Allie Boniface's Blog, page 42
July 11, 2012
Writers' Wednesday: Does Length Really Matter?
So I'm spending this week finishing up a major revision to my novella Tequila Sunrise - only to have this nagging feeling that I haven't really "finished" it. Here's the thing: I'm not sure a novella-length is really my strong point. While in theory I like the shorter length (it isn't so intimidating to write lol), and I like reading some romance novellas, for me my story and characters end up under-developed. This is what I've been told by some of my beta readers, anyway, and maybe they're right.
My plan is to finish this one - it'll be "finished" at about 33K words and put it aside for a week or two. Then I'll try going back with fresh eyes and see if and where it needs to be developed.
Anyway, here's my question: if you're a reader, what's your favorite length story to read? Does it matter? And if you're a writer, what your preferred length story to write? Does that matter?
And just for kicks, here's my favorite few lines I wrote yesterday. Enjoy:
“Do you love her?”
Love. Hell of a terrifying four-letter word. He’d asked himself that question more times than he could count over the past few weeks, and the bottom line was, he didn’t know. He didn’t know what it was supposed to feel like. Like a punch in the gut? Like the comforting silence of a summer night? Hope crossed with fear, with a healthy dose of hormones tossed in? Depending on the day, he felt all that and then some, which seemed as though it could be love or maybe just insanity.
Maybe they weren’t that far apart.
My plan is to finish this one - it'll be "finished" at about 33K words and put it aside for a week or two. Then I'll try going back with fresh eyes and see if and where it needs to be developed.
Anyway, here's my question: if you're a reader, what's your favorite length story to read? Does it matter? And if you're a writer, what your preferred length story to write? Does that matter?
And just for kicks, here's my favorite few lines I wrote yesterday. Enjoy:
“Do you love her?”
Love. Hell of a terrifying four-letter word. He’d asked himself that question more times than he could count over the past few weeks, and the bottom line was, he didn’t know. He didn’t know what it was supposed to feel like. Like a punch in the gut? Like the comforting silence of a summer night? Hope crossed with fear, with a healthy dose of hormones tossed in? Depending on the day, he felt all that and then some, which seemed as though it could be love or maybe just insanity.
Maybe they weren’t that far apart.
July 9, 2012
Monday Mentionables: Back to Reality...
Happy July, everyone! I've returned from a long vacation (well, long for me - 2 weeks!) away from everything to do with work, writing, and social media. Hubby and I took a 10-day cruise in the Mediterranean, and it was beautiful! Had such a wonderful time just relaxing and taking in the sights. I'll be posting lots of pictures on my Facebook Fan Page later today, so if you're interested, stop by there and take a peek!
Also, the Great Print Book Giveaway is back in full swing, which means this Friday, July 13, I'll be announcing another 2 winners to choose any print book from my listed library for free!
Finally, I'm the "Sexy Host" (their words, not mine!) over at Coffee Time Romance's I'm Diggin forum for the month of July, and there are more books to win there if you post a comment in response to my weekly question. Plus, I'll feel less lonely if people are actually talking to me instead of just lurking there lol ;)
Have a wonderful Monday!
Also, the Great Print Book Giveaway is back in full swing, which means this Friday, July 13, I'll be announcing another 2 winners to choose any print book from my listed library for free!
Finally, I'm the "Sexy Host" (their words, not mine!) over at Coffee Time Romance's I'm Diggin forum for the month of July, and there are more books to win there if you post a comment in response to my weekly question. Plus, I'll feel less lonely if people are actually talking to me instead of just lurking there lol ;)
Have a wonderful Monday!
June 22, 2012
Friday Fun Facts: Winners and an Upcoming Trip!
Congratulations to this week's Great Print Book Giveaway winners: Melissa Keith and Skip Doodle! Pick your choice of books from my list here and they'll be in the mail ASAP!
Heads up, everyone: the Giveaway will be suspended for a couple of weeks while I'm out of town on vacation. Hubby and I are taking a trip to Italy (so excited!! pictures to follow when we return!), and I'll be away from most technology during that time.
BUT...Summer's Song will be listed for another Goodreads Giveaway beginning on July 1, so if you'd like to snag a signed copy, toss your name in the ring!
Happy summer...see you when we return!
Heads up, everyone: the Giveaway will be suspended for a couple of weeks while I'm out of town on vacation. Hubby and I are taking a trip to Italy (so excited!! pictures to follow when we return!), and I'll be away from most technology during that time.
BUT...Summer's Song will be listed for another Goodreads Giveaway beginning on July 1, so if you'd like to snag a signed copy, toss your name in the ring!
Happy summer...see you when we return!
