Lisa Marie Wilkinson's Blog

A Personal Experience with Grief and Acceptance

To be completely honest, I have not created a blog in such a long time that I'm almost embarrassed to create one now. I even had a challenge remembering my log in credentials so that I could access my blog, but I guess when one is determined, one does what one must.

Life sometimes throws curveballs at us—some we can see by glancing far down the field and seeing that the pitcher is warming up, and others that you cannot anticipate because the speculation is so dark and terrible that you don't want to go there, not even in your imagination.

The loss of loved ones and the accompanying grief is terrible for most of us. In the last few years, I've had a couple of curveballs thrown at me: one I saw coming (the death of an aging parent), and one that embodied a scenario I could not have anticipated. I lost my Mom on New Years' Day in 2015 after a short illness and a blessedly long happy life. Prior to that, my only sister and best friend Christina went through all the terrors that can consume the life of a person afflicted with diabetes, from amputation to kidney failure to a year and a half in a nursing home where she had to learn to accept that she would not ever be well enough to come home.

It's very sobering to watch a beloved sibling who is still years away from an acceptable retirement age be forced to exchange a job she loved for a meager disability income and a bed in a facility where she first entered as a patient in the rehabilitation wing but drew her last breath in the hospice ward of the same facility.

Chris had always had a sort of cavalier attitude about being a diabetic. She didn't follow her doctor's advice and she played Russian roulette with her medications. After things had progressed to the point where she lost her left leg to the disease, I remember her telling me (still in that same calm manner she always had) that what was happening to her was her own fault because she had ignored all advice with the foolish assumption that she would somehow be exempt from the complications of the disease. She said she hoped people who knew her and were also diabetic would take the lesson to heart.

Chris passed away on July 9th, 2012 and I have her ashes sitting in a beautiful container on top of the entertainment center in my living room. She loved all forms of entertainment: music, movies, books, video games…you name it, so I feel her place of honor there is appropriate.

Now that I've brought up books (see how slyly I slipped in that reference?), one of the things Chris loved most was reading books. Especially ones written by her "little" sister Lisa Marie (yours truly). Chris was an endless source of inspiration because when I'd give her a chapter of my WIP to read, she'd always be so lavish in her praise and enthusiasm that I'd work twice as hard to deliver that next installment knowing my greatest "fan" was waiting to read it.

Her enthusiasm drove me forward and I'd published two award-winning, historical romance novels by the time her health began to fail. I had started on a third novel, entitled "The Red Parrot" and Chris had read the first few chapters and declared it my best work so far. When she passed away, my interest in finishing the book faded, and it has taken me time and reflection to realize that she had always provided the greatest incentive to me to keep writing. I had to hurry up and finish the chapter because Chris wanted to know what happened next!

So, I'm writing this blog now because I'm working on The Red Parrot again, and I have some news to share that would have thrilled my sister. The writing is going slow, but the urge to finish the story has returned, and in recent months I've started entering portions of the work in various writing competitions that offer judge feedback from editors, agents, and other published authors. My goal was to enter a few of the higher profile contests where the competition is fierce but the feedback is useful because I was curious to learn how the story would be received.

I've had calls this week from the Georgia RWA Maggie Award of Excellence contest coordinator and from the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest informing me that my entry is a finalist in both competitions.

Prior to this latest news, The Red Parrot had finaled and/or won in several other competitions:

The West Houston RWA Emily

MORWA Gateway to the Best



















Windy City RWA Four Seasons Contest







I can picture Chris giving me a thumbs-up and a proud "You go, girl!" and I think it's a healthy step forward to realize that grief does not have a beginning and an end. It is always going to be a living thing inside me, tamed by the embrace of those precious memories that will always be with me.

Grief  is not something that comes with a recovery period, it is more a matter of adapting and accepting how it has changed us and given us a new appreciation for the people who once enriched our lives and continue to do so when we remember them.

Stolen Promise Free on Kindle through September 7th!!!

My publisher, Medallion Press, has made it possible to offer my award winning, Gypsy-themed historical adventure romance novel, "Stolen Promise" as a free e-book for a limited time, from September 2 through September 7. After 9/7, Stolen Promise will be available for $.99 for a limited time.

