Allie Boniface's Blog, page 39

Monday Mentionables: Who's Your Skeptic?

I was talking to a writer friend of mine over the weekend, and our conversation inevitably turned to those sticky moments in a story when you know that what you're writing might not be entirely believable to the reader, but you really need the plot to go in a certain direction, so you hope your reader will suspend disbelief long enough for you to get there.

Sound familiar?

Sometimes it works; sometimes readers aren't that patient. I took an online workshop over the summer that addressed that problem in a great way, though: make sure you have a minor character who works as the "skeptic" in your story.

Simply put, have a minor character voice the doubts you know your reader will be having at any given point. Know your main character shouldn't fly to Iceland after his estranged girlfriend without a plan? Have his best friend tell him all the reasons he's being an idiot for getting on that plane. Know your reader will wonder why the heroine is letting a stranger into her apartment when three other women in the apartment complex have been killed? Have her mother tell her so over the phone (right before calling the police because her daughter's clearly lost all rational thought).

Those skeptical comments from other characters in the story will signal to your reader that you as the author are still in control of this story. You've put your characters in questionable situations, yes, BUT never fear: all will turn out well, and you know exactly where you're going with your plot.

I really connected with this piece of advice when I heard it; it made a lot of sense. And it's already saved me with a couple of plot problems in my current WIP. Try it; add it to your arsenal for those times you write yourself into a situation that seems questionable even to you ;)

Happy writing!

Friday Fun Facts: News for Writers

Hey writers, here are two links for you to check out today:

The Romance Studio is holding a blow-out Columbus Day sale: Buy One Get Four Free! Yes, Four . Looking for some advertising at really reasonable prices? Click here for more information.

America's Next Author is a writing contest judged by the online public (and some industry professional judges too). The prize? $5,000. More info here.

Happy writing, and happy weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: Best First Chapter Contest!!

Thanks to everyone who voted in D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapter" contest! My novel Summer's Song tied for Best First Chapter of August!

And if you'd like to hear part of that first chapter, go right on over here to Audible, where you can get a sneak peek!

Monday Mentionables: Favorite Covers, Favorite Lines

Hmmm....what's mentionable in the world of my writing today? Well, I did finish proofing the audio files for One Night in Napa over the weekend - and the coolest thing about that was that I didn't want to stop listening. I love that story :)

I also love that cover:

I also finally had a chance to dig myself out from under a ton of student paperwork and do some writing of my own. I'm back at work on the sequel to Beacon of Love, starting  at the beginning with some major changes needed, but I did work my way through 3 chapters. So I'm feeling as though I accomplished something!

Favorite lines from what I wrote this weekend:


Waverly breathed deeply, and that's when she saw it. A small wooden cross, faded with weather and years, sat embedded in the ground near her feet. She kneeled. No words, no writing at all. Was that for us? She touched it and waited for a jolt of memory to shock her. It didn't. She closed her eyes, and her chest ached at the emptiness. She'd never realized that the loss of memory, even a horrible one, was a loss all the same.
Happy Monday, everyone!

Friday Fun Facts: Small Town Charm

Happy Friday! I'm so swamped with school work I can barely breathe these days...Septembers seem to get crazier every year. Still, I try to take a moment or two each day to tear my mind away from work - and yesterday as I was leaving school, I happened to catch sight of this:



They waited patiently for the light to change, then turned onto Main Street. I love the rush of city life, but oh yes there is something about small towns that absolutely charms the heart :)

Enjoy your weekend!

Writers' Wednesday: Call for Submissions from Lyrical Press

Hello all writers! One of my publishers, Lyrical Press, has just announced the opening of 4 new lines, and they're seeking submissions for all of them! Here's the skinny:

Embrace• Fresh take on popular contemporary romance tropes.• 40,000 – 70,000 words• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Enemies to Lovers, Boss/Employee to Lovers, Reformed Rake, Millionaire Playboy, The Love Triangle.• Engaging hero. Alpha male preferred. • Believable, relatable and likable heroine. • Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.• Erotic romance will not be considered for Embrace.• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.• Please include Embrace in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email. Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.htmlPlease submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com
 Once Upon• Erotic twist on fairytales, myths, legends and folklore.• 30,000 – 95,000 words• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus• Alpha males are a must.• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.• Erotic romance welcome for Once Upon• Digital only.• Please include Once Upon in the subject line of your query, and word count, fairytale, myth, legend, or folklore used in the body of your email.
Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.htmlPlease submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com
 Hometown Heroes• Fresh take on small town contemporary romance.• 40,000 – 70,000 words• Tropes considered, but are not limited to: Best friend’s sibling…all grown up, Childhood enemies to lovers, The bad-boy next door, Just came to town.• Engaging hero. Beta heroes welcome.• Believable, relatable and likable heroine. • Heat level can range from sweet to spicy.• Erotic romance will not be considered for Hometown Heroes.• Digital. Print option based on digital sales.• Please include Hometown Heroes in the subject line of your query, word count and trope used in the body of your email.
 Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.htmlPlease submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com
 Vintage• Modern take on retro-style period romance.• 40,000 – 95,000 words• Authors we love: Johanna Lindsey. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Julie Garwood, Rosemary Rogers)• Periods considered: Regency, Viking, Victorian, Medieval, Tudor, Pirate, Western, Native American.• Tortured hero/heroine is always a plus• Alpha males are a must.• Heat level can range from sensual to red-hot.• Erotic romance welcome for Vintage.• Digital and print.• Please include Vintage in the subject line of your query, word count and period used in the body of your email. Detailed submission guidelines here: http://www.lyricalpress.com/submissions.htmlPlease submit to: submissions@lyricalpress.com
 