June 20, 2012
Writers' Wednesday: Call for Submissions
Hey writers! Do you have a holiday-themed story that's looking for a publisher? Here's a call from Avon for upcoming novellas:
Avon Impulse is Avon Romance’s digital-first publishing program. The editors at Impulse are currently seeking 15,000 to 20,000 word novellas for the following themed collections:
Home for the Holidays — these sweet, romantic stories should center around the theme of being home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Stories must include at least one Thanksgiving-appropriate recipe. Quirky secondary characters, small town settings and a feeling of warmth, community and romance are welcome. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2012.
Five Golden Rings — these historical Christmas novellas will center around a ring. This can be a family heirloom, a fairy ring — any kind of ring. Any historical time period. These should be moderately sensual to sexy. Submit by August 1, 2012
New Year’s Eve and Other Disasters — submit your romantic story centered around surprising things happening on New Year’s Eve. These can be historical or contemporary and may be moderately to super-sexy. Submit your story by September 15.
Submit using Avon’s online form: (http://www.avonromance.com/impulse/).
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And here's a quick peek at some of what I wrote yesterday, a (very thorough) revision of Tequila Sunrise:
“Oh my God I need a drink.” She collapsed onto the couch.
“You were fantastic.” He offered her coffee, but she shook her head.
“Something stronger than that.” She stared at the television, where Brigitte sat alone on stage now, talking to her audience about some new line of cookware. “How did I look? Really?” She mashed her hands against her cheeks. “Fat?”
He joined her on the couch and took both hands in his. “Gorgeous.”
She stuck out her tongue. “Liar.”
“You gonna use that? Don’t tease me with it unless you are.”
At that, she smiled and relaxed into his embrace. “You’re awful.”
“Not what you said the other day.”
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. “I like you,” she said in a quiet voice. “Have I told you that?”
He ran one hand over her hair, surprised at the swell of happiness in his gut. “I like you too. A lot.”
Avon Impulse is Avon Romance’s digital-first publishing program. The editors at Impulse are currently seeking 15,000 to 20,000 word novellas for the following themed collections:
Home for the Holidays — these sweet, romantic stories should center around the theme of being home for the Thanksgiving holidays. Stories must include at least one Thanksgiving-appropriate recipe. Quirky secondary characters, small town settings and a feeling of warmth, community and romance are welcome. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2012.
Five Golden Rings — these historical Christmas novellas will center around a ring. This can be a family heirloom, a fairy ring — any kind of ring. Any historical time period. These should be moderately sensual to sexy. Submit by August 1, 2012
New Year’s Eve and Other Disasters — submit your romantic story centered around surprising things happening on New Year’s Eve. These can be historical or contemporary and may be moderately to super-sexy. Submit your story by September 15.
Submit using Avon’s online form: (http://www.avonromance.com/impulse/).
*******************************************************
And here's a quick peek at some of what I wrote yesterday, a (very thorough) revision of Tequila Sunrise:
“Oh my God I need a drink.” She collapsed onto the couch.
“You were fantastic.” He offered her coffee, but she shook her head.
“Something stronger than that.” She stared at the television, where Brigitte sat alone on stage now, talking to her audience about some new line of cookware. “How did I look? Really?” She mashed her hands against her cheeks. “Fat?”
He joined her on the couch and took both hands in his. “Gorgeous.”
She stuck out her tongue. “Liar.”
“You gonna use that? Don’t tease me with it unless you are.”
At that, she smiled and relaxed into his embrace. “You’re awful.”
“Not what you said the other day.”
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. “I like you,” she said in a quiet voice. “Have I told you that?”
He ran one hand over her hair, surprised at the swell of happiness in his gut. “I like you too. A lot.”
June 18, 2012
Monday Mentionables: I Need a Cough Remedy!
So I've been getting over a cold recently and dealing with the dreaded night-time cough, which drives me absolutely crazy! It's lasted a little over a week so far, and in my efforts to ease it, I've tried the following:
~sleeping on extra pillows
~sleeping with a humidifier next to me
~drinking tea with honey
~putting Vicks on the soles of my feet
~drinking lots of water
~taking a teaspoon of honey mixed with lemon juice
~sucking on cough drops
~taking doctor-prescribed medicine with codeine
~drinking a glass or two of wine before bed (not with the codeine lol)
Nothing has worked. The tea has come the closest. I know I'm on the mend (it gets a little better each night), I know my lungs are clear, and I know a cough is the body's way of clearing my airways. But I can only survive on 4 hours of sleep for so long! If anyone has other remedies I haven't tried, please please share them!
On the flip side, lying awake at night gives me lots of time to think about my plotline and my next story...
~sleeping on extra pillows
~sleeping with a humidifier next to me
~drinking tea with honey
~putting Vicks on the soles of my feet
~drinking lots of water
~taking a teaspoon of honey mixed with lemon juice
~sucking on cough drops
~taking doctor-prescribed medicine with codeine
~drinking a glass or two of wine before bed (not with the codeine lol)
Nothing has worked. The tea has come the closest. I know I'm on the mend (it gets a little better each night), I know my lungs are clear, and I know a cough is the body's way of clearing my airways. But I can only survive on 4 hours of sleep for so long! If anyone has other remedies I haven't tried, please please share them!