Visit my website to view the trailer and read an excerpt!


Click here for the Amazon Kindle Listing
There is no better opportunity for a writer to find new readers, so if you like historical romance, please check it out and I hope you enjoy the book!



Lisa Marie

Fire at Midnight Free E-book Until July 15th!

My publisher, Medallion Press, has made it possible to offer my IPPY gold medal award winning historical adventure romance novel, "Fire at Midnight" as a free e-book for a limited time in July.

"Fire at Midnight" was my debut novel and it is escapist fiction intended to entertain...the perfect summer beach read!

Visit my website to view the trailer and read an excerpt!


Click here for the Amazon Kindle Listing

Click here for the Nook Version

There is no better opportunity for a writer to find new readers, so if you like historical romance, please check it out and I hope you enjoy the book!



Lisa Marie

Free E-Books During December!!!

I'm thrilled to share the news that my publisher, Medallion Press, has arranged through their distributor to offer my award-winning historical adventure-romance novels as free e-book offerings during the month of December. 

From December 1 through December 15, Stolen Promise will be free on Kindle, Nook and Sony E-reader as well as Itunes.



From December 15 through December 31, Fire at Midnight will be free on Kindle, Nook and Sony E-reader as well as Itunes.




Visit my website to read excerpts from both books!





Lisa Marie

Blue Collar Fifty Shades of Grey?

There has been such a fuss over the immense success of the trilogy of erotic novels beginning with “Fifty Shades of Grey,” that my curiosity was piqued and I downloaded the trio to my Kindle so that I could decide its merits—or lack thereof—for myself. To date, I’ve read the first novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” and I’ve nearly finished the second book, “Fifty Shades Darker.”


I’m not going to jump on the pro or con bandwagon or delve into any deep philosophical rumination with regard to this work. The whole “domination/submission” thing has been discussed ad infinitum (some might say ad nauseum) on Amazon, Goodreads, and even on the romance website “All About Romance,” which is considered the tour guide for romance fans looking for the next trendy property to read. Opinions concerning this work of fiction (which features aspects of the alternative BDSM lifestyle) are widespread and I can’t really add anything to the critical storm that hasn’t already been articulated in print.

Perhaps I view things too simplistically, but “Fifty Shades” seems like nothing more than a sexually amped-up Cinderella story, ala “Pretty Woman,” which certainly divided audiences in its heyday with the implicit question, “Does a prostitute deserve a happy ending?” In the Richard Gere/Julia Roberts film, Gere was impossibly handsome and obscenely rich. He had certain, ah, expectations of the heroine, and he wasn’t always nice. Setting the kink factor aside, the Christian Grey character reminds me of Gere’s character in Pretty Woman.

I think the core at the success of “Fifty” is the fascination those of us who aren’t wealthy have with those who are. If you re-cast the uber-wealthy, phenomenally gorgeous Christian Grey as a blue-collar worker of average means, many of the scenes in the book(s) suddenly became unlikely, if not impossible.

Pretend for a moment that Christian Grey teaches engine repair at the local diesel college:

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t have been an interesting interview subject for a college newspaper in the first place, under most circumstances

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to fly the heroine to his lair using his very own helicopter

• Blue collar Christian Grey probably has a two-room apartment somewhere, and wouldn’t have any spare room to devote to a “Red Room of Pain,” or the means to purchase all the kinky equipment contained within said room

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to gift our heroine with a new red Audi as a graduation gift, (unless a subsequent chapter in the book details his arrest for grand theft auto)

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to have a corporate server wiped clean of e-mails shared with the heroine, or have the connections and power needed to stalk our heroine so effectively

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to purchase the publishing firm where the heroine works just to have more control over the heroine’s lecherous boss

• Blue collar Christian Grey might be able to take our heroine gliding, but a trip to the local zoo would be more likely on his budget

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to provide our heroine with a closet full of expensive designer clothing, nor would he have a “Man Friday” (Taylor) available to shop for undergarments for her at a moment’s notice

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t be able to take our heroine shopping for a new Saab after a psychotic former girlfriend slashed the tires on the Audi and covered it in white paint

• Blue collar Christian Grey wouldn’t have a fortune to drop at a charity event to outbid his competitor for a dance with our heroine

• Blue collar Christian Grey might be able to book a room at the local Super 8 motel for a rendezvous with our heroine, but it’s doubtful he’s going to be “christening” the bed of his 50 foot boat with her

Our auto diesel college teacher version of Christian Grey could potentially have an older “Mrs. Robinson” in his past, and may have any number of ex-girlfriends with mental problems, but he wouldn’t have the means to hire surveillance and body guards to protect his current paramour from said former lovers with issues.