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Monday Mentionables: Avoid the "Threes"

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” (Ernest Hemingway)

Have you ever heard that expression, "Bad things happen in threes?" I actually looked up the origin, and here's what I found: This is a well-attested folk superstition on both sides of the Atlantic: [1891 Notes & Queries 7th Ser. XII. 489] . It does seem to happen that way, doesn't it? We twist our ankle going downstairs, run out of gas on the way to work, and then wait for the third lousy occurrence to happen later that day, whether it's dropping lunch on the floor, losing a client to a competitor, or even missing the elevator so that we're late to our favorite class at the gym.

Consider this: A sequence of threes is not a good thing in writing either. I've been spending the last couple of weeks proofing the audio files for my books One Night in Boston (my first) and One Night in Napa(my fourth). Both are coming out as audio books in early 2013 within a few weeks of each other, just sort of the way the timing worked out with the narrators. First off, I'll say that it's interesting to revisit books I haven't read through in years. Interesting and cool, too. It's also obvious that my writing has grown since that first book, most notably in my reliance (or lack of reliance these days) on the use of series of threes:
"I need that list. I need a map of Boston. I need to find out if anyone named Dillon Murphy is listed in the phone book." "He should have known better. He should have waited for Sam to leave. He should have locked the door behind his friend."

"What do you need to say? That you're going to whisk her away from her life? That you're still in love with her? That everything will be just like it was back in college?"
See? After awhile this pattern of threes becomes sort of like the adage's "bad things" - you want to avoid it. So for newer writers, especially, keep an eye out. Do you fall into patterns, like the use of a series of threes in your descriptions? Consider cutting and varying those patterns whenever you can. I found that there are hardly any in One Night in Napa, and I do think it's better for that.
It's cool to see your own writing mature over the years and over the books...so soldier on, fellow writers! Keep writing and keep learning :)

Friday Fun Facts: I'm up for "Best of "August"!

Happy Friday, readers! My first chapters and book covers that were featured over at D. Renee Bagby's "First Chapter" blog are now up for "Best of..." voting for the month of August. I'd love for you to help me win bragging rights!

The poll is right here (and hey, if you don't feel like reading all those chapters, maybe possibly you could just vote for one of my covers? Please? I do love them...and I have a few in the running).

Please share the news with your followers too - it's always nice to gain a little recognition in that big bad publishing and marketing world!

Writers' Wednesday:Another Place to Promote

Hey fellow writers, just a quick mention for a possible promo avenue: Affaire deCoeure magazine is actively soliciting writers to participate in a variety of advertising options. Looks like they have both online and print options, for pretty reasonable prices, so you might want to check it out.

Also, Samhain Publishing is looking for readers!! Want to receive their newsletter? Sign up by clicking here. Though I haven't published with them in a while, I still stand by the quality of their product. If you're looking for a good read, Samhain is a great place to start.

Happy reading!

Monday Mentionables: What Does Your Place Say About You?

“I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope..."
(Meredith Grey)

Well, it's Monday of a 3-day weekend here in downstate New York, since the local schools observe Rosh Hashanah. I had never gotten Jewish holidays off from school before I moved here. Nor had I gotten 2-hour delays (in the event that weather is bad in the morning but improves so that the roads can be cleared) or, to be honest, snow days to speak of. I grew up in an area of NY where winter comes...and comes...and comes. If they closed school because of a few inches (or feet) of snow, we'd be going to school in July. So snowplows go out at 3 in the morning to make sure the roads are clear for the schoolbuses a few hours later. Actually, I have a very clear memory as a child of hearing the plows out on the roads before dawn, on a regular basis from December to March.

Here? They don't really clear the roads - not until the snow stops, anyway. And schools tend to close if there's even a hint of bad weather in the forecast. All depends on perspective, I guess. And I'm not really sure where I'm even going with thisblog post except that I find it interesting how we can be so shaped by the places where we grow up. When I was revising my novel One Night in Napa, my editor said to me, as I was cutting out parts of one chapter, "Please don't touch the paragraph on page....."

These are those lines she wanted me to keep:

"...Did children who lived in the shadows of a mountain range spend their earliest days looking up, dreaming, watching the clouds make shapes? If you moved those same children to a seaside home, would they lose that distant vision? Would they start looking out rather than up, or develop a rhythmic gait that matched the waves they slept and woke to? Did growing up inside a city of skyscrapers create tunnel vision from the day you were born? Or did living your earliest years inside gated walls mean that you looked at the world in fragments, in sliced-up pieces, so that you could never see the whole of something for what it truly was?"

I do truly believe in that influence of place on a person, and it's something for writers to consider as well. Where do your characters hail from? What does that say about them?

I'll be spending Rosh Hashanah not at school, thinking about it and working on my next project. Happy writing!