On the flip side, lying awake at night gives me lots of time to think about my plotline and my next story...
June 15, 2012
Friday Fun Facts: Great Print Book Giveaway Winners Announced!
Congrats to the winners of my weekly Great Print Book Giveaway: Diane Sallans and Chris L! Two more winners announced each week, and all you have to do is comment or chat or post about my giveaway! More info here, on the original post. Di and Chris, let me know your pics, and the books will be in the mail to you ASAP!
June 13, 2012
Writers' Wednesday: A Beginning and an End
So what's beginning today? My review of the audio files of Summer's Song - yes, that's right, it will be releasing in audio book format in early September, and the files arrived in my inbox yesterday ready to proof. Basically, this involves listening carefully to each chapter with the book in hand, and noting any errors and the time at which they occur. Then I send my notes back to the editor, who has the narrator do retakes. I have to say, there is something so cool about hearing your words read out loud by someone else. Though the listening process is a little tedious, I'm looking forward to it :)
Want to know more about the whole audio book process? I'm blogging about it in a 3-part series this summer/fall over at Savvy Authors. I'll let you know when those posts are up.
And what's ending? This school year, since I'm a high school teacher in my day-time, real-world job. Yesterday was the last day with students, which is always bittersweet. Lots of food, games, goodbyes, yearbook signings, gift giving, and general reflection on the year. How is it possible that each seems to go faster than the last?
Want to know more about the whole audio book process? I'm blogging about it in a 3-part series this summer/fall over at Savvy Authors. I'll let you know when those posts are up.
And what's ending? This school year, since I'm a high school teacher in my day-time, real-world job. Yesterday was the last day with students, which is always bittersweet. Lots of food, games, goodbyes, yearbook signings, gift giving, and general reflection on the year. How is it possible that each seems to go faster than the last?
June 11, 2012
Monday Mentionables: A Writers' Meeting in Review
So over the weekend I attended my local RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter meeting. I've been a member for about 5 years, though I attend meetings with sporadic attendance. This year I've vowed to be better - because really, it's both comforting and inspiring to be in the company of fellow romance writers.
So how does a meeting shape up for us? Well, we spend about the first 1/2 hour or so socializing & catching up, since most of us don't see each other, or sometimes even talk online, in between meetings. You know, who's recovering from a cold, who adopted new kittens, whose dishwasher is on the fritz...that sort of thing.
Then we discuss Old Business (this time, it was the items we donated to the Brenda Novak Auction) and New Business (Wendy Felter of Red Rose Publishing will be coming to our July meeting and taking pitches!).
Next comes the "Round Up" - who's working on what, who's submitted what, who's sold what. A lot of us are actively revising stories, or in the middle of projects, so there wasn't a lot of sales news this time around, but that's OK. I will proudly say that we have quite a prolific chapter, with a good number of our members published in various genres and with various publishers, so like I said, it's inspiring to be around :)
And finally, we wrap up with people reading 5 pages of their current WIP. This is optional, though I've always found it quite valuable (once you get past the initial awkwardness of reading your writing out loud). We go around the table and everyone gives feedback. It's interesting to hear what certain people pick up on.
Every June we go to lunch together after the meeting, so this time we enjoyed some yummy food along with some non-writing related conversation. Among the topics discussed: domestic vs. foreign cars; the pros and cons of owning an iguana; naming cats; single motherhood; and the price of tattoos. I kid you not.
Happy Monday!
So how does a meeting shape up for us? Well, we spend about the first 1/2 hour or so socializing & catching up, since most of us don't see each other, or sometimes even talk online, in between meetings. You know, who's recovering from a cold, who adopted new kittens, whose dishwasher is on the fritz...that sort of thing.
Then we discuss Old Business (this time, it was the items we donated to the Brenda Novak Auction) and New Business (Wendy Felter of Red Rose Publishing will be coming to our July meeting and taking pitches!).
Next comes the "Round Up" - who's working on what, who's submitted what, who's sold what. A lot of us are actively revising stories, or in the middle of projects, so there wasn't a lot of sales news this time around, but that's OK. I will proudly say that we have quite a prolific chapter, with a good number of our members published in various genres and with various publishers, so like I said, it's inspiring to be around :)
And finally, we wrap up with people reading 5 pages of their current WIP. This is optional, though I've always found it quite valuable (once you get past the initial awkwardness of reading your writing out loud). We go around the table and everyone gives feedback. It's interesting to hear what certain people pick up on.