Christian Grey in Fifty Shades tells the heroine he makes $100,000 per hour (which I thought was amazing that he manages to be so productive when he seems to spend most of his time e-mailing, stalking, obsessing over, or nailing our heroine. Plus, what about the thirteen submissives who came before our heroine? Certainly they must have required significant time and attention, not to mention all the time it takes to draft and revise those non-disclosure agreements outlining Grey’s extra-curricular activities). The auto diesel college teacher version of Christian Grey would make, ah, considerably less, and his boss would be making sure that Christian put in his forty hours each week, leaving Christian with much less free time for stalking.

In my view, the plot of Fifty Shades depends more upon the wealth of the Grey character than it does his unusual sexual proclivities. While the book contains explicit sex scenes, most of the content is fairly average by erotica standards. Fifty Shades of Grey is for the most part a variation on the timeless fairy tale of an average woman of modest means allowed to experience a world of wealth and privilege.

Laters, baby.



Lisa Marie

It's That Time Again! Help Find a Cure for Diabetes

I'm honored to be offering a partial manuscript critique again this year for Brenda Novak's annual auction to find a cure for Diabetes.




I had a wonderful experience last year providing a critique for the author with the winning bid.  It was a win-win because I had the pleasure of reading the beginning of what promises to be a very entertaining historical romance, the author received feedback she felt helped polish her manuscript, and we both felt good about participating in an auction to raise research funds for such a worthy cause.



If you're an aspiring author in search of objective feedback, I encourage you to visit the auction site and check out the authors offering full or partial manuscript critiques.   (Pick me!!  Pick me!!!)



If you're not looking for a critique, the auction is offering a huge variety of items for bid...you owe it to yourself to have a look!



Lisa Marie

Writerly Stuff: Let's Talk About Rejection

No discussion about the writing life is honest or complete if we tiptoe around the subject of rejection.

After looking up the definition of rejection in the dictionary, it occurred to me that its antonyms may be more revealing than the definition of the word rejection itself. Words that mean the opposite of rejection include "acknowledgment," "admission," and, "confirmation." These are the very things that are withheld when rejection occurs.

There's no doubt about it: rejection hurts. As an unpublished writer, you will not avoid it. As a published author, you will not escape it. Even if you become a fabulously wealthy, bona fide best-selling, award-winning, highly successful author, you will still not be immune (although rejection may be less painful in the last scenario).

Rejection will take many forms, and it will accompany you throughout your entire writing career, so the best way to approach it is with a good helping of plain common sense. The thing to bear in mind is that rejection is simply opinion. It is nothing more, and nothing less.
Criticism or rejection of your work is an opinion of your work expressed by a reader. The opinion formed by a reader is based upon everything that makes each reader unique: education, life experience, personal beliefs and biases, and so on. A reader's rejection of your book is not a rejection of you as a person, though it might feel that way.

If you haven't been rejected by an agent or a publisher yet, you probably haven't submitted anything to an agent or a publisher. If you've had the good fortune to find a publisher who believes in your talent strongly enough to publish, market, and distribute your work at their own expense, then you may have experienced rejection in the mix of reviews that follows publication.

Only the most naïve writer will assume that the publication of their work signals the end of the rejection experience. The path to publication merely serves to prepare a writer for what lies ahead once his or her book is available for consumption. Book signings, first fan letters, kind words from reviewers, readers and other writers will bolster the ego and provide balm when rejection comes knocking on the door.

So, what can the tender-hearted (or thin-skinned) author do to prepare for the inevitable rejection that is as much a part of the writing life as fried Twinkies at a county fair? Here are some tips:

· Write the best poem, article, short story, novel, song, screenplay, etc., you're capable of each time, with the goal of having your writing get better with each new foray into the world of the written word.

