it did! I think I might have succeeded! And if it's not quite right, I know I can fix it because it's in pretty good shape.

OH, WOW!

An Agent's View: Sticky Contract Clauses

2005-12-07T15:04:00.000-08:00

Agent Michelle Grajkowksi of Three Seas Literary Agency talks about sticky contract clauses.

Today I feel like a bear. Not the grumbling, scary kind. Rather more like a soft, squishy, playful bear cub, wanting to play in the snow, but knowing it's better to pack on the pounds and hibernate for a while. Instead of sleeping, though, I'm frantically trying to get through my To-Do list.

And, apparently the publishing world is too! As I'm knee deep in contract negotiations with a few houses, I thought now would be a good time to make you aware of some clauses that you should pay close attention to before signing an agreement.

GRANT OF RIGHTS:
Just as it sounds, as an author you are granting your rights to the publisher to publish your novel. The clause will normally mention what the territory of your sale is (worldwide, North American, etc.) and will also usually note what rights you are granting (motion picture, audio, etc.)

Generally, both the territory and the rights are negotiable. And, what rights we relinquish depends a lot on the publisher. In a Harlequin category sale, for example, it makes sense to keep the foreign rights with the publisher because Harlequin has a fantastic global network in place and oftentimes the authors find their books spreading across the ocean. Some of the other houses, however, have terribly large lists and your book may get lost in the foreign rights shuffle. Therefore, many times it is better to keep those rights for yourself.

When you are reading through the grant of rights, proof it very carefully. Sometimes publishers will throw in a non-compete statement in the clause. It's crucial to understand what you are signing.

NON-COMPETE/DELAY OF PUBLICATION:
Another clause to pay especially close attention to is the non-compete. In this clause, Publishers sometimes try to keep an author exclusively writing for them by putting in restrictive language. Your best bet is to whittle this language down as much as possible. Try not to box yourself in to writing for only one house. The flexibility of being able to move is always beneficial. Also, try to strike any language which will force you to keep a series with your Publisher.

OPTION:
Publishers want to protect their investments. A book is expensive to produce, especially when you factor in all the hands that much touch it, the packaging and the promotions. Publishers do not want just a one hit wonder. Therefore, most houses include an option clause. The option is the timeframe for the editors to evaluate the next project that an author writes after the contract books are complete on their current contracts. My best advice - if you are writing light, humorous paranormals, limit your option to read "light, humorous paranormals." Don't settle for next work of fiction. You will be extremely limited, and if you have a wonderful mystery that wants to pop out of you, you are not going to be able to send it on until your option is fulfilled.

These tips are only the tip of the iceberg. My best advice is to hire an agent or a literary attorney to help you navigate the contract before you sign.

Finally, always remember to look far into the future when you are negotiating a publishing contract. What sounds good today might not be the best for your career tomorrow. I like to play the "what if" game. "What if" my client gets a great offer for her ongoing series from house B but we've already signed off on those rights. "What if" my client has a great idea for a new, unrelated series in a different genre mid-contract but the option states fiction? While "what if's" can make you crazy in your everyday life, play that game as you are signing your contract. With over 100 contracts under my belt, the "What if" game has helped me negotiate the best deals I can for my clients.

That, and the fact that this sweet little bear cub can morph into angry mama bear if things aren't going my way...

SDR on the Web

2005-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today (yesterday) was my day to post on the Warner Women blog, so surf on over there to read my brilliant and earthshattering insights on losing your mind.

Is it Just Me?

2005-12-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one who gets so consumed by the huge mass of things that must be done, aren't done, and won't be done at any time in the foreseeable future, that I feel like my head is going to fall off, my chest is going to explode (and no, not from my obscenely large breasts), and my computer is going to start laughing at me so hard that it pees in its pants? Is it just me, or are there others out there who feel like this?

Usually when I get to the home stretch in a book, things start flying. Not this time. Instead, I have a tube of superglue sitting on my desk so that I can stick my head back on my neck when it spins off and goes shooting out the window.

I. Am. Losing. My. Mind.

Or what little there was to begin with.

Poor Strategical Decision

2005-12-04T10:40:00.000-08:00

It is a really bad idea to read one of Christine Feehan's books while you are on the homestretch of your own book. Why? There is nothing like comparing your own work to that of a genius to make you feel horribly inadequate. Sigh.

Is this woman actually mortal?

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

2005-12-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

I just passed the 300 page mark on my WIP. I'm on the home stretch! Only 90 pages to go! YAHOO!!!!