Every June we go to lunch together after the meeting, so this time we enjoyed some yummy food along with some non-writing related conversation. Among the topics discussed: domestic vs. foreign cars; the pros and cons of owning an iguana; naming cats; single motherhood; and the price of tattoos. I kid you not.
Happy Monday!
June 8, 2012
Friday Fun Facts
It's the end of another week of the Great Print Book Giveaway! Later tonight I'll share the names of the 2 people who have won their choice of books from my list. Love sharing the wealth!
Speaking of wealth, in numbers anyway, a total of 788 people entered my week-long Goodreads Giveaway for Summer's Song. Not too bad! I'm thinking of sending follow-up messages to those who entered who specifically list my genre on their reading preferences (I think some people just enter every giveaway, no matter what) - and I may offer a few ebook copies of Summer's Song if people seem interested. I'll also, of course, direct them to my blog and website. Always a good way to get a few more readers and followers! I do have to figure out a time-efficient way to do this, though, since it will involve sending individual messages and even if I only write to half those who entered, well, that's a lot!
In other news, I'm about 13K words through my revision of Tequila Sunrise. Making some major changes but the characters are cooperating so far, which is always a good thing~
Local RWA chapter meeting tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to. Always nice to chat with fellow authors and be inspired anew!
Speaking of wealth, in numbers anyway, a total of 788 people entered my week-long Goodreads Giveaway for Summer's Song. Not too bad! I'm thinking of sending follow-up messages to those who entered who specifically list my genre on their reading preferences (I think some people just enter every giveaway, no matter what) - and I may offer a few ebook copies of Summer's Song if people seem interested. I'll also, of course, direct them to my blog and website. Always a good way to get a few more readers and followers! I do have to figure out a time-efficient way to do this, though, since it will involve sending individual messages and even if I only write to half those who entered, well, that's a lot!
In other news, I'm about 13K words through my revision of Tequila Sunrise. Making some major changes but the characters are cooperating so far, which is always a good thing~
Local RWA chapter meeting tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to. Always nice to chat with fellow authors and be inspired anew!
June 6, 2012
Writers' Wednesday: Pitch Results & What's Being Requested
The results are in from Romance University's pitch session with Entangled Publishing last week, and I'm thrilled to say that one of their managing editors requested both novellas I pitched, SEX ON THE BEACH & TEQUILA SUNRISE! Very exciting :)
I think about half the pitches received requests from the Entangled editors, which is great news. I scanned the other posts to see which kind of works were requested (and which weren't). In a nutshell here are the results:
~Most commonly requested material: single-title full-length (above 75K) contemporaries, romantic suspense, a couple time travel romances, and a few historicals; category-length (50K-70K) contemporaries; and a few YA romances (Young Adult).
~Some reasons that material wasn't requested: Heroine was a teenager battling Lucifer (tough for her to win...); they had just acquired a story with a rock star heroine and didn't feel they could take another; they had just acquired a military romance series and didn't feel they could take another; pitch didn't follow the guidelines (longer than 3-5 sentences); heroine was sleeping around to try and get pregnant; the story started in the wrong place; too much telling and not enough showing; no editors were looking for a shape-shifter story; didn't want a story with the main character "waking up"; a 20-year age gap between H/H was too much; the person had already pitched the story before; writing "not strong enough."
Hope you find these results interesting - I know I did. If you're an author, definitely keep your eyes out for online pitch sessions. They are great ways to get past the email slush pile and get a fairly quick response to your query and sample pages. I'll mention one: Savvy Authors often has pitch sessions with both agents and editors - there are a few coming up this summer, and here's the link.
Good luck pitching, and keep on writing!
I think about half the pitches received requests from the Entangled editors, which is great news. I scanned the other posts to see which kind of works were requested (and which weren't). In a nutshell here are the results:
~Most commonly requested material: single-title full-length (above 75K) contemporaries, romantic suspense, a couple time travel romances, and a few historicals; category-length (50K-70K) contemporaries; and a few YA romances (Young Adult).
~Some reasons that material wasn't requested: Heroine was a teenager battling Lucifer (tough for her to win...); they had just acquired a story with a rock star heroine and didn't feel they could take another; they had just acquired a military romance series and didn't feel they could take another; pitch didn't follow the guidelines (longer than 3-5 sentences); heroine was sleeping around to try and get pregnant; the story started in the wrong place; too much telling and not enough showing; no editors were looking for a shape-shifter story; didn't want a story with the main character "waking up"; a 20-year age gap between H/H was too much; the person had already pitched the story before; writing "not strong enough."
Hope you find these results interesting - I know I did. If you're an author, definitely keep your eyes out for online pitch sessions. They are great ways to get past the email slush pile and get a fairly quick response to your query and sample pages. I'll mention one: Savvy Authors often has pitch sessions with both agents and editors - there are a few coming up this summer, and here's the link.
Good luck pitching, and keep on writing!