· Don't dwell on negative reviews and don't give negative reviews any more weight than you do the positive ones. A glowing review full of praise can be just as misleading as a rip-your-heart-out-with-a-dull-spoon negative one. The truth is probably somewhere in between. If you allow yourself to believe only the bad reviews, you may never write again. Most writers probably aren't as good as their best reviews suggest or as terrible as their worst ones imply.

· Learn the right lessons from rejection: it's tough to keep an open mind and remain objective when the criticism is directed at your work, but if there's a lesson to be extracted from the criticism, be willing to learn it. If you committed the cardinal sin of tossing your reader out of the story, study your craft so that you don't make the same mistake again. If the contest judge who critiqued your story provided sound advice, pay attention to it, even if the delivery of the advice lacked tact and diplomacy. If your editor pointed out plot or character inconsistencies in the margins of your galleys, be grateful for the opportunity to fine-tune your novel before it reaches publication.

· Always put rejection into perspective and view it from a variety of angles. For example, an interesting thing about numeric rankings on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, and LibraryThing is the detail behind the aggregate ranking. At first glance, a ranking of 3 out of 5 seems dismal until you look more closely and discover that some reviewers routinely rank everything a 1, 2, or 3 (nothing higher than a 3). You'll often see the same book appear on both "Best Book" and "Worst Book" lists. Reviewers who gave your work a low rating may have bestowed a similar mark on a classic work by an author you admire. The reader who announced to the world that your book is the "worst book I've ever read. If I could give it a zero, I would!" may have also said the same of the work of Mark Twain or John Steinbeck. If that's the case, you should be pleased to have been included in such illustrious company. Don't obsess over the 1's and 2's and don't get too puffed up when your book receives the highest possible rating (although do pause to be grateful!)

In the internet age, every reader who has an opinion has a forum for sharing their opinion with millions of other readers. That's not a bad thing because it increases the odds of people hearing about your book, although the veil of anonymity provided by the internet tends to encourage no-holds-barred, sometimes brutal candor because book reviewers and authors share a similar goal: we want what we write to be read. The more sensational the review, the more entertaining it is to read (unless it's highly negative and you happen to be the author of the book being slammed).

The final decision about whether a book is "good" or "bad" rests with each individual reader. Some readers will embrace your writing and some will reject it. The ones who enjoy your writing will encourage and sustain you, and the ones who don't will find other writers to support. That is as it should be.

Rejection is nothing more than opinion, and to quote Edmund Wilson, "No two persons ever read the same book." The only way to avoid rejection entirely is to have your Mom or best friend (but no one else) read your novel. However, if you're writing to be read by a wider audience, be prepared to be both loved and loathed at the same time.


Lisa Marie

Book Review: The King's Courtesan by Judith James

The latest release by Judith James continues to fulfill the promise hinted at by this talented author’s celebrated debut novel, “Broken Wing,” and further realized by her subsequent historical romance releases.

“The King’s Courtesan,” set in the Restoration era world of Charles II, is an entertaining companion novel to its predecessor, “Libertine’s Kiss.” Once again, Ms. James uses her uncanny insight into the human condition to populate her novels with living, breathing characters whose trials and triumphs make the reader feel emotionally invested in the outcome of the story from page one.

When we first meet Hope Mathews, she is a starry-eyed adolescent dreaming of rescue by a gallant knight, but when we next meet Hope as an adult, she has been the victim of betrayals by those closest to her; beginning with the mother who sold Hope’s innocence to the highest bidder when Hope was fourteen. Despite the circumstances of her life, Hope’s purity of spirit and her beauty attract the attention of Charles Stuart and Hope is elevated to the position of King’s mistress, making her vulnerable to yet another betrayal when Charles decides that it wouldn’t be appropriate to have his notorious mistress residing at court when his Portuguese bride arrives.

Charles conceives of a plan to lend his mistress respectability by marrying her off to a titled gentleman and allowing her to rusticate in the country for a few months, after which Charles intends to recall Hope and her new husband to court, where he will continue his relationship with Hope under the noses of his new queen and Hope’s new husband. The gentleman selected for the honor of providing respectability and a title for the King’s mistress is Captain Robert Nichols, whose private obsession with meting out vengeance upon those responsible for his younger sister Caroline’s death makes him a dangerous choice.