An Agent's View: The Holiday Myth

2005-11-30T09:16:00.000-08:00

Literary agent Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency talks about publishing and the holidays.

"All I Want for Christmas are my...Publishing Contracts?"

Rumors. They are all around us in this industry.

"Did you hear that xxx has moved to xxx?"

"I heard that the xxx line has been dropped!"

"OMG, did you see that quote from xxx? I bet that means they are starting a new imprint..."

Some rumors can be helpful, while others just spread fear and simply are untrue.

As we sneak into December, two of my favorites pop up every year.

1) Don't submit ANYTHING in December. Editors and agents clear their desks before the first of the year and you're sure to be automatically rejected.

2) The publishing industry completely shuts down in December.

Wow - while a month long hiatus sounds nice (think of all the holiday baking and shopping I could get done during the day!), the publishing industry simply does not shut down in December. Not even close! In fact, every year I joke with editors when we discuss deals that I thought that we weren't even supposed to be working until January 2.

Truly, I've found the weeks between Thanksgiving and the holidays to be extremely busy. I've sold projects, negotiated contracts, worked on cover issues and have gotten requests during that time. Checks still come in, clients still send proposals, manuscripts still get edited, emails still get sent. In fact, it really is business as usual.

The difference? December just feels calmer. Maybe it's the Christmas music I blare (the Chipmunks are singing "Christmas Don't Be Late" as I type!) or the good mood cheer everywhere I go. Maybe it's the cold air or the white blowing snow. Whatever it is, it just makes me want to work!

As for automatic rejections and clearing off of the desks? I really don't buy into that either. I would never just reject to clean. In fact, what better time of year to find a gift? A terrific new project that is itching to be represented? It's like I have a stack of presents just waiting for me to open!

Seriously, December truly is like every other month - we still have deadlines and everyday business to contend with. But, don't you just feel that magical static in the air? I wish we could carry that good-will energy with us every other month of the year.

So, please keep writing. Keep submitting. And most of all, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

How Salad Dressing is like a Romance Novel

2005-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

I was in the grocery store today and I saw a salad dressing that the flavor was called "Goddess" and it had a really cool drawing of a woman on the label. I couldn't even tell what kind of dressing it was, but how could I turn down a salad dressing called Goddess? I couldn't. I bought it, and I knew it was destined for me. I would use the Goddess salad dressing every day for the rest of this book, and its power would help me prevail. I had found my muse!

Unfortunately, it was horrible.

I still can't get the taste out of my mouth. Blech.

Great marketing, though.

Just shows you what great packaging will do for sales.

Salad dressing: Great name, great label, I bought it even though I couldn't tell anything about the contents. Although it sucked and I won't buy it again, if it had been great, I would have been hooked for life. They got me to try it, and that's the first step.

Romance novel: Great title, great cover, great back cover copy, and you've got a sale. If your book sucks, they'll never trust your name again. If you suck them in, you've got a fan for life.

Hereth endeth the lesson on the similarities between salad dressing and romance novels.

Smooth Move of the Day

2005-11-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was rushing off to meet my dh for lunch. I loaded the dogs into the car, grabbed the car door and slammed it shut. Just as it shut, pain shot up my arm and I realized my finger was in the way, so I yanked it free so hard that my hand flew like a wild banshee and ricocheted into my lip. End result: smashed finger and big, fat, bloody lip.

I arrive at lunch.

dh: "Wow, what happened to your lip?"
Me: "Household accident."
dh: "What did you do?"
Me: "Slammed my hand in the car door and punched myself in the face."
dh (trying not to laugh): "Are you okay?"
Me: "No. Pity me."

Yeah, I am *so* cool.

The Power of Dreamers

2005-11-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

I saw this quote the other day and I thought it was awesome:

"The power of dreamers is that even when the world changes around them, they never stop."

It's such an amazing quote. It's one thing to have dreams, it's something else to fight for them, and it's yet another thing to keep fighting when circumstances change and make your dream more distant or screw it up, or force you to adjust your dream.

Never stop dreaming. Don't let the difficulties and vagaries of life keep you from dreaming and fighting for your dream. Life is never easy, but dreams are what give you the power to get up every morning and face whatever you have to face, because you have dreams and you believe in them.

There is so much that happens everyday to try to dissuade us from dreaming, or following our dreams, but each of us has the power within ourselves not to let ourselves be deterred.

I'm not giving up my dreams! What about you?

