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.

So, here it is the 26th of the month and I’m right on time (if you don’t count that it’s late in the day) with my monthly post on motivation.

I was having a chat today on IM with RWA Online member (and my American Title sister) Michele Ann Young, and we were talking about throwing away words. Pages and pages of words. And it occurred to me, that no matter how sad and useless that always seems (and how much we rail against it) it’s okay to do that because writing is never wasted. Even when we’ve spent three days on a chapter that no longer has any use, or two years on a book that will never see the light of day, as frustrating as this can be, writing isn’t wasted.

It all goes back to something one of my professors said in college. He was a history professor and a bestselling published writer (not a common combination to be sure) who had written the book Nine Hours to Rama. (You might remember the movie they made out of it.)

I remember asking him for advice one day. It was the usual question from a young and impatient novice, something in the vein of “how do you write a book?” But his answer was gold. At the time, I thought he wasn’t taking me seriously. Finally, all the how-to books later, all the workshops later, all the critiques later, all these years later I understand the wisdom of his advice.

“Well,” he said, “you have to write a million words.”

So go forth and write.

Gina
—–
The Raven’s Revenge coming out in print in June!
From The Wild Rose Press
(and it only took about 1.1M words to get there)

I’m re-reading The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron’s excellent guide to discovering and recovering your creative self. Right now I’m up to the part in the book where she talks about poisonous playmates - those people who try to keep us from our creative path and sabotage our efforts at self-improvement. 

Now I’m not sure I have any such playmates, as my husband is supportive in the extreme and I have a wonderful circle of friends both writers and non-writers. The writers are amazing and the non-writers are equally incredible. The latter listen to me rattle on about my characters and plots, and often join in brainstorming sessions to help me clarify any problems I’m having with the current WIP. So who are my poisonous playmates? Do I actually have any?

The answer is yes. I do. I have one - the most pernicious and dangerous of playmates. She encourages me to play when I should be working and throws in any distraction she can find. She makes me drink coffee, eat chocolate, phone friends, watch soaps on the TV and generally waste time, when really I should be writing.  She manipulates and procrastinates. She’s the sort of friend I can do without.

She’s me, of course, or rather she’s the sum total of everything negative about me. Those parts of the psyche that deal in doubt and fear. Those parts that worry about being good enough, so retaliates by not bothering to be good at all. 

Julia Cameron says that poisonous, or toxic, playmates can capsize our artist’s growth. Isn’t that the scariest thing?  Far better to embrace the positive playmate, the one who supports us and says we can do it, the one who challenges us to grow and learn, who says we can make mistakes as long as we keep on keeping on. Now that’s the kind of playmate I want. How about you?

Tricia

http://www.tricia-jones.com
… sensual and seductive romance

It’s the silly season again, which means conventions and conferences are in full bloom. But there is none more silly, nor more worthwhile, than the Romantic Times BOOKlover’s Convention. And no, it’s not the cover models. It’s the readers. The booksellers. The chance to connect in person with authors you’ve only emailed over the years. It’s the readers.

Okay, the cover models help.

I directly credit RT for my career. I directly credit them with putting this then-small/e-press author in touch with NY authors, who in their delightful generosity, inquired as to my career and how they could help.

Okay, it was Robin Owens. Mega-smoochies to an author who is not only a superb storyteller but one class act. Without Robin’s intervention (it was over drinks in the bar–why does that NOT surprise anyone?) I’d not be a happy Bantam author today.

But it’s also Cathy Clamp and Susan Grant. J.C. Wilder (Gawd, I love that woman!) and Janet Miller. Colby Hodge. Isabo Kelly. Susan Kearney. Catherine Asaro. Bonnie Vanak. CT Adams, Rowena Cherry and Stacey Klemstein. Liddy Midnight, Denise Agnew, Lynne Connolly, Cindy Dees and Rae Monet. Christina Skye, Jade Lee… the list is endless. Do you notice the mix of NY and small pressies? Ain’t that great?

RT is an author- and reader-fest. Egos are left outside and butterscotch martinis make dozens of friends. To me, it’s simply the best party on the planet.

This year marks author Lisa Shearin’s first RT. (What? You haven’t read her? Get thee to a bookstore!) Ann Aguirre will also be on my Science Fiction and Fantasy Romance panel. Her Grimspace will knock your readerly socks off.

Wednesday at 3:30pm is the (second) opening of my Intergalactic Bar & Grille. Bigger and better than last year. Ever wanted to be in the cantina scene in Star Wars? Don’t miss this party.

My flight heads out Sunday morning as, along with Stacey Klemstein, I’m teaching several workshops at the pre-con writer track. If you’re there, come say hey. If you’re not, mark your calendar for next year’s RT in Orlando.

It only gets better.

~Linnea

Linnea Sinclair
www.linneasinclair.com 
RITA(c) Award Winning SF Romance from Bantam Spectra
2007-08: GAMES OF COMMAND,  THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES, SHADES OF DARK 

Coming 2009: HOPE’S FOLLY

I’m not as far along as I’d like with my WIP (Work in Progress) because I sent a partial to my agent, and he sent back a note saying, essentially, “Kill the backstory and start with someone bleeding.”

When I saw this I slapped myself upside the head and said “D’oh!” because it took me back some years to when I worked in news. I’ve been a news reporter, radio news anchor, radio news director and producer of the local TV news. There’s a nasty little saying in broadcasting: “If it bleeds, it leads.” This means if you have a shooting, horrific accident or tornado, it goes at the top of the newscast. In a newspaper, it’s called “Over the fold”.

There’s a reason for this: You want to grab peoples’ attention and hold it. A story about the proposed tax hike is important to everyone in the county, but it’s a snoozefest–unless you can tie it to some poor schlub who’s going to lose the little hardscrabble piece of land his family’s owned since they settled it before the Civil War. That’s exciting! That grabs attention! It tugs at your heart-strings!

It’s just like the first and most basic rule of newsgathering: “Dog bites man isn’t news. Man bites dog is.” Get the reader’s attention by showing them something they’re not expecting. The ordinary isn’t news, the out-of-the-ordinary is news. One of my best journalism professors would snidely scrawl “So what?” in red ink across my news stories if all the facts were correct, but the story was b-o-r-i-n-g.

And he was right. It’s the same thing with writing your novel. “Make someone bleed!” is good advice. Don’t get sucked into loading your backstory up front because your reader 1. Likely doesn’t need as much information as you think she needs and 2. You can work it into the story down the road. Make the reader ask “What? How did she get onto a pirate ship? How’s she going to stay alive on a pirate ship? Is that guy going to die?”

They’ll keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. You can always insert details of her terrible childhood later. Think about all the exciting books you’ve read, the ones that kept you up past your bedtime ‘cause you had to find out what happened next–if you can hook ‘em at the beginning and keep the excitement rolling, the reader will stay along for the full ride.