Robert is presented with an offer he literally cannot refuse: marry Hope or permanently forfeit Cressly Manor, his family estate, to his nemesis, the last man still awaiting justice by Robert’s hand for the death of Caroline. An unsuspecting Hope is wed to a reluctantly complicit Robert during a colorful May Day celebration Hope has arranged for Charles’s pleasure, and the marriage is off to a rocky start as the newly married couple undertake the long journey to Cressly Manor. What follows is a poignant story of slowly earned trust, the banishment of old demons, and the healing power of love.


Lisa Marie

Writerly Stuff: A Writers' List of Concerns

The writer awaiting his or her first sale fantasizes about what “the call” will be like. The writer who has made their first sale wonders if they will make a second or a third sale, and so on. There are many things we writers still have in common no matter what stage of the path we’re on.

Let me illustrate what I mean with what I refer to as “A Writer’s List of Concerns”:

Group One: Unpublished (As Yet) Author’s List of Concerns
1-Will I Sell My Novel/When Will I Sell My Novel?
2-Will the agent/contest judge/editor like my story?
3-Will I make any money as a writer?
4-What’s the best way to get my work out there (submit to agents? Enter contests? Ask my published writer friends to put in a good word for me with their publisher?)
5-How do I cope with the ever present voice of self-doubt that whispers, “Should I even be trying to do this? Am I a terrible writer?”

Group Two: Published Author’s List of Concerns
1-Will my next novel sell/When Will I Sell My Next Novel?
2-Will my agent/editor like this new story?
3-Will I ever be able to make a living as a writer?
4-What’s the best way to make readers aware I have a book out? (Visit bookstores? Advertise? Make a nuisance of myself on Yahoo groups, Message Boards, Blogs, and Forums?)
5-How do I cope with the ever present voice of self-doubt that whispers, “I’m sure that first/second sale was a fluke! I’m a terrible writer! Just look at some of the Amazon.com reviews!”

Group Three: Highly Successful, Award-Winning, Best Selling Author List of Concerns
1-How on earth am I going to meet these deadlines?
2-What will my reader base think of my new book(s)? Will I lose readers because my publisher has asked me to write for the current hot trend, and I’m just not feeling it, even though I have a deadline?
3-Help! I need a good accountant to assist with tax planning so I can keep some of the money I’m making!
4-How do I keep all my readers happy? I can’t write books fast enough!!
5-How do I cope with the ever present voice of self-doubt that whispers, “One of these days the world will figure out that I can’t do this. I’m a terrible writer!”

As an author, I am wedged in the precipice between the second and third groups, although I’m newly published enough to remember what was on my mind while waiting for that first sale, and I’ve realized that the concerns I have today echo some of the same concerns I had before my first sale, and that fact is probably not going to change.

My advice to all of us would be to savor the sweetness of the journey and take time to celebrate the milestones along the way. Don’t forget to celebrate when you get “The Call” because that moment in your journey will be hard to eclipse, no matter what career heights you might attain after that. And save those first fan e-mails or fan letters forwarded to you by your publisher. I’ve saved all of mine, and they really help when dealing with item #5 on the list of concerns.


Lisa Marie

Writerly Stuff: Thoughts on Writing the "Outside the Box" Historical Romance

The following Q&A paraphrases questions and answers that often come up in discussion, whether during an interview, or in conversations with other authors.

Why write historical romances set in unusual times and places?

I am intrigued by stories written outside conventional settings because these novels can encompass more than just infrequently explored eras and out of the ordinary physical settings. They can also embrace different cultures and other elements that are not found in the majority of historical romance novels, allowing the writer more freedom and the reader more selection.

I didn’t consciously select the early 18th century as the setting of my debut novel, Fire at Midnight. The novel’s plot is tied to an historical event (the Great Storm) that took place in 1703, but once I became engaged in researching the famous Eddystone lighthouse that was swept away during the storm, it became apparent to me that less frequently portrayed times and places are a relatively untapped source for intriguing ideas.

As a reader, I love to learn about history and explore other cultures, so it was a natural progression for me to write novels that include times, places, and even cultures that have received less exposure than others.

What are some challenges in writing a historical romance?

