Allison Chase's Blog, page 6
September 7, 2010
I Do Declare!
The other night my daughter and a friend of mine got into a discussion about peer pressure, and my daughter said something very interesting. When she started high school years ago, (she's 22 now and in grad school), she declared, to herself and her friends, that she would never inhale anything, or do drugs of any kind. And because of that, she has never smoked cigarettes or pot, except for the occasional second hand smoke, or used any of those frightening drugs floating around our society. "Hurray!" I said to myself as my daughter and my friend continued their discussion. She went on to say that verbally stating her intentions, as opposed to quietly and privately making a decision, kept her from going back on her word. She'd set a public challenge for herself. Her friends would be watching to see if she would adhere to it, so part of that challenge became not wanting to be seen as a hypocrite. She'd found a way to make peer pressure work to her advantage.
Do I have a brilliant kid or what?
It's so true that when we set goals, it typically isn't enough to merely tell ourselves we're going to do such and such. Think of all the New Years resolutions that go by the wayside. Writing goals down is a bit more of a commitment, but still not binding if no one else ever sees your list. What's needed is a public declaration like my daughter's. Did you see Julie & Julia? The same principle was at work. Julia declared that she was going to write the first French cookbook for American women, and Julie not only declared that she was going to cook her way through every recipe in the book (I, too, would have dreaded deboning a duck!), but that she would blog about her experience with each dish. You can't make much more of a public declaration than blogging. The point is that each of them set extremely challenging goals for themselves, and each achieved them because of their level of commitment.
Writing has been like that for me. I fully believe that if I'd remained one of those closet writers who never tell anyone what they're doing or allow anyone read a word they write (oh, yes, that was me in the beginning), I'd never have been published. True, the benefits of venturing out of that closet have been the opportunities to network and critique and learn, but declaring my intention of becoming published meant that I had to try my hardest and not give up, at least not without a good fight. I'd never really thought about it in such plain terms but, like my daughter, I didn't want people thinking of me as a failure or a hypocrit. It provided the incentive I needed.
Have you ever used peer pressure to your advantage? Do share! What were you able to achieve because of it?
Tagged: goals, incentives, Peer pressure
August 22, 2010
NEW BOOK COVER!
OUTRAGEOUSLY YOURS
I'm so excited to finally be able to share my December cover! This, to date, is my most dressed hero. If you look to the right, you'll see that the heroes of the Blackheath Moor books were practically naked from the waist up. Very manly and muscular and exposed to the weather. I hope they didn't catch cold! Then for Most Eagerly Yours the shirt is open but a little more on him.
Now we actually have a coat with a bit of waistcoat peeking out the bottom. Yet Simon is still in a scandalous state of dishabille with his missing cravat and his shirt sprung shamelessly open. Ivy is taking it in stride, however. She may be innocent (although admittedly not so VERY innocent at this stage in the story) but she's certainly no retiring young miss.
Ivy is intelligent and purposeful in everything she does, and I think this is accurately conveyed by her expression. As she herself proclaims, even in passion she takes full responsibility for her actions. If she is going to BE kissed, it is because she has every intention of kissing back. It looks to me as if she might even be thinking about initiating a thing or two herself.
Who could blame her? I happen to think this is my sexiest cover so far. There's something about the cut of a well-tailored coat that enhances a man's best attributes – his shoulders, powerful chest, even his height. A good coat turns a man into a formidable wall of masculinity that a heroine can't help but want to melt against. You know in the next scene he'll sweep her up in his arms and carry her somewhere delightfully private. There will be plenty of time then for that coat to come off!
So what's sexier? An undressed man? A minimally dressed man? Or a man whose breeches, boots and dashing coat give a breathtaking promise of the sensuality lurking within?
(OK, I'll admit I worded that last question in a blatant attempt to skew the results.)
Tagged: book covers, Her Majesty's Secret Servants, new release, OUTRAGEOUSLY YOURS