Line Edit Hell

2005-11-26T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is what line edit hell looks like! I can't figure out how to put numbers on my pictures, so I will just list, from left to right, the objects, and you can amuse yourself trying to figure out what is what.

1) All the pages on the far left: the publisher style sheets that came with the line edits, so I can see how they handled differnt types of works.

2) Back left: a three-pack of Pink Pearl erasers so I can keep changing my mind.

3) Next to the erasers: a package of color pencils because I have to do the line edits in pencil, but it has to be a different color that the one the copy editor used and the one my editor used.

4) At the base of the candlestick: trail mix, to give me stamina.

5) My unabridged American Heritage dictionary, so I can check and see if the copyeditor is correct when she changes my word choice or spelling. End tally: copyeditor: 27; author: 2 (but those two make it totally worthwhile to have looked everything else up!)

6) Big stack of paper in the middle? That's the ms that I haven't gone over yet. The yellow stickies are all the copy editor's questions about what drug I was on when I wrote that particular part.

7) The small stack to the left? That's the part I've already done. Sob.

8) My blue glasses case is on top of the small stack. Too many years on the computer and reading has turned me into a reading-glasses-users at age 36. Sigh.

9) Small, dark pink object to the right of the dictionary? That's my hand pencil sharpener for my color pencils. Damn thing kept breaking off the tips. Hate it.

10) Just below that is a stack of sticky notes, so I can write all my explanations for every change I make, in hopes that my changes will make it into the final manuscript. Please, please, please.

11) To the right of the sticky notes is my Ipod and speakers to keep me from falling asleep while I work.

12) Just below the Ipod is a red pencil. This is for writing back in the copyeditor's changes when I "accidentally" erase them.

13) Below the Ipod is the manual Warner send with the copy edits describing the entire production process and what my role is at each stage. It's awesome! I have it open to the list of proofreader marks so I can understand what the copyeditor is marking on my ms.

14) Big blue pillow on the back of the chair to support my back so I will still be able to walk when I finally stand up after hours of line edits.

15) My cell phone is in the middle of the dictionary, so I won't miss the call when Steven Spielburg calls to tell me he wants to direct a movie version of my book. So far, it hasn't rung.

He Said, She Said

2005-11-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

My dh forwarded me the below email. Not only is it funny in its own right, but it also represents what we, as romance authors, strive to do: show our men as men and show our women as women. I've taken workshops to learn the differences between how men and women think, act and talk, but the below sums it up so beautifully I had to post it. Enjoy!

HER DIARY

Tonight I thought he was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a bar
to have a drink. I was shopping with my friends all day long,so I thought
that he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no
comment.

Conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested we go somewhere quiet so we
could talk. He agreed but kept quiet and absent. I asked him what was
wrong; he said nothing. I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset.
He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry,

On the way home I told him that I loved him, he simply smiled and kept
driving. I can't explain his behavior; I don't know why he didn't say I
love you, too. When we got home I felt as if I had lost him; as if he
wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there and watched TV.
He seemed distant and absent.

Finally I decided to go to bed. About 10 minutes later he came to bed, and
to my surprise, he responded to my caress and we made love, but I still
felt that he was distracted and that his thoughts were somewhere else. He
fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his
thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.

HIS DIARY

Today the Cowboys lost, but at least I got laid!

A Writer's Thanksgiving List

2005-11-24T09:13:00.000-08:00

Twelve things I am thankful for (as a writer):

1) The fact that I have a working brain. This may sound odd, but without my mind, writing would be an impossibility.

2) That I have book contracts. I never take these for granted. Each one is an amazing gift.

3) The fact I have glasses that are the right prescription. Yeah, try working all day on the computer with the wrong prescription and see what kind of a headache you have. Been there. Done that. Next.

4) That I have two awesome dogs that hang out in my office with me all day. There's nothing like dropping to the floor in the throes of a frustrating scene, only to get copious amounts of sloppy puppy love to make the world seem better.

5) That I can wear sweatpants and fuzzy bedroom slippers to work everyday. I used to have these Godzilla slippers that roared whenever I took a step, but my dog though it was a real creature and tore them up. I'm sure he still thinks he saved my foot from being eaten by Godzilla.

6) That I have the best agent ever. I shudder to hear horror stories from authors about their agents, and I realize every day how lucky I am to have someone who supports me so completely.