One challenge is research. Some eras and settings are easy to research due to the vast amount of information available. For example, there are a number of authoritative experts and websites dedicated to the Regency era and the American Civil War and Restoration periods, but the more obscure the time and setting, the more difficult it can be to unearth useful information. While most writers will tell you that only a fraction of their research actually shows up in the pages of their novels; it’s easy enough for a reader to spot a novel with an historical setting that hasn’t been well-researched. It is very often the trivial details encountered during the author’s exploration of the era or setting that will lend realism to the completed novel.

My second novel, Stolen Promise, features Romany (Gypsy) characters. The challenge for me in writing a culture-based historical romance was to move away from stereotypes often presented with regard to the Romany people. The vast amount of research I conducted in order to present the Gypsy characters as faithfully as possible took more time and effort than I had initially anticipated, but several scenes in the book were enhanced by the knowledge I had acquired about the Romany culture and customs. Without doing the research necessary to present the characters honestly, I might have written an historical romance that simply continued to perpetuate cultural myths.

The ability to balance the amount of history woven into the story so that it does not overwhelm the romance element is another challenge. Some romance readers enjoy the flavor provided by the historical framework, but they don’t want a history lesson, while there is another faction of readers who are avid students of history who prefer that the romance element be a factor—but not the focal point—of the story. It’s not easy to appease both camps, and I’m in awe of the writer who can accomplish such a feat.

Another challenge is selling the romance. It’s a leap of faith to write any book with the hope of publication, but the author who chooses an era or setting that isn’t among those considered marketable by publishers is taking that leap off the deep end. There is still a strong conviction among publishers that readers prefer certain eras and settings to the exclusion of others.

While we do seem to go through cycles where publishers are more willing (and can afford) to take risks with unusual settings, it is still easier to obtain editor or agent interest in a book with (for example) a Regency setting than it is in a novel set during the Bronze Age. Still, even knowing that a sale might be made more difficult due to an unusual time period or setting, most historical romance authors won’t be deterred from pursuing an idea they find interesting, and this is as it should be. In the end, if the story holds the reader’s interest and features characters the reader cares about, the book will find a publisher.

The writer of an historical romance featuring an unusual setting faces the same challenges any writer faces: how to create a well-paced piece of fiction with believable characters that will keep a reader engrossed and turning the pages until they reach “The End.”

What strategies do you use to overcome these challenges?

I avoid investing time in developing ideas that don’t make me feel enthusiastic about the project because there is so much time and effort involved in researching and writing a novel that if I don’t love the idea going in, it will be very difficult to sustain interest for the length of time it takes to complete a 400 page manuscript, and I have even less hope of engaging a reader if I’m not excited about the story.

This is especially true in the research phase because if it feels like I’m preparing to write a paper for a college course, the end result is going to be about as fascinating to the reader. I look for something unique in terms of era, setting, or plot idea that stimulates my imagination and makes me want to do the research.
The ratio of history-to-romance really depends upon the setting of the story because some novels may require more narrative explaining the historical context than others, so that the reader can have better insight into character goals and motivations. For example, some background about the Civil War will be needed to set the stage for a novel featuring two brothers divided by war, one fighting for the North and the other for the South.

When it comes to pitching a novel to an agent or editor, I think the best strategy is to know the marketplace. There are smaller publishers who are risk-takers and there are editors and agents who will champion a story they believe in, even when they feel it might be difficult to market. It is important to keep abreast of changes, and to know the players because they change frequently.

When reading a historical romance, what annoys you as a reader?

I don’t enjoy reading what could just as easily be a contemporary plot that has been dressed in a corset and plunked down in the middle of Regency England. People in 1810 behaved very differently than they do in 2010, and if the novel doesn’t reflect the customs and mores of the time period in which it’s set, I think the author has short-changed his or her readers by not doing the amount of research required to lend authenticity to the novel.

My personal pet peeve is when I come across phrases in dialogue that are too modern to fit the historical setting. While I appreciate not being required to slog through Middle English just for the sake of realism, I’m easily thrown out of a story when I come across phrases that don’t feel natural or believable, or contain slang terms that weren’t in use at the time. I don’t want to read dialogue where an early nineteenth century character tells another character to “stop dissin’ me!”


Lisa Marie