The HEA Cafe

I admit I have a weakness for werewolves, vampires and anything else that goes bump in the night. But I picked up a book recently that is completely different from what I normally read and - wow - I love it. It’s called The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory and, yes, I’m probably the last person on the planet to have read this book.

Instead of dark hunters, vampire brotherhoods and immortal highlanders, I’m reading about sisterly rivalry, court intrigue and a few beheadings. It’s so good - and different - that now I’m wondering how many other great books I’ve missed because they’re not in my usual genre.

Of course I can’t read everything. As it is, I burn through 2-3 books a week and my TBR (to be read) stack is probably about as tall as I am. But still, it’s hard to think about the one that got away.

So in an effort to topple my already wobbling TBR stack, I ask you this: Have you read anything recently that’s made you stop and take notice? If so, tell us about it. And if I slip your recommendation up on top of the TBR pile, I’ll even send you a cover flat of The Accidental Demon Slayer.

This past weekend, I visited a bookstore and asked the bookseller about their romance section and whether the store would be implementing the face-out program that another bookstore is allegedly planning on rolling out.

The bookseller responded in a cordial, pleasant manner, which is something I find all the time at most bookstores although I’ve heard horror stories from other authors. I’m not sure why my experiences are always positive, but they have been. However, I do admit that some experiences are more positive than others. But I digress. Once the bookseller and I had finished discussing the pros and cons of facing books out, I asked her if she read romance. An expression of “oh boy, here it comes” swept over the seller’s face as she semi-rolled her eyes at me and responded that she used to read romance more than ten years, but that she didn’t any longer.

So I grinned and said, “You know, romance has changed a lot since you read it last. The heroines aren’t wimps who let the hero do all the work. Women are portrayed as strong people and in a lot of cases they’re kick-ass heroines.”

I could tell she still wasn’t convinced because she sort of shrugged and indicated she preferred fantasy and sci-fi. I immediately remembered the line from one of my favorite movies, “Give me a word, and I can show you how the root of that word comes from the Greek language.” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding is one of my fav romantic comedies on DVD). It’s like that with romance writers. We cover EVERY genre, and there has to be someone she’ll enjoy reading. So I said, “oh you must love Linnea Sinclair since you like sci-fi.”

From that point forward, the bookseller was like candy in a child’s hand because she looked at me with a “Who?” expression. So I immediately flooded her with the names of authors I knew who wrote fantasy and sci-fi, and in between breaths I mentioned eBooks. She didn’t want anything to do with that, and I knew to hedge my bets. I just had to convert her to the wonders of sci-fi and fantasy romance and once we had her hooked, we could reel her in with the format type later. Seduction is a gradual process, not a wham bam, thank you ma’am act.

I proceeded to write down the names of sci-fi and fantasy romance writers I knew of and gave them to her. I also took down her email and promised to send her some information on a local sci-fi /fantasy conference coming to Richmond soon. When I left, the bookseller knew my name and even though she might not read my subgenre of romance, I’m betting she’ll remember me because I showed her that readers can find romance in whatever their favorite genre is.

IMHO, the key to breaking down barriers is to apply romance to something the other person likes or believes in. Will it always work? Nope, but it’s worth a shot because a) you might actually convert someone to the romance cause and b) at the very least you’ve made a positive impression on the bookseller and hopefully that will roll over to your benefit when your next book hits the shelves.

Monica

Monica Burns - http://www.monicaburns.com
Dangerous — Behind the mask lies love, a dangerous, deadly emotion
Come Enjoy a Paranormal with that Ahh…Sensation

I don’t know if any of you are guilty of this or not, but when I start tinkering with something, it’s hard to stop. Even when I dress my four-year-old daughter, I’m always adding a little headband or maybe a ribbon or adding a sweater. And yesterday, before sending galleys back to my publisher, I had to call Chessie, my critique partner, and quiz her about a single word. Do I scratch it out? Do I leave it in?

The kicker is, I don’t think our books will ever be as perfect as we want them to be. There will always be something to adjust, tweak, change or think about way too hard. To the point where I almost drove right past the UPS store last night and kept my galleys for one more day. After all, they’re not due until tomorrow. I could have overnighted them today. Taken one more look, thought more about that one word.

So how do you tame your “perfectionist” streak when it comes to your writing? Or do you? Does the same drive that makes us crazy also improve our work? Or do we just need to stop overthinking, stop the car and let our books go?

Not Trump, the entrepreneur. Maass, the agent.

My local RWA chapter–Southwest Florida Romance Writers–hosted Donald Maass for a one-day workshop a few weekends back. I’d read his Writing the Breakout Novel over a year ago and found it interesting and workable. But like many of you, I’ve read a lot of how-to write books. Maass’ was interesting and workable but nothing significantly new.

Still, a chance to see the man in action enticed me. I heard he does a good dog-and-pony. He does. He’s pithy, personable and dynamic. (He also has a New York sense of humor that worked fine with me but I think may have been a tad off-putting for some non-NY/NJ-ers in the audience.) I’ve also heard that if  you get one workable idea from any book or workshop you attend, it’s worth the money.

I did. He was.

His workable idea–for me–was this: after you finish writing your first draft manuscript, print it out, go to the middle of the largest area of open space in your house, and toss the pages in the air. All of them. Let them fall where they may. Then sit on the floor and read pages at random, adding tension to each and every page.

Sound nuts? I thought so too at first. But he’s dead-on. Reason being, we read our manuscripts in page by page order. Again and again, as we write the story. Our minds get attuned to upcoming conflict (because we put it there) and we may be assuming or reading in more tension than is actually written.

Reading the pages out of order confuzzles the writerly mind. It makes you look at each page as a stand-alone entity. It makes you examine each page to see if you have tension.

What’s tension? To The Donald, it’s emotion. It’s immersing the reader into what the character is fearing, wanting, lusting for.  “What is the most powerful emotion felt in this scene?” The Donald asked in his wry New York accent. “Build details around that emotion.”

Still thinks it’s crazy? The Donald purloined pages from trembling victims in the audience and read scenes out loud. Then he changed one or two things adding emotion. And gosh-golly-dang, if they didn’t come out that much stronger.

And here I thought I’d heard–and read–it all. I hadn’t. Give The Donald’s idea a toss. It works.

~Linnea

SHADES OF DARK, the sequel to Gabriel’s Ghost, coming July 2008 from RITA award-winning author, Linnea Sinclair, and Bantam Books: www.linneasinclair.com
 
Something cascaded lightly through me—a gentling, a suffused glow. If love could be morphed into a physical element, this would be it. It was strength and yet it was vulnerability. It was all-encompassing and yet it was freedom. It was a wall of protection. It was wings of trust and faith.
 
It was Gabriel Ross Sullivan, answering the questions I couldn’t ask. Not that everything would be okay, but that everything in his power would be done, and we’d face whatever outcomes there were together.

It’s my day to blog, and while I’d love to sit here and type fabulous and uplifting comments about writing and life in general, I can’t.  The Devil’s Daughter (pictured here) is due to be released in less than 2 months, and I’ve been furiously writing the sequel, Dancing with the Devil, due out in December.  I’m this close (picture me pinching my finger and thumb together) to finishing. . .I can smell it. . .and I’m consumed by that feeling of pushing through until it’s done.

Nothing else matters, not food, not drink, not the kids. . .LOL. . .okay, well, I’ll stop to feed and water them, but that’s it.  It’s full on until the last word is written, so please excuse me for doing a drop and run, but if I stop now, I’ll lose my momentum and then the next time I blog here, you’ll have to listen to me whine. 

:)

Here’s to happy endings!!