7) That I have the freedom everyday to do what I want to do. No boss leaning over my shoulder. Just me. I work on Thanksgiving, but I can meet a friend for lunch any day I want to. Sometimes when I am shopping at ten in the morning, I still feel like I'm playing hooky from work, and someone is going to grab me by the collar and haul me back to the little cubicle that was my home for so many years.

8) That I have healthy hands, so I can type. For someone who spent 4 years unable to type due to hand/wrist/finger problems, I treasure the fact I can type again. There is nothing more frustrating that being kept from your dreams by something so small yet so huge, like not being able to type. If I ever get in a serious accident, I know the first thing I will try to protect are my hands.

9) That I have a dh who supports my writing, and who has health insurance. Not sure which trumps...JK. Ahem. Actually, he's cooking our contribution to Thanksgiving dinner today so I can write my page quota for the day. Need I say more? The guy rocks.

10) That I can be as strange as I want in public, and everyone simply chalks it up to creative genius. Little do they know... Me, eccentric? Never. The aspargus story? A total lie.

11) That I have a built in excuse whenever I want to avoid social engagements. (Friend: Want to come to my Tupperware party Sunday night? Me: I'd love to, but I have to write. Deadline. Friend: Oh, bummer. I can't believe how hard you work. You always seem to be working on weekends. Me: I know. Deadlines are killer. Hee, hee, hee. [Is it my fault my friend didn't ask exactly when that deadline was?]

12) I get to fantasize about hot men all the time, and I get paid for it. And no, it's not almost like being a prostitute by proxy...

ARGH!

2005-11-23T09:15:00.000-08:00

I'm 157 pages into MUST LOVE DRAGONS and there's something horribly wrong. I think the heroine is great. Her issues are great. She's hilarious. But my intriciate plot isn't working, and the hero is completely non-essential to the story right now. I mean, I could never mention him again and the book wouldn't change. ARGH! This books wants to be a female-focussed fantasy, not a paranormal romance. The conflict keeping them apart isn't working the way I thought it would. I mean, you'd think that two paranormal beings who are destined to be mortal enemies would be enough, wouldn't you? Maybe I'm just not doing a good enough job with the conflict. Not injecting enough emotions into it. I'm totally lost and oh-so-confused.

*sob*

Bored? Kill Someone.

2005-11-22T19:21:00.000-08:00

I'm written just over one third of MUST LOVE DRAGONS, and I was thinking that I needed some action. Something to kick some energy into the story. I didn't know what it was, and I kept writing, and suddenly one of the characters who was supposed to play a major role in this book just got accidentally killed at a booksigning-gone-wrong. How fun! Nothing like the death of a major character to throw your story outline into disarray!

A Calm Mind is an Efficient Mind

2005-11-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Last week, I was totally stressed about line edits and all my upcoming deadlines. On Saturday, I sat down to write and I had the worst time! I spent about six hours and I only wrote about 1/5 of what I would usually write in that time. And what I did write wasn't that strong. So, I gave up and spent the rest of the weekend doing line edits.

But then on Saturday night, I went to a Q&A with 4 professional athletes (runners) who have been to the Olympics. All of them said they run their best when they are calm and relaxed before a race. Why? Because their mind is clear, empty of conflict and distraction. The more there is going on in their mind, the less likely they will race well.

That made me think of a workshop I went to recently with a NYT bestselling author, who basically said the same thing: the brain is most efficient when it is calm. Example: if you are working on a problem and you can't get it figured out, the more time you spend on it, the more frustrated you get, and you STILL can't figure it out! So you give up, and then later, when you're not thinking about it, the answer comes to you.

Why? Because later, you weren't cluttering your mind with all this other stuff, like frustration and stress etc. And I realized that that's what I was doing to myself with my writing. I was so strung out and thinking about all these things I needed to do, that my mind was simply too busy to simply relax and create.

So, after taking yesterday off to regroup, I am sitting down today with a calm mind. I'm not going to worry about deadlines, or writing well, or anything like that. I'm simply going to focus on the story and enjoy the ride.

Anyone have a good book suggestion?

2005-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

On the excercise bike this morning, I finished off Charlaine Harris's new mystery hardcover. I love her Southern vampire series, but this new one just didn't quite have the same firepower, IMHO. Or maybe there is just something about vampires that makes me quiver with excitement. Yeah, that's probably it.

Anyhoodles, I am plum out of books to read! I'm jonesin' for some paranormals. Any suggestions? PS I'm already on the band wagon with Katie Mac, Kim Harrison, LKH, JR Ward, so no need to